Bold pledges to fund climate projects now appear under threat, exposing deeper fiscal constraints and policy dilemmas within the government
In October, the prime minister, chancellor and energy secretary pledged billions to kickstart the UK’s first carbon capture projects – one of the biggest green spending promises of the parliament. By December, Ed Miliband was signing contracts, Sir Keir Starmer vowed to “reignite our industrial heartlands” and Rachel Reeves warned that without bold action, Britain would be stuck with low growth and falling living standards. More importantly, net zero targets wouldn’t be met without removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
Fast forward and the Treasury is, reportedly, preparing to scrap the £22bn plan, after economic growth failed to materialise. What a difference a few weeks make.
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Breaking Waves: Ocean News
03/02/2025 - 12:25
03/02/2025 - 09:00
Inaugural Tune into Nature prize is aiming to highlight how the natural world is central to creative life
One is a dreamy soundscape collected from the peaks of the Dolomites. The other is a drum’n’bass track that samples a nightingale’s quickfire song.
These contrasting tunes have won the inaugural Tune into Nature music prize, a contest that seeks to showcase new music by upcoming artists that is inspired by the natural world.
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03/02/2025 - 05:00
With a beauty that belies its name, the sea slug is an invertebrate that reminds me of a happy Scottish summer
It has been a long time since I’ve thought about nudibranchs, let alone spotted one. But a lifetime ago, as a zoology undergraduate at Glasgow University, I spent hours underwater, swimming through kelp forests, corals and shipwrecks, looking out for the tiny, colourful creatures.
Diving on the west coast of Scotland is spectacular for all the reasons you might expect: the drama of the islands, bays and meandering sea lochs against the mountains, the rugged rocky shores, the awe-inspiring wildness.
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03/02/2025 - 03:30
Self-denial will save the Earth, we’re told. But big emitters seemingly haven’t had the memo
That I fully expect to be dead by the time the UK achieves net zero is, of course, no reason to dodge interim advice from the Climate Change Committee (CCC), the UK’s official climate authority. Its latest report to government is of particular interest to the public, in arguing that a third of the emissions cuts required to achieve net zero by 2050 will have to come from consumers themselves.
Unless we – individual households – accept heat pumps and electric cars and deterrents to flying and less meat (skipping two kebabs per week), the CCC explains, the target cannot be met. And assuming the introduction of a selective news blackout that reduces public awareness of UK plutocrats, celebrities and influencers with colossal carbon footprints, such a behavioural transformation may not be impossible.
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03/02/2025 - 02:00
MPs ask ‘what will be left of Labour programme?’ amid calls for rethink and plan to speak out against decision
Labour MP Emily Darlington: ‘International aid is as vital as defence spending – cutting either undermines British security’
Keir Starmer is facing a backbench revolt by Labour MPs this week as anger mounts over the government’s decision to cut the international development budget by almost half in order to pay for an increase in defence spending.
The Labour chair of the all-party select committee on international development, Sarah Champion, who has already called on the government to rethink the decision, has secured a debate in the Commons on Wednesday at which dozens of Labour backbenchers are considering intervening to express their dismay.
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03/02/2025 - 02:00
Experts hope research can create greener methods of extracting the metal vital for renewable energy revolution and boom in electrical devices
It is the key ingredient of bronze, the alloy that helped create some of the world’s greatest civilisations and took humanity out of the stone age on its way to modern times. For good measure, the metal is invaluable for electrical wiring, plumbing and industrial machinery. We owe a lot to copper.
But the metal now faces an uncertain future as manufacturers prepare to expand its use to make the electric cars, renewable power plants and other devices that will help the planet move towards net zero. Unrestricted extraction could cause widespread ecological devastation, scientists have warned.
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03/02/2025 - 02:00
The cute rodent helps combat drought and boosts biodiversity. Its rewilding is welcome and long overdue
The first time I laid eyes on a beaver was a couple of years ago on the Devon farm of Derek Gow, the farmer turned rewilder, who brought the furry rodents back to the UK 30 years ago.
It was magical. Sitting in the June dusk, the pink-and-purple sky was reflected in the still ponds of the beaver habitat. Suddenly, ripples emerged from the lodge and the head of a kit – a baby beaver – popped up from underwater.
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03/01/2025 - 14:00
Exclusive: Coalition energy efficiency package also on the cards as climate advocates urge better subsidies on solar and other alternatives
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Labor is expected to flick the switch on a household battery incentive scheme in a dual cost-of-living and climate action pitch to voters.
Guardian Australia understands the government is preparing a large residential energy efficiency package as part of Anthony Albanese’s re-election platform.
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03/01/2025 - 13:00
Backing of Glencore angers campaigners who have highlighted firm’s environmental breaches in South Africa
One of the world’s biggest banks, JP Morgan, has promoted environmental and “sustainable” funds to customers which have invested more than £200m in the mining giant Glencore, it can be revealed.
Ethical investing has become big business for JP Morgan and other financial giants, with worldwide “sustainable” investing expected to surpass $40tn by 2030. But the industry now faces scrutiny over the rules around investments focusing on environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues.
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03/01/2025 - 09:00
Regulators extended the life of two of the oldest US reactors in Miami. Millions of people in the area are now vulnerable
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A decision by regulators to extend the life of two of the oldest reactors in the US decades beyond their original permits has elevated the risk of a nuclear disaster in heavily populated south Florida, environmental groups are warning.
The Miami Waterkeeper says the ageing Turkey Point facility in south Miami-Dade county, which was built in 1967 and generates power for a metropolitan area covering about 3 million people, is especially vulnerable to flooding and excessive heat from the climate emergency, in part because of its low-lying position and coastal exposure to a major hurricane.
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