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Campaigners call Graham Stuart’s comments ‘laughable’ and say Conservatives are weaponising climate action

Oil and gas are “not the problem” for the climate, but the carbon emissions arising from them are, the UK’s net zero minister has told MPs.

In words that suggested the UK could place yet more emphasis on technologies to capture and store carbon, Graham Stuart said fossil fuel production was not driving climate change, but demand for fossil fuels was.

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Ofwat’s newfound interest in executive pay in the water industry is merely a tweak

• Ban bonuses to water company bosses, Ofwat told

About 30 years too late, many might say, here comes Ofwat with details on how it will “crack down”, as it puts it, on executive pay in the English water sector. Since the regulator’s new powers to interfere on boardroom pay don’t kick in until next year, this year’s assessment can be considered an explainer on how a new offside rule will work.

And the news from the video assistant referee is that Severn Trent, South West Water and Portsmouth Water committed offences that “did not meet our expectations”, says Ofwat, because either short- or long-term incentives were insufficiently aligned to good outcomes for customers or the environment. Does that mean the executives would have faced the humiliation of returning their dodgy rewards?

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A pair of US lawmakers from opposite sides of the aisle introduced legislation in the House of Representatives on Tuesday to garner federal government support for interagency work around soil carbon sequestration, research, and monitoring.

Companies and non-EU governments impacted by the EU’s carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM) said the legislation is forcing them to disclose 'trade secrets' about their supply chains, and that the lack of regulatory detail is hindering their ability to prepare, an event in Brussels heard on Wednesday, as a Turkish official confirmed that the nation plans to launch an ETS next year.

The first forward purchase agreement has been signed for carbon credits for avoiding the creation of contrails, a form of non-CO2 pollution created by flying, though some airlines remain hesitant about the climate impacts even as initial regulations loom.

Virginia Democrats are on track to hold the state Senate and win back the House of Delegates following Tuesday's legislative election, putting the brakes on Governor Glenn Youngkin's (R) agenda.

Five free-to-access mapped datasets to help companies understand the land, carbon, and biodiversity impacts of their agricultural supply chains have been launched by data agency Vizzuality.

Five companies have been named as early adopters of the VCMI’s code on making credible claims about voluntary carbon credit use, the cross-stakeholder body said on Wednesday.

Millions of people’s lives wrecked by droughts that used to happen once every 250 years but now expected once a decade

Extreme droughts that have wrecked the lives of millions of people in Syria, Iraq and Iran since 2020 would not have happened without human-caused global heating, a study has found.

The climate crisis means such long-lasting and severe droughts are no longer rare, the analysis showed. In the Tigris-Euphrates basin, which covers large parts of Syria and Iraq, droughts of this severity happened about once every 250 years before global heating – now they are expected once a decade.

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Asset manager Fidelity International plans to expand its range of sustainable strategies to cover nature-related themes including oceans and water.

An environmental consultancy has developed a “rigorous” crediting methodology to quantify and verify CO2 removals achieved using marine microalgae.

European carbon prices recovered from early lows after the weekly Commitment of Traders data showed investment funds have amassed the largest total short position in two years and the largest-ever net short position, but the scale of the reaction left many participants still unsure about which way prices are likely to move.

A mass die-off of trees could happen in the next 50 years unless action is taken, warn experts.

Campaigners call for urgent action after data shows almost all bird types reducing in abundance

Woodland birds are facing an accelerating decline in the UK, with species at risk of extinction if the government does not act, experts have said.

Data released by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has revealed that almost all bird types are reducing in abundance, despite years of warnings from nature bodies that action needs to be taken to protect habitats and save species.

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A potential environmental game-changer, agroforestry has so far been overlooked and under-incentivised according to a US farming group, but the upcoming farm bill is an opportunity to switch up the rules.

A British energy company has teamed up with a carbon market digital infrastructure provider to facilitate the sales of credits to its customers, including those generated from its own projects.

Thousands of specimens from the 1500s show huge changes to Bologna’s flora due to climate crisis and migration, say researchers

A collection of pressed flowers taken from the hillsides of Bologna 500 years ago is unlocking knowledge about how the climate crisis and human migration is changing landscapes in northern Italy.

Picked between 1551 and 1586 by the Renaissance naturalist Ulisse Aldrovandi, the 5,000 delicately cut and dried plants form one of the richest collections of its time.

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Fewer than half of the CO2 allowances on offer at Wednesday’s South Korean auction were sold, as demand remains dim amid oversupply and regulatory uncertainty.

Trash Free Trails’ report finds average of 41 pieces of litter a kilometre as calls grow for deposit returns scheme

Litter is blighting the UK’s footpaths, with an average 41 pieces found a kilometre, according to a major study. Particularly frequently found brands included Lucozade, Coca-Cola, Red Bull, Monster and Walkers.

The State of Our Trails report, conducted by Trash Free Trails, is the first UK study that aims to establish a scientific understanding of the environmental consequences of the tonnes of litter in our landscapes. It drew together more than 1,600 submissions by 4,500 volunteers and with the data the authors have estimated as many as 9.1m individual pieces of litter could be found across the UK’s 220,000km of public rights of way. The surveys took place between July 2020 and August 2023.

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The time for alarmist messages is over, and the organisation could help unite people in positive action

• Rupert Read is co-director of the Climate Majority Project

Gail Bradbrook, co-founder of Extinction Rebellion, has been found guilty of criminal damage, after she broke a window at the Department for Transport in an ecologically motivated protest against HS2 in 2019.

The timing of Bradbrook’s verdict is almost exquisitely ironic. Five years ago last week, Extinction Rebellion was launched in Parliament Square. Back then, a principal term of criticism lobbied at XR was that it was “alarmist”. Five years on, it’s plainly visible that it was not.

Rupert Read is the author of Extinction Rebellion: Insights from the Inside and Co-Director of the Climate Majority Project

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