President derided Biden’s ‘green new scam’ during State of the Union address, and hailed the rise in US oil production
Trump didn’t say the words “climate change” during the State of the Union, but it loomed large over his 108-minute speech as he touted his “drill, baby, drill” agenda and derided Joe Biden’s “green new scam”.
Toward the beginning of his address, the president discussed last year’s flooding at Camp Mystic in Texas, saying they were “one of the worst things I’ve ever seen”.
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Breaking Waves: Ocean News
02/25/2026 - 06:00
02/25/2026 - 05:00
Fish levels fall by 7.2% with as little as 0.1C of warming per decade, northern hemisphere research shows
Chronic ocean heating is fuelling a “staggering and deeply concerning” loss of marine life, a study has found, with fish levels falling by 7.2% from as little as 0.1C of warming per decade.
Researchers examined the year-to-year change of 33,000 populations in the northern hemisphere between 1993 and 2021, and isolated the effect of the decadal rate of seabed warming from short shifts such as marine heatwaves. They found the drop in biomass from chronic heating to be as high as 19.8% in a single year.
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02/25/2026 - 01:00
Thousands more people across Devon and Cornwall could join case against water firm
A group legal claim against South West Water alleging sewage pollution into coastal waters is harming businesses and individuals has been expanded across Devon and Cornwall.
Thousands more individuals could now join the first environmental community group legal action against a water company over the impact of sewage pollution.
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02/25/2026 - 00:00
Researchers say solitary bottlenose has adapted well to city waters, but tighter controls on boat traffic and human behaviour are needed
Italian scientists monitoring the movements of a dolphin in the Venice lagoon have said humans are the ones who need managing, rather than wildlife.
Known as Mimmo, the bottlenose dolphin has been spotted on several occasions since it made its first appearance in June last year, prompting a research team from the University of Padova to spring into action.
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02/25/2026 - 00:00
UK Climate Change Committee voices concern over Scotland’s progress on decarbonising buildings and reliance on unproved technologies
Scotland has finally produced realistic short-term plans on cutting its climate emissions, but there is “real concern” about the credibility of its overall strategy, the UK’s climate policy watchdog has found.
Nigel Topping, the chair of the UK Climate Change Committee, said there were “flashing amber lights” about the quality and seriousness of some of the Scottish government’s medium- and long-term proposals to reach net zero by 2045.
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02/24/2026 - 20:41
Critics say proposal to fold department into a new ‘mega ministry’ will dilute accountability and put nature protections at risk
New Zealand’s government is seeking to abolish its dedicated environment ministry to cut down on bureaucracy, a move critics say could dilute environmental protections.
Under the plan, the department would be folded into a new “mega-ministry” that will cover housing, urban development, transport, local government and the environment.
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02/24/2026 - 13:27
Environment secretary says payments will be limited to £100,000 per farm so ‘more farmers can benefit’
Some farmers will lose money by opting into environment schemes under new plans to cap payments available for sustainable farming.
Emma Reynolds, the environment secretary, said the new system is “fairer”, adding: “Too much of our most productive land was removed from conventional farming.” Farmers will be disincentivised from taking large amounts of their land out of food production and rewilding it for nature, under her plans.
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02/24/2026 - 09:00
Daly River region is home to threatened species such as the ghost bat, Gouldian finch, pig-nosed turtle and red goshawk
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The environment minister, Murray Watt, has given the green light for the bulldozing of nearly 3,000 hectares of tropical savanna in the Northern Territory without an assessment under Australia’s nature laws.
Top End Pastoral Company’s development would clear 2,723 hectares of woodland – an area 10 times the size of Sydney’s CBD – on Claravale farm and station in the Daly River region for crops, including sorghum and cotton.
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02/24/2026 - 09:00
The government will hand over $10.8bn this financial year under the scheme that makes it cheaper for miners and other industries to use diesel and petrol
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It’s the most costly anti-climate policy in the Australian government budget, working against efforts to cut emissions. This financial year, taxpayers will hand over nearly $10.8bn to make it cheaper for miners, farmers and some other industries to use diesel and petrol.
How much? Nearly $30m a day, every day of the year. Or $20,500 a minute, around the clock.
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02/24/2026 - 08:16
Deep in the Congo Basin, vast peatlands quietly store enormous amounts of Earth’s carbon — but new research suggests this ancient vault may be leaking. Scientists studying Africa’s largest blackwater lakes discovered that significant amounts of carbon dioxide bubbling into the atmosphere come not just from recent plant life, but from peat that has been locked away for thousands of years.
