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Detailed analysis finds plant diets lead to 75% less climate-heating emissions, water pollution and land use than meat-rich ones

Eating a vegan diet massively reduces the damage to the environment caused by food production, the most comprehensive analysis to date has concluded.

The research showed that vegan diets resulted in 75% less climate-heating emissions, water pollution and land use than diets in which more than 100g of meat a day was eaten. Vegan diets also cut the destruction of wildlife by 66% and water use by 54%, the study found.

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In a cost of living crisis, heat pumps and electric cars are out of reach for most. Britain needs to fund a genuinely fair transition – and fast

It can’t be easy being Barbie. As if life wasn’t tough enough for an ageing doll with a decorative dimwit for a boyfriend, this week she suffered the indignity of being dragged into a byelection.

Or more precisely, her bright pink classic Corvette did. In easily the most excruciating moment of an already awkward attempt to cling on to Boris Johnson’s old Uxbridge seat, Tory HQ briefly tried to enliven its main line of attack by suggesting to friendly newspapers that if Barbie for some unexplained reason rocked up in the suburbs, she might have to pay £12.50 for breaching mayor Sadiq Khan’s ultra-low emission zone (Ulez), due to be extended to the capital’s outer fringes from August. At the time of writing, the voters’ verdict on this one is still hotly awaited. But whatever the outcome, hiding behind a dolly feels like the kind of political low point nobody gets over in a hurry.

Gaby Hinsliff is a Guardian columnist

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A new Oxford University study pinpoints for the first time how high- and low-meat diets impact the planet.

At Everland we are looking for a talented Senior Research Associate to join our rapidly growing international team. The individual will be part of the Impacts team that focuses on researching, evaluating and communicating the climate mitigation, biodiversity conservation and community development impacts of REDD+ projects supported by Everland.

Post-menopausal killer whales protect their adult sons from fights, research shows.

Climate campaigners complain to ACCC over Appea ad that claimed gas was ‘50% cleaner’ than coal

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Environmental campaigners have asked Australia’s consumer watchdog to investigate an oil and gas industry public relations campaign that critics claim is misleading the public on the climate effects of fossil fuel.

The Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association (Appea) last month dropped a claim in its “Future of Gas” advertising campaign that gas was “50% cleaner” than coal.

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Operators warn long-haul routes to nation risk being ‘priced out’ of international aviation when carbon pricing takes effect over next decade

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International airlines could cut back flights to Australia in coming years because the high-polluting long haul routes stand out as low-hanging fruit to meet future environmental commitments, the country’s parliament has been warned.

Mandatory emissions reductions schemes for global aviation are still being negotiated. However, Australia risks being “priced out” of the international aviation network when carbon pricing and other binding targets begin taking effect over the next decade, the Australian Airports Association (AAA) said in a submission to a parliamentary inquiry.

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Males show fewer tooth-rake marks when mothers are present and have stopped breeding, research shows

Post-menopausal killer whales protect their sons from getting injured in fights with other whales, scientists have found.

The study showed that males showed fewer tooth-rake marks – scars left when whales scrape their teeth across another’s skin – when their mother was still present and had stopped breeding. But the protective effect did not extend to daughters.

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The UK government should establish an independent, economy-wide regulator to oversee carbon policy developments and ensure consistency between ETS reforms, carbon leakage, and emissions accounting across sectors, according to a net zero research centre, speaking to Carbon Pulse.

One of the world's biggest offshore wind projects has been halted because of a big jump in costs, raising questions about the UK's renewable plans.

The post One of world’s biggest offshore wind project grinds to a halt over costs appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Fortescue Future Industries has spent $US24 million to buy the company behind a proposed green hydrogen project in Arizona in the US.

The post Fortescue Future buys up “fast moving” US green hydrogen project appeared first on RenewEconomy.

The state’s wildlife department is concerned the friendly fur-covered swimmer has become too acclimated to humans

A five-year-old sea otter who gained notoriety for commandeering surfboards has continued her reign as a viral sensation as she’s managed to avoid multiple efforts to capture her.

For days, staff with California’s department of fish and wildlife (CDFW) and the Monterey Bay aquarium have attempted to catch otter 841 – but she has given them the slip each time.

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The European Commission green-lighted two state measures in France and in Germany to help decarbonise steel production from two major producers, the bloc’s executive announced on Thursday.

Campaigners lose judicial review of decision to approve plan by UK Oil & Gas to drill on agricultural land

Fossil fuel prospectors have cleared another hurdle on their path to drill for oil and gas near an area of outstanding natural beauty (AONB) in the Surrey Hills after campaigners lost a judicial review of the plan.

Opponents of the plan to sink an exploration well near the village of Dunsfold argued it was inconsistent with a decision to refuse a similar application on the basis of the greenhouse gas emissions it would produce.

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Politicians seem to have no idea of the action required if we want to keep a functioning society and economy

• Bill McGuire is professor emeritus of geophysical and climate hazards at UCL

It’s hard not to wonder if the government is living on another planet. One that isn’t in the grip of the highest temperatures ever recorded, where tens of thousands of people are not dying every summer in blistering heatwaves, where the oceans aren’t boiling. This is the only explanation for the colossally inadequate national climate adaptation programme released this week.

There is so much wrong with it that it’s hard to know where to begin. The programme actually constitutes the third of three five-year plans, and therein lies the main problem. You can’t plan in five-year chunks for climate mayhem that is set to last for decades, probably centuries. If it is to make living in Hothouse Britain safer and more bearable, any plan worth its salt has to look much further ahead and take in the bigger picture.

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Trade association, which promotes hydrogen for home heating, called for clean heat market mechanism to be pushed back to 2026

Lobbyists for the gas boiler industry are trying to delay the introduction of new government measures to speed up the take-up of heat pumps, a leaked document shows.

The move, in a draft document obtained by the DeSmog investigative journalism group and seen by the Guardian, appears to be part of an intensive two-year lobbying effort by a key gas boiler industry organisation, which has been critical of heat pumps, and promoted hydrogen for home heating to government and opposition parties, despite strong evidence of its unsuitability.

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European carbon prices rose above €90 for the first time in almost four weeks on Thursday morning as buying pressure steadily boosted the market ahead of the annual August cut in auction volumes, while energy prices reversed early losses to post gains for a third successive day.

EU climate chief Frans Timmermans will leave the European Commission in mid-August to pursue a leadership bid of a new Greens-Socialist democrats party alliance in the Netherlands, Dutch newspaper De Volkskrant reported on Thursday morning.

A start-up carbon credit rating agency has secured $3.75 million in seed funding after a year of operating amid growing investor appetite in this fast growing sector of the voluntary market.

While MRV digitalisation is considered to help enhance visibility into the supply chain of carbon credits, the community aspect should not be ignored given the complexity of existing methods and natural ecosystems, a conference heard Thursday.