The study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, built a model of sea surface temperatures since 1940 that removed the heating the climate crisis has caused. The…Continue readingClimate crisis has tripled length of deadly ocean heatwaves
Tag: uk
The home-wrecking storms and floods that swept Europe last year affected 413,000 people, a report has found, as fossil fuel pollution forced the continent to suffer through its hottest year on…Continue readingDeadly floods and storms affected more than 400,000 people in Europe in 2024
Vast areas of habitat for animals including butterflies, beetles and falcons have been damaged, and some peat bogs may take “hundreds of years” to recover following one of the driest Marches…Continue readingWhole ecosystems ‘decimated’ by huge rise in UK wildfires
British Steel’s plant in Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire, employs 2,700 people, about three-quarters of the company’s entire workforce. It is the last plant in the UK capable of producing virgin steel, which is…Continue readingWhy did the government take control of British Steel?
Police have raided a Quaker meeting house and arrested six women attending a gathering of the protest group Youth Demand. Youth Demand describes itself as “a youth-led nonviolent civil resistance campaign…Continue readingMet raids Quaker meeting house and arrests six women at Youth Demand talk
Kemi Badenoch has said it is “impossible” for the UK to meet its net zero target by 2050 – a goal set by a previous Conservative government. In a speech, Badenoch…Continue readingNet zero by 2050 ‘impossible’ for UK, says Badenoch
The latest deadline for countries to submit plans for slashing the greenhouse gas emissions fueling climate change has passed. Only 15 countries met it—less than 8% of the 194 parties currently…Continue readingOnly 15 countries have met the latest Paris agreement deadline. Is any nation serious about tackling climate change?
US President Donald Trump’s administration has unlocked almost $5bn in funding for a liquefied natural gas project by France’s TotalEnergies in Mozambique, potentially restarting work on one of Africa’s largest energy…Continue readingUS swings behind TotalEnergies’ vast Mozambique gas project
The first section of London’s Ulez scheme was launched in 2019 in the central part of the city. The zone was expanded across inner London boroughs in 2021 and enlarged again…Continue readingDramatic fall in London’s levels of deadly pollutants after Ulez expansion
In a two-day hearing last month, the activists, who were jailed for taking part in various disruptive protests in 2022, argued that their trial judges had erred by failing to offer…Continue readingJust Stop Oil protesters’ jail sentences shortened after appeal
Drax’s former top lobbyist, Rowaa Ahmar, has accused it of “misleading the public, government and its regulator” over its sourcing of wood for biomass pellets, in a claim for unfair dismissal…Continue readingDrax ‘misled government’ over sourcing of wood for biomass, says ex-lobbyist
Oil major BP says it has slashed planned investment in renewable energy and would increase annual oil and gas spending to $10bn. Under Auchincloss’s predecessor, Bernard Looney, BP pledged in 2020…Continue readingBP drops climate targets in pivot back to oil and gas
Insurers paid out a record £585m for weather-related damage to homes and possessions in Britain last year, after record-breaking rain and storms hit the country. The data, from the Association of…Continue readingUK insurers paid out record £585m last year as climate breakdown intensifies
The UK is not prepared for the impact of climate breakdown, fire chiefs have said, as they called on the government to take urgent action to protect communities. It said fire…Continue readingFire chiefs warn UK is not prepared for climate crisis impacts
Shell dominated the $1.4bn global market for carbon credits last year as oil and gas companies scaled back their spending on clean energy and relied more heavily on offsets to reach…Continue readingShell dominates carbon credit market as clean energy spending scaled back
Researchers surveying nests for the harmful chemical found in pet flea treatments found that it was present in every single nest. The scientists from the University of Sussex are now calling…Continue readingSongbirds being killed by pesticides found in pet fur flea treatments
Ministers have seen off a bill that would have made the UK’s climate and environment targets legally binding, after promising Labour backbenchers that they would have input into environmental legislation. The…Continue readingUK climate and nature bill dropped after deal with Labour backbenchers
Storm Eowyn caused havoc Friday as it battered Ireland, Northern Ireland and Scotland, killing one person and leaving hundreds of thousands of homes without power, flights grounded and schools shut. Gusts…Continue readingPower cuts and transport chaos as Storm Eowyn hits Ireland and UK
I was one of a group of Just Stop Oil activists given the longest-ever UK sentences for peaceful protest after blocking a motorway. Six months into my incarceration, this is what…Continue readingWhat the UK government does to those who protest against fossil fuel production
Using high levels of common fertilisers on grassland halves pollinator numbers and drastically reduces the number of flowers, research from the world’s longest-running ecological experiment has found. Increasing the amount of…Continue readingHigh fertiliser use halves numbers of pollinators, world’s longest study finds
Huge volumes of sewage sludge, also known as biosolids but which is essentially human excrement and industrial waste, are spread on UK fields every year. It is regulated by the Environment…Continue readingUK farmland being contaminated by ‘forever chemicals’ linked to cancers
The increasing speed of sea level rise hardly seems to register with policymakers in Britain – even though with the UK weather getting more violent, destructive storm surges are increasingly likely.…Continue readingWeatherwatch: The need to wake up to sea level rise in the UK
Conservationists have said wildlife could be “disappearing in the dark” after figures showed that three-quarters of England’s most precious habitats, wildlife and natural features have had no recent assessment of their…Continue readingEnglish wildlife ‘could be disappearing in the dark’ due to lack of scrutiny
There have been alarming declines this year in some insect species including bees, butterflies, moths and wasps, while many seabirds have also been “hammered” by unstable weather patterns caused by the…Continue readingNational Trust records ‘alarming’ drop in insects and seabirds at its sites
A 77-year-old environmental activist will spend Christmas in prison despite having been released on an electronic tag, because the authorities cannot find an electronic device small enough to fit her wrists.…Continue readingElderly activist to spend Christmas in prison because tag does not fit
Forty people, aged from 22 to 58, will be behind bars on Christmas Day for planning or taking part in a variety of protests relating to the climate crisis or the…Continue readingRecord number of protesters will be in UK prisons this Christmas
The research, involving more than 200,000 people in Scotland, found an increase in exposure to nitrogen dioxide in particular was associated with a higher number of people being admitted to hospital…Continue readingPollution exposure linked to mental health hospital admissions
British police arrest environmental protesters at nearly three times the global average rate, research has found, revealing the country as a world leader in the legal crackdown on climate activism. Only…Continue readingBritain leads the world in cracking down on climate activism, study finds
Oil companies Shell and Equinor are to combine their UK offshore oil and gas assets to form a new company they say would be the biggest independent producer in the North…Continue readingShell and Equinor to combine UK offshore oil and gas assets
BP and its partners have given the green light to a $7bn gas project in Indonesia. The project is an additional development of the Tangguh liquefied natural gas project in Papua,…Continue readingBP greenlights $7bn Indonesia gas project
Over the past five years, all bird species have faced population decline after suffering from habitat loss, pesticide use, climate breakdown and bird flu. Overall, bird species have declined in number…Continue readingWild bird numbers continue ‘alarming’ decline in UK
Since 2016, 21 [US] states have passed a total of 56 laws criminalizing protest or dramatically increasing the penalties for engaging in it. The state of Alabama, for example, can now punish a…Continue readingOutrageous Anti-Protest Laws Can’t Silence the Climate Movement
The dangers of a collapse of the main Atlantic Ocean circulation, known as AMOC, have been “greatly underestimated” and would have devastating and irreversible impacts, according to an open letter released…Continue reading‘We don’t know where the tipping point is’: climate expert on potential collapse of Atlantic circulation
The Amazon rainforest could be reaching an irreversible tipping point beyond which it will decline until “we’re just left with scrub,” conservationists have warned. WWF’s biennial Living Planet report said the…Continue readingAmazon rainforest near tipping point partly driven by UK consumers, WWF says
Global wildlife populations have plunged by an average of 73% in 50 years, a new scientific assessment has found, as humans continue to push ecosystems to the brink of collapse. Latin…Continue readingCollapsing wildlife populations near ‘points of no return’, report warns
On staple crops, England’s wheat haul is estimated to be 10m tonnes, or 21%, down on 2023, according to analysis of the latest government data by the Energy and Climate Intelligence…Continue readingHarvest in England the second worst on record because of wet weather
According to a report by Wildlife and Countryside Link (WCL), the amount of land in England that can be said to be effectively protected for nature has fallen to just 2.93%,…Continue readingNature in England at risk as amount of land ‘effectively protected’ falls to 2.93%
Two young climate activists shocked the world in October 2022 when they flung cans of tomato soup over the renowned painting “Sunflowers” by Vincent van Gogh. Now, Phoebe Plummer, 23, and…Continue readingClimate activists throw soup on two Van Goghs, just hours after others are sentenced to jail
Flooding caused travel disruption, closed schools and submerged homes in central and southern England on Monday after more than a month’s worth of rain fell in 24 hours in some areas.…Continue readingFlooding causes chaos after month’s rain falls in a day in parts of England
The Czech Republic sat at the centre of a storm that has killed two dozen people across central Europe and prompted the EU to promise €10bn in aid to flood-stricken countries.…Continue reading‘We’re getting rid of everything’: floods destroy homes and lives in Czech Republic
A national “butterfly emergency” has been declared by Butterfly Conservation after the lowest Big Butterfly Count since records began. An average of just seven butterflies per 15-minute count were recorded by…Continue reading‘Butterfly emergency’ declared as UK summer count hits record low
BP has put bp Wind Energy, its onshore wind business in the US, estimated to be worth $2bn, up for sale as it trims its renewables business and sells off underperforming…Continue readingBP puts $2bn US onshore wind business up for sale
A new international coalition is disrupting airports to make one demand: the adoption of a treaty to end fossil fuels by 2030. Under the banner Oil Kills, small groups of activists…Continue readingOil Kills: Inside the International Uprising Disrupting the Aviation Industry
The world creates 57 million tons of plastic pollution every year and spreads it from the deepest oceans to the highest mountaintop to the inside of people’s bodies, according to a…Continue readingHumans are pumping out 57 million tons of plastic pollution a year
Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth have accused police of acting as “private security” for the UK’s biggest carbon emitter after dozens of pre-emptive arrests forced the cancellation of a climate…Continue readingPolice acting as ‘private security’ for Drax power station, say climate activists
A 20-month prison sentence handed to a 77-year-old woman for a climate protest on the M25 is disproportionate, unjust and a waste of resources, the Green MP Carla Denyer has said.…Continue readingJail term for climate protester, 77, is disproportionate
Climate activists acting under the banner “oil kills” have glued themselves to the tarmac and grounded flights across Europe as holidaymakers attempt to make summer getaways. In a wave of protests…Continue reading‘Oil Kills’ protesters disrupt flights at airports across Europe in wave of action
A beach in north-east Scotland is eroding rapidly owing to climate change, leaving a town at risk of flooding and its centuries-old golf links crumbling into the sea. The Dynamic Coast…Continue reading‘This is climate change’: Scottish beach eroding by 7 metres a year
BP’s shareholders can expect a multibillion-dollar payout this year after the oil giant reported better than expected quarterly profits of almost $2.8bn (£2.2bn) and set out plans to develop a new…Continue readingBP to hand investors $7bn this year as it expands oil operations
Butterfly numbers are the lowest on record in the UK. Butterfly Conservation, which runs the Big Butterfly Count, sounded the alarm after this year’s count revealed the worst numbers since it…Continue reading‘Warning sign to us all’ as UK butterfly numbers hit record low
Roger Hallam, Daniel Shaw, Louise Lancaster, Lucia Whittaker De Abreu and Cressida Gethin were found guilty last week of conspiracy to cause a public nuisance for coordinating direct action protests on…Continue readingFive Just Stop Oil activists receive record sentences for planning to block M25
Kevin Jordan thought he would spend his retirement listening to the sound of the sea at his home on the Norfolk coast in eastern England. But his dream collapsed in November…Continue readingUK village fights to turn back tide of climate change
Conservation groups across England are seeing more malnourished bats, as wildlife experts warn the washout summer is driving down the insects, butterflies and moths they feed on. Groups across Cambridgeshire, Norfolk,…Continue readingWhere are all the bats? – alarm as numbers fall in England
Pesticide Action Network says some modern pesticides are 10,000 times more toxic than DDT, a notoriously noxious chemical that was banned for its impact on human health and the environment. And…Continue reading‘I have seen the decline’: pesticides linked to falling UK insect numbers
In recent years, concerns have been raised over earthworm populations, which have fallen by a third in the past 25 years. A citizen science project that monitors flying insects in the…Continue readingWildlife experts urge action on pesticides as UK insect populations plummet
The seemingly “never-ending” rain last autumn and winter in the UK and Ireland was made 10 times more likely and 20% wetter by human-caused global heating, a study has found. More…Continue reading‘Never-ending’ UK rain made 10 times more likely by climate crisis, study says
Swallows, swifts and house martins were once a common sight over UK towns and cities, dextrously catching insects on the wing. But these spring and summer visitors are becoming increasingly rare,…Continue readingSwallow, swift and house martin populations have nearly halved, finds UK bird survey
Researchers for the banking on climate chaos report, now in its 15th edition, analysed the world’s top 60 banks’ underwriting and lending to more than 4,200 fossil fuel firms and companies…Continue readingBanks have given almost $7tn to fossil fuel firms since Paris deal
Two Just Stop Oil protesters have smashed the glass around Magna Carta at the British Library. The Rev Sue Parfitt, 82, and Judy Bruce, 85, a retired biology teacher, targeted the…Continue readingTwo Just Stop Oil protesters attack Magna Carta’s glass case
A doctor who went to jail after a series of climate protests has been taken off the medical register for five months – and still faces being permanently struck off. The…Continue readingRetired UK GP suspended for five months after climate protests
Aker BP has started production from the Hanz oil and gas field located in licence 028 B in the Norwegian North Sea. Hanz, which has total reserves of around 20 million…Continue readingAker BP begins production from Hanz oil and gas field in North Sea
Climate campaigners have accused Scottish ministers of being “inept” and “short-termist” after they scrapped Scotland’s target to cut carbon emissions by 75% by 2030. Màiri McAllan, the Scottish net zero secretary,…Continue reading‘Reprehensible retreat’: fury as Scottish ministers scrap carbon emissions pledge
The UK faces food shortages and price rises as extreme weather linked to climate breakdown causes low yields on farms locally and abroad. Record rainfall has meant farmers in many parts…Continue readingUK facing food shortages and price rises after extreme weather
BP has started production of oil from the new $6bn Azeri Central East (ACE) platform on the Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli (ACG) field in the Azerbaijan part of the Caspian Sea. Azeri Central East…Continue readingBP starts oil production from $6bn ACE project in Caspian Sea
Climate activists in four countries are blocking access to North Sea oil infrastructure as part of a coordinated pan-European civil disobedience protest. Blockades have been taking place at oil and gas…Continue readingClimate activists across Europe block access to North Sea oil infrastructure
England has experienced its wettest 18 months since records began in 1836, leaving farmers struggling to plant crops in waterlogged fields and transport networks disrupted by flooding. Climate change has exacerbated…Continue readingEngland drenched after the wettest 18 months since records began in 1836
Shell has commenced production at Rydberg, a subsea tie-back to the Appomattox production hub in the Gulf of Mexico. Rydberg is a conventional oil development located in ultra-deepwater in the US,…Continue readingShell begins production from Rydberg project in US Gulf of Mexico
UAE’s state-owned energy company Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) and British oil and gas firm BP have agreed to create a new gas joint venture (JV) in Egypt. The new…Continue readingADNOC and BP to create JV for gas development in Egypt
Global liquefied natural gas demand is forecast to surge 50% by 2040 as the world transitions to cleaner fuel, Shell said in its latest annual LNG outlook. China was likely to…Continue readingLNG demand set to surge 50% by 2040 in clean-fuel transition, says Shell
BP’s new boss Murray Auchincloss set out plans to win over shareholders on Tuesday as he pledged to turn the oil major into a “higher value company” even as he sticks…Continue readingBP targets boost for returns as it delivers second biggest profit in a decade
Shell, Equinor, bp, Total and NEO are among the 17 separate companies which have been offered a total of 24 licences in the second tranche of the 33rd oil and gas…Continue reading24 licences offered in second tranche of 33rd oil and gas licensing round
“We have the expertise, the supply chains and the teams ready to build Hinkley Point C safely, on time and on budget,” Vincent de Rivaz, then chief executive of EDF, said…Continue readingHinkley Point C delay deals blow to UK energy strategy
A climate activist has been jailed for six months after pleading guilty to taking part in a peaceful slow march protest on a London road. The sentence handed to Stephen Gingell,…Continue readingJust Stop Oil activist jailed for six months for taking part in slow march
Norway has secured a parliamentary majority for its plans to open up for deep-sea mining despite opposition from environmentalists and the fishing industry, who warn the move risks further damage to…Continue readingNorway’s parliament backs deep-sea mining plans
Rishi Sunak, David Cameron and King Charles are just three of the more than 70,000 delegates from nearly 200 countries at the latest UN climate summit in Dubai, COP28. But they…Continue readingWhy are people still flying to climate conferences by private jet?
More than 400 oil and gas projects were approved globally in the last two years despite calls to abandon all new hydrocarbon development, new figures showed as the UN COP28 climate…Continue readingHundreds of new oil and gas projects approved despite climate crisis
Potentially toxic “forever chemicals” have been detected in the drinking water sources at 17 of 18 England’s water companies, with 11,853 samples testing positive, something experts say they are “extremely alarmed”…Continue reading‘Forever chemicals’ found in drinking water sources across England
Nearly half of the whales and dolphins found in UK waters over the past five years contained harmful concentrations of toxic chemicals banned decades ago, an investigation has found. Among orcas…Continue readingLevels of toxic PCB chemicals found at 30 times ‘safe’ limits in stranded whales
Germany’s finance minister, withdrew his party’s support for a crucial agreement between the governing parties to phase out the nation’s coal-burning power plants by 2030. “Until it is clear that energy…Continue readingShifting Political Winds Threaten Progress on Europe’s Green Goals
More than half the seabird species breeding on British and Irish coasts have declined over the last 20 years, according to the most comprehensive census to date. Some species have declined…Continue readingMore than half of UK and Ireland seabirds in decline
The UK government presented the Offshore Petroleum Licensing Bill to Parliament with the aim of enhancing the country’s economy, ensuring energy security, and facilitating the transition to a net-zero future. Under…Continue readingUK Government tables Offshore Petroleum Licensing Bill in parliament
UK-based mining company Anglo American has secured mining lease approval for the expansion of its Lake Lindsay coal mine in Australia. The mining lease for the coal mine expansion was granted…Continue readingAnglo American gets mining lease for Lake Lindsay coal mine expansion
Populations of the hazel dormouse, perhaps the most elusive native British mammal, have plummeted by 70% this century. The nocturnal, tree-dwelling animals are now extinct in 20 counties in England and…Continue readingHazel dormice becoming endangered in UK amid 70% decline
UK forests are heading for “catastrophic ecosystem collapse” within the next 50 years due to multiple threats including disease, extreme weather and wildfires, researchers have warned, with trees dying on a…Continue readingUK forests face catastrophic ecosystem collapse within 50 years
British oil and gas company BP, together with its partners Neptune Energy and JAPEX, has started production from the Seagull oil and gas field in the UK North Sea. Seagull is…Continue readingBP, Neptune, JAPEX start production from Seagull field in UK North Sea
Denmark’s Ørsted has cancelled two big offshore windfarm projects in the US at a cost of more than £3bn amid surging costs facing the global wind industry. Shares in the world’s…Continue readingØrsted cancels two US offshore windfarm projects at £3.3bn cost
More than 4,000 of England’s vital flood defences are so damaged they are almost useless, including hundreds in areas battered by Storm Babet. An analysis of Environment Agency data obtained by…Continue readingMore than 4,000 English flood defences ‘almost useless’
Half of Britain’s 10 largest fish populations are in a “deeply troubling state”, having been either overfished or depleted to a critically low size, according to a new report. The situation…Continue readingBritain’s fish populations are in a ‘deeply troubling state’
No new offshore windfarms will go ahead in the UK after the latest government auction, in what critics have called the biggest clean energy policy failure in almost a decade.Continue reading‘Biggest clean energy disaster in years’: UK auction secures no offshore windfarms