The watershed summit in 2015 was far from perfect, but its impact so far has been significant and measurable
Ten years on from the historic Paris climate summit, which ended with the world’s first and only global agreement to curb greenhouse gas emissions, it is easy to dwell on its failures. But the successes go less remarked.
Neath, south Wales: This quarry built the abbey and the nearby terraced towns – and it’s different every time I visit
The way to Neath Abbey Quarry is a perfect stranger to me this morning. It’s been three years since my last visit, and the maze of the path has shifted; old tree trunks have turned to mulch and the brook carves a different channel. My companion and I shoulder big bouldering pads, poorly proportioned for tight manoeuvres, yet we bump, turn and pivot our way through. Thanks to the late sunrise, we’re gifted a lingering coda of the dawn chorus, coming from a holly thicket heavy with berries. A goldcrest fizzes around ahead of us, seeking bugs startled by our approach.
Like every old quarry, this place has been host to much change. Once it was just a plain old hill, then a source of building blocks for monks and their abbey. Much later, it was extracted again for the terraced towns of the south Wales coalfield. Once that need had faded, climbers found the place, hacking paths through the tangle and stringing ropes up its face.
While it’s impossible to escape the emissions associated with flying, some travel methods are more carbon-intensive than others
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
As the Australian summer gets under way, many of us are planning holidays.
When it comes to limiting emissions associated with travel, a staycation or local holiday – by train, bus or car – remains the lowest-impact option. But overseas travel by Australians has been increasing in recent decades, with Indonesia, New Zealand, Japan, the United States and China among the top destinations, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
Repeated fall storms led to the temporary lake, known as Lake Manly, appearing in basin 282ft beneath sea level
After record-breaking rains, an ancient lake in Death Valley national park that had vanished has returned to view.
The temporary lake, known informally as Lake Manly, has appeared once more at the bottom of Badwater Basin, which sits 282ft beneath sea level, in California. The basin is the lowest point in North America, according to the National Park Service.
Gaza has been hit by heavy rains and low temperatures, deepening the misery of most of its 2.2 million population who are living in tents after two years of Israeli bombardment. Thousands of homeless people have been washed out of their makeshift shelters and forced to seek emergency refuge
In sprawling landfills, thousands of Argentinian families scavenge for survival amid toxic waste and government neglect, dreaming of steady jobs and escape
The sun rises over the plateau of Neuquén’s open-air rubbish tip. Maia, nine, and her brothers, aged 11 and seven, huddle by a campfire. Their mother, Gisel, rummages through bags that smell of rotten fruit and meat.
Situated at the northern end of Argentinian Patagonia, 100km (60 miles) from Vaca Muerta – one of the world’s largest fossil gas reserves – children here roam amid twisted metal, glass and rubbish spread over five hectares (12 acres). The horizon is waste.
Conservationists fear up to 11% of Tapanuli orangutan population perished in disaster that also killed 1,000 people
The skull of a Tapanuli orangutan, caked in debris, stares out from a tomb of mud in North Sumatra, killed in catastrophic flooding that swept through Indonesia.
The late November floods have been an “extinction-level disturbance” for the world’s rarest great ape, scientists have said, causing catastrophic damage to its habitat and survival prospects.
Scientists in Kansas believe Kernza could cut emissions, restore degraded soils and reshape the future of agriculture
On the concrete floor of a greenhouse in rural Kansas stands a neat grid of 100 plastic plant pots, each holding a straggly crown of strappy, grass-like leaves. These plants are perennials – they keep growing, year after year. That single characteristic separates them from soya beans, wheat, maize, rice and every other major grain crop, all of which are annuals: plants that live and die within a single growing season.
“These plants are the winners, the ones that get to pass their genes on [to future generations],” says Lee DeHaan of the Land Institute, an agricultural non-profit based in Salina, Kansas. If DeHaan’s breeding programme maintains its current progress, the descendant of these young perennial crop plants could one day usher in a wholesale revolution in agriculture.
There’s much more to do, but we should be encouraged by the progress we have made
Today marks the 10th anniversary of the Paris climate treaty, one of the landmark days in climate-action history. Attending the conference as a journalist, I watched and listened and wondered whether 194 countries could ever agree on anything at all, and the night before they did, people who I thought were more sophisticated than me assured me they couldn’t. Then they did. There are a lot of ways to tell the story of what it means and where we are now, but any version of it needs respect for the complexities, because there are a lot of latitudes between the poles of total victory and total defeat.
I had been dreading the treaty anniversary as an occasion to note that we have not done nearly enough, but in July I thought we might be able celebrate it. Because, on 23 July, the international court of justice handed down an epochal ruling that gives that treaty enforceable consequences it never had before. It declares that all nations have a legal obligation to act in response to the climate crisis, and, as Greenpeace International put it, “obligates states to regulate businesses on the harm caused by their emissions regardless of where the harm takes place. Significantly, the court found that the right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment is fundamental for all other human rights, and that intergenerational equity should guide the interpretation of all climate obligations.” The Paris treaty was cited repeatedly as groundwork for this decision.
Announcement draws anger from Labour MP over refusal to remove tonnes of rubbish dumped near school in Wigan
The Environment Agency is to spend millions of pounds to clear an enormous illegal rubbish dump in Oxfordshire, saying the waste is at risk of catching fire.
But the decision announced on Thursday to clear up the thousands of tonnes of waste illegally dumped outside Kidlington has drawn an angry response from a Labour MP in Greater Manchester whose constituents have been living alongside 25,000 tonnes of toxic rubbish for nearly a year.
Still rare only 20 years ago, the charismatic animals are in almost every UK river and a conservation success story
On a quiet Friday evening, an otter and a fox trot through Lincoln city centre. The pair scurry past charity shops and through deserted streets, the encounter lit by the security lamps of shuttered takeaways. Each animal inspects the nooks and crannies of the high street before disappearing into the night, ending the unlikely scene captured by CCTV last month.
Fires are burning across NSW, with Tasmania also facing an emergency, while in the US, Washington state braces for floods
Bushfires have been ravaging Australia, with more than 50 burning throughout New South Wales, destroying homes and causing at least one death. Nine blazes remained out of control on Monday as flames ripped through homes and critical infrastructure. Scorching temperatures – peaking at 41C in Koolewong – combined with fierce, erratic winds to spread the fires rapidly and made them harder to control.
On Sunday night an Australian firefighter was killed after a tree fell on him while he worked on a fire near Bulahdelah, about 150 miles (250km) north of Sydney. The blaze scorched 3,500 hectares (8,600 acres) and destroyed four homes over the weekend. NSW, one of Australia’s most fire-prone regions, is particularly vulnerable because of its hot, dry climate and vast eucalyptus forests, which shed oils that become highly flammable.
In this week’s newsletter: The government’s bid to speed up nuclear construction could usher in sweeping deregulation, with experts warning of profound consequences for nature
When UK prime minister Keir Starmer announced last week that he was “implementing the Fingleton review”, you can forgive the pulse of most Britons for failing to quicken.
But behind the uninspiring statement lies potentially the biggest deregulation for decades, posing peril for endangered species, if wildlife experts are to be believed, and a likely huge row with the EU.
Levels during boarding and taxiing were far above those defined as high by the World Health Organization
A study has revealed the concentrations of ultrafine particles breathed in by airline passengers.
A team of French researchers, including those from Université Paris Cité, built a pack of instruments that was flown alongside passengers from Paris Charles de Gaulle to European destinations. The machinery was placed on an empty seat in the front rows or in the galley.
Scientists say bears in southern Greenland differ genetically to those in the north, suggesting they could adjust
Changes in polar bear DNA that could help the animals adapt to warmer climates have been detected by researchers, in a study thought to be the first time a statistically significant link has been found between rising temperatures and changing DNA in a wild mammal species.
Climate breakdown is threatening the survival of polar bears. Two-thirds of them are expected to have disappeared by 2050 as their icy habitat melts and the weather becomes hotter.
I can tell you that we also have beavers in Berkshire. I live by the River Kennet and I caught one on my garden trail camera in August, along with otters in the same 30-second clip. The identification of the beaver is unmistakable, and was confirmed by the Berks, Bucks and Oxon wildlife trust. Two weeks ago, my neighbour caught a beaver on her garden trail camera. Her garden is 50 yards downstream of ours.
Northern resident killer whales appear to use dolphins as ‘scouts’, in a surprising cooperative hunting strategy
Orcas and dolphins have been spotted for the first time working as a team to hunt salmon off the coast of British Columbia, according to a new study which suggests a cooperative relationship between the two predators.
The research, published on Thursday in the journal Scientific Reports, shows interactions between northern resident orcas (also known as killer whales) and Pacific white-sided dolphins are not just chance encounters while foraging.
Manchester Metropolitan University again wins top spot for climate and social justice in league table
More universities have severed ties with fossil fuel companies, banning them from recruitment fairs and refusing to advertise roles in the industry, according to the latest higher education league table.
The analysis found that eight more universities had signed up to end recruitment ties with the fossil fuel industry - an increase of 80% since last year. This means 18 higher education institutions, or 12% of the sector, now refuse to advertise roles with fossil fuel companies to their students.
Exclusive: Use of toxic plastic beads in treatment works is unnecessary and outdated, say conservationists
The use of tiny, toxic plastic beads at sewage works should be banned nationwide, an MP and wildlife experts have said after a devastating spill at an internationally important nature reserve.
Hundreds of millions of “biobeads” washed up on Camber Sands beach in East Sussex last month, after a failure at a Southern Water sewage treatment works caused a catastrophic spill. It has distressed and alarmed local people and conservationists, as not only are the beads unsightly but they pose a deadly threat to wildlife.
Wildlife smuggling is serious organised crime that ‘fuels corruption and drives species to extinction’, Home Office says
More than 250 endangered species and illegal wildlife products were seized at the UK border in a single month, new figures have revealed, including spiders, snakes and birds.
The illicit cargo was uncovered as part of an annual crackdown on wildlife smuggling known as Operation Thunder, which is led by Interpol and the World Customs Organisation.
Ecologically important Diadema africanum almost eliminated by unknown disease in Canary Islands
A marine pandemic is bringing some species of sea urchin to the brink of extinction, and some populations have disappeared altogether, a study has found.
Since 2021, Diadema africanum urchins in the Canary Island archipelago have almost entirely been killed by an unknown disease. There has been a 99.7% population decrease in Tenerife, and a 90% decrease off the islands of the Madeira archipelago.
Cyclones like those in Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Malaysia that killed 1,750 are ‘alarming new reality’
The climate crisis supercharged the deadly storms that killed more than 1,750 people in Asia by making downpours more intense and flooding worse, scientists have reported. Monsoon rains often bring some flooding but the scientists were clear: this was “not normal”.
In Sri Lanka, some floods reached the second floor of buildings, while in Sumatra, in Indonesia, the floods were worsened by the destruction of forests, which in the past slowed rainwater running off hillsides.
A fin whale washed ashore in Anchorage and was left there for months. Then a self-described ‘wacko’ museum director made a plan
When a whale dies, its body descends to the bottom of the deep sea in a transformative phenomenon called a whale fall. A whale’s death jump-starts an explosion of life, enough to feed and sustain a deep-ocean ecosystem for decades.
There are a lot of ways whales can die. Migrating whales lose their way and, unable to find their way back from unfamiliar waters, are stranded. They can starve when prey disappears or fall to predators such as orcas. They become bycatch, tangled in fishing lines and nets. Mass whale deaths have been linked to marine heatwaves and the toxic algae blooms that follow.
After more than 50 editions surfing across the waves of the global Black diaspora with Nesrine, this will be my final dispatch for the Long Wave, as I move on to a new role on the Opinion desk at the Guardian. I am heartbroken to be leaving, but I am so thankful to all of our readers for being so encouraging and engaged throughout the past year.
Any who, time to cut the sad music (this is my farewell tune of choice), as I have one more edition for you. In late autumn, I took my first trip to Ghana for Accra Cultural Week. While there, I visited the historic area of Jamestown, which was reflected in an exhibition by artist Serge Attukwei Clottey.
Datacentres, AI gigafactories and affordable housing may be exempt from mandatory environmental impact assessments in the EU under a proposal that advances the European Commission’s rollback of green rules.
The latest in a series of packages to cut red tape calls for permitting processes for critical projects to be sped up and reducing the scope of environmental reporting rules for businesses.
Save a used teabag to flavour dried fruit, then just add whisky for a boozy festive treat
A jar of tea-soaked prunes with a cheeky splash of whisky is the gift you never knew you needed. Sticky, sweet and complex, these boozy treats are wonderful spooned over rice pudding, porridge, yoghurt, ice-cream or even panna cotta.
Don’t waste a fresh tea bag, though – enjoy a cuppa first, then use the spent one to infuse the prunes overnight. Earl grey adds fragrant, citrus notes, builders’ tea gives a malty depth, lapsang souchong brings smokiness, and chamomile or rooibos offer softer, floral tones. It’s also worth experimenting with other dried fruits beyond prunes: apricots, figs and/or dates all work beautifully, too.
Scientists issue urgent warning about chemicals, found to cause cancer and infertility as well as harming environment
Scientists have issued an urgent warning that some of the synthetic chemicals that help underpin the current food system are driving increased rates of cancer, neurodevelopmental conditions and infertility, while degrading the foundations of global agriculture.
The health burden from phthalates, bisphenols, pesticides and Pfas “forever chemicals” amounts to up to $2.2tn a year – roughly as much as the profits of the world’s 100 largest publicly listed companies, according to the report published on Wednesday.
In the Ozarks, the growing college town of Fayetteville, Ark., is using clean energy to power city facilities and embracing nature-based solutions to climate threats.
Kolahoi is one of many glaciers whose decline is disrupting whole ecosystems – water, wildlife and human life that it has supported for centuries
From the slopes above Pahalgam, the Kolahoi glacier is visible as a thinning, rumpled ribbon of ice stretching across the western Himalayas. Once a vast white artery feeding rivers, fields and forests, it is now retreating steadily, leaving bare rock, crevassed ice and newly exposed alpine meadows.
The glacier’s meltwater has sustained paddy fields, apple orchards, saffron fields and grazing pastures for centuries. Now, as its ice diminishes, the entire web of life it supported is shifting.
Weak regulation is to blame for disastrous failures in relation to pollution. But there are solutions if people get behind them
A study suggesting that as many as 168m light-up Christmas ornaments and similar items could be thrown out in a single year, in the UK, is concerning if not surprising in light of longstanding challenges around recycling rates and waste reduction. Even if the actual figure is lower, there is no question that battery-powered and electrical toys, lights and gifts are proliferating as never before. Despite a great deal of commentary aimed at dialling down consumption over the festive season, especially surplus packaging and rubbish, strings of disposable lights and flashing figures have gained in popularity. Homes, front gardens and shopping streets grow sparklier by the year.
Batteries and electrical devices present particular difficulties when it comes to disposal, because they cause fires. But they are just one part of a more general problem of excessive waste – and weak regulatory oversight. British plastic waste exports rose by 5% in 2024 to nearly600,000 tonnes. A new report on plastics from the Pew Charitable Trusts warns that global production is expected to rise by 52% by 2040 – to 680m tonnes – outstripping the capacity of waste management systems around the world.
Green light intended to limit amount consumers pay for windfarms to turn off during periods of high generation
Three major UK electricity “superhighways” could move ahead sooner than expected to help limit the amount that households pay for windfarms to turn off during periods of high power generation.
Current grid bottlenecks mean there is not enough capacity to transport the abundance of electricity generated in periods of strong winds to areas where energy demand is highest.
Conservationist who devoted his life to the study and preservation of the African elephant
The British scientist Iain Douglas-Hamilton, who has died aged 83, became the world’s leading authority on the behaviour of African elephants and played a vital part in ensuring their conservation.
His efforts to save the African elephant began in 1965 when, as an Oxford zoology graduate who had also just received his pilot’s licence, he flew his Piper Pacer bush plane from Nairobi down to Tanzania’s pocket-sized Lake Manyara national park. The challenge he had accepted at the age of 23 was how to solve the problem of 450 elephants confined in a space too small to support them.
As the days grow shorter and darkness descends, tropical varieties can struggle. But there’s a clever fix that nature can’t provide
The problem In the dark days of winter, the whole house is darker, days are shorter, skies are greyer and our tropical houseplants receive far less light than they would in their natural habitat. Leaves fade and growth slows as plants struggle to photosynthesise.
The hack Grow lights offer a clever fix, topping up what nature can’t provide. But with prices ranging from £15 to £100, are they really worth it?
Tapanuli orangutans survive only in Indonesia’s Sumatran rainforest where a mine expansion will cut through their home. Yet the mining company says the alternative will be worse
A small brown line snakes its way through the rainforest in northern Sumatra, carving 300 metres through dense patches of meranti trees, oak and mahua. Picked up by satellites, the access road – though modest now – will soon extend 2km to connect with the Tor Ulu Ala pit, an expansion site of Indonesia’s Martabe mine. The road will help to unlock valuable deposits of gold, worth billions of dollars in today’s booming market. But such wealth could come at a steep cost to wildlife and biodiversity: the extinction of the world’s rarest ape, the Tapanuli orangutan.
The network of access roads planned for this swath of tropical rainforest will cut through habitat critical to the survival of the orangutans, scientists say. The Tapanuli (Pongo tapanuliensis), unique to Indonesia, was only discovered by scientists to be a separate species in 2017 – distinct from the Sumatran and Bornean apes. Today, there are fewer than 800 Tapanulis left in an area that covers as little as 2.5% of their historical range. All are found in Sumatra’s fragile Batang Toru ecosystem, bordered on its south-west flank by the Martabe mine, which began operations in 2012.
Cristina Dorador is on an urgent mission in the world’s driest desert, the Atacama in Chile. As the rise of drug-resistant superbugs kills millions per year, Cristina has made it her mission to uncover new, life-saving antibiotics in the stunning salt flats she has studied since she was 14. Against the magnificent backdrop of endless plains, microscopic discoveries lead her team of scientists to question how critically lithium mining is damaging the delicate ecosystem and impacting Indigenous communities
Oil and gas firms were supposed to start reducing methane, a powerful driver of climate change. The agency is giving them more time and may cancel the requirement.
The Rapa Nui moai, the monolithic stone figures of Easter Island, were hewed from compacted ash in a quarry inside the crater of the Rano Raraku volcano between A.D. 1200 and 1700.
The president’s energy strategy is projected to generate more pollution, but so far production has not risen significantly and price drops have been modest, analysts say.
Since President Trump took office, oil production is up, but largely because of improved efficiency, and it has not translated into more jobs for either the industry or the overall economy.
Protesting the Dakota Access Pipeline project near Cannonball, N.D., in September 2016. Earlier this year a court found Greenpeace liable for its role in demonstrations there.
As tech companies build data centers worldwide to advance artificial intelligence, vulnerable communities have been hit by blackouts and water shortages.
When Microsoft opened a data center in central Mexico last year, nearby residents said power cuts became more frequent. Water outages, which once lasted days, stretched for weeks.
Political debates have flared across Chile over artificial intelligence. Should the nation pour billions into A.I. and risk public backlash, or risk being left behind?
"Each facility is likely to consume the same amount of electrical power as tens of thousands of residential homes, potentially driving up costs for residents and straining the area's power infrastructure beyond its capacity. Parmelee and others in the community are wary of the data centres' appetite for electricity — particularly because Virginia is already known as the data-centre capital of the world. A state-commissioned review, published in December 2024, noted that although data centres bring economic benefits, their growth could double electricity demand in Virginia within ten years."
The IEA's special report Energy and AI, out today, offers the most comprehensive, data-driven global analysis to date on the growing connections between energy and AI. The report draws on new datasets and extensive consultation with policy makers, the tech sector, the energy industry and international experts. It projects that electricity demand from data centres worldwide is set to more than double by 2030 to around 945 terawatt-hours (TWh), slightly more than the entire electricity consumption of Japan today. AI will be the most significant driver of this increase, with electricity demand from AI-optimised data centres projected to more than quadruple by 2030.
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