Negative scientific and press reports on the efficacy of carbon credit projects has led to a ‘direct pullback in buyer investment’

The market for carbon offsets shrank dramatically last year, falling from $1.9bn (£1.5bn) in 2022 to $723m in 2023, a new report has found. The drop came after a series of scientific and media reports found many offsetting schemes do nothing to mitigate the climate crisis and biodiversity loss.

The research by Ecosystem Marketplace, a nonprofit initiative that collects data about the carbon market from brokers and traders, found the market had shrunk 61%.

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© Photograph: Juan Pablo Pino/AFP/Getty Images

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© Photograph: Juan Pablo Pino/AFP/Getty Images

Analysis of the carbon offset projects used by top corporations including Delta, Gucci and ExxonMobil raises concerns around their emission cuts claims

Some of the world’s most profitable – and most polluting corporations – have invested in carbon offset projects that have fundamental failings and are “probably junk”, suggesting industry claims about greenhouse gas reductions were likely overblown, according to new analysis.

Delta, Gucci, Volkswagen, ExxonMobil, Disney, easyJet and Nestlé are among the major corporations to have purchased millions of carbon credits from climate friendly projects that are “likely junk” or worthless when it comes to offsetting their greenhouse gas emissions, according to a classification system developed by Corporate Accountability, a non-profit, transnational corporate watchdog.

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© Composite: The Guardian/Getty Images

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© Composite: The Guardian/Getty Images

IPPR research examines transport emissions by income, gender, location, ethnicity and age

Wealthy white men from rural areas are the UK’s biggest emitters of climate-heating gases from transport, according to a study.

Research by the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) looked at transport emissions by income, gender, location, ethnicity and age. The study broke down the transport emissions into international and domestic flights, private road transport and public transport.

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© Photograph: esp_imaging/Getty Images

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© Photograph: esp_imaging/Getty Images

The kingdom is trying to juggle its still-vital petroleum industry with alternative energy sources like wind and solar as it faces pressure to lower carbon emissions.

© Iman Al-Dabbagh for The New York Times

Half of all new cars are now SUVs, making them a major cause of the intensifying climate crisis, say experts

Sales of SUVs hit a new record in 2023, making up half of all new cars sold globally, data has revealed. Experts warned that the rising sales of the large, heavy vehicles is pushing up the carbon emissions that drive global heating.

The analysis, by the International Energy Agency, found that the rising emissions from SUVs in 2023 made up 20% of the global increase in CO₂, making the vehicles a major cause of the intensifying climate crisis. If SUVs were a country, the IEA said, they would be the world’s fifth-largest emitter of CO₂, ahead of the national emissions of both Japan and Germany.

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© Photograph: David Zalubowski/AP

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© Photograph: David Zalubowski/AP

The new principles aim to define ‘high-integrity’ offsets amid concerns that current practices often don’t cut greenhouse gas emissions as claimed.

© Zinyange Auntony/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Since last May, the average person experienced 26 more days of abnormal warmth than they would have without global warming, a new analysis found.

© Fareed Khan/Associated Press

Concrete is strong and durable – which is why it’s the basis for so much of our infrastructure. It’s also terrible for the planet, due to one key ingredient: cement, which is responsible for almost 90% of concrete emissions. Researchers have now found a way to recover old cement while also reducing the environmental impact of recycling steel. Madeleine Finlay speaks to Julian Allwood, professor of engineering and the environment at the University Of Cambridge, to find out how the process works, and what it could mean for the emissions generated by the construction industry

Find more on concrete here in a special series from the Guardian

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© Photograph: Thanapol Kuptanisakorn/Alamy

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© Photograph: Thanapol Kuptanisakorn/Alamy

Imports have risen since Brexit despite brick producers saying UK can make enough for its own use

The UK is importing more of its bricks than ever and the carbon cost of each brick is rising, research has shown.

The UK is the number one country in the world for brick importation, according to data from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Observatory of Economic Complexity.

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© Photograph: Jonathan Buckmaster/Daily Express/PA

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© Photograph: Jonathan Buckmaster/Daily Express/PA

Leadership now sees environment as core issue for voters and strong dividing line against the Tories

Labour is planning to make the climate a key focus for its election campaign, putting its net zero commitments “up in lights”, and drawing a clear link between the “chaos” of the Conservative government and the effects of the climate crisis.

Fears over the climate – exemplified by a sopping Rishi Sunak calling the general election in a downpour on the same day scientists warned about the increased likelihood of seemingly “never-ending” autumn and winter rain – will be tied strongly to what Labour will portray as a polluting and careless Tory vein of climate denial.

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© Photograph: Steve Parsons/PA

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© Photograph: Steve Parsons/PA

Heat and drought are taking a toll on the tiny soil creatures that help to lock away planet-warming carbon, according to a new analysis.

Students, nonprofit groups and others are fund-raising to cap highly polluting oil and gas wells abandoned by industry.

© Cornell Watson for The New York Times

Infrastructure firm raises £6.8bn to connect homes to renewable energy sources across US and UK

National Grid has tapped shareholders for nearly £7bn to fund a £60bn spending spree to upgrade its networks to cope with the switch to low-carbon energy on either side of the Atlantic.

The energy infrastructure company announced a £6.8bn rights issue – where existing shareholders are offered new shares – to provide fresh funds for investment in thousands of miles of cables to connect homes with renewable energy projects in the UK and the US.

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© Photograph: Gareth Fuller/PA

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© Photograph: Gareth Fuller/PA

Trials show spreading basalt on farmland helps capture CO₂ from the atmosphere and improves crop yields

There is an urgent need for farming to curb its greenhouse gas emissions, with farmers also under pressure to be more sustainable. One suggestion could help with both problems: spreading crushed volcanic (basalt) rocks on fields to help capture carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

It is a sustainable fertiliser; basalt is rich in minerals, so the rock powder increases soil fertility by feeding nutrients needed for plant growth. Trials at the universities of Newcastle and Sheffield have shown that crop yields are improved, without any ill-effects on the environment or the plants.

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© Photograph: Alex McGregor/Alamy

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© Photograph: Alex McGregor/Alamy

The loss of the ecosystems, which are vast stores of carbon, would ‘be disastrous for nature and people across the globe’, says IUCN

Half of all the world’s mangrove forests are at risk of collapse, according to the first-ever expert assessment of these crucial ecosystems and carbon stores.

Human behaviour is the primary cause of their decline, according to the analysis by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), with mangroves in southern India, Sri Lanka and the Maldives most at risk.

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© Photograph: Francis R Malasig/EPA

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© Photograph: Francis R Malasig/EPA

On Tuesday a British man died and several others were injured when their plane encountered severe turbulence between London and Singapore. And it looks like this kind of turbulence is something we’ll have to get used to. Last year a study found severe clear-air turbulence had increased by 55% between 1979 and 2020. Ian Sample speaks to Guy Gratton, associate professor of aviation and the environment at Cranfield University, to find out why this is happening, and whether there’s anything we can do to reverse the trend.

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© Photograph: Steve Parsons/PA

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© Photograph: Steve Parsons/PA

Invitation-only meeting comes on heels of controversial dinner at Mar-a-Lago where Trump reportedly offered $1bn quid pro quo

Donald Trump was continuing to ask fossil-fuel executives to fund his presidential campaign on Wednesday, despite scrutiny of his relationship with the industry.

The former president attended a fundraising luncheon at Houston’s Post Oak hotel hosted by three big oil executives.

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© Photograph: Elizabeth Frantz/Reuters

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© Photograph: Elizabeth Frantz/Reuters

The damage was unusual, experts say, because turbines are built to withstand extreme weather. Iowa is a wind powerhouse, with thousands of turbines.

© Charlie Neibergall/Associated Press

Critics claim that the technology is not up to the job – we examine whether the facts bear this out

• Are heat pumps more expensive to run than gas boilers?

The belief that a heat pump is unable to warm a home in the depths of winter is widely held, especially in the UK.

One recent survey of more than 4,000 adults across the UK, Germany, France and the US last autumn found that 35% believed that air-source heat pumps are not up to the job.

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© Composite: Guardian Design/Alamy/Getty

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© Composite: Guardian Design/Alamy/Getty

A reduction in the consumption of carbon-intensive products and services is not something to complain about, writes Terry Cannon

You cannot have it both ways and complain that global warming will harm GDP (Economic damage from climate change six times worse than thought – report, 17 May). A drop in global GDP is one of the best things that can happen to reduce global warming if it reduces consumption of carbon-intensive products and services. GDP is a very poor way to measure the negative impacts of global warming.

Much more relevant is to understand people’s wellbeing and their livelihoods which, as is well known, are not measured very well by GDP. What needs to be understood is how the different impacts of climate change affect the many types of livelihood.

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© Photograph: Jake Lyell/Alamy

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© Photograph: Jake Lyell/Alamy

Jeff Bezos’s $10bn climate and biodiversity fund has garnered glittering prizes, but concerns have been voiced over the influence it can buy – and its interest in carbon offsets

Late last month, the coronation of Jeff Bezos and his partner Lauren Sánchez as environmental royalty was complete. At Conservation International’s glitzy annual gala in New York, with Harrison Ford, Jacinda Ardern and Shailene Woodley looking on, the couple were given the global visionary award for the financial contribution of the Bezos Earth Fund to the natural world.

“Jeff and Lauren are making history, not just with the sum of their investment in nature but also the speed of it,” said the Conservation International CEO, Dr M Sanjayan, whose organisation received a $20m grant from Bezos in 2021 for its work in the tropical Andes.

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© Photograph: Yvonne Tnt/BFA.com

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© Photograph: Yvonne Tnt/BFA.com

Technically, it exists. But here’s what to think about when shopping.

Scientists say storms like those that battered Houston could become more intense as the planet warms, though pinning down trends is still challenging.

© David J. Phillip/Associated Press

The invisible downside to our online lives is the data stored at giant energy-guzzling datacentres

It’s been called “the largest coal-powered machine on Earth” – and most of us use it countless times a day.

The internet and its associated digital industry are estimated to produce about the same emissions annually as aviation. But we barely think about pollution while snapping 16 duplicate photos of our pets, which are immediately uploaded to the cloud.

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© Photograph: David Levene/The Guardian

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© Photograph: David Levene/The Guardian

Fossil-fuel dependent country hopes to provide bridge between wealthy global north and poor south at November gathering

Oil is inescapable in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan. The smell of it greets the visitor on arrival and from the shores of the Caspian Sea on which the city is built the tankers are eternally visible. Flares from refineries near the centre light up the night sky, and you do not have to travel far to see fields of “nodding donkeys”, small piston pump oil wells about 6 metres (20ft) tall, that look almost festive in their bright red and green livery.

It will be an interesting setting for the gathering of the 29th UN climate conference of the parties, which will take place at the Olympic Stadium in November.

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© Photograph: Grigory Dukor/Reuters

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© Photograph: Grigory Dukor/Reuters

Scientists in the United States are reporting “unprecedented patterns” of surface warming, an ominous sign for coral.

© Jorge Silva/Reuters

Hundreds of climate experts expect global temperatures to rise to at least 2.5C (4.5F) above preindustrial levels by 2100. Damian Carrington reports

When the Guardian’s environment editor, Damian Carrington, decided to survey the world’s top climate scientists, he had no idea how many of them would want to participate.

“I was astonished by the flood of responses that came back,” he tells Hannah Moore.

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© Illustration: Tamara Uribe/Guardian Design

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© Illustration: Tamara Uribe/Guardian Design

Scientists used tree rings to compare last year’s extreme heat with temperatures over the past two millenniums.

© Arpad Benedek/Alamy

Officials said the decision would lower bills and encourage people to use cars and appliances that did not use fossil fuels, but some experts said it would discourage energy efficiency.

© Jim Wilson/The New York Times

Asbestos, “forever” chemicals, E.V.s and endangered species. Here’s what 10 new rules cover, and why the administration has been churning them out.

© Tom Brenner for The New York Times

Beijing’s dominance raises economic and security concerns, and tensions will be high as top climate diplomats meet this week.

© Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Gas-burning ranges, a significant contributor to indoor pollution, can produce and spread particularly high levels of some pollutants in smaller spaces.

© Calla Kessler for The New York Times

The low water levels that choked cargo traffic were more closely tied to the natural climate cycle than to human-caused warming, a team of scientists has concluded.

© Nathalia Angarita for The New York Times

The Biden administration is tightening efficiency rules for water heaters, stoves and other appliances, and conservative politicians are dialing up their criticisms.

© Beth Hall for The New York Times

Around the world, grass-roots organizers and Indigenous communities are taking proposed coal, oil and gas projects to court — and winning.

© Rogan Ward/Reuters

The administration issued a major climate regulation aimed at virtually eliminating carbon emissions from coal, the dirtiest of the fossil fuels and a driver of global warming.

© Chris Carlson/Associated Press

The Biden administration has expressed growing alarm that efforts to fight climate change could falter unless the electric grids are quickly expanded.

© Nina Riggio for The New York Times

Paris is becoming a city of bikes. Across China, people are snapping up $5,000 electric cars. On Earth Day, a look at a few bright spots for emission reductions.

© Ludovic Marin, Nicolas Garcia and Jade Gao/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Despite significant progress, Scotland was falling short on cutting vehicle emissions, switching to heat pumps and even restoring peatland, the government said.

© Jeff J. Mitchell/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

An international team of researchers found that heavy rains were intensifying in the region, though they couldn’t say for sure how much climate change was responsible.

© Giuseppe Cacace/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Mr. Gore spoke at a climate leadership conference hosted by his nonprofit organization.

© Calla Kessler for The New York Times

From airlines to pork sellers, corporate brands face legal and regulatory challenges for misleading the public with lofty climate claims.

© Eva Plevier/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

For the first time since 1920, the government has raised the rates that companies pay. The fossil fuel industry says it will hurt the economy.

© Jae C. Hong/Associated Press