The Guardian

Exclusive: Kristalina Georgieva calls for ‘debt for climate swaps’ ahead of world summit on new global financial pact

Poor countries hit by climate disaster should not be forced to struggle with crippling debt payments, the head of the International Monetary Fund has urged before a global summit on climate finance.

Kristalina Georgieva, managing director of the IMF, said providing debt relief to countries suffering from extreme weather was a matter of urgency. Extreme weather is hitting harder around the world, and countries already facing debt mountains cannot afford to service their debts, particularly at a time of high interest rates.

It is now clear that Russian forces have no real strategy, only brutal tactics to wipe out a people and a culture

The 468th day of the invasion. Downtown Kyiv. 2am. Over the past 35 days, my wife, Olena, and I have discovered a new way to sleep. Our bodies have become so accustomed to constant night-time air-raid alerts that now we balance on the edge of a deep sleep, which guarantees at least a little rest, and employ special listening techniques throughout the night. The whole body morphs into one big ear. And in a moment, the sound of an approaching rocket will pull us from a heavy slumber.

We don’t need words. As usual, we jump out of bed and in a few leaps fly from the bedroom to the corridor. The two-wall rule creates an illusion of safety. No walls could save us from a direct hit by an Iranian Shahed drone or a Russian missile. However, there is a placebo impression, that at least it will protect us against the blast wave and glass fragments.

Pollution and extraction of water are having a huge impact on local communities. High rates of cancer and respiratory problems are the norm, while marshes dry out and fish die in the rivers

Author of landmark UK review into the economic value of nature joins UN environment chief in calls for ‘action, not just words’ on biodiversity goals

Humans are exploiting nature beyond its limits, the University of Cambridge economist Prof Sir Partha Dasgupta has warned, as the UN’s environment chief calls on governments to make good on a global deal for biodiversity, six months after it was agreed.

Dasgupta, the author of a landmark review into the economic importance of nature commissioned by the UK Treasury in 2021, said it was a mistake to continue basing economic policies on the postwar boom that did not account for damage to the planet.

Queensland police alerted to man who suspended himself over Port of Brisbane Road, blocking all eastbound lanes

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Climate activists have launched national action for a second day, with the public warned to brace for rolling protests nationwide.

Traffic in Brisbane was thrown into chaos and Blockade Australia launched a simultaneous protest in Melbourne, blocking Webb Dock Road in front of the Port of Melbourne gates.

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Inquiry launched by Environment Agency into huge pile of medical aprons found in Calmore, Hampshire

The “dumping” of hundreds of thousands of pieces of unused personal protective equipment near a nature reserve on the edge of the New Forest has mystified and angered local people.

But the council has revealed that the giant pile of boxes containing medical aprons is being stored on the land in Calmore, Hampshire, before the aprons are recycled into plastic bags.

Second sighting of white whale off Queensland’s coast within weeks has ocean watchers wondering if it could be famous humpback

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The second sighting of a white whale off Queensland’s coast within weeks has ocean watchers wondering if it could be Migaloo, the elusive albino humpback who has not been seen in three years.

A tourist flying over the Great Barrier Reef filmed what appears to be a white humpback whale swimming north, as thousands of humpbacks make their annual migration from Antartica to warmer waters to breed.

But a majority of Australians think more money should be spent on the environment

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Half of Australians are unaware of the extent of the nature crisis despite agreeing governments need to do more to support the environment, research by the Biodiversity Council suggests.

Graeme Samuel, the former competition watchdog head who chaired a 2020 review of Australia’s environmental laws, says a campaign is needed to bring public awareness of biodiversity decline in line with the understanding of the climate crisis.

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When I heard the news that fracking would go ahead on my grandparents’ country, I felt my spirit and heart were breaking

Last month the chief minister of the Northern Territory, Natasha Fyles, opened the door to large-scale fracking of what the gas industry calls the Beetaloo basin.

The land to be mined includes my paternal grandmother’s country.

In 20 years, when the chief minister is growing old and grey, she is going to look back and feel guilt for saying yes to fracking the territory. She will think: I was part of that land damage. I shouldn’t have done that. I should have listened.

Taxing world’s wealthiest people could help poorer countries shift economies to low-carbon and recover from climate damage

Tax extreme wealth to pay for the climate-related damage to the poorest, a group of more than 100 leading economists have urged.

A wealth tax on the fortunes of the world’s richest people would raise trillions of dollars that could be spent on helping poorer countries shift their economies to a low-carbon footing, and on “loss and damage”, the rescue and rehabilitation of countries stricken by climate disaster.

Sustained high temperatures over summer could trigger mass mortality of fish and oysters, say scientists

An “unheard of” marine heatwave off the coasts of the UK and Ireland poses a serious threat to species, scientists have warned.

Sea temperatures, particularly off the north-east coast of England and the west of Ireland, are several degrees above normal, smashing records for late spring and early summer. The North Sea and North Atlantic are experiencing higher temperatures, data shows.

Last week New York and Detroit were listed among the five most polluted cities in the world because of smoke from Canada. What does that mean?

Last week, smoke from more than 100 wildfires burning across Canada rolled into North American cities far from the flames. New York City and Detroit were listed among the five most polluted cities in the world because of the fires on 7 June. The smoke has triggered air quality alerts in several states in recent weeks.

We asked Chris Migliaccio, a toxicologist at the University of Montana who studies the effect of wildfire smoke on human health, about the health risks people can face when smoke blows in from distant wildfires.

Christopher T Migliaccio is a research associate professor of toxicology at the University of Montana

This article is republished from the Conversation, a non-profit news organization dedicated to sharing ideas from academic experts

Police say 59% increase in crimes against swans, ducks and geese in 2020-22 may be ‘tip of the iceberg’

Nine decapitated swans are among the victims of a rising number of sadistic attacks against waterfowl, according to police data.

Police recorded a 59% increase in crimes against swans, ducks and geese from 2020 to 2022. The crimes ranged from fireworks and BB guns being shot into duck ponds to swans and geese being strangled and beheaded.

Exclusive: Researchers say government’s climate schedule needs to be brought forward by a decade to keep heating to 1.5C

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Australia’s fair share of action to give the world a chance of keeping global heating to 1.5C would mean reaching net zero greenhouse gas emissions by the year 2038 – more than a decade ahead of the government’s schedule, according to new scientific analysis.

To stay on track to keep global heating of 1.5C within reach – a goal the climate change and energy minister Chris Bowen has described as vital – Australia’s 2035 target would need to see a cut of 90% on 2005 levels by 2035, the analysis says.

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As much as 35mm of rain fell in an hour near Sheffield and Met Office says weather could get even worse

Flood warnings will be in place across England going into Monday morning after almost half a month’s worth of rain fell in one hour on Sunday.

Thunder and lightning swept across the north throughout the evening, as 35.6mm of rain fell in Woodhouse Mill, near Sheffield between 6pm and 7pm.

Labour leader will use speech in Scotland to lay out new green strategy for energy industry

Keir Starmer will pledge to “throw everything” at net zero and the overhaul of the UK’s energy system and industries, promising new jobs in “the race of our lifetime” to a low-carbon future.

The Labour leader will seek to regain the initiative on his plan for green growth on Monday, having rowed back earlier this month on a pledge to invest £28bn in a green industrial strategy, a figure that will not now be reached until the second half of a Labour parliament, as well as damaging rows with trade unions over the future of the North Sea.

Grattan Institute analysis recommends governments help households transition to electric, and ban new gas connections for homes and businesses

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Getting households off gas for heating and cooking would cut energy bills and improve people’s health, and is necessary for Australia to have any hope of reaching net zero greenhouse emissions by 2050, a new analysis says.

The report by the Grattan Institute, a Melbourne-based thinktank, called on state and territory governments to set dates for the end of gas use and launch campaigns to encourage and help households become “all electric”, running on renewable energy.

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An old farming technique called silvopasture, which allows cows to graze on a variety of plants in forests and tree-filled pastureland, is seeing a resurgence across the world

Brett Chedzoy and his wife, Maria, live on a 300-acre farm in Watkins Glen, a small town along the Finger Lakes in New York, with 100 cows – primarily Black Angus, with a few White Galloways scattered throughout the herd.

The farm, Angus Glen, has lush green pastures and wooded areas, where black walnut and black locust trees stretch skyward out of rolling seas of tall grasses, shrubs and clovers. When Chedzoy, 54, walks through the pasture at sunset, the cows pop their heads up, follow him and wait patiently at the gate. As he pulls it aside, the cows rush forward into the wooded area to nibble on tree branches and shrubs, before turning their attention to the emerald grass around the trees.

World needs to offer trillions, not billions in overseas support, says leading climate economist Avinash Persaud

The world must rethink its approach to the climate crisis, by investing trillions of dollars instead of billions in the developing world, and moving beyond conventional ideas of overseas aid, one of the world’s most influential climate economists has urged.

“We need a complete rethink of the whole nexus of climate, debt and development,” Avinash Persaud told the Observer, before a key summit. “What we are seeing today is new – countries affected by climate disaster, this is happening now. Countries are drowning.”

China’s BYD says the Dolphin will be ‘the most affordable, high-quality EV’ launched in the country

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The launch of a new electric car this week in Queensland could start a price battle among other manufacturers and make the technology accessible to a wider audience.

But market experts warn that Australia still needs better policies to ensure the competition takes hold and more consumer education about the ultimate price – and price savings – of the new vehicles.

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