The Guardian

Third of global GDP could be lost this century if climate crisis runs unchecked, says report

Taking strong action to tackle the climate crisis will increase countries’ economic growth, rather than damage their finances as critics of net zero policies have claimed, research from the world’s economic watchdog has found.

Setting ambitious targets on cutting greenhouse gas emissions, and setting out the policies to achieve them, would result in a net gain to global GDP by the end of the next decade, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), in a joint report with the UN Development Programme.

People living near Kasungu national park say they are living in fear after translocation of 263 elephants by International Fund for Animal Welfare

People living on the edge of a protected area in Malawi are taking legal action against an NGO that moved more than 250 elephants into the area, which they say have killed at least 10 people.

Villagers near Kasungu national park, which is Malawi’s second largest and crosses the Zambian border, say they are living in fear for their livelihoods and safety after 263 elephants were introduced in July 2022, causing a sharp spike in human-wildlife conflict. Ten people claiming to be affected by the translocation from Liwonde national park have begun legal action against the International Fund for Animal Welfare (Ifaw), demanding that the conservation NGO construct adequate fencing to protect the 167 villages around the park and compensate local people for the damage caused by the elephants.

Slow-moving trough drags tropical moisture inland, dumping widespread heavy rain onto an already saturated landscape, Bureau of Meteorology says

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Heavy rainfall has closed nearly 200 roads and cut off multiple towns in Queensland as already saturated rivers risk more flooding.

The Bureau of Meteorology issued a severe weather warning for heavy rainfall across normally dry inland areas of central west Queensland, including parts of the Northern Goldfields and Upper Flinders, North West, Channel Country, and Maranoa and Warrego districts.

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The government appears willing to put the future of an entire unique Australian species at risk at the behest of one industry. The hypocrisy is mind-boggling

The anger I have witnessed over the past few days within the environment and climate movement has been extraordinary.

I have spent the past four days in emergency meetings with leaders across the environment movement furiously responding to Anthony Albanese’s latest attack on nature.

UN-backed research has found emissions of the potent greenhouse gas methane coming from Glencore's Hail Creek coalmine are probably between three and eight times higher than officially reported. Two aircraft with different types of monitoring equipment and flying at different altitudes looked for plumes of methane coming from the coalmine in Queensland's Bowen Basin – a site highlighted in a previous study as a major emitter. Glencore has challenged the results, saying in a statement it had 'significant doubts' about the research, claiming it used 'out of date' data

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• Methane emissions from Queensland mine may be gross underestimates, UN research finds

Data collected by two planes suggests large open-cut coalmine in Bowen Basin is releasing methane at higher rates than official estimates

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Emissions of the potent greenhouse gas methane at a Queensland coalmine were likely between three and eight times higher than officially reported, according to UN-backed research that flew aircraft over the site.

Queensland’s open-cut coalmines are known to be a major source of methane and experts are worried that official figures could be a gross underestimation of actual emissions.

New powers mean regulator can ban payouts under criteria of Ofwat’s choosing

Bonuses for water bosses in England could be banned this year for companies that spill sewage, break the law or mismanage their finances, Ofwat has announced.

The regulator has launched a consultation into draft criteria under which it would ban bonuses being paid to chief executives. Sources at Ofwat told the Guardian they are near-certain to ban some water CEO bonuses this year.

Opposition says Labor’s national vehicle emission standard is ‘poorly designed’, despite data showing uptick in green vehicle sales

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Australia’s love-hate relationship with fuel-guzzling utes and SUVs is now a looming election issue, after the Coalition indicated it may rethink Labor’s vehicle emission standard.

On Tuesday the shadow transport minister, Bridget McKenzie, called Labor’s vehicle emission standard “poorly designed” and said the Coalition will have “more to say” about it when the opposition releases its own transport policy before the election.

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Bombylius major, the thieving, deceiving, fluffy flying narwhal-like insect, that is a harbinger of spring

• Hundreds of nominations for invertebrate of the year whittled down to 10

Everybody loves bees. But these bumbling pollinators are ten a penny. How about a pollinator who twerks? A pollinator with a bum-bag for storing sand? A pollinator that pretends it’s a bee but actually looks far cooler? A pollinator with a dark side?

All hail the dark-edged bee-fly (Bombylius major), a beautiful insect that’s been likened to a fluffy flying narwhal. An insect whose arrival in the skies of temperate Europe, North America and parts of Asia signifies that spring is here.

Between 24 March and 2 April, we will be profiling a shortlist of 10 of the invertebrates chosen by readers and selected by our wildlife writers from more than 2,500 nominations. The voting for our 2025 invertebrate of the year will run from midday on Wednesday 2 April until midday on Friday 4 April.

Lib Dems to urge government to control sale of products containing chemicals that kill wildlife such as fish and birds

The use of toxic flea treatments for pets should be tightly restricted, the Liberal Democrats will say in parliament on Tuesday, as the chemicals kill wildlife including fish and birds.

The government is coming under pressure to control the sale of pet flea treatments containing neonicotinoids, after it effectively announced a ban on the chemicals in pesticides on farms. However, the sale of the flea treatments to pet owners is still unregulated.

MPs likely to be whipped against move to add protections, as government says it is already taking action on risk of forced labour

Ministers have been accused of turning a “blind eye to slavery” by ordering Labour MPs to remove legal protections to stop money being spent by state-owned Great British Energy on solar panels manufactured by forced labour in China.

The protections were added to the government bill in the House of Lords via an amendment from the cross-bench peer David Alton, which said the new body must not spend money on solar or other materials where supply chains had “credible evidence of modern slavery”.

Algae blooms can be a problem for marine life and people but it’s not yet clear if warmer oceans and nutrient runoff are causing more of them

Confronting images of dead seadragons, fish and octopuses washed up on South Australian beaches – and disturbing reports of “more than 100” surfers and beachgoers experiencing flu-like symptoms after swimming or merely breathing in sea spray – attracted international concern last week.

Speculation about the likely cause ranged from pollution and algae to unusual bacterial infections or viruses. We can reveal the culprit was a tiny – but harmful – type of planktonic algae called Karenia mikimotoi.

From our broken environmental laws to the role of gas, there are some big questions that remain unanswered by both major parties

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A national election campaign is days away and the focus in Canberra is on a federal budget that wasn’t going to happen until a tropical cyclone threatened southern Queensland a fortnight ago. The climate crisis and environment are expected to get passing mentions.

But there is a strong case that they should be at the forefront of debate over the next six weeks, understandable cost-of-living concerns notwithstanding.

Chris Bowen announced $814m for the clean energy source despite projects in doubt across NSW, Queensland and South Australia

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The green hydrogen revolution wasn’t supposed to go like this. In September, the climate change and energy minister, Chris Bowen, declared Australia “the green hydrogen capital of the world” with “50-plus companies on the ground” and a pipeline of investments worth $200bn.

The nascent industry has been touted as the start of a renewable energy revolution, with more than $8bn in support promised across federal and state governments. But just months on from Bowen’s announcement, several major proposals are either shelved or in serious doubt, prompting the question: is green hydrogen’s race over before it began?

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This is my last column in this series. ‘Farewell, all joys!’

This morning I learned the word “limn”. It looked at first like a typo, and I almost ignored it. But I pressed on the letters on my phone, which caused its meaning to pop up in a little box, like a window appearing in a wall. To limn is to “depict or describe in painting or words”.

I was drinking cold coffee in my kitchen, and preparing to write this column – my last. Because I knew that I would do the swan, a large, long-necked water bird had started gliding around my mind, so it seemed clear that the word limn looks like a swan: the tall l with the tiny flick of a dipped head, and the letters after.

I have looked upon those brilliant creatures,
And now my heart is sore.
All’s changed since I, hearing at twilight,
The first time on this shore,
The bell-beat of their wings above my head,
Trod with a lighter tread.

Her tongue will not obey her heart, nor can
Her heart inform her tongue, –the swan’s
down-feather,
That stands upon the swell at full of tide,
And neither way inclines.

Commitment may quell caucus angst about party’s environment credentials, but could face backlash from Western Australia’s industry and government

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Labor has vowed to establish a federal environment protection agency if it wins the election, just weeks after the 2022 election promise was shelved amid a political and industry backlash in Western Australia.

The public commitment will help placate Labor MPs anxious about the party’s green credentials after the government went ahead with laws to protect Tasmania’s salmon industry from legal challenge over its impact on the endangered Maugean skate.

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A broad trough has dragged in warm, moist air and offers perfect ingredients for heavy rainfall and even supercells

Northern parts of Australia have been under a flood warning this weekend, with further flooding set to bring havoc to south-eastern parts of the Northern Territory and western Queensland early this week. A broad trough – an area of locally lower pressure – has been moving across northern Australia, dragging in warm, moist air from the Gulf of Carpentaria and providing the perfect ingredients for the formation of severe thunderstorms, and even supercells.

More than 70mm (2.75in) of rain fell in an hour under the slow-moving storms over the weekend in what is usually an arid, low rainfall zone with a desert/grassland climate classification. Some parts of the region have sparse observation data, but some local stations have been able to record more than 100mm within 24 hours, with 132mm of rain at Marion Downs, Queensland.

Twenty-three people hospitalised with fire ant stings amid an increase in reports of the highly invasive pest in south-east Queensland

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Twenty-three people have been hospitalised with serious fire ant stings amid a surge in reports of the invasive pest in the aftermath of Ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred and a new $24m package targeting suppression of the insect.

The National Fire Ant Eradication Program has received notifications of 60 serious red imported fire ant (Rifa) stings in south-east Queensland since 1 March, with 23 serious enough to warrant hospital care. Separately, a puppy stung to death 15 months ago was reportedly the first pet killed in Queensland by the ants.

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Talks to take place with operators about the scheme, announced in 2020, which has failed to make any grants

Ministers are considering diverting money from a £950m scheme to install rapid chargers for electric cars on the UK’s motorways, announced five years ago, after it failed to make a single grant.

Much of the cash allocated to the rapid charging fund (RCF) could be redirected to investments in other charging schemes, or to support the transition to electric vehicles more broadly, although decisions have yet to be made, according to a person close to discussions in government.

Energy expert Tony Wood says there is no evidence to support the policy pledge

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The Nationals leader, David Littleproud, has declared energy prices will be cheaper under a first-term Coalition government that plans to increase gas supply, without providing modelling and acknowledging significant “capacity constraints”.

The Coalition has announced it will fast-track the approval of Woodside’s North-West Shelf gas project and offer subsidies to existing gas plants. Unspecified red tape will be removed and the “national interest” test in the environmental approval process would also be amended to give greater weight to economic and social benefits.

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