The Guardian
Fracking will see the UK miss net‑zero emissions targets | Letters
Ian Duncan, the UK’s minister for climate change (Letters, 31 August), vaunts our achievements and “ambitions to become one of the cleanest and most innovative energy systems in the world”. He allows a generous 30 years before a “net-zero emissions economy is achieved”, when the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has made it clear that real change must be evident in fewer than a dozen years.
How can he hope to realise his longer-term targets while pursuing fracking as a transitional fuel? Investment in the hugely expensive development of fracking denies proper support to cheaper renewables, and delaying the switch ties the operator and investor into the production of a fossil fuel until a return is achieved. That exposes communities to the harms already documented, and contributes – by combustion, extraction and transportation – to the climate change the government hopes to mitigate.
Continue reading...Fracking protesters 'priced out' of Cuadrilla legal challenge
Judge denies costs protection over injunction restricting protests at Lancashire site
An environmental group has been forced to withdraw its legal challenge to a wide-ranging injunction by the fracking firm Cuadrilla after being “priced out of court”.
Three fracking protesters are facing court action after the energy company obtained the injunction restricting protests at its shale gas exploration site in Lancashire.
Continue reading...‘To save our fish, we must first find ways to unblock UK’s rivers,’ say scientists
Swansea University scientists say the proliferation of weirs, dams and culverts is now creating a threat to wildlife
Near the mouth of the River Afan in Port Talbot, south Wales, a pair of seagulls were to be seen last week pecking in a leisurely way at a dead salmon lying on a gravel bank. It was an unusual sight. Salmon are rarely found in the Afan these days.
The scene may have been unexpected, but it nevertheless illustrates a growing problem, say researchers – one that already affects rivers across Europe and could pose even greater threats to habitats and wildlife in future. Increasing numbers of dams, weirs, sluices and other barriers built in rivers over the past 200 years are, they say, fragmenting waterways, isolating habitats and weakening wildlife populations.
Continue reading...How did the bat cross the road? By going to a safe red-light area
Bats in Worcester are to get their own red-light area. LED bulbs that emit a red glow will provide bats with a 60-metre-wide crossing area on the A4440, near to Worcester’s Warndon Woodlands nature reserve.
Worcestershire county council said research had shown that some species of bat are light shy and will not cross roads lit by white lights, which can stop them finding food and water. Standard street lights also attract insects that bats feed on, reducing the supply available in their feeding areas.
Continue reading...World's fastest shark added to list of vulnerable species to regulate trade
A record number of countries voted to restrict fishing of mako sharks in an effort to protect the endangered species
A record number of countries have voted to protect the world’s fastest shark from extinction in a move welcomed by conservationists as a “wake up call” for fishing nations who have ignored the endangered species’ decline.
In Geneva this week, governments voted under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) to regulate the international trade in both species of mako shark – long and short fin – in addition to 16 vulnerable species of sharks and rays.
Continue reading...Butterflywatch: where have the small tortoiseshells gone?
This summer has brought a bounty of butterflies to the buddleias, but not the small tortoiseshell, which is in precipitous decline
Every summer, I read despairing messages about the absence of butterflies on buddleias. These observations fit my own experience.
The buddleias from my Norfolk childhood in the 80s and 90s reliably contained a dozen nymphalids – brightly-coloured small tortoiseshells, peacocks and red admirals.
Continue reading...Greta Thunberg joins hundreds of teenagers in climate protest in New York - video
Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg was joined by hundreds of American teenagers protesting outside the UN headquarters in New York on Friday calling for adults to act on the crisis of global heating. Holding her trademark “skolstrejk för klimatet” (Swedish for “school strike for climate”) sign, Thunberg sat in the middle of the rally where young activists gave speeches calling for action on the climate crisis
Continue reading...Hundreds of teens join Greta Thunberg in climate protest outside UN
Swedish climate activist and young strikers gathered in New York to call on adults to act on the climate crisis
Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg was joined by hundreds of American teenagers protesting outside the UN headquarters in New York on Friday calling for adults to act on the crisis of global heating.
Related: Greta Thunberg 'wants a concrete plan, not just nice words' to fight climate crisis
Continue reading...Climate, green energy and the Amazon fires | Letters
The letter on Wednesday (Clearer green energy targets are needed, 28 August) was quite right in recognising the UK’s lofty ambitions to become one of the cleanest and most innovative energy systems in the world on our path to becoming a net-zero emissions economy by 2050. But I take issue with the suggestion that our ambitions are not matched by our actions. We’re investing £274m to develop cheap, high-performance and durable batteries. We’re removing regulatory barriers to allow more storage facilities across the UK. We’re supporting small-scale localised energy generation through our smart export guarantee – continuing our world-leading support for the solar industry.
As members of the EU, we were obliged to implement the VAT increase for solar technology and storage. Once we leave, it may be possible to review this. All of this is supported by upgrades to the country’s energy infrastructure through our smart meter rollout and smart systems and flexibility plan. This enables homeowners to save money by putting them in control of their energy use, such as by charging electric vehicles or storing energy in a battery when it is cheapest.
Continue reading...Share of coal in UK's electricity system falls to record lows
Average of 0.7% of total second-quarter electricity generated came from most polluting power plants
The share of coal in the UK’s electricity system has fallen to record lows in recent months, according to government data.
The figures show electricity generated by the UK’s most polluting power plants made up an average of 0.7% of the total in the second quarter of this year. The amount of coal used to power the electricity grid fell by almost two-thirds compared with the same months last year.
Continue reading...The week in wildlife – in pictures
A rabbit in a buckwheat field and armadillos and snakes challenged by wildfires in Bolivia and the Amazon
Continue reading...Birders claim first sighting of brown booby in UK
Hundreds flock to St Ives, Cornwall to catch a glimpse of the yellow-footed seabird
Hundreds of birders have flocked to Cornwall to seek what could be the first ever UK sighting of a brown booby.
The large, yellow-footed seabird is usually found fishing in tropical waters on the far side of the Atlantic, around the Caribbean and Venezuela.
Continue reading...Extinction Rebellion protesters block street in central Manchester
Activists protesting against climate emergency set up camp kitchen in busy Deansgate
Extinction Rebellion protesters have begun blocking Manchester’s Deansgate in protest at the “huge contradictions” of a city region that has declared a climate emergency planning to massively expand its airport.
A yellow boat bearing the words “Planet Before Profit” was parked at the John Dalton Street junction and a tipper truck arrived packed with straw bales. Soon, guerrilla gardeners had set up a nursery of plants on what is one of Manchester’s most polluted streets, and a camp kitchen began to be erected.
Continue reading...Only 10% of sugarcane growers in reef catchment properly managing runoff
Great Barrier Reef report grades sugarcane sector ‘very poor’ with just 9.8% adopting proper management practices
Less than 10% of sugarcane growers in Great Barrier Reef catchments are using appropriate land management practices for reef health, according to a major report that underlines the need for new regulations proposed by the Queensland government.
The federal and Queensland governments’ water quality report card for 2017-2018 says the condition of inshore reefs on the Great Barrier Reef has deteriorated to an overall grade of “D” – which means “poor”.
Continue reading...Salmon farming in the Beagle Channel enters troubled waters | Hannah Summers
Victory for community concerned about the industry’s environmental costs strengthens calls for shakeup of rules along Chilean coast
A growing wave of resistance to the expansion of salmon farms along the Chilean coast has led to an important victory in the fight to protect a pristine fjord in southern Patagonia, home to indigenous groups and an array of stunning wildlife.
Dolphins, whales and colonies of penguins thrive in the 240km-long Beagle Channel, an area of outstanding natural beauty between Chile and Argentina which attracts tourists from all over the world.
Continue reading...Shark and otter species given new protections – in pictures
Moves to protect glass frogs and the woolly mammoth, however, were defeated at the summit of the 183-nation Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (Cites)
Sites holding SKM's recycling waste left in lurch as Victoria denies access to clean-up loan
Landowners who store waste on behalf of the company will not receive any part of $10m assistance package
Companies holding tens of thousands of tonnes of waste on behalf of recycling group SKM have been told they will not receive any assistance from a multimillion-dollar state government loan aimed at helping clean up SKM sites, and say the material they are holding may end up in landfill.
This week, the Victorian government announced a $10m loan to receivers KordaMentha to “help clean up SKM sites and resume waste processing”.
Continue reading...Great Barrier Reef outlook now 'very poor', Australian government review says
Five-yearly report says climate change is escalating the threat and window of opportunity for action is now
The outlook for the Great Barrier Reef has deteriorated from poor to very poor according to an exhaustive government report that warns the window of opportunity to improve the natural wonder’s future “is now”.
The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority’s outlook report, published every five years, is grim. It reports that coral reefs have declined to very poor condition and there has been widespread habitat loss, degradation and alteration that is affecting fish, turtles and seabirds.
It warns that without urgent national and global action to address climate change its outlook will remain very poor and there will be consequences for its values as a world heritage property.
Related: Cane growers support front group working to undermine Great Barrier Reef science
Continue reading...Australia's carbon emissions rise again, largely thanks to LNG industry
Latest data shows greenhouse gas emissions rose 0.6% in the year to March, but government points to benefit of LNG exports
Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise despite the Morrison government claiming it is taking “sensible, responsible action” to address the climate crisis, the latest official data shows.
National emissions increased by 3.1m tonnes in the year to March to reach 538.9m tonnes, a 0.6% jump on the previous year, the report released on Friday revealed.
Continue reading...Brazil: fires reported in Amazon's indigenous reserves spark fear
Bolsonaro issues decree banning fires for 60 days amid fears loggers and land grabbers targeted remote areas during blazes
Fires have been reported in protected indigenous reserves of the Brazilian Amazon, raising fears that loggers and land grabbers have targeted these remote areas during the dramatic surge in blazes across the world’s biggest rainforest.
Brazil’s far-right president, Jair Bolsonaro, who has been widely criticised for failing to respond quickly to the crisis, issued a decree on Thursday banning fires in the Amazon for 60 days – a move environmentalists described as largely symbolic.
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