Category Archives: Environment

Top environmental groups say some of Labor’s new laws could take conservation backwards

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Alliance says there’s not enough ambition in proposed laws to prevent extinctions, as promised by the environment minister

The Albanese government is backing away from a promise to substantially transform how nature is protected in Australia and is planning some changes that would make things worse, according to eight of the country’s top environment groups.

The conservation organisations said they were concerned the government planned to break up promised legislation for new environmental laws and defer some difficult reforms until after the next election, if it wins a second term.

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Include a “call-in” power that allowed the minister to take over a decision from a proposed environment protection agency (EPA) “at any time and for any reason”.

Allow developers to make payments to a new “restoration contributions” fund to compensate for damage their projects caused to the environment. This would remove a requirement that environmental offsets provide a “like-for-like” replacement for ecosystems or species affected by a development.

Fail to give the new EPA the “teeth” it needed to be an independent and effective environmental regulator.

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Shell says it ‘lobbies for energy transition’ during climate ruling appeal

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Company is fighting Dutch court ruling that says it must emit 45% less CO2 by 2030 than in 2019

Shell has argued that it “lobbies for, not against, the energy transition” on the final day of its appeal against an important climate ruling.

The fossil fuel company is fighting the decision of a Dutch court in 2021 that forces it to pump 45% less planet-heating CO2 into the atmosphere by 2030 than it did in 2019. In court on Friday, Shell argued the ruling is ineffective, onerous and does not fit into the existing legal system.

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Colombians told to shower with a partner as drought hits capital water supplies

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Bogotá brings in water rationing with El Niño weather phenomenon meaning city could run out in under two months

Couples in Bogotá are being asked to shower together as water supplies are rationed in the Colombian capital.

Major neighbourhoods were cut off from the water grid on Thursday to preserve dangerously low water levels at reservoirs that have been starved of rain by the weather phenomenon known as El Niño.

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Tory candidate for London mayor has Trumpian attitude to climate, says Khan

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London mayor expected to criticise Susan Hall in speech launching panels on school roofs

Sadiq Khan will accuse his Conservative rival in the race to be London’s next mayor of being “Trumpian” over the climate crisis, as he announces plans for solar panels on schools.

Khan is expected to acknowledge resistance to his expansion of the ultra-low emission zone (Ulez) in a speech on Friday but insist that he still intends to “go further”.

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House sparrow tops Big Garden Birdwatch charts for 21st year in a row

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Blue tits, starlings, wood pigeons and blackbirds next most sighted in RSPB survey involving 600,000 participants

A friendly if slightly tuneless chirp is the most ubiquitous birdsong in British gardens with the house sparrow topping the Big Garden Birdwatch charts for the 21st consecutive year, according to the annual RSPB survey.

Blue tits, starlings, wood pigeons and blackbirds were the next most-sighted birds by more than 600,000 participants in the world’s largest wildlife garden survey.

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Colombian Amazon deforestation surges as armed groups tighten grip

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Country had previously turned the tide on deforestation but armed rebels have revoked ban

Deforestation in the Colombian Amazon is surging and could be at a historic peak as armed groups use the rainforest as a bargaining chip in peace negotiations with the government.

Preliminary data shows that deforestation in the region was 40% higher in the first three months of this year than in 2023 as armed groups tightened their control over the rainforest, said Susana Muhamad, the country’s environment minister.

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EPA has limited six ‘forever chemicals’ in drinking water – but there are 15,000

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Rules celebrated for reducing exposures, but experts say it’s not enough and will lead to ‘an endless game of Whac-a-Mole’

Strong new limits for some PFAS compounds in drinking water set by the US Environmental Protection Agency this week are being celebrated for how far they go in reducing exposures to the dangerous chemicals.

But public health advocates say the rules merely represent a first step that is limited in its impact on the broader PFAS crisis because they do not directly prevent more pollution or force the chemical industry to pay for cleanup.

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Biden races to commit billions to climate action as election looms

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Biden administration hopes funding will spur enduring cuts to planet-heating emissions no matter who is in White House

Amid rising global temperatures and a looming election against an opponent who has indicated he will gut his climate policies, Joe Biden’s administration is shoveling billions of dollars into efforts it hopes will spur enduring cuts to planet-heating emissions, no matter the occupant of the White House.

In recent weeks, large tracts of funding has been announced by the administration to help overcome some of the thorniest and esoteric challenges the world faces in driving down carbon pollution, seeding the promise of everything from the advent of zero-emissions concrete to low-pollution food production, including mac and cheese and ice-cream, to driving the uptake of solar panels and electric stoves in low-income households.

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Canada risks more ‘catastrophic’ wildfires with hot weather forecast

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Worst-ever fire season in 2023 saw 15m hectare burned, eight firefighters killed and 230,000 people evacuated

Canada risks another “catastrophic” wildfire season, the federal government has warned, forecasting higher-than-normal spring and summer temperatures across much of the country, boosted by El Niño weather conditions.

Last year, Canada endured its worst-ever fire season, with more than 6,600 blazes burning 15m hectares (37m acres), an area roughly seven times the annual average. Eight firefighters died and 230,000 people were evacuated from their homes.

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Charles Darwin University asked inquiry not to publish staff submissions critical of its support for harbour project

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In letter vice-chancellor requested committee not publish joint submission by two academics and redact parts of second submission ‘unfairly’ critical of CDU

Charles Darwin University asked a federal inquiry not to publish submissions by three of its staff after the academics criticised the university’s support for a gas and industrial development on Darwin Harbour.

It comes as the Northern Territory government is due to give evidence in Darwin on Thursday to the Middle Arm inquiry, which is examining the proposed precinct and a $1.5bn investment promised by the Albanese government.

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Albanese says Australia needs ‘sharper elbows’ as he signals domestic innovation push

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Prime minister says government needs to be ‘more strategic and more sophisticated’ to compete globally

The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, is signalling a dramatic shift to unapologetically and directly supporting Australian industry and innovation, saying the country needs “sharper elbows when it comes to marking out our national interest” and competing with the rest of the world.

In a speech to be delivered to the Queensland Press Club on Thursday, Albanese will effectively launch his bid for re-election with a plan for a green interventionist industry policy, one which uses direct government support to speed up the energy transition, provide certainty for business and stem the flow of money and ideas to countries offering investment incentives.

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Swapping red meat for herring, sardines and anchovies could save 750,000 lives, study suggests

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Switch could also cut prevalence of disability linked to diet-related disease and help tackle the climate crisis, researchers found

Swapping red meat for forage fish such as herring, sardines and anchovies could save 750,000 lives a year and help tackle the climate crisis, a study suggests.

Mounting evidence links red meat consumption with a higher risk of disease in humans as well as significant harm to the environment. In contrast, forage fish are highly nutritious, environmentally friendly and the most abundant fish species in the world’s oceans.

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Great Barrier Reef discovery overturns belief Aboriginal Australians did not make pottery, archaeologists say

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Paper dates 82 pottery pieces found in single dig site at between 3,000 and 2,000 years old

Groundbreaking archaeological research may have upended the longstanding belief that Aboriginal Australians did not make pottery.

A paper published in the Quaternary Science Reviews on Wednesday details the finding of 82 pottery pieces from a single dig site on a Great Barrier Reef island, dates them at between 3,000 and 2,000 years old and determines that the pots were most likely made by Aboriginal people using locally sourced clay and temper.

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Russia and Kazakhstan evacuate tens of thousands amid worst floods in decades

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Kremlin official warns of more difficult days ahead after towns and cities overwhelmed by major rivers swollen by snowmelt

Russia and Kazakhstan have ordered more than 100,000 people to evacuate after swiftly melting snow swelled rivers beyond bursting point in the worst flooding in the area for at least 70 years.

The deluge of meltwater overwhelmed many settlements in the Ural mountains, Siberia and areas of Kazakhstan close to rivers such as the Ural and Tobol, which local officials said had risen by metres in a matter of hours to the highest levels ever recorded.

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Mona loses Ladies Lounge anti-discrimination case with ‘persons who do not identify as ladies’ to be allowed entry – as it happened

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This blog is now closed

A search will resume this morning for a woman who went missing while bushwalking at Belmore Falls in New South Wales.

Just after 1pm on Sunday, emergency services were called to Belmore Falls near Robertson after reports a woman had slipped and fallen down a cliff. An extensive search was initiated, but the 20-year-old was not located and the search was suspended at dusk.

We’ve got large multinationals in the supermarket ring who aren’t captured. So I’d like to see this expanded over time.

Woolworths, I think, makes a good point, and that is the code to be extended should be expanded to cover rivals Amazon, Costco and even Chemist Warehouse.

We’ll have more to say on that in coming weeks and months.

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Asbestos confirmed in seven Melbourne parks after latest tests

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PA Burns Reserve and the Altona Coastal Park the latest sites to have ‘small amounts of asbestos’ discovered

Victoria’s environment watchdog and a Melbourne council have confirmed traces of asbestos at seven parks and reserves across Melbourne, as the regulator probes the sources of the contamination.

In a statement on Tuesday evening, the Environment Protection Authority confirmed small amounts of asbestos-contaminated material had been discovered at PA Burns Reserve in Altona, in Melbourne’s west. The EPA said its inspection over the weekend found “good quality mulch laid over industrial waste”.

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Tanya Plibersek rejects Toondah Harbour project over impact on globally significant wetlands

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Walker Corporation had proposed 3,000 apartments, marina and shops for the site, which is a critical habitat for the endangered eastern curlew

• Toondah Harbour: should a wetland home to endangered birds become $1.3bn worth of shops, high-rises and a marina?
• To the moon and back with the eastern curlew

The environment and water minister, Tanya Plibersek, has announced she will reject an apartment and retail development on an internationally important wetland at Queensland’s Moreton Bay.

Plibersek said on Tuesday she would refuse Walker Corporation’s Toondah Harbour project – first proposed eight years ago and opposed by a long-running community campaign backed by scientists and conservationists – because it would have an unacceptable impact on the Ramsar site.

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Epidemic fears as 80% of Indigenous Amazon tribe fall ill

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Advocates fear situation could escalate in Javari valley, a region plagued by violence and poor healthcare

More than 100 Indigenous people in Brazil’s Javari valley have been diagnosed with flu-like symptoms, raising fears that the situation could escalate into an epidemic.

The valley, where Indigenous advocate Bruno Pereira and journalist Dom Phillips were killed in 2022, is home to the largest population of Indigenous people in voluntary isolation and of recent contact worldwide. The Korubo people were first contacted by government officials in 1996, and they continue to live with little interaction with other Indigenous groups and local authorities.

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Australia among hotspots for toxic ‘forever chemicals’, study of PFAS levels finds

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Australian limits on acceptable levels of these toxic chemicals in drinking water ‘orders of magnitude’ higher than in US

High levels of so-called forever chemicals have been found in surface and groundwater all over the world, with Australia one of several hotspots for toxic PFAS, a University of New South Wales study has found.

Researchers examined groundwater samples from around the world and found 69% had per-and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) at levels above Canada’s safe drinking water criteria and 32% had levels higher than the US proposed drinking water hazard index.

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Weather tracker: Storm Kathleen brings high winds and warm air to Europe

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Gusts of more than 70mph recorded on Irish Sea coast, as temperatures rose above 30C in mainland Europe

Storm Kathleen brought strong winds to Ireland and the UK at the weekend, causing travel and power disruption. The storm, named by Met Éireann, developed in the Atlantic on Thursday, deepening explosively as it pushed northwards to the west of Ireland.

Peak wind gusts of 40-60mph (65-95km/h) were recorded quite widely across Ireland, Northern Ireland, Scotland and western parts of England and Wales on Saturday, with some Irish Sea coastal regions experiencing gusts above 70mph. A gust of 72mph was recorded at Drumalbin, Lanarkshire.

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