The Guardian

A competition to deplete the invasive, warty amphibian has attracted plenty of contestants – who take it deadly seriously

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The sun has set south-west of Brisbane and Linda Kimber marches off into a paddock dragging a shopping trolley lined with plastic behind her and shining a head-torch in front.

Metres to her left, Jo Davies walks a parallel trajectory into the gathering gloom, also carrying a customised carrier – hers a large dog-biscuit bag slung on rope with a downpipe offcut protruding from its sealed top.

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Exclusive: Data shared by the Center for Countering Digital Hate shows that Ben Shapiro’s news site paid for climate crisis denial search term ads

A media outlet founded by conservative influencer Ben Shapiro paid Google to advertise on search pages questioning whether the climate crisis is real, according to new research from a disinformation watchdog group.

The Daily Wire bought ads on search terms over the past year such as “climate change is a hoax” and “why is climate change fake,” meaning that when people Googled these phrases, stories from Shapiro’s outlet were some of the first results that appeared, the research found.

The best of this week’s wildlife pictures, including a swooping kingfisher, a giant cane toad and feral chickens

Exclusive: Shadow environment secretary Jim McMahon says access to land and waterways ‘needs to change’

The Labour party will pass a right to roam act if it comes to power, the Guardian can reveal, after widespread outcry when wild camping was outlawed on Dartmoor.

In the bill, which is currently being drawn up by the party amid widespread but careful optimism that the next general election will see Labour return to office, there could be a new law that would allow national parks to adopt the right to wild camp, as well as expanding public access to woodlands and waterways.

From an eerie flooded cave in Mexico to a lone jellyfish in Cornwall, the winning images of the 2022 DPG/Wetpixel Masters competition highlight our planet’s breathtaking diversity and the art of underwater photography

Rampant food fraud!

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Government told to focus on boosting uptake of electric vehicles, public transport, cycling and walking rather than offset ‘gimmick’

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Drivers in New South Wales will be offered the chance to buy carbon offsets when they renew their car registration in a step critics have described as a “gimmick” that could undermine efforts to cut transport emissions.

The NSW treasurer and energy minister, Matt Kean, announced the scheme on Friday saying it would give people “looking for practical ways to take action on climate change” more ways to cut their emissions.

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RSPB shares results as Britons encouraged to spend an hour counting birds in annual Big Garden Birdwatch

Watching birds and hearing birdsong have a positive impact on wellbeing for more than nine in 10 people, according to a survey to mark the largest garden wildlife count in the world.

People are being urged to boost their mental health and help scientists by spending an hour this weekend counting the birds in their garden or local park for the RSPB’s Big Garden Birdwatch.

Fires, land conversion, logging and water shortages have weakened resilience of 2.5m sq km of forest, says study

Human activity and drought may have degraded more than a third of the Amazon rainforest, double the previous estimate, according to a study that heightens concerns that the globally important ecosystem is slipping towards a point of no return.

Fires, land conversion, logging and water shortages, have weakened the resilience of up to 2.5m sq km of the forest, an area 10 times the size of the UK. This area is now drier, more flammable and more vulnerable than before, prompting the authors to warn of “megafires” in the future.

Protecting nature requires financial incentives. Serious problems uncovered in carbon markets must be fixed

The strong reaction to the Guardian’s joint investigation into carbon offsetting shows how much is at stake when the effectiveness of market mechanisms in combating global heating is challenged. Already, in Australia, politicians and scientists have renewed their criticism of public entities using international carbon credit schemes to offset local emissions. Verra, the Washington-based non-profit at the centre of the story, is the world’s leading carbon standard, certifying the credits that companies use to make claims about their environmental impact. It is a blow to anyone committed to the idea that emissions trading can help the world to reach net zero, to learn that 90% of the rainforest credits analysed are unlikely to represent genuine carbon reductions.

The problem, which was uncovered by journalists working alongside experts using satellite images, is the methodology used by Verra to certify its credits. While Verra disputes the findings, and is due to publish its own assessment, the researchers found that the evidence used to calculate offsets was flawed. Predictions of what would have happened in the absence of credits were unreliable, and benefits were overstated.

Scientists identify parts of ocean suitable for seaweed cultivation and suggest it could constitute 10% of human diet to reduce impact of agriculture

An area of ocean almost the size of Australia could support commercial seaweed farming around the world, providing food for humans, feed supplements for cattle, and alternative fuels, according to new research.

Seaweed farming is a nascent industry globally but the research says if it could grow to constitute 10% of human diets by 2050 it could reduce the amount of land needed for food by 110m hectares (272 acres) – an area twice the size of France.

Teenage athlete asks not to be considered for world cross country championships because of impact of air travel

A promising teenage athlete has declined to represent Great Britain in a competition due to be held in Australia because she is concerned about the environmental impact of the associated travel.

Innes FitzGerald, a leading junior endurance runner, cited her “deep concern” over the issue in a letter to British Athletics in which she asked not to be considered for selection for the world cross country championships.

Environment Agency paints bleak picture of coastal regions with eco-systems and people coming under increased pressure

Dredging is likely to increase around the English coast, while pollution and sewage are piling pressure on coastal ecosystems, and an increasing number of people are at risk of coastal flooding, the Environment Agency has warned.

Three-quarters of shellfish waters around England failed to meet “aspirational” standards for environmental protection in 2021, the report by the agency’s chief scientist’s group found.

Where the US leads in using state aid and subsidies, the EU is now following. But the UK will need a change of mindset

Stagnation nation. That’s an apt two-word description of the UK, where after 15 years of sluggish economic performance the prospect is for a shallow recession this year.

Politicians know they have a problem. In the past 13 years, David Cameron, Theresa May, Boris Johnson, Liz Truss and now Rishi Sunak have all proposed different ways of fixing things, none of which have moved the dial that much. Jeremy Hunt says his budget, on 15 March will be all about growth, but don’t hold your breath.

Larry Elliott is the Guardian’s economics editor

Case brought under Bern convention on nature may set precedent for destruction of biodiversity in war

Azerbaijan has launched a landmark legal challenge against Armenia for allegedly destroying its environment and biodiversity during nearly three decades of occupation of the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region.

An international tribunal will consider evidence of widespread environmental destruction during the conflict between the two nations, including deforestation and pollution, and will be asked to order Armenia to pay reparations.

Farmers will be eligible for funding for up to 280 actions that protect environment under new system

• New farm subsidies regime could be great for nature – if properly funded

Farmers in England will be able to receive government funding for up to 280 different actions that protect the environment, from conserving hedgerows to maintaining peatlands, under a comprehensive overhaul of farming subsidies.

The long-awaited announcement on Thursday shows farmers what will be expected of them if they apply for government incentives called environmental land management schemes (ELMs), worth £2.4bn a year for this parliament.

Journalists and environmental defenders are at greatest risk in Latin America. All those who put them in danger must be held accountable

The murders of the British journalist Dom Phillips and the Brazilian Indigenous expert Bruno Pereira were not only a shocking and incalculable loss for their families and all those who loved them and admired their work. They were also a chilling reminder of the perils faced both by journalists and environmental defenders – particularly Indigenous peoples and those working with them – in Latin America.

Seven months have passed since the men were killed in the Javari valley region of the Amazon. On Monday, Brazilian police announced that they had arrested the alleged mastermind. Rubens Villar Coelho, nicknamed Colômbia, was first detained on separate charges last July, when he denied any involvement in the crime. He has been accused of running an illegal fishing operation. Three other men are in custody over the deaths.

Farmers who have taken regenerative approach hail birds as indication of ecosystem health

Almost as soon as Johnny Haimes took up regenerative farming – replacing arable fields with herb-rich pasture so cattle could graze outside all year round – a distinctive white bird appeared on his pasture.

Numbers of cattle egrets are booming in Britain, boosted by wildlife-friendly farming where cows are grazed on gentle rotations designed to improve soil quality and boost invertebrate populations.

Increase in reports of the Asian koel and its loud mating call south of its usual territory may be attributable to climate change, scientists say

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Climate change may be one reason why the so-called devil bird – known for its incessant late-night mating call – has become more common in Melbourne’s outer suburbs, according to researchers.

The koel, a migratory bird, usually arrives in Australia from Papua New Guinea and Indonesia to breed from late September to early October, when the male will sing his advertising call day and night to attract a female.

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Calls for mandatory measures to reduce underwater noise as melting ice opens up shipping routes, threatening wildlife

For centuries, narwhals and ringed seals have provided food for Inuit communities on the ice floes of Mittimatalik, or Pond Inlet, on northern Canada’s Baffin Island. But now, the Inuit – who have hunted, trapped and fished in the region since long before the Hudson Bay Company opened its first Arctic trading camp here in 1921 – say they no longer find the narwhals where they should be. They say shipping noise is to blame.

Researchers have likened the passing of a single ice-breaker, increasingly present in the Arctic, to an underwater rock concert. Ship noise can be caused by everything from propellers to hull form to onboard machinery. It can disrupt activities that marine mammals need to survive, by shrinking their communication space, causing stress and displacing them from important habitats.