The Guardian
Last wolves in Africa: the fragile wildlife of Ethiopia's ravaged parks | Tom Gardner
Wildfires and an encroaching population are threatening grasslands that host some of the world’s rarest species
Conservationist Getachew Assefa points across the valley. “It started close to the mist over there, by the most spectacular viewpoint,” he says. “Almost all the grassland was burnt. All of that plateau and the steep cliff over there.”
Six months after wildfires torched this part of Ethiopia’s Simien Mountains, the scars are healing: heather and grass have returned to carpet the hilltop, brightened by the yellow daisies which bloom after the long rains. On the near side of the valley lie barley fields, rippling in the wind.
Continue reading...Extinction Rebellion protesters in Melbourne have bail conditions revoked
Victory follows similar win by Sydney protesters, including former senator Scott Ludlam
Extinction Rebellion activists charged in Melbourne with blocking streets as part of the “Spring Rebellion” climate change protest have won a battle to have their bail conditions revoked, following a similar court victory in Sydney.
The bail conditions placed on those charged in Melbourne were not as onerous as those for the Sydney protesters, including the former Greens senator Scott Ludlam. But according to the bail conditions document seen by Guardian Australia, police were seeking to prevent the protesters from participating in similar protests blocking roadways in Melbourne while on bail.
Continue reading...Australia will fail to meet Paris target even with carbon price of US$75 a ton, IMF says
Fund says tax more cost-effective in mitigating climate crisis than ‘feebate’ models
Australia will fail to meet its Paris agreement emissions reduction target even with a carbon price of US$75 a ton, the International Monetary Fund has warned.
The IMF made the observation in a report on mitigating climate change which concluded that a carbon tax is still a more cost-effective solution than “feebate” models, which impose fees on activities with above-average emissions and subsidise those with below-average emissions.
Continue reading...Trump administration's new lead rules in water dismissed as 'window dressing'
Critics say rules give water systems decades more time to replace dangerous pipes and fail to boost urgency for cleaning up lead
The Trump administration is proposing new rules for lead in drinking water, overhauling the regulations for the first time in three decades, following crises in Flint, Michigan, and other US communities, but critics say the changes appear to give water systems decades more time to replace pipes leaching dangerous amounts of toxic lead.
The Environmental Protection Agency would require water systems to notify customers if levels exceed 15 parts per billion. And it would require water testing at schools and daycares.
Continue reading...Restaurants' contribution to air pollution revealed
US survey found particle pollution downwind of eateries was higher than from major roads
Many of us have a favourite cooking smell. Maybe yours is baking bread or frying bacon but new types of equipment are revealing how restaurants contribute to our air pollution.
Problems were initially found with meat barbecuing, grilling and charbroiling but we now know that other cooking methods are implicated. Particle pollution from cooking was first identified in the air in London and Manchester about 10 years ago. Predictably, this was greatest at lunchtime and in the evenings; a phenomenon confirmed by more recent measurements.
Continue reading...Where the blame lies for the climate crisis | Letters
Your article (Revealed: the 20 firms behind a third of all global carbon emissions, 10 October) highlights the biggest polluters and contributors to the climate crisis over the last half-century – the “uncooperative crusties” of capitalism. It is these companies that are standing in the way of progress. But we shouldn’t just look at the carbon they have pumped into the atmosphere, but also the money – our money, in banks and pension funds – that they have invested and the power that huge amount of capital gives them. They can choose to either transform their businesses into something positive for the planet or to extend the shelf life of a carbon-based business model well past its best-before date.
This week, the Treasury select committee asked me, ShareAction and the UK Sustainable Investment and Finance Association what investors can do about the oil and gas industry. My answer was that we need to use more than just persuasion. Our money can shape the strategies of these companies directly. Savvy investors should back those that respond to change, not the ones who deny the urgency.
Continue reading...Activist climbs plane as Extinction Rebellion takes protest to London airport – video
Several arrested as Extinction Rebellion demonstrators stage sit-in at entrance to London City airport on third day of protests in capital. Flights appeared to be operating as normal, but the group said James Brown, a Paralympian, had climbed on to a British Airways plane and was seen lying on top of it
The protest is against the climate impact of flying and the government’s support for airport expansion
Prosaic but practical: unsexy ways cities can fight the climate crisis – in pictures
Meaningful change doesn’t have to mean groundbreaking innovation, as the seven latest city winners of C40 and Bloomberg Philanthropies Award demonstrate with their solidly pragmatic interventions
Continue reading...Extinction Rebellion protester, 83, arrested at London City airport – video
Phil Kingston, an 83-year-old climate activist associated with Extinction Rebellion, was arrested during a protest at London City airport on Thursday 8 October.
KIngston, who said he was protesting for his grandchildren and their generation, was one of several people arrested during the demonstration, which organisers say is against the climate impact of flying and the government’s support for airport expansion
Continue reading...Revealed: top UK thinktank spent decades undermining climate science
Institute of Economic Affairs has links to 14 members of Boris Johnson’s cabinet
The UK’s most influential conservative thinktank has published at least four books, as well as multiple articles and papers, over two decades suggesting manmade climate change may be uncertain or exaggerated.
The Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) has issued publications arguing climate change is either not significantly driven by human activity or will be positive. The group is one of the most politically influential thinktanks in the UK, and boasts that 14 members of Boris Johnson’s cabinet, including the home secretary, foreign secretary and chancellor, have been associated with the group’s past and current initiatives.
Continue reading...How vested interests tried to turn the world against climate science
For decades fossil fuel majors tried to fight the consensus – just as big tobacco once disputed that smoking kills
In 1998 a public relations consultant called Joe Walker wrote to the American Petroleum Institute (API), a trade association representing major fossil fuel companies, with a proposed solution to a big problem.
In December the previous year, the UN had adopted the Kyoto protocol, an international treaty that committed signatory countries to reducing their greenhouse gas emissions in order to avert catastrophic climate breakdown.
Continue reading...Carbon taxes have to rise sharply to avoid climate crisis, says IMF
Fund says governments could use money to help vulnerable people or invest in green energy
Avoiding dangerous global heating will require governments around the world to impose stringent taxes on fossil-fuel usage that will mean a 43% jump in household energy bills over the next decade, the International Monetary Fund has said.
The Washington-based Fund said the battle against climate change could only be won if the average carbon tax levied by its member states increased from $2 (£1.63) a ton (907kg) to $75 a ton.
Continue reading...Two-thirds of bird species in North America could vanish in climate crisis
Continent could lose 389 of 604 species studied to threats from rising temperatures, higher seas, heavy rains and urbanization
Two-thirds of bird species in North America are at risk of extinction because of the climate crisis, according to a new report from researchers at the Audubon Society, a leading US conservation group.
Related: Record numbers of Australia's wildlife species face 'imminent extinction'
Continue reading...Oil firms to pour extra 7m barrels per day into markets, data shows
Projected production surge in next 12 years to be led by Shell despite climate crisis
The world’s 50 biggest oil companies are poised to flood markets with an additional 7m barrels per day over the next decade, despite warnings from scientists that this will push global heating towards catastrophic levels.
New research commissioned by the Guardian forecasts Shell and ExxonMobil will be among the leaders with a projected production increase of more than 35% between 2018 and 2030 – a sharper rise than over the previous 12 years.
Continue reading...Mining firms worked to kill off climate action in Australia, says ex-PM
Kevin Rudd says industry still has huge influence in a country beset by climate policy torpor
The former Australian prime minister Kevin Rudd says three of the world’s biggest mining multinationals have run sophisticated operations to kill off climate action in Australia and continue to wield day-to-day influence over government through a vast lobbying network and an “umbilical” relationship with the Murdoch media.
Australia’s climate policy paralysis has been ongoing for more than decade, from the Rudd Labor government’s doomed attempt to bring in an emissions trading scheme in 2008, to the Liberal prime minister Malcolm Turnbull’s failed attempt to introduce the national energy guarantee last year.
Continue reading...Climate crisis: what the carmakers have to say
Firms including Ford and BMW respond to data about how they are exacerbating the crisis
“Ford takes its responsibilities for the environment and communities around the globe very seriously. That was evident again recently, when Ford was one of only four automakers reaching agreement with California on higher gas-mileage standards to reduce emissions. We have said multiple times that Ford does not support a rollback of federal emission standards. Additionally, Ford supports CO2 reductions consistent with the Paris climate accord, as we’ve shared publicly.”
Continue reading...Fossil fuel firms' social media fightback against climate action
Industry funds ‘grassroots’ resistance to tougher rules while touting green credentials
Oil and gas companies are spending millions of dollars on campaigns to fight climate regulations at the same time as touting their dedication to a low-carbon future, according to a joint analysis by the Guardian and InfluenceMap.
Their global PR campaigns on social media promote a commitment to a green, low-carbon future, but across the US in particular, specific local campaigns are obstructing tighter regulations on fossil fuel extraction.
Continue reading...Exclusive: carmakers among key opponents of climate action
Lobbying in US and Europe has tried to block and delay moves to cut emissions, study shows
Global carmakers are among the leading opponents of action on the climate crisis, according to exclusive analysis of the way major corporations frustrate or undermine initiatives to cut greenhouse gases.
The research for the Guardian reveals that while the automotive industry releases public statements that support climate initiatives, such as increased electrification, it has been pouring millions of dollars through industry bodies into lobbying efforts to challenge attempts to tackle global heating in the past four years.
Continue reading...Shrinking glaciers: Mont Blanc from the air, 100 years on
A century after Walter Mittelholzer’s famous aerial mission, scientists repeat his journey to shed light on the impact of global heating
In 1919, the Swiss pilot and photographer Walter Mittelholzer flew over Mont Blanc in a biplane photographing the alpine landscape. A century on, scientists have recreated his images to show the impact of global heating on the mountain’s glaciers.
Dr Kieran Baxter and Dr Alice Watterson from the University of Dundee used a process called monoplotting to work out the precise locations from which Mittelholzer had taken his photographs. They returned to the spot in a helicopter and lined up their cameras using the alpine peaks as their guide.
Continue reading...Corbyn and Sanders vow to crack down on fossil fuel firms
UK and US politicians pledge to rein in big oil in light of Guardian climate crisis investigation
- Half a century of dither and denial – a climate crisis timeline
- Why we need political action to tackle the oil, coal and gas companies - video explainer
Politicians on both sides of the Atlantic have pledged to crack down on fossil fuel companies in light of the Guardian’s investigation revealing that the world’s leading fossil fuel giants are linked to more than a third of carbon emissions in the modern era.
Bernie Sanders, leading contender for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination, and the UK Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn, said they would take measures to rein in big oil corporations to protect the public and prevent the worst impacts of climate breakdown.
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