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Experts lay out scale of changes needed in ‘first-of-its-kind national emergency briefing’ in Westminster
A host of eminent scientists have warned politicians, business and community leaders that the UK risks severe climate-related risks to its economy, public health, food systems and national security.
According to its organisers more than 1,000 corporate bosses, senior civil servants and civic leaders were set to assemble in the Methodist central hall in Westminster for the “first-of-its-kind national emergency briefing” on Thursday morning.
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Exclusive: Unknown culprit suspected of spraying glyphosate on protected trees hoped to stop peat erosion and flooding
Trees planted as part of a nature restoration project on Prince William’s land in Dartmoor national park have been deliberately poisoned with herbicide, sparking outrage and a hunt for the culprit.
The willow trees, on Duchy of Cornwall land, were planted as part of a project to stop peat erosion, store carbon and reduce the risk of flooding.
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In this week’s newsletter: Ultimately, climate progress will come from real-world action, and this year’s summit made some promising strides on that front
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Some commentators have called Cop30 a failure. An attempt to insert plans for a route to the phaseout of fossil fuels into the legal text was stymied, consideration of how to improve countries’ emissions-cutting plans was put off till next year, and although developing countries got the tripling of finance for adaptation that they were seeking, it will not be delivered in full until 2035 – and will come out of already promised funds.
Look beyond the headlines, however, and the Cop achieved a great deal more. Take the outcome on fossil fuels – it seems absurd, but until 2023 three decades of annual climate summits had failed to address fossil fuels directly.
UK can create 5,400 jobs if it stops plastic waste exports, report finds
Zombie fires: how Arctic wildfires that come back to life are ravaging forests
There’s a catastrophic black hole in our climate data – and it’s a gift to deniers | George Monbiot
US, Russia and Saudi Arabia create axis of obstruction as Cop30 sputters out
We delivered a clear message at Cop30: the delayers and defeatists are losing the climate fight | Ed Miliband
Another Cop wrecked by fossil fuel interests and our leaders’ cowardice – but there is another way | Genevieve Guenther
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Paul Brown looks back at his career reporting on the climate crisis, failed summit and nuclear power – and how to do it well
Paul Brown was the Guardian’s environment correspondent from1989 until 2005 and has written many columns since. He submitted his last column last week after being diagnosed with terminal lung cancer. From his hospital bed in Luton, Pauloffers his reflections on45 years writing for theGuardian.
We, in the climate business, all owe a great deal to Mrs Margaret Thatcher. Her politics were anathema to me and to many Guardian readers. But she prided herself on being a scientist before she was a politician.
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In the two years since the system was launched, beverage-packaging collection and recycling has risen to 94%
In the Transylvanian village of Pianu de Jos, 51-year-old Dana Chitucescu gathers a sack of empty polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles, aluminium cans and glass every week and takes it to her local shop.
Like millions of Romanians across cities and rural areas, Chitucescu has woven the country’s two-year-old deposit return system (DRS) into her routine.
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Researchers using aircraft to sample exhaust plumes say infringements persist – even in stricter zones
A new study has found that a significant proportion of ships are breaching air pollution limits.
Although the International Maritime Organization (IMO) has set regulations for shipping pollution since 2005, it is hard to know what happens once ships are at sea.
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Alarming shift since 2010 means planet’s three main rainforest regions now contribute to climate breakdown
Africa’s forests have turned from a carbon sink into a carbon source, according to research that underscores the need for urgent action to save the world’s great natural climate stabilisers.
The alarming shift, which has happened since 2010, means all of the planet’s three main rainforest regions – the South American Amazon, south-east Asia and Africa – have gone from being allies in the fight against climate breakdown to being part of the problem.
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Want to give and receive less stuff without being a scrooge? Experts offer their tips for enduring presents that sleigh
Change by degrees offers life hacks and sustainable living tips each Saturday to help reduce your household’s carbon footprint
Got a question or tip for reducing household emissions? Email us at changebydegrees@theguardian.com
One of the best lines from Paul Kelly’s song How to Make Gravy is: “Have a merry Christmas, I’m really going to miss it, all the treasure and the trash.”
While piles of Slinkies, scented candles and beach cricket sets might seem like a rite of passage, unfortunately for the environment, research from the Australia Institute suggests when it comes to Christmas presents, in the balance of trash versus treasure, we are giving each other too much of the former. Nearly a third of Australians expect to receive Christmas presents they will not use or wear, amounting to $921m dollars’ worth of presents that will end up in landfill.
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Fossil fuel protesters are making their annual pilgrimage to the NSW city of Newcastle to draw attention to climate policy failure. Police will be there too, with a ‘zero tolerance approach’
It has become an annual pilgrimage. Each November, thousands of protesters flock to the New South Wales city of Newcastle for an annual climate protest – and standoff with police – as a flotilla of kayaks and sailboats head out to block the world’s largest coal port.
Hundreds of people set up camp at Foreshore Park on Friday in preparation for the Rising Tide people’s blockade on Newcastle Harbour. The crowd was expected to swell to 7,000 over the weekend as protesters arrived from across the country for what organisers said had become a national gathering for Australians frustrated by a lack of government urgency to address the climate crisis.
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When a fishing boat left port in Alaska in December 2019 with an experienced crew, an icy storm was brewing. What happened to them shows why deep sea fishing is one of the most dangerous professions in the world
By Rose George. Read by Rosalie Craig
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