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Extreme weather kills more than 1,100 people across southern and south-eastern Asia as cyclones turbocharge rain systems
Tropical cyclones have combined with heavy monsoon rains to lay waste to swathes of Asia, killing more than 1,100 people, with the death toll expected to rise, and leaving many more homeless.
A confluence of three tropical weather systems – including a rare cyclonic storm that built up in the Malacca Strait – has fuelled intense wind and rainover the past week, devastating areas of Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam with flooding and mudslides.
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Exclusive: Pollution targets set out alongside nature recovery projects to allay concerns over housebuilding
Wood-burning stoves are likely to face tighter restrictions in England under new pollution targets set as part of an updated environmental plan released by ministers on Monday.
Speaking to the Guardian before the publication of the updated environmental improvement plan (EIP), the environment secretary, Emma Reynolds, said it would boost nature recovery in a number of areas, replacing an EIP under the last government she said was “not credible”.
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River Action says use of issuance tied to environmental benefits is ‘corporate greenwash on steroids’
Water companies have issued a fifth of the UK’s “green bonds” since 2017, despite a consistently poor record of sewage pollution during that time, research has shown.
Privately owned water companies in England have together issued £10.5bn in bonds tied to projects that offer “environmental benefits”, according to analysis of financial market data by Unearthed, which is part of Greenpeace UK.
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Blakeney Point, Norfolk: The old steamer, called Yankee, has long been abandoned on the shingle, dwindling in the elements. I take the four-mile walk to visit
There are thrushes on the wind today. A redwing has just landed in the veil of shrubby seablite between the tidal ooze of Blakeney Pit and the shingle where I’m standing. Exhausted by its crossing from Scandinavia, this handsome bird sits in a seablite’s wind-torn tips and lets me watch. Mottle-chested, creamy-browed, it is exquisite.
I have made the four-mile, shingle-crunching pilgrimage from Cley to near the end of Blakeney Point to visit my great-great-grandfather. To visit his memory, at least. He was Martin Fountain Page, co-owner of Page and Turner, last of the River Glaven shipping companies in 700 years of documented navigation here. Beneath the doormat in the north porch of Blakeney Church lies a slab of polished stone, engraved to his eternal memory, generous benefactor of the village as he was.
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Labour knows it needs to win over the ‘sea wall’ cohort of coastal voters in the next election. But as anger over inequality grows, time is running out
It is a lovely sunny autumn day in Ramsgate on Britain’s Kent coast, and quintessential seaside chippy Peter’s Fish Factory is doing a roaring lunchtime trade. Across the road, at the entrance to the town’s pier, local MP and chair of the newly reformed coastal parliamentary Labour party (PLP), Polly Billington, is having her photo taken.
In between shots she shows us the community art project that adorns the fence along the entrance to the pier. It is made up of pictures, drawn primarily by local children and young people, of the 65 little ships that set sail earlier this year from Ramsgate to commemorate the 85th anniversary of the Dunkirk evacuation.
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Tensions grow after research in England finds there may not be enough water for planned carbon capture and hydrogen projects
Tensions are growing between the government, the water sector and its regulators over the management of England’s water supplies, as the Environment Agency warns of a potential widespread drought next year.
Research commissioned by a water retailer has found water scarcity could hamper the UK’s ability to reach its net zero targets, and that industrial growth could push some areas of the country into water shortages.
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TotalEnergies scheme became lightning rod for terror in region and was accused of violating human rights
The UK government has pulled a controversial $1.15bn (£870m) loan to a giant gas project in Mozambique that has been accused of fuelling the climate crisis and deadly terror attacks in the region.
The business secretary, Peter Kyle, said the UK would withdraw its export finance to the Mozambique liquified natural gas project, five years after it ignited bitter opposition from campaigners over its impact on human rights, security and the environment.
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Short boat ride from Cop30 host, Afro-descendant residents of Menino Jesus say their voices are not being heard
Walk through the conference centre where the recent UN climate talks were held and representations of Indigenous people and culture were everywhere, from the spear-carrying, fiery-headed Cop30 mascot Curupira to huge mural-sized photos of people navigating the Amazon in dugout canoes and the many protests demanding dialogue outside.
Yet a short boat ride down the river from Belém, into the forest itself, takes you to another forest-dwelling community also fighting for further recognition within the Cop process. The quilombola community of Menino Jesus has existed for six generations. Quilombolas are the descendants of former enslaved people who fled into the forest as a site of refuge. Over hundreds of years, they established a unique way of life separate from mainstream Brazilian society, living in harmony with nature as fugitives protected by the jungle.
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Climate activists from the Rising Tide organisation have stopped coal ships from reaching Newcastle port – for a day or two. What’s their real objective?
Annabelle* knew before she paddled into the world’s largest coal port that she might be arrested. The 71-year-old arrived in Newcastle on Sunday with thousands of others to join Rising Tide, one of Australia’s largest annual climate protests.
After a signal was given that a coal ship was coming, she entered the port in a kayak with hundreds of others. She managed to paddle beyond yellow buoys that marked the start of a zone the Minns government created for the duration of the protest – which gave police additional powers to arrest people. The police floated on boats just inside the zone, ready to pluck anyone out of the water who might defy their direction to turn back.
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From tool library memberships to repair kits and even refurbished electronics – here are ways to give sustainable gifts this holiday season
Here is the uncomfortable truth about gift-giving: many fun-to-unwrap baubles get used twice, shoved in a drawer, and eventually hauled off to Goodwill or the landfill. So for anyone who cares about the climate crisis or the environment, the holidays are a minefield of cognitive dissonance: you want to give loved ones something meaningful, while cringing at your own consumerism. It’s a dilemma, but it doesn’t have to be.
There are thoughtful ways to give without adding to the problem, or better yet, giving gifts that make the right kind of difference. We’re not talking about carbon credits or vague promises of planting trees – the gifts here can extend the life of things you already own, replace single-use waste, or fund conservation work directly. Some I have tested myself; others come from trusted organizations with long track records and verifiable credentials. Here are some gift ideas that you and your eco-minded recipient can both feel great about.
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