Energy secretary seeks to reestablish UK as a global leader on the climate crisis with meeting of Cop presidents
Labour will honour a pledge of £11.6bn in overseas aid for the climate crisis, the energy secretary, Ed Miliband, told an unusual meeting of Cop presidents past and present on Friday, as he sought to re-establish the UK at the heart of international climate discussions.
As the Labour government prepares for this year’s climate-emergency summit in November, Miliband hosted Mukhtar Babayev, the Azerbaijan government minister who will lead Cop29, and Ana Toni, the top official on the climate for Brazil, which will host Cop30 in the Amazonian city of Belem in 2025 in a meeting to discuss what steps are needed to make a success of the next two UN climate Cops, as the “conferences of the parties” under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change are known.
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Farne Islands, Northumberland: A school trip across the waves made me feel seasick, but it was worth it
A gust of wind flew at me and the water soaked me, leaving a strong taste of salt on my tongue. The day was only beginning, but I was starting to feel seasick, and I was regretting my desire to be standing on a ship’s bow with the waves beneath me.
No one really expected to see puffins or seals when my school announced we would be going on a boat tour, but I decided to make it my mission to see both. Once on the ship, as promised we saw a lot of birds on the rocky coasts around us – guillemot, razorbill and kittiwake.
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National Whale and Dolphin Watch organisers say data collected will help with research into marine mammals
Hundreds of wildlife enthusiasts are expected to gather along UK coastlines over the next 10 days to count and record whales and dolphins.
The National Whale and Dolphin Watch, taking place from 26 July to 4 August, is hosted by the Sea Watch Foundation and aims to get volunteers to observe and record sightings of the UK’s most impressive marine mammals.
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Communities affected by construction of renewable energy infrastructure ‘have the right to see the benefits’
Labour will seek to persuade people living near proposed pylon routes and other renewable energy infrastructure that the developments are critical to bring down bills and tackle carbon emissions, the energy secretary said.
Ed Miliband promised to consider new benefits for communities affected by the construction of renewable energy infrastructure, and community ownership of the assets, which could include onshore windfarms and solar farms.
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Connection found between early exposure and bronchitic symptoms in adults without previous lung problems
Air pollution breathed in during childhood is one of the factors in adult lung health, according to a new study.
The origins of the study date back to 1992 when researchers began investigating the effects of air pollution on groups of children in California. Some of these children are now in their 40s.
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Organisers hope dogs will mimic behaviour of wolves that in past would have helped disperse wildflower seeds
Backpack-wearing dogs are being enlisted to “act like wolves” to help rewild an urban nature reserve in the East Sussex town of Lewes.
Before wolves were persecuted to extinction in the UK in about 1760, they were known to roam large areas, typically covering 12 miles (20km) or more each night.
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Woodside’s designs on the country’s largest untapped gas basin around Scott Reef are, some say, just another example of fossil fuel companies getting their way in what has become a petrostate
Australia’s next wave of fossil fuel expansion is planned for environments far from where most people will ever see it. Places like Scott Reef.
Once part of an interconnected coral ecosystem that rivalled the Great Barrier Reef in scale, Scott Reef now sits in a remnant group of atolls near the edge of the Australian continental shelf, nearly 300km from its sparsely populated north-west coast.
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Defining nature as separate from people perpetuates troubled relationship with the natural world, say campaigners
It was last year, during a conference at the Eden Project, the botanic garden and conservation centre in Cornwall, that Frieda Gormley first heard the dictionary definition of nature.
The businesswoman and environmental activist was answering questions about her plans to appoint a representative of nature to the board of her company, House of Hackney, when a member of the audience read it out.
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Changes include converting Bentleys to run on biofuels but helicopter use shows difficulties in balancing priorities
A pair of gas-guzzling Bentleys are not the most obvious candidates to burnish the monarch’s green credentials. But news that King Charles is converting his chauffeur-driven luxury vehicles to run on biofuels was this week billed as a small step in a bigger plan to reduce emissions – perhaps the equivalent of lesser mortals separating paper from plastic in the weekly rubbish.
“The two existing state Bentleys will undergo refurbishment in the coming year to enable them to run on biofuel,” said Sir Michael Stevens, the keeper of the privy purse, adding that it was an interim measure in advance of “the next generation of state vehicles being fully electrified” and part of a “wider plan to make a significant impact on our carbon emissions in the years ahead”.
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Andy McCarthy went from town pariah – being spat on and having his shop vandalised – to employing hundreds of people
When Andy McCarthy moved to the heart of Victoria’s coal country in 2010 to start selling rooftop solar panels he was greeted with “open ridicule”.
But as his Gippsland Solar firm began “having a few wins and making a bit of a splash”, the response on the streets in the Latrobe Valley towns of Morwell and Traralgon, and especially the local footy field, took on a more menacing tone.
Continue reading...Why some people are saying they've been ill all year.
It said the benefits of the treatment did not outweigh the risk of serious side effects.
Chloe Davies has "spontaneous swelling attacks", which can be life-threatening.
The systems were affected by a hack on the NHS, which caused significant disruption.
The health secretary says he is stunned by failings in inspecting hospitals, GPs and care homes in England.
No suitable home has been found in the community for the 36-year-old, who is disabled.
A mother who says the menopause is "harrowing" backs a study to help employers treat women better.
Data suggests at least 196,000 adults are waiting to be seen and demand has quadrupled since 2019.
Maeve Boothby-O’Neill had asked her GP for "help with feeding" four months before her death.
The latest data also shows the average age for first-time treatment is now over 35.
Once underappreciated, mangroves are having a moment. Now, a landmark $36.4 million project aims to give Ecuador’s degraded mangroves a new lease on life.
Guyana is making some giant steps for conservation with plans to double its protected areas within the next 18 months.
Restoring forests is critical for stopping climate change — but it costs money, and there’s more than one way to do it. So, what's the best way? A new study has answers.
Pantry staples don’t get a lot of love. But for Sarela Herrada, they’re at the heart of a mission to support farming communities and make healthier, ethically-sourced foods more widely available.
The government of Indonesia announced this week a deal to redirect more than US$ 35 million it owes to the United States into the conservation of coral reefs.
In the semi-arid shrubland of Namaqualand, dry conditions have long been a cycle of life. But climate change is now slowly transforming this once-thriving biodiversity hotspot, making life challenging for wildlife and the shepherds who have farmed here for centuries.
The CDC recently issued a warning to expect an increased risk of dengue — part of a worrying trend on a warming planet, where disease vectors like mosquitoes and ticks thrive.
Human and elephant conflict is on the rise, largely because of elephants' diminishing habitat. Experts say that protecting the species requires understanding and supporting rural communities that share spaces with them.
Africa’s pastoralists have long raised their livestock to mimic the rhythms of nature. Reviving their way of life is key to restoring grasslands.
Nearly a third of fishing lines are lost or discarded at sea. This so-called “ghost gear” — along with nets and traps — is deadly for marine animals. One man is on a mission to clean it up, net by net.