The Guardian

Expert recommendations will influence plans for energy, housing, transport industry and farming for decades

Labour will next week be confronted with stark policy choices that threaten to expose the fault lines between the Treasury and the government’s green ambitions, as advice for the UK’s next carbon budget is published.

Plans for the energy sector, housing, transport, industry and farming will all be called into question in a sweeping set of recommendations for how the UK can meet the legally binding target of net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

Net zero policies would result in fewer deaths saving UK billions, say researchers

Countries that weaken or stop their net zero and climate actions may be consigning their populations to decades of preventable illness.

Gains from net zero are often presented as global benefits and mainly for future generations. But less fossil fuel use also means less air pollution which results in local health gains right away.

The best of this week’s wildlife photographs from around the world

The annual competition draws thousands of entries from across the world and brings together images from below the water’s surface that show the diversity and challenges of subaquatic life

• All photographs courtesy of Underwater Photographer of the Year 2025

From bats to moths, species working the night shift are suffering as light pollution soars

When we think about invertebrates, most of us picture bees, butterflies, worms, crabs or perhaps even a jellyfish. But did you know that at least two-thirds of invertebrates are active at night, meaning many are unlikely to be seen? Invertebrates carry out many of the same functions as their daytime counterparts, in some cases doing so with greater efficiency and variety.

For centuries, artificial light has been a symbol of progress. From the flickering flames of early fires to the dazzling LED displays of modern cities, light has shaped human civilisation. But while we celebrate its convenience, we often overlook the darker side of our obsession with illumination: light pollution.

The Guardian is running the invertebrate of the year competition 2025 – and this time it’s global. Nominate your favourite invertebrate, and then, in a few weeks time, we’ll vote on which is the best.

Sam Balto took the idea from a local school to the White House and beyond, inspiring a global movement in which children feel the benefits of cycling together

“It’s a movement, not a moment.” That’s the mantra from Sam “Coach” Balto, a former school teacher from Portland, Oregon who quit his day job to stoke a revolution called the “bike bus” – groups of kids and families cycling to school together.

How did one person in a mid-sized American city turn a weekly bike ride into something of a phenomenon? He leaned on the power of social media. In the past two years his videos have been viewed by hundreds of millions of people.

Greenpeace argues European-backed projects hamper countries’ ability to decarbonise their own economies

European countries are extracting renewable energy from Morocco and Egypt to “greenwash” their own economies, while leaving north Africans reliant on dirty imported fuels and paying the environmental costs, a Greenpeace report says.

Both Morocco and Egypt are aiming to leverage their strategic locations south of the Mediterranean, and their solar and wind power potential, to position themselves as pivotal to Europe’s quest to diversify its energy supply.

After becoming embroiled in scandal, formerly hot startup and Wall Street star had said it would likely run out of cash

Troubled electric vehicle maker Nikola has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection months after saying that it would likely run out of cash early this year.

Nikola was a hot startup and rising star on Wall Street before becoming enmeshed in scandal and its founder was convicted in 2022 for misleading investors about the Arizona company’s technology.

Site in Cumbria can now return to routine inspections but concerns remain over cybersecurity

The UK nuclear industry regulator has taken Sellafield, the world’s largest store of plutonium, out of special measures for its physical security – but said concerns remained over its cybersecurity.

Guarding arrangements at the vast nuclear waste dump in Cumbria have improved enough to allow for routine inspections from the Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR), rather than requiring “enhanced regulatory oversight”.

Decades-long research shows world’s glaciers collectively lost 6.542tn tonnes of ice between 2000 and 2023

Melting glaciers have caused almost 2cm of sea level rise this century alone, a decades-long study has revealed.

The research shows the world’s glaciers collectively lost 6.542tn tonnes of ice between 2000 and 2023, causing an 18mm (0.7in) rise in global sea levels.

The report promises better pay and protections for farmers, but environmentalists say it will not help restore nature or assure food security

European farmers will face fewer rules and less foreign competition, a new vision for agriculture promises, as environmental campaigners warn that key green proposals have been ignored.

The EU’s new farming strategy will overhaul the sector with targeted financial support, stricter import standards and a shift from “conditions to incentives” in the green strings attached to its vast subsidy scheme, according to the report published on Wednesday.

Poorer countries want rapid emission cuts and more financial help in face of US leader’s stance on global heating

Developing countries are calling on the rich world to defy the US president, Donald Trump, and bridge the global chasm over climate action, before the goal of limiting global temperatures to safe levels is irretrievably lost.

Diplomats from the developing world are rallying to support Brazil, which will host a crucial climate summit in November, after last year’s talks in Azerbaijan ended in disappointment and acrimony.

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Researchers say study, which involved training bream to follow a specific diver for treats, could change the way we treat fish

Wild fish can tell people apart – at least when they are wearing different-coloured outfits – researchers have found in a study they say could shift our relationship with the creatures.

It is known that certain domestic animals – or those that live close to humans – can tell one person from another, a skill researchers say could be tied to particular humans being more inclined to share resources with them or, conversely, pose a danger. However, such discrimination is less well known in wild animals.

A group of 157 animals that appear to be false killer whales have stranded, according to the Department of Natural Resources and Environment Tasmania, with initial observations showing 136 animals were still alive on Wednesday morning. Veterinarians and conservationists have responded to the mass beaching, but experts warn inaccessibility and poor conditions may limit their ability to help

• More than 150 whales stranded on beach in remote north-western Tasmania

• ‘I closed my eyes to brace for impact’: the man who escaped a whale’s mouth

Veterinarians and conservationists respond to mass beaching, but experts warn inaccessibility and poor conditions may limit ability to help

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More than 150 whales have stranded on a beach near Arthur River, on Tasmania’s remote north-west coast.

A group of 157 animals that appear to be false killer whales have stranded, according to the Department of Natural Resources and Environment Tasmania, with initial observations showing 136 animals were still alive.

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Growth in 2022 and 2023 was driven by soaring gas prices caused by Russia’s invasion, but 2024 saw sales slump

Heat pump sales fell 23% in Europe last year, industry data shows, reverting to the level they were at before the war in Ukraine and slowing the shift away from gas-burning boilers.

Demand for clean heating devices fell by about half in Belgium and Germany, and by 39% in France, according to data for 13 countries that cover 85% of the European heat pump market.

Ambitious UK project aims to forecast climate catastrophes using fleets of drones, cosmic ray detection, patterns of plankton blooms and more

An ambitious attempt to develop an early warning system for climate tipping points will combine fleets of drones, cosmic ray detection and the patterns of plankton blooms with artificial intelligence and the most detailed computer models to date.

The UK’s Advanced Research and Invention Agency (Aria), which backs high-risk, high-reward projects, has awarded £81m to 27 teams. The quest is to find signals that forewarn of the greatest climate catastrophes the climate crisis could trigger. Tipping points occur when global temperature is pushed beyond a threshold, leading to unstoppable changes in the climate system.

The chemical compounds that block UV rays may lead to bleaching of coral and a decrease in fish fertility

Urgent investigation is needed into the potential impact sunscreen is having on marine environments, according to a new report.

Sunscreens contain chemical compounds, known as pseudo persistent pollutants, which block the sun’s ultraviolet (UV) rays and can lead to bleaching and deformity in coral or a decrease in fish fertility.