-
Cycle lanes, electric cars and other interventions have helped 19 global cities slash levels of pollutants by more than 20%
London, San Francisco and Beijing are among 19 global cities that have achieved “remarkable reductions” in air pollution, analysis has found, having slashed levels of two airway-aggravating pollutants by more than 20% since 2010.
The analysis found interventions such as cycle lanes, uptake of electric cars and restrictions on polluting vehicles had helped to drive the improvements.
Continue reading...
-
Climate change committee finds move to renewable energy would also bring health, economic and security benefits
Achieving the UK’s net zero target by 2050 will cost less than a single oil shock and bring health and economic benefits while insulating the country against future costs, the government’s climate advisers have forecast.
Eliminating the UK’s reliance on fossil fuels by adopting renewable energy and green technologies, such as electric vehicles and heat pumps, would be the best and most cost-effective option for the future economy, the Climate Change Committee (CCC) found.
Continue reading...
-
In the race to meet the demands of the energy transition, biodiversity hotspots such as Palawan in the Philippines are being increasingly mined for critical elements
Moharen Tahil Tambiling lowers himself from the fishing boat into the water and gingerly picks his way over the reef circling the bay. At low tide here in Brooke’s Point on Palawan, a long, rugged island in the south-west of the Philippines archipelago, the coral is just under the surface, and it looms suddenly under the waves, scraping at the boat’s wooden hull.
Beneath his feet are brain-like mounds and curling fingers of coral. Leaning over the side of the fishing boat, the men point out different kinds: some which were once vibrant orange and others that should be delicate pink. Now, almost everything is the same dull khaki, covered by a thick film of silt. Another man jumps overboard, stirring the sediment. A cloud rises like thick smoke over the reef.
Continue reading...
-
Recent attack on plants led to fears of escalating strikes, but Iran knows drought has left it equally vulnerable
In 1983, the CIA determined that the most crucial commodity in the Gulf was its desalinated potable water.
Although the loss of a single plant could be handled, “successful attacks on several plants in the most dependent countries could generate a national crisis that could lead to panic flights from the country and civil unrest”. And the greatest threat to the region’s water supply? “Iran.”
Continue reading...
-
Bainton, Cambridgeshire: Villagers gather each year on Palm Sunday to celebrate these scented flowers
Beside the lichen-encrusted churchyard wall, a robin sings from the dark heart of a yew, its clear notes rising above the gruff calls of nesting rooks. Along the path, a bank of buttery primroses glows beside the bright stars of lesser celandine, offering early forage to the first pollen-dusted solitary bee. Across the gravestones, small points of colour are beginning to appear. St Mary’s churchyard stirs in readiness for the annual Bainton primrose festival, when villagers gather on Palm Sunday to celebrate this quiet herald of spring.
The primrose has long symbolised renewal. In earlier times, landowners would open their woods on Good Friday so that parishioners could gather the scented flowers for Easter decorations. Here in Bainton, their abundance owes much to a thoughtful former churchwarden who delayed mowing until early June, allowing the plants to set and shed seed. Since then, primroses have spread beyond the churchyard and on to the verges of this Fen‑edge village.
Continue reading...
-
Analysis has found more than 3,000 mining operations within the most naturally precious areas of the planet, a much bigger footprint than previously thought
Weda Bay is just one example of a global trend that could see the mining industry expand into some of Earth’s last areas of wilderness in search of minerals and materials to feed the global economy.
Analysis produced for the Guardian by a group of academic researchers found more than 3,267 mining operations within key biodiversity areas (KBAs), accounting for nearly 5% of the mining sector’s global footprint. China, Brazil, Argentina and Mexico top the rankings for total surface mining area within key biodiversity areas, the most naturally precious areas of the planet.
Continue reading...
-
Hemmed in by the sea and poor transport links, many young people from the Yorkshire town feel trapped, but there is also a pride in the area
It’s the morning after a wet and stormy day in the Yorkshire seaside town of Scarborough. The waves, which the previous day had been crashing dramatically on the harbour walls, have calmed and a few brave souls have entered the water with surfboards. There is a man throwing a ball for his dog on the beach and a kayaker bobbing on the waves.
Just up from the seafront in the centre of town, Jack and Charlie, both 17, are leaning forward listening to a story from 19-year-old Keane about his recent visit to a drama school in London, where he is hoping to apply for a place on an actor training course once he has saved enough money.
Scarborough, on the North Yorkshire coast, was one of England’s first seaside resorts
Continue reading...
-
We do not generally get epic tornadoes, sandstorms or avalanches, but we may get splashed by a bus on the road
Puddles, small and temporary pools of water typically formed by rainfall, hold a special place in British culture. They are the embodiment of the national weather’s tendency to produce mild inconvenience rather than drama. We do not generally get epic tornadoes, sandstorms or avalanches, but we do get wet feet, or splashed by a bus driving through a puddle.
The story of Walter Raleigh spreading his velvet cloak over a puddle so Queen Elizabeth I could cross while keeping her fine shoes dry is probably apocryphal. But Raleigh’s gallant if pointless gesture is typical of the low-stakes difficulty presented by puddles.
Continue reading...
-
While tailings dams are meant to last for ever, extreme weather events are making many unstable – with devastating consequences for nature and humans
As soon as the barrier broke, a flood of poison brought death to the river. Gushing through the fragile wall built to hold back mining waste in Zambia’s copper belt in February 2025, more than 50m cubic litres of acid and heavy metals poured into the Chambishi stream – a tributary of the Kafue River, the country’s longest waterway.
Thousands of lifeless fish rose to the surface as a plume of acid floated downriver, leaving dead crocodiles and other wildlife in its wake.
Continue reading...
-
Fears are growing that the new far-right president will slash environmental protections in favour of foreign investment
In Chile’s most northerly region, Arica y Parinacota, Andrea Chellew, 62, relies on tourists for her cafe. They usually travel from the coastal city of Arica to the unique biosphere of the Andean highlands, which rise well above 5,000 metres and host nature reserves and wetlands.
At 3,000 metres (9,800ft) above sea level, along Highway 11, she lives by the trade route that brings raw materials and goods between Bolivia and Chile. Yet the cafe remains empty as fewer tourists come, amid more reports of increased mining activity near environmentally protected areas, such as the Lauca national park.
Continue reading...
