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One minister says windfarms are ‘not cost-effective’ and some prefer a push for fracking

Ministers have not yet made a final decision about whether to include a renewed push for onshore wind in next week’s energy independence plan, with some in cabinet sceptical about the move, government sources say.

The business secretary, Kwasi Kwarteng, has made clear publicly that he would like to see planning rules relaxed, in order to facilitate the building of more onshore windfarms. Michael Gove, who oversees the planning system, has also spoken out in favour.

Charity to look at how hedge varieties provide benefits such as rainwater control and wildlife shelter

Gardeners and homeowners should swap their fence for a hedge, the Royal Horticultural Society is urging as it begins a study into which species are best for tackling the climate crisis and pollution.

Scientists at the charity are looking into green infrastructure, particularly in urban areas. One example of such infrastructure is using hedges to mark boundaries between properties and gardens.

Campaigners warn time running out for governments to halt and reverse the destruction of wildlife and ecosystems that support the planet

Time is running out for governments to reach an ambitious Paris-style agreement for nature, say campaigners, who warn that crucial negotiations to protect biodiversity are moving at a “snail’s pace”.

Amid increasingly alarming scientific assessments about the state of life on Earth, negotiators are meeting in Geneva for talks aimed at halting and reversing the destruction of wildlife and ecosystems that support human civilisation.

The latest wave of climate deniers claim green schemes are ‘unaffordable’. Success stories from around Europe prove that’s not true

While all eyes were on another horror, our war against the living world went nuclear. Over the weekend, temperatures at some weather stations in the Arctic rose to 30C above normal. Simultaneously, at certain weather stations in the Antarctic they hit 40C above normal. Two events, albeit off the scale, do not make a trend. But as part of a gathering record of extreme and chaotic weather, these unprecedented, simultaneous anomalies are terrifying.

On their heels came news of another horrific event: mass coral bleaching on the Great Barrier Reef during a La Niña year. La Niña is the cool phase of the Pacific cycle. Until now, widespread bleaching had happened only during the warmer El Niño years. The likely impacts of the next El Niño are too awful to contemplate.

George Monbiot is a Guardian columnist. He will discuss Regenesis at a Guardian Live event on Monday 30 May. Book tickets in-person or online here

Prof Andrew Macintosh says the system, which gives credits for projects such as regrowing native forests after clearing, is ‘a fraud’ on the environment, taxpayers and consumers

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A whistleblower who spent years working on the integrity of the Australian government’s carbon credit system has launched an extraordinary attack on the scheme, describing it as a fraud that is hurting the environment and has wasted more than $1bn in taxpayer funding.

Prof Andrew Macintosh, the former head of the government’s Emissions Reduction Assurance Committee, said the growing carbon market overseen by the government and the Clean Energy Regulator was “largely a sham” as most of the carbon credits approved did not represent real or new cuts in greenhouse gas emissions.

Africa CSW was set up as an alternative to the Commission on the Status of Women, so we can ensure no one shuts us down

At the UN headquarters in New York, ministers, activists, feminists and advocates are meeting to discuss gender equality and women’s rights. But the annual Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) – the UN’s biggest global gathering to discuss these issues – is an event African women and girls struggle to attend and participate in.

If it is not visa denials (this year saw little or no attempt from embassies to help facilitate visas to the US), it’s the lack of adequate resources to fly to New York and stay for the meetings; if it’s not language problems, then it is the minimal time and space granted to deliberate our unique issues.

There’s new advice for gardeners on how to tackle this little beetle which doesn’t involve pesticides

The first sign of black vine weevils, Otiorhynchus sulcatus, is usually when one of your favourite pot plant wilts and dies in the spring. The larvae, small creamy white sickle-shaped grubs, devour plant roots and then the base of the stems until the plant keels over. The grubs are a major pest in nurseries where there are many plants in containers. Out in gardens they attack many varieties of ornamentals including rhododendrons and camellias plus crops such as strawberries. Although outdoor attacks are seldom fatal they weaken the plants.

When adult beetles emerge in April they are only 10mm long and nocturnal. The adults cannot fly but can run fast and climb plants at night, feeding by taking bites out of leaves. By day they hide under any debris on the soil surface to avoid being eaten by predators which include birds, frogs, toads, shrews, hedgehogs and other beetles. In the autumn they lay eggs in the soil, the larvae then munching away unseen all winter.

Some stations reported winter temperatures 30C warmer than usual with situation echoed in Antarctica

An extreme heat event in the Arctic could cause it to reach the maximum of the extent of its ice for this year “considerably earlier” than usual, a scientist has warned.

Temperature records were broken in Norway last week, with rain falling at Svalbard airport, and unusually warm temperatures recorded in Greenland and the Russian archipelago of Franz Josef Land.

Climate campaigner says Swedish government is violating indigenous rights and waging ‘war on nature’

Environmental campaigner Greta Thunberg denounced as “racist” and “colonial” the decision by the Swedish government on Tuesday to allow a British company to dig an open-cast iron ore mine on land belonging to the indigenous Sami people.

Beowulf Mining, headquartered in London, has fought for nearly a decade to win approval for the mine, but has consistently faced stiff opposition from Sami and environmentalists.

Collaborative investigation shows ships regularly discharge ‘bilge’ water illegally instead of treating it, with toxic effect on marine life

Up to 3,000 cases of oil dumped by commercial ships may be happening every year in European waters, according to a new investigation, which found the scale of illegal “bilge dumping” is likely to be far higher than publicly acknowledged.

Bilge water is a mix of liquids from the engine room of a ship along with other potentially toxic substances including lubricants, cleaning solvents and metals such as lead and arsenic, which collects at the bottom of the vessel.

Just remember to look exactly where the government tells you

Poorest states should be given until 2050, says research aiming to set out fair way of ending fossil fuel economy

Rich countries must end all oil and gas production in the next 12 years, while the poorest nations should be given 28 years, to provide a fair transition away from fossil fuels, according to a study.

The report, led by Prof Kevin Anderson from the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research at Manchester University, found that wealthy countries such as the UK, US and Australia had until 2034 to stop all oil and gas production to give the world a 50% chance of preventing devastating climate breakdown, while the poorest nations that are also heavily reliant on fossil fuels should be given until 2050.

The 19 “highest-capacity” countries, with average non-oil GDP per capita of more than $50,000, must end production by 2034, with a 74% cut by 2030. This group produces 35% of global oil and gas and includes the US, UK, Norway, Canada, Australia and the United Arab Emirates.

The 14 “high-capacity” countries, with average non-oil GDP per capita of nearly $28,000, must end production by 2039, with a 43% cut by 2030. They produce 30% of global oil and gas and include Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Kazakhstan.

Eleven “medium-capacity” countries, with average non-oil GDP per capita of $17,000, must end production by 2043, with a 28% cut by 2030. They produce 11% of global oil and gas and include China, Brazil and Mexico.

Nineteen “low-capacity” countries with average non-oil GDP per capita of $10,000, must end production by 2045, with an 18% cut by 2030. They produce 13% of global oil and gas and include Indonesia, Iran and Egypt.

Twenty-five “lowest-capacity” countries, with average non-oil GDP per capita of $3,600, must end production by 2050 with a 14% cut by 2030. They produce 11% of global oil and gas and include Iraq, Libya, Angola and South Sudan.

PM meets industry bosses to discuss new power stations, with several reactors slated for closure as energy demand rises

Boris Johnson has told nuclear industry bosses that the government wants to the UK to get 25% of its energy from nuclear power, in a move that would signal a significant shift in the country’s energy mix.

Johnson on Monday met executives from major nuclear utilities and technology companies including the UK’s Rolls-Royce, France’s EDF, and the US’s Westinghouse and Bechtel to discuss ways of helping to speed up the development of new nuclear power stations.

If he goes ahead, Rishi Sunak would be handing money to people in proportion to how much they drive and how fuel-inefficient their car was

Raising taxes on petrol and diesel is an important policy that governments can use to put the brakes on runaway climate change. However, it appears that the chancellor, Rishi Sunak, wants to accelerate rather than slow the pace of planetary damage. In this week’s mini-budget, he looks likely to announce a temporary 5p per litre reduction on fuel duty. This could cut the cost of filling an average family car by around £2.75 and might help some who have suffered as pump prices jumped in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. However, this is a false economy. Even with the pandemic lockdowns, transport remained the largest emitting sector, responsible for 24% of all UK greenhouse gas emissions.

Cutting fuel duty flies in the face of the government’s claim to be a green leader. It is also a regressive measure. The New Economics Foundation says that only 7% of the savings from cutting fuel duty will go to the poorest fifth of households – while one-third will go to the richest fifth. If he were to go ahead with the policy, Mr Sunak would be handing money to people in proportion to how much they drive and how fuel-inefficient their car was. Labour has supported Mr Sunak. This is a triumph of political expediency over the environment. Neither party thinks it can afford to upset a significant number of voters. Polls suggest that an election held today would result in a government without a parliamentary majority.

Conservationists despair at ‘glacial pace’ of negotiations to protect wildlife and oversee fishing amid high seas’ ‘governance vacuum’

UN member states have failed to agree on a treaty to protect the high seas from exploitation, with scientists, environmentalists and conservation organisations blaming states that were “dragging their feet” for the “glacial pace” of talks.

The longer the negotiations took, the more wildlife would be lost from the ocean, they warned, urging ministers and heads of state to work together with the president of the UN high seas conference to speed up a further round of negotiations to close a “governance vacuum” on the high seas.

Widespread bleaching during the cooler temperatures of La Niña has left scientists dreading the damage that could be caused by the next El Niño

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Through a snorkel mask, the corals struggling for survival in the heat are easy to spot. Some have turned white while others are pouring out a fluorescent pigment into their flesh – it’s spectacular, but it’s also a sign of a coral in deep distress.

This is John Brewer Reef about 70km off Townsville in Queensland – the centre of a widespread coral bleaching event. For hundreds of kilometres in either direction, reefs are going through the same battle.

Campaigners say the pace at which native species habitat is being cleared for mining is accelerating despite warnings of an endangered species crisis

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The pace at which the Australian government is approving the destruction of habitat relied on by threatened species has increased in recent years, despite scientists warning of an escalating extinction crisis, according to an environment group analysis.

The Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF) compiled publicly available information on federal decisions that gave the green light to developments that involved clearing of forests and other areas relied on by threatened species.

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Studies ‘debunk the myth that Africa is running out of water’ but say resource needs to be better managed

Groundwater resources in sub-Saharan Africa are enough to transform agriculture in the region and provide people with adequate safe water for their drinking and hygiene needs, if the resource can be better managed, researchers have said.

Groundwater – found underground in aquifers, rocks and soils – makes up about 99% of all liquid freshwater on earth, and is abundant in much of Africa, but a lack of investment has left it untapped or poorly managed, two major studies have found. The reserves could be used for irrigation and to supply clean and safe water, but there is also a danger that if used unsustainably they could be rapidly depleted or polluted.

Fears for water quality as swimmers discover invisible microfibres in samples 400 metres underground

Invisible microplastics have been found almost 400 metres underground in UK water streams, according to the results of a citizen science project conducted by wild swimmers.

More than 100 outdoor swimmers in the UK became “waterloggers”, collecting water samples from their favourite place for a dip using empty glass wine bottles.

António Guterres says countries seeking alternatives to Russian energy may increase use of fossil fuels

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The war in Ukraine risks putting global targets on the climate out of reach, the UN secretary general has warned, if countries respond to Russia’s aggression by increasing their use of fossil fuels.

António Guterres said the aim of limiting global temperatures to 1.5C above pre-industrial levels, the goal set out at the Cop26 UN climate summit last year, was in peril as countries sought alternatives to Russian oil and gas supplies.