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Want to change the world? Then you’d better give up on self-defeating pessimism | Kenan Malik
He quickly apologised for his crassness but the archbishop of Canterbury’s comparison of politicians who fail to tackle climate change with those in the 1930s who appeased the Nazis was not simply crass. It illustrated how many imagine that the best means of arousing political concern is by painting as dark a picture as possible of social problems. And few things today speak more of evil than the Holocaust.
The kind of facile optimism that a figure such as Boris Johnson exudes is deeply obnoxious. It’s a way of avoiding the issues, of pretending that we can resolve our problems by not thinking deeply about them, but by simply asserting “we can do it”.
Continue reading...Big oil wisely acts as a climate ally, but the rising crude price is far from net zero
The likes of BP and Shell promise a ‘transition’ to green energy backed by their revenues. They need to convince us further
Executives at big oil and gas companies, at least the European ones, have spent the past two years trying to change the narrative. The likes of BP and Shell have trumpeted their net zero plans, declared themselves to be “transitioning” to a cleaner energy future and talked up the historical significance of new targets. Think of us as part of the solution, was the message.
To climate activists and politicians demanding faster decarbonisation, the industry’s reply has been that switching off investment in oil and gas too quickly would create a supply crisis: instead what’s needed are “integrated” energy companies that can recycle cashflows from hydrocarbons and build the green infrastructure of tomorrow.
Continue reading...‘No one knew they existed’: wild heirs of lost British honeybee found at Blenheim
The ‘ecotype’, thought to have been wiped out by disease and invasive species, is thriving in the estate’s ancient woodlands
Thousands of rare forest honeybees that appear to be the last wild descendants of Britain’s native honeybee population have been discovered in the ancient woodlands of Blenheim Palace.
The newly discovered subspecies, or ecotype, of honeybee is smaller, furrier and darker than the honeybees found in managed beehives, and is believed to be related to the indigenous wild honeybees that foraged the English countryside for centuries. Until now, it was presumed all these bees had been completely wiped out by disease and competition from imported species.
Continue reading...New species of rare tadpole-carrying frog discovered in northern NSW
Assa wollumbin found in Wollumbin national park and will likely be listed as critically endangered
A new frog species, one of only two in Australia known to carry its tadpoles on its body, has been discovered in the Gondwana rainforests world heritage area in northern New South Wales.
The tiny frog measures 16mm and is found on one mountain in the Wollumbin national park.
Continue reading...Climate protests: fury, and optimism, in the Glasgow rain
As Cop26 reached halfway stage, rallies were held around the world, with actor Idris Elba among those calling for African voices to be central to public debate
Tens of thousands of protesters took to the streets of Glasgow on Saturday to demand stronger climate action from world leaders as the climate crisis summit reached its halfway stage.
Protests were also held in London and other parts of Britain. There were rallies in South Korea, Indonesia, the Netherlands and France. Environmental groups, charities, climate activists, trade unionists and indigenous people all joined the Glasgow march in heavy rain. Extinction Rebellion activists dressed as Ghostbusters while another group, Scientist Rebellion – wearing white lab coats – blocked King George V bridge, one of the city’s busiest routes.
Continue reading...WA shark attack: search continues for 57-year-old man missing off Port Beach
Two teenagers who say they saw the incident on Saturday morning called emergency services
The search will resume at first light for a 57-year-old man reported missing at a West Australian beach where it’s feared he may have been attacked by multiple sharks.
The incident happened about 10am on Saturday at Port Beach in the suburb of North Fremantle, police say.
Continue reading...Millions around the world march to demand action on the climate crisis – video report
People on almost every continent were gathering for marches and rallies on Saturday to mark a Global Day for Climate Justice, halfway through the Glasgow climate change summit. Activists in the Philippines, eight hours ahead of the UK, had already finished their rally as protesters gathered in Scotland. There were also rallies in South Korea, Indonesia, the Netherlands and France. The Belgian arm of Extinction Rebellion occupied a street in Brussels.
Continue reading...A dip in the Yarra or a dive in the Torrens? The push for urban river bathing in Australia
There is a growing effort to reconnect swimmers with city waterways once thought permanently lost to pollution
From the time he first felt the water around his ankles when his family filled up their new pool, to his first tentative steps into Sydney Harbour, Pete Magner has always been swimming.
The 47-year-old says the water is where he feels most free.
Continue reading...My life and death hike through busy Melbourne to help a duck march her eight babies to water | Debbie Lustig
For three hours I fend off traffic and protect the ducklings like a crazy lollipop lady with a fishing net. I’m exhausted but as determined as that mother duck
Pacific black ducks are common in Melbourne parks. They’re beautiful birds with chocolate plumage and brown heads bisected by toffee-coloured stripes. But last weekend, I had no time to appreciate their looks when I heard quacking coming from outside my flat.
It was a Pacific black duck with eight ducklings. Half a dozen people herded them around the garden, taking photos with their phones. I called rescue group Wildlife Victoria and their advice nearly floored me.
Continue reading...Britain loves swans. So why do we cause them untold harm?
These elegant birds have long held a special place in the nation’s heart and imagination. But now they are dying in untold numbers
To the British, the swan is not so much a bird as a national treasure – the avian equivalent of Dame Judi Dench or Sir David Attenborough. Its unique status is a result of its long and complex history living alongside us, a relationship that goes back well over a thousand years.
Alarm at reports last week that dozens of swans and cygnets have died of bird flu in Shakespeare’s home town of Stratford-upon-Avon – up to half of the town’s population – reminded us just how passionate the British public are about the bird.
Continue reading...Global Day for Climate Justice: marches and demos under way around the world
Up to 100,000 people expected at Glasgow march amid criticism over heavy policing at Cop26 summit
People on almost every continent were preparing for marches and rallies on Saturday to mark a Global Day for Climate Justice, halfway through the Glasgow climate change summit.
Activists in the Philippines, which is eight hours ahead of the UK, had already finished their rally as protesters gathered in Scotland.
Continue reading...Will Brazil seize the climate opportunities in the carbon-storing Amazon? | Luís Fernando Guedes Pinto
Fighting climate change is a huge opportunity for Brazil to catalyze the country’s sustainable economic development while also protecting the planet
Science is clear: climate change is unequivocal, and a result of human activity. The planet is already 1.1C warmer than pre-industrial levels and on a route to reach 2.5C or more this century, which could be catastrophic. The poorest and the most vulnerable populations will suffer more and earlier.
Climate change will bring droughts, floods, extreme temperatures and hurricanes that may become more intense and frequent overtime and impact billions of people. The rise of sea levels, lack of water and food, and regions becoming unfeasible to live may generate massive migrations in a planet already closing frontiers.
Luís Fernando Guedes Pinto is the knowledge director of SOS Mata Atlântica
Continue reading...Fossil fuels made our families rich. Now we want this industry to end | Aileen Getty and Rebecca Rockefeller Lambert
Congress must help usher in a new energy age - a clean energy age with the same level of support that fossil fuels companies have received for over a century
Over a century ago, our families were central in unlocking fossil fuels. Government embraced this technological advancement and invested in the infrastructure and production needed for its growth. Our personal histories compel us to publicly acknowledge what we have known for many years: the extraction and burning of fossil fuels is killing life on our planet.
Fossil fuels killed 8.7 million people globally in 2018 – disproportionately impacting Black, Brown, Indigenous, and poor communities. Human lives aren’t the only ones being lost. More than 1 billion sea creatures along the Canadian coast were cooked to death during this summer’s record-breaking heatwave in the Pacific Northwest.
Aileen Getty is the founder of the Aileen Getty Foundation and the co-founder of the Climate Emergency Fund
Rebecca Rockefeller Lambert is the co-founder of the Equation Campaign and serves on the boards of the Rockefeller Family Fund and the David Rockefeller Fund
Continue reading...Americans can eat meat while cutting global heating, says agriculture secretary
Thomas Vilsack says US does not ‘have to reduce the amount of meat or livestock produced’ to tackle climate crisis
Americans can carry on eating meat while keeping the world within safe limits on global heating, the US secretary of agriculture has insisted.
Thomas Vilsack said: “I do not think we have to reduce the amount of meat or livestock produced in the US. And a significant percentage is exported. It’s not a question of eating more or less or producing more or less. The question is making production more sustainable.”
Continue reading...Transparency over emissions remains a sticking point at Cop26
Open and fair reporting of progress on targets is crucial for any climate deal to succeed, says an insider
One of the key negotiating issues for Cop26 remains unresolved at this late stage: transparency. Under the 2015 Paris climate agreement, nations set targets on their future greenhouse gas emissions, but we don’t yet know how we will ensure that the ways they report and account for those targets and emissions are transparent and fair.
The discussions on transparency to finalise the nuts and bolts of the framework set up in Paris are stalled. Discussions should have been finalised in 2020 but were postponed owing to the pandemic. We are a year behind in the mandate and with most talks happening in a challenging virtual format throughout last year and this one, there is still no clear path toward agreement. If we do not get this right it threatens to undermine any agreement to close the gap between the targets countries set and the emissions cuts needed to keep warming to 1.5C.
Every week we’ll hear from negotiators from a developing country that is involved in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change negotiations and is attending the Cop26 climate conference.
Continue reading...Twite – or ‘Pennine finch’ – on brink of extinction in England
Despite rescue efforts to plant ‘twite meadows’ only 12 pairs of seed-eating bird bred this summer
A small bird once so abundant it was called “the Pennine finch” is teetering on the brink of extinction in England after just 12 pairs bred this summer.
The twite, an inconspicuous, seed-eating bird that nests in the uplands and spends winters on coastal marshes, has suffered a precipitous decline this century, with the breeding population falling by 75% between 1999 and 2013.
Continue reading...Cop26 week one: the impression of progress – but not nearly enough
Analysis: the ‘significant outcomes’ came thick and fast but there are question marks about credibility
Long before delegates gathered in Glasgow, the scene for Cop26 was set by the starkest warning yet from the world’s scientists that human activity was unequivocally disrupting the climate, extreme weather was growing more intense, and urgent action was needed to prevent still worse chaos in the future.
“Code red,” declared the UN secretary general, António Guterres, as evidence mounted this summer of ever fiercer heatwaves and increasingly deadly storms and floods. No pressure, then, on the climate diplomats who were told they represented the “last best chance” of holding global heating to 1.5C.
Continue reading...Madagascar paying price for cheap European flights, says climate minister
Politician says droughts and climate-induced famine in the country are a result of the behaviours of rich nations
More than a million people facing the first climate-included famine in Madagascar are paying the price for cheap flights in Europe and appliances such as gas heaters, the country’s environment minister has said.
For several years now, the south of Madagascar has suffered successive droughts of increasing severity, and the situation has deteriorated sharply over the last few months. In August, the UN said the country was facing the world’s first climate change famine. On Tuesday, a World Food Programme representative spoke of a “heartbreaking” visit to the country with more than one million people facing famine.
Continue reading...At Cop26, I’ve found I have more in common with protesters than politicians | The civil servant
Like the activists I believe in action, not words. Global leaders mouth good intentions, but they are woefully insufficient
Say what you like about how dismally difficult it is to get a ticket, but “global Britain” still knows how to put on a show. Cop26 has now finished its first act – the world leaders’ summit – starring more than 120 heads of state, thousands of their aides and hangers-on, and the city of Glasgow.
I’m one of the hundreds from the British civil service working with the UN to stage-manage by far the most ambitious summit in either’s history. There was no shortage of volunteers – thousands of us applied, and for all the reasons you’d expect: idealism, ambition and simply to be present at a critical moment in modern world history.
The civil servant is a serving member of the UK civil service
Continue reading...Activists from across the globe rally for Fridays for Future at Cop26 – video
Youth climate activists appeared sceptical about how genuine the political will to change is when they spoke at the Fridays for Future protest in Glasgow discussing youth empowerment.
Campaigners and pressure groups have been underwhelmed by the commitments made by governments during the Cop26 conference's first week, many of which are voluntary or set deadlines decades away
Continue reading...