The Guardian

‘It’s like putting in a transmission line over the Opera House,’ says National Parks Association of NSW

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About 10,000 hectares of Kosciuszko national park will be cleared for giant power transmission lines, visible for many kilometres, after New South Wales altered a park management plan to allow a link between the Snowy 2.0 pumped hydro project and the wider grid.

The revision to the 2006 park plan, which environmental groups say they only learned of weeks later, altered a provision requiring “all additional telecommunication and transmission lines to be located underground”. The state government inserted “except those constructed as part of the Snowy 2.0 Project”.

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At Greenpeace, we’ve found manifesto-busting pledges on everything from the climate to workers’ rights

Liz Truss’s flagship quest for so-called growth has seen her pledge to take the country down an extreme new track, one for which she has no mandate and very little public support. Much of the public will be looking at the chaos unleashed over the past few weeks and asking: who voted for this?

That’s the question we stood up and asked the prime minster directly as we interrupted her speech in Birmingham today. Because surely it’s not right that barely a month into her premiership, Truss is already shredding the promises that got her party elected.

Greenpeace UK analysis has identified at least seven areas across environmental protection, climate action, workers’ rights and tackling inequality where policies either confirmed or being considered by Truss and her ministers are at odds with the 2019 Conservative manifesto.

People expect to get the government programme they voted for – and one that truly meets the moment of the environmental and cost of living crises we are all facing. This certainly isn’t it. The Conservative manifesto in 2019 was clear when it promised the “most ambitious environmental programme of any country on Earth”. But how does that tally with the Truss government’s moves to potentially abolish hundreds of EU laws protecting wild places and regulating water quality, pollution and the use of pesticides?

We were told this government would reform farming subsidies so that landowners “farm in a way that protects and enhances our natural environment”. And yet ministers have signalled they may be about to ditch these vital reforms, which have been years in the making.

If you’re a voter in Yorkshire or Lancashire, you’ll be livid that the moratorium on fracking you assumed was a done deal after 2019 is back on the table.

Rebecca Newsom is head of politics and Ami McCarthy is a political campaigner at Greenpeace UK

Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a letter of up to 300 words to be considered for publication, email it to us at guardian.letters@theguardian.com

Out of 44 charities, only 4% said they had a consistently implemented action plan to increase ethnic diversity

The environment sector has failed to act on its ambitions to become more inclusive, suggests new research that finds just one in 20 organisations are enacting plans to increase ethnic diversity.

According to a sector-wide survey, out of 44 environment charities, 84% had considered or were taking action over a lack of inclusion, but only 4% said they had a consistently implemented action plan.

Few in Somerset MP’s constituency share his enthusiasm but some do agree with need for ‘unpopular measures’

The sun was shining and the wind blowing steadily across Jacob Rees-Mogg’s manicured garden and the Somerset hills beyond.

“It’s obvious on a day like this, isn’t it?” said Gary Marsh, a stonemason and a neighbour of the business secretary and Conservative MP for North East Somerset. “We should be putting more money into solar and wind energy. Plus tidal power on the coast at places like Burnham-on-Sea and Weston-super-Mare. Not fracking, messing with the earth and water.”

Report commissioned by Wave Swell Energy says the machines would make a future clean electricity grid more stable and more reliable

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Deploying wave energy machines at a handful of locations on Australia’s south coast would make a future clean electricity grid more stable, more reliable and would dramatically cut the costs of buying batteries to store renewable energy, according to a new CSIRO report.

The report was commissioned by Wave Swell Energy, an Australian company that has just finished a 12-month trial of its pilot plant on a beach at King Island, north of Tasmania.

Advocates deride $224.5m funding pledge given one study suggests $2bn a year needed to recover 2,000 threatened plants, animals and ecological communities

• Australia announces plan to halt extinction crisis and save 110 species
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The federal government will need to drastically increase funding for nature conservation in this month’s budget if it wants to prevent further extinction of native wildlife, conservationists say.

The environment and water minister, Tanya Plibersek, announced the zero extinctions target on Tuesday as part of a revamped action plan for threatened species, prioritising conservation efforts for 110 plants and animals and 20 places.

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Its enzymes degrade polyethylene within hours at room temperature and could ‘revolutionise’ recycling

Enzymes that rapidly break down plastic bags have been discovered in the saliva of wax worms, which are moth larvae that infest beehives.

The enzymes are the first reported to break down polyethylene within hours at room temperature and could lead to cost-effective ways of recycling the plastic.

Plastics campaigners call it ‘astounding’ that multinational they say is world’s top polluter has sponsored key UN climate meeting

A sponsorship deal between this year’s UN climate conference and Coca-Cola, which has been described as the “world’s top polluter” by an environmental group, has been branded “greenwash” by campaigners.

Cop27, to be held in the Egyptian coastal resort of Sharm el-Sheikh from 6-18 November, is the world’s primary forum for governments, businesses and environmental organisations to tackle the climate emergency.

Several African leaders at last month’s UN general assembly left dismayed after their calls for action on the climate crisis were overshadowed by the Ukraine war. One was Kenya’s new president, who writes here about why priorities must change

There is almost no facet of society that will be left untouched by the ravages of the climate crisis and how we respond to it. The crisis poses fundamental questions for the economy; it affects public health and jobs, and its threats range from food security to national security. That is why it will be among the central concerns of my government and why I believe any responsible world leader must make it a priority.

Climate change drives the droughts that affect the provision of water; destroys lives and livelihoods; cripples food production, and destroys our homes and infrastructure. Extreme temperatures affect migration patterns and exacerbate conflicts as hundreds of thousands flee to seek alternative livelihoods for survival.

Study finds minority ethnic people make up nearly half of populations in areas with very high NO2 or PM2.5 levels

People of colour in England are more than three times more likely to live in neighbourhoods with very high air pollution, putting them at disproportionate risk of heart attacks, cancer and strokes, according to research.

Minority ethnic people make up nearly half the populations living in areas where average levels of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) or small particulate matter (PM2.5) were double World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines, research based on official statistics showed.

Over the last two years, CSIRO has been talking to Australia’s food producers about a new suite of solutions to pest control

Australian farmers are heavily reliant on the use of pesticides to control weeds, diseases, and insect pests, collectively known as agripests.

In some industries, pesticides are the first option when managing pests, rather than a last resort. They are not only applied as aerial sprays after a pest has been detected but are coated on seeds and soil as a ‘just-in-case’ application, well before any outbreak is detected.

Priority targeting includes many of Australia’s best-known native animals but will also help others in the same habitats, environment minister says

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The federal government has set a goal to prevent any new extinctions of Australian wildlife.

It is the first time a federal government has announced a zero extinctions target for the country’s plants and animals. The goal forms part of a 10-year plan to improve the trajectory of 110 species and 20 places, and protect an additional 50m hectares of land and sea area by 2027.

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Proposal to make all water firms publicly listed is not a cure-all but would force them to be more transparent

To the surprise of nobody who follows the English and Welsh water sector, the two companies that have been hit with the heaviest penalties for missing performance targets this year are the usual suspects: Southern Water and Thames Water. The dirty duo last year had to return £99m between them to customers after Ofwat’s annual tally of outcomes in areas such as water supply interruptions, pollution incidents and sewer flooding. This time the figure is £80m.

The top end of the league table, note, is also familiar. Severn Trent and United Utilities outperformed targets, as last year, and thus get rewarded by being allowed to recover more money via bills (which may feel less rewarding from the point of view of customers). Correlation doesn’t always imply causation, but it’s worth asking: do different ownership models help to explain the persistent gulf in operational performance?

Unusual diplomatic intervention prompted by fears over Liz Truss’s commitment to net zero

The Egyptian government, host of the next UN climate summit, has warned the UK against “backtracking from the global climate agenda”, in a significant intervention prompted by fears over Liz Truss’s commitment to net zero.

The warning before the Cop27 conference, which will take place in just over a month in Sharm el-Sheikh, to the host of Cop26, which took place in Glasgow last November, is highly unusual in diplomatic terms. The hosts of successive Cops are responsible for a smooth handover of the talks.

Documents show zones with ‘liberalised’ planning laws could get go-ahead even in the most environmentally protected areas

Investment zones with “liberalised” planning laws to accelerate development could be designated within national parks and in the most environmentally protected areas of the UK, government documents reveal.

Details of the government’s new zones to increase housebuilding and commercial development reveal councils can apply for zones in national parks, areas of outstanding natural beauty, (AONBs) sites of special scientific interest, (SSSIs) and green belt land.

A national park.

An area of outstanding natural beauty.

A site of special scientific interest, or equivalent designation.

The buffer zone of a world heritage site.

Designated green belt.

George Eustice warns against scrapping post-Brexit subsidies aimed at improving biodiversity and meeting climate targets

A former environment secretary has urged the UK government not to drop its nature recovery farming schemes, as the Guardian can reveal the more ambitious parts of the post-EU subsidy programme are set to be dropped.

George Eustice made the intervention, telling the Guardian that farmers are keen to be signed up to schemes in which they improve biodiversity, and that his replacement, Ranil Jayawardena, should not scrap them.

Activists from global south demand recompense for damage from countries most responsible for crisis

Young people from some of the countries most affected by climate breakdown have warned they are not victims but a force to be reckoned with in the run-up to a UN climate conference in Egypt.

Led by climate groups across Africa and the Middle East, hundreds of activists from countries that are the least responsible for the crisis but are experiencing the worst impacts have gathered in Tunisia to prepare for what they say will be a collective fight for justice for their countries and communities, which they will take to Cop27 next month.

A ruling against the state’s Prop 12 animal welfare law could affect a range of regulations across the country

Next week, the US supreme court will hear oral arguments in a case that could put climate, public health and animal welfare regulations across the country on the chopping block – from California’s ban on gas-powered cars by 2035 to state bans on food packaging that contains BPA or lead.

The case will consider the constitutionality of California’s Proposition 12, a law that bans the sale of meat and eggs from animals raised using certain kinds of extreme confinement. The pork industry has been fighting Prop 12 since it passed by ballot measure in 2018 – with more than 62% of the vote and the backing of animal advocacy groups like the Humane Society of the United States – because it bans gestation crates: metal enclosures where pregnant pigs are kept for most of their lives that are so small that they can’t turn around or stretch their limbs.

States have plans to ban gas-powered cars and the White House wants chargers along highways, but implementation is a challenge

Speaking in front of a line of the latest electric vehicles (EVs) at this month’s North American International Auto Show, President Joe Biden declared: “The great American road trip is going to be fully electrified.”

Most vehicles on the road are still gas guzzlers, but Washington is betting big on change, hoping that major federal investment will help reach a target set by the White House for 50% of new cars to be electric by 2030. But there are roadblocks – specifically when it comes to charging them all. “Range anxiety,” or how far one can travel before needing to charge, is still cited as a major deterrent for potential EV buyers.

Oxfam research suggests up to 40% of bank’s reported climate-related spending cannot be accounted for

The World Bank has come under fire for failing to show that its claimed spending on the climate crisis is real, in a report suggesting up to 40% of its reported climate-related spending is impossible to account for.

Of $17.2bn that the World Bank reported it spent on climate finance in 2020, up to $7bn cannot be independently verified, according to research by Oxfam.