The Guardian

Too many farmers reasonably believed that the proposals left them at the mercy of a government in hock to big business

The Indian prime minister, Narendra Modi, announced last week that his controversial farm laws would be withdrawn. With five state elections looming, and his ruling Bharatiya Janata party (BJP) vulnerable in several contests, Mr Modi told the country how important farming had been to him and did something out of character: he ate humble pie in public, apologised and dropped his plans. This was the right thing to do.

Mr Modi had proposed the major changes, which threatened the livelihoods of two-thirds of India’s 1.4 billion people, during the country’s Covid lockdown in 2020. The measures had been drafted in secret and then whipped through both houses of the Indian parliament without debate. Agriculture in India does need reform, but not of the kind Mr Modi envisaged – which many farmers reasonably believed would leave them at the mercy of a government in hock to big business.

Research shows introduced pest plants and animals are costing the country $25bn a year

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Australia could face a wave of plant and animal extinctions by 2050 unless it takes urgent action to address the threat of invasive species, according to a new report that finds the problem is already costing at least $25bn a year.

The research, by Australia’s national science agency the CSIRO and the Centre for Invasive Species Solutions, takes a once-a-decade look at the scale of the threat caused by rabbits, feral cats, toxic toads, weeds, diseases such as myrtle rust and other invasive pests.

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London-listed firm says it will ‘vigorously defend’ plan to continue mining gold and silver

The UK metals company Hochschild Mining is to fight plans by Peru’s government to hasten the closure of four mines in the southern Ayacucho region because of concerns over their environmental impact.

The London-listed mining company has promised to “vigorously defend” its plan to continue mining gold and silver from two mines – Pallancata and Inmaculada – which it claims operate under the “highest environmental standards”.

Inquiry into more than 2,000 treatment sites prompts calls for transparency from Environment Agency

A legal action group is warning there may be an information blackout on sewage discharges by water companies for years, after the Environment Agency announced an inquiry into more than 2,000 sites.

Fish Legal said that in the past, the EA has refused to disclose any information once an investigation is launched. The group said the systemic abuse of the permit conditions under which sewage treatment works have to operate had been brought to light by the public, often using environmental information requests.

Conservation groups, farming community and government to work together on 10-year project

The curlew holds a cherished place in Welsh folklore and culture, its bubbling, haunting call traditionally regarded by many as a harbinger of spring.

However, numbers of the wading bird have declined to such low levels that a major plan involving a string of conservation groups, the farming community and the Welsh government has been launched with the aim of saving the creature from extinction in what used to be a stronghold.

Boris Johnson to announce plans at CBI conference, telling business leaders the UK is at a pivotal moment

Boris Johnson will seek to boost the UK’s clean energy credentials after a tricky UN climate crisis conference by announcing that all new buildings in England will be required to install electric vehicle charge points from next year.

In a speech to the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) in the north-east of England on Monday, the prime minister will reveal plans, briefed as “world-leading”, to toughen up regulations for new homes and buildings.

Speaking at St Peter's Basilica in the Vatican, Pope Francis encourages young people in their efforts to protect the environment, telling them to be 'the critical conscience of society'

A coalminer’s application for a lease in the middle of the famous wine region has galvanised local opposition

The Broken Back Range has always loomed large in Sally Scarborough’s life.

She grew up in Cessnock in its foothills, amid wine country and the Great Dividing Range of the New South Wales Hunter Valley. But beyond the state forest lay rural farmland – and coalmines.

Green experts and human rights activists are concerned the hardline Cairo regime will suppress any civil society action

Concern is growing over plans to host a UN climate conference in Sharm el-Sheikh next year, in what will be a crucial summit if the world is to limit global heating to 1.5C.

Several green experts and human rights activists have told the Observer they fear the ability of civil society groups to protest at the summit will be curtailed by Egypt’s authoritarian regime, reducing the pressure that can be brought to bear on leaders and ministers from the nearly 200 countries expected to take part.

State government urged to manage and resource recent property acquisitions to protect native species and habitat

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In June last year, the New South Wales environment minister, Matt Kean, announced the acquisition of Narriearra station, a sweeping property on Karengappa country in the state’s north-west, for the national parks estate.

Dotted with huge temporary wetlands that fill and attract waterbirds during inland floods, the 153,415 hectare outback cattle station was the single largest purchase of private land for a national park in the state’s history.

Traffic on Lambeth and Vauxhall bridges stopped in rally against jailing of Insulate Britain members

Climate protesters have blocked two London bridges as part of a demonstration against the jailing of nine Insulate Britain activists.

Members of the group were sentenced this week after breaching a court injunction in place to stop further road blockades that have caused serious disruption for motorists since September.

The confirmation of Charles F Sams III marks a symbolic moment for many Indigenous communities

Charles “Chuck” F Sams III made history this week in becoming the first-ever Native American confirmed to lead the National Park Service.

Sams, an enrolled tribal member of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, received unanimous consent by the US Senate on Thursday after being nominated by Joe Biden in August.

Ministers launch public consultation on issue and will also investigate limiting other products such as wet wipes, tobacco filters and sachets

Single-use plastic items such as plates, cutlery and polystyrene cups could be banned in England as the government seeks to eliminate plastic waste.

Under proposals in a 12-week public consultation, businesses and consumers will need to move towards more sustainable alternatives.

The window to achieve that goal is vanishingly small, but it is there. Now we must seize this one last chance

Like many others, I would like to have seen a stronger outcome from Cop26. But we shouldn’t lose sight of the fact that much was achieved – and the final outcome does get us much closer to where we need to be than where we were a few weeks ago.

For the first time countries agreed to take action on fossil fuels. Yes, it could have gone further – but let’s not forget that never before has there been a single word uttered on fossil fuels in any Cop agreement. So the agreed text is significant.

Scientists from six continents say a monitoring system could help protect coral reefs and fisheries around the world

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A team of ocean scientists from six continents have made an urgent call for a global system to track the loss of oxygen from parts of the ocean and coastal waters that causes dead zones, where almost nothing can live.

Ocean heating caused largely by burning fossil fuels is making the problem worse, experts say, with serious consequences for communities, fisheries and ecosystems around the world.

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The plan to turn a Derby park over to wildlife is a sign that the messages about the benefits of biodiversity are getting through

The news that Derby has approved what promises to be Britain’s largest urban rewilding project so far is very welcome. The 320-hectare Allestree Park will, subject to detailed consultation, be given over to a range of habitats and perhaps even see the reintroduction of species such as dormice and red kites.

Urban rewilding – which is not the same as manicured green space, however extensive – can take many forms. They range from aiming to stem the rate of species loss by incorporating swift and sparrow boxes into new builds (there are now 247m fewer house sparrows than there were in 1980) to designating areas the size of Allestree Park.

Pressure mounts over museum’s sponsorship deals as open letter expresses ‘deep concern’

More than 40 senior academics and scientists have vowed not to work with the Science Museum as the row over its financial relationship with fossil fuel corporations escalates.

In an open letter, prominent figures including a former chair of the UN’s climate body, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), and several leading scientists, many of whom have worked closely with the museum in the past, say they are “deeply concerned” about its fossil fuel sponsorship deals and they are severing ties with the museum until a moratorium is announced.

The best of this week’s wildlife pictures, including rescued cheetahs, a waving seal pup and migrating red crabs

Green Alliance says all critical raw material demands for low carbon technologies could be met from secondary materials by 2050

The UK must scale up recycling of materials for low carbon industries or risk facing a critical shortage of key metals, a new report warns.

The projected use of lithium, cobalt, silver and rare earth elements by the UK’s low carbon industries over the coming decades is set to soar. China controls 60% of global mine production and 40% of rare earth metal reserves, raising fears of a significant threat to the supply chain for businesses.

Ridiculous. Yet perhaps we can harness this irrational fear for a good purpose?

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