The Guardian

Rishi Sunak has denied that his decision not to attend the Cop27 climate summit is a failure of leadership, arguing that the UK has shown 'unmatched' leadership on the climate crisis. Sunak said he was 'very passionate' and 'very personally committed' to the environment. Keir Starmer accused the new prime minister of an 'absolute failure of leadership' in deciding not to attend the conference, which begins in Egypt next month

• UK politics: latest updates

The best of this week’s wildlife pictures, including goats grazing in Kyiv and newborn seal pups in Norfolk

Environment secretary defends Rishi Sunak’s decision not to go to conference in Sharm el-Sheikh

• UK politics live – latest news updates

King Charles is free to decide whether or not he should attend the Cop27 climate summit, the new environment secretary, Thérèse Coffey, has said as she defended the decision of the prime minister, Rishi Sunak, not to go.

Sunak, the third British prime minister in seven weeks, has come under scrutiny from opposition ministers and environmental groups who called the decision not to attend Cop27 a “failure” and brings government commitments to prioritise net zero and tackling the climate crisis into question.

Ahead of Cop27 as part of a drive to increase the diversity of imagery showing the impact of climate on marine environments, Climate Visuals has released a new collection of evidence-based images. Here is a selection

The retailer wants to knock down and rebuild its flagship store, or leave. It should do the latter, and let small shops thrive

An inquiry opened this week in Westminster that should be revolutionary. It is to decide, in a nutshell, whether the 50% of global carbon emissions embodied in the world’s built environment should be a factor in fighting the climate crisis. If we are all to account for the impact on global temperature rises of our eating, heating and travelling, why not our building?

The inquiry is centred on a decision by M&S to demolish and rebuild its flagship art deco store in London’s Oxford Street, a structure that for some reason was overlooked for listing as historic. We are told that the “embodied” carbon that would be released by the redevelopment is 40,000 tonnes, reportedly the same as would be emitted by a petrol-driven car journeying from the Earth to the Sun. Goodness knows the distance for the forest of slabs and towers now rising out of control on London’s skyline.

Increasing windfall tax would help plug £40bn fiscal hole and keep energy bills low, analysis shows

A Norway-style windfall tax on energy companies could raise £33.3bn extra by 2027, plugging a hole in government finances and helping keep energy bills low, analysis has found.

The new chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, is looking at extending the “sunset clause” in the energy profits levy by two years beyond 2025 as a result of the booming profits fossil fuel companies have been recording owing to the war in Ukraine.

Key UN reports published in last two days warn urgent and collective action needed – as oil firms report astronomical profits

The climate crisis has reached a “really bleak moment”, one of the world’s leading climate scientists has said, after a slew of major reports laid bare how close the planet is to catastrophe.

Collective action is needed by the world’s nations more now than at any point since the second world war to avoid climate tipping points, Prof Johan Rockström said, but geopolitical tensions are at a high.

Downing Street announcement follows UK prime minister’s promise to prioritise environment

Rishi Sunak will not attend the Cop27 climate summit, Downing Street has said, despite the new British prime minister having promised this week to prioritise the environment.

His predecessor, Liz Truss, had reportedly planned to go to at least one day of the summit, but Sunak’s spokesperson said he had “other pressing domestic commitments”.

Exclusive: Removing incentives due to replace EU scheme would leave rivers in ‘even more degraded state’

Weakening or scrapping the nature-friendly farming payment schemes could increase river pollution by up to 20%, an analysis has found.

The payments are due to replace the EU’s area-based payments scheme, in which farmers are paid for the amount of land they manage. The new system would instead pay land managers to provide “public goods” such as enhanced nature and clean rivers.

Failure to cut carbon emissions means ‘rapid transformation of societies’ is only option to limit impacts, report says

There is “no credible pathway to 1.5C in place”, the UN’s environment agency has said, and the failure to reduce carbon emissions means the only way to limit the worst impacts of the climate crisis is a “rapid transformation of societies”.

The UN environment report analysed the gap between the CO2 cuts pledged by countries and the cuts needed to limit any rise in global temperature to 1.5C, the internationally agreed target. Progress has been “woefully inadequate” it concluded.

Global Warming Policy Foundation is a lobbying organisation, says complaint submitted to Charity Commission

A cross-party group of MPs has joined calls for a climate sceptic thinktank to be stripped of its charitable status.

The complaint, which is also being supported by the Good Law Project, claims the Global Warming Policy Foundation does not meet its aims as a charity and is in fact a lobbying organisation.

Research suggests visits to places with birdlife could be prescribed by doctors to improve mental wellbeing

One swallow may not make a summer but seeing or hearing birds does improve mental wellbeing, researchers have found.

The study, led by academics from King’s College London, also found that everyday encounters with birds boosted the mood of people with depression, as well as the general population.

Working in Antarctica is a wildlife enthusiast’s dream, but seeing the reality of the climate disaster up close will be brutal

Antarctica holds an almost mythical appeal. Detached from the rest of the world, its beauty is unique. It is a continent that has never seen a war, and where testing military capabilities is strictly forbidden. It is, as the Antarctic Treaty reminds us, “a natural reserve devoted to peace and science”.

And this impressive wilderness is the place I will be calling home for the next five months, as I embark on a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to work for the UK Antarctic Heritage Trust (UKAHT) at Port Lockroy, Antarctica. As a conservation biologist, I’m drawn to Antarctica for lots of reasons, not least my interest in the major role it plays in our climate system, and the opportunity to monitor the gentoo penguin colony that calls Port Lockroy home.

Australian Securities and Investments Commission fines Tlou Energy for misleading statements about green credentials

• Get our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcast

The corporate regulator has issued its first penalty for greenwashing, fining Australian company Tlou Energy $53,280.

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (Asic) said Tlou, which was developing power projects in parts of Africa, had paid the total for four infringements for making alleged false or misleading sustainability-related statements to the ASX in October last year.

Sign up for our free morning newsletter and afternoon email to get your daily news roundup

Agreement between two of the largest supermarket chains in the US could also make prices increase

The proposed $24.6bn merger of Kroger and Albertsons could have dramatic consequences for customers, including higher prices for groceries and more food deserts, experts say.

The agreement between two of the largest supermarket chains in the US – which own brands such as Ralphs, Mariano’s, Fred Meyer, Safeway and Vons – would give the combined company control of nearly one-fifth of the US grocery market, with about 5,000 stores across 48 states. If the deal is approved by regulators, it is expected to close in 2024.

Experts say crude oil pipeline from Uganda to Tanzania will produce 25 times host nations’ combined annual emissions

An oil pipeline under construction in east Africa will produce vast amounts of carbon dioxide, according to new analysis. The project will result in 379m tonnes of climate-heating pollution, according to an expert assessment, more than 25 times the combined annual emissions of Uganda and Tanzania, the host nations.

The East African crude oil pipeline (EACOP) will transport oil drilled in a biodiverse national park in Uganda more than 870 miles to a port in Tanzania for export. The main backers of the multibillion dollar project are the French oil company TotalEnergies and the China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC).

Latest finding adds to theory that animals, including humans, naturally arrange things in a certain order, even without being able to count

Bees order numbers in increasing size from left to right, a study has shown for the first time, supporting the much-debated theory that this direction is inherent in all animals including humans.

Western research has found that even before children learn to count, they start organising growing quantities from left to right in what has been called the “mental number line”.

Exclusive: ‘Policy vacuum’ on livestock emissions amid pressure from industry lobbyists blamed for failings

• Atmospheric levels of all three greenhouse gases hit record high

The EU is on track to break a promise to cut methane emissions by 30% by 2030 made due to a “policy vacuum” on livestock emissions, a report has warned.

Methane is the second biggest contributor to global heating after carbon dioxide, with a greenhouse gas impact at least 27 times worse than CO2 over a 100-year time span.

Scientists warn world ‘is heading in wrong direction’ amid rise in nitrous oxide, carbon dioxide and methane

Atmospheric levels of all three greenhouse gases have reached record highs, according to a study by the World Meteorological Organization, which scientists say means the world is “heading in the wrong direction”.

The WMO found there was the biggest year-on-year jump in methane concentrations in 2020 and 2021 since systematic measurements began almost 40 years ago.

Fossil fuels simply don’t check out when it comes to tackling Australia’s rising energy prices while lowering emissions

• Get our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcast

When you’re in a bit of a tight hole, it’s quite good advice to first stop digging while you work out how to climb out.

But over the past week, the advice from conservative commentators on tackling Australia’s rising energy prices while lowering emissions has been to keep digging (and drilling).