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New report on funding to slash carbon emissions finds startlingly low engagement with the people affected
Less than 3% of international aid to slash carbon emissions is supporting a “just transition” for workers and communities away from polluting industries, according to a new report.
Released one week before the start of major United Nations climate negotiations in Belém, Brazil, the analysis from the climate and development non-profit ActionAid warns that the world’s response to the climate crisis risks deepening inequality rather than addressing it.
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Analysis finds regulator for England and Wales raised issues with untreated water at facilities serving millions
The drinking water watchdog for England and Wales has ordered companies to act after “forever chemicals” linked to cancer and other conditions were found in untreated water sources at levels it said “could constitute a potential danger to human health”.
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (Pfas) are a group of manmade chemicals used for their waterproof and grease-resistant properties. These forever chemicals persist in the environment, can build up in the body and some have been linked to cancer, hormone disruption and fertility problems. Two of the most notorious, PFOS (perfluorooctane sulfonate) and PFOA (perfluorooctanoic acid) are now banned after being classified as carcinogens by the World Health Organization.
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Texas-based fossil fuel company financed Atlas Network in attempt to derail UN-led climate treaty process
Exxon funded rightwing thinktanks to spread climate change denial across Latin America, according to hundreds of previously unpublished documents that reveal a coordinated campaign to make the global south “less inclined” to support the UN-led climate treaty process
The documents, which include copies of the actual cheques Exxon sent, consist of internal documents and years of correspondence between the Texas-based fossil fuel company and Atlas Network, a US-based coalition of more than 500 free-market thinktanks and other partners worldwide.
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London mayor says government should stay true to its beliefs and face down those who claim net zero adds to cost of living
Keir Starmer’s government has shown a lack of confidence that it has the answers to the country’s problems, the mayor of London has said, as he called on the chancellor to back green investment in this month’s budget.
Speaking on the eve of a summit of world mayors in Rio de Janeiro, Sadiq Khan said the Treasury should be more supportive of the energy secretary, Ed Miliband, in his pursuit of the government’s target of an 81% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2035.
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Others languishing near bottom of 61-country study include Canada, Germany, Israel, Japan and Spain
Britain is one of the least “nature connected” nations in the world, according to one of the first ever global studies of how people relate to the natural world.
Britain ranks 55th out of 61 countries in the study of 57,000 people, which looks at how attitudes towards nature are shaped by social, economic, geographical and cultural factors.
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Tebay, Cumbria: It could take me hours to find my cattle on some mornings. Introducing tech has helped enormously
As the hours of daylight get fewer, they become more precious on a hill farm. Like a lot of other farmers I also have a full-time job off farm, so farming work must be done before and after work. I am lucky that my employer, the National Trust, allows me to work flexible hours, but checking animals that graze remotely can be difficult during the winter as our belted galloway cows can take more than an hour to find.
We decided to try some new technology to help us save time, and it is working really well. The cows are wearing electric collars that show you their location via a phone app. In the morning, before I leave the house, I can see they are grazing at around 1,200ft near one of the masts that sit on top of some fells.
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Researchers to investigate whether environmental factors may have affected female animal’s pigmentation
An amateur photographer in southern Spain has captured unprecedented images of a white Iberian lynx, prompting researchers to investigate whether environmental factors could be at play as wildlife watchers revelled in the rare sighting.
Ángel Hidalgo published the images on social media, describing the singular animal as the “white ghost of the Mediterranean forest”.
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From cultivating a spiral-shaped orchard to finding lost glaciers and dressing up as a landmark bird, on 4 November artists around the UK will participate in Remember Nature, a day of activism to offer hope for the future
Back in 2015, well into the twilight of his life, the artist and activist Gustav Metzger decided to embark on one last big project. Best known as the inventor of auto-destructive art – a response, he said, to the destructive horrors of the Holocaust – Metzger had also, over the course of a long career, been an inspirational teacher to Pete Townshend of the Who and campaigned for numerous causes including nuclear disarmament and vegetarianism. Now, on a video message barely three minutes long, he was making one final plea.
“I, Gustav Metzger, am asking for your participation in this worldwide call for a day of action to remember nature on November 4th, 2015,” he began, appealing to creatives to take a stand against the ongoing erasure of species. “Our task is to remind people of the richness and complexity in nature … and by doing so art will enter territories that are inherently creative.”
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The Australian PM’s non-attendance at Cop30 would ‘raise questions’ about his seriousness about co-hosting Cop31 in Adelaide
Anthony Albanese is in the middle of summit season. Since late September he has visited the US twice, and just returned from Malaysia and South Korea. He heads to South Africa in three weeks for the G20.
But diplomatic and business leaders say there is another trip the prime minister should be making if he is serious about the climate crisis – and particularly the Australian government’s bid to co-host a major climate conference in Adelaide in November 2026.
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Inspired by childhood encyclopedias and Jane Goodall, Beth Pratt writes about the more than 150 species in the national park – and transports readers to a rarefied world
A shrill call was followed by a flash of movement through a pile of boulders on a high country slope in Yosemite national park. “Hello, Sophie!” Beth Pratt responded to the round, feisty pika who had briefly emerged to pose defiantly in the sun.
Pratt, a conservation leader and wildlife advocate, has spent more than a decade observing the tiny mammals and the other inhabitants of these serene granite domes and the alpine meadows they overlook, which gleamed gold on a crisp afternoon in mid-October.
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