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Exclusive: Adrian Ramsay and Ellie Chowns say party could slide into irrelevance if it chooses new leader with ‘polarising’ approach
The Green party risks going into reverse if they elect Zack Polanski as leader, his two opponents have said, arguing that his promised brand of “eco-populism” would prove polarising, divisive and likely to put off more moderate voters.
Speaking to the Guardian before the opening of the month-long leadership vote, which begins on Friday, Adrian Ramsay and Ellie Chowns said the party in England and Wales was at “a crossroads”, and could miss the chance to hold the balance of power at the next election.
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Concerns poorer countries could be priced out of negotiations in Belém as room rates soar amid shortage
The UN climate bureau has held an urgent meeting about concerns that sky-high rates for accommodation at this year’s Cop30 summit in Brazil could price poorer countries out of the negotiations.
Brazil is preparing to host Cop30 this November in the rainforest city of Belém, where representatives of nearly every government in the world will gather to negotiate their joint efforts to curb the climate crisis.
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Test is one of only about 200 chalk streams in the world and councillors says biodiversity in and around it has declined
Local politicians have recognised the right of a famous chalk stream, the Test in Hampshire, to flow freely and unpolluted.
Councillors on Test Valley borough council voted unanimously to acknowledge “the intrinsic rights” of the rivers within its boundaries, including the Test, which is renowned for its trout and fly fishing.
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Incidents across northern Europe on 26 and 27 July have left scientists trying to understand why so many of the deep-diving whales have appeared
A series of strandings of one of the world’s deepest dwelling and most rarely seen types of whale in the last few days has left experts baffled over why they might have appeared in such numbers.
Beaked whales are used to deep ocean waters and are so rarely seen that some species have only ever been identified through dead specimens. But on 26 and 27 July there were reports from western Ireland, Orkney in Scotland and the Netherlands of these whales being stranded, raising concerns that human actions could be implicated in the animals’ deaths.
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Not a single licence granted since first beavers let loose in March, raising questions over application process
When the first pair of beavers to be legally released in England crawled sleepily from their crates into the ponds of Purbeck Heath in Dorset, it seemed like a watershed moment for wildlife in the UK.
Wildlife charities rejoiced as ministers finally agreed for the nature-boosting rodents to be released, subject to licence, into the wild. Nature-friendly farmers kept an eager eye out for the application forms, hoping they could host the fascinating creatures on their land.
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Research links poor housing, access to cooling and other economic factors to higher mortality rates during heatwaves
Ethnic minorities and people living in the most deprived areas of England are at increased risk of dying due to excess heat, according to research.
A study, published in BMJ Public Health, is the first of its kind to assess the role of socio-environmental factors in the risk of heat-related deaths.
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Disgust at the CEO’s rightwing activism is casting a pall but conservatives are no more likely to buy EVs
US liberals have become so disgusted with Tesla since Elon Musk’s rightward turn that they are now not only far less likely to purchase the car brand but also less willing to buy any type of electric car, new research has found.
The popularity of Tesla among liberal-minded Americans has plummeted since Musk, Tesla’s chief executive and the world’s richest person, allied himself with Donald Trump and helped propel the president to election victory last year.
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We require several decent years in a row – 2025 is an improvement on last year but we need more vintage years
Is it a superlative summer for butterflies or simply a return to normal? Plenty of nature-lovers have delighted in the abundance of gatekeepers, red admirals and peacocks this year, particularly after the dire summer of 2024, the second worst for common butterflies since scientific records began in 1976.
We won’t know the answer until results from the Big Butterfly Count come in – add your 15-minute butterfly counts in your local green space using the free app or website until 10 August. Confirmation will come when UKBMS data is crunched early next year.
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Former energy officials raise alarm about tariffs, cuts and other policies creating uncertainty in geothermal industry
Geothermal is one of the most promising clean energy sources in the US, providing 24/7 renewable power that could meet rising energy demand from AI datacentres. But former Department of Energy officials are alarmed that Donald Trump is fumbling its potential.
Compared with other clean energy sources such as solar and wind, geothermal enjoys rare bipartisan support. The US energy secretary, Chris Wright, has praised the technology, calling it “an awesome resource that’s under our feet”. And Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act preserved tax credits for geothermal.
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Developing snorkelling trails is part of my job, but I never tire of the teeming underwater life and seeing some of the least crowded parts of Britain’s coast
People always ask me: isn’t it too cold to snorkel in Scotland? And I reply that while it’s obviously much cooler than it would be in Spain, the sea does warm up from May, when the temperature rises from about 9C to as high as 12-15C by August and September.
I go snorkelling in Scotland all year round. I work for the Scottish Wildlife Trust, developing snorkel trails on the Scottish coast and creating guides to the places you can go to enjoy snorkelling in a particular area. But even so, the Wildlife Trust always recommends wearing a wetsuit.
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