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Rapporteur calls for defossilization of economies and urgent reparations to avert ‘catastrophic’ rights and climate harms
A leading UN expert is calling for criminal penalties against those peddling disinformation about the climate crisisand a total ban on fossil fuel industry lobbying and advertising, as part of a radical shake-up to safeguard human rights and curtail planetary catastrophe.
Elisa Morgera, the UN special rapporteur on human rights and climate change who presents her damning new report to the general assembly in Geneva on Monday, argues that the US, UK, Canada, Australia and other wealthy fossil fuel nations are legally obliged under international law to fully phase out oil, gas and coal by 2030 – and compensate communities for harms caused.
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Authorities in Spain, Portugal, Greece and France issue extreme heat, wildfire and health warnings
Authorities across Europe are on alert as the first heatwave of the summer pushes temperatures up to 42C (107.6F), as the fastest-warming continent continues to suffer the effects of the climate emergency.
Spain’s state meteorological office, Aemet, issued a special heat warning on Friday, saying temperatures could reach 42C in some southern areas of the country over the coming days.
Agence France-Presse and Associated Press contributed to this report
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Swarms in South Korean capital trigger heated debate over pest control as experts say rising temperatures partly to blame
Seoul residents are grappling with an invasion of so-called “lovebugs” that have swarmed hiking trails and urban areas across the South Korean capital, with experts debating how to handle the infestations that are surging as the climate crisis draws them further north.
Viral footage shared on social media shows Gyeyangsan mountain in Incheon, west of Seoul, with hiking trails and observation decks carpeted black with the insects.
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Canford Heath, Dorset: Their UK numbers have thankfully recovered from near extinction in the 1960s, but that doesn’t make them any easier to spot
The constant droning of the nearby road fights against the increasing wind gusts as I venture further on to the heath. As sirens blast out in the town below, stonechats zip from gorse bush to gorse bush, and southern wood ants, otherwise known as red wood ants, rampage across the sandy paths.
It’s an overcast but mild day. I’ve decided to come for an afternoon walk at Canford Heath nature reserve near Poole in Dorset. The site covers more than 344 hectares (approximately 850 acres) – one of the largest remaining heaths in Dorset. UK lowland heathland is an incredibly important habitat, now rarer than tropical rainforest due to its degradation and destruction, with only about 16% left of the area that existed in 1800.
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Proposals would enable Britons to save on energy bills and join millions of people in Europe who use ‘plug-in’ panels
Those living in flats or rented homes in the UK could soon plug in their own “balcony solar panels” to save on their energy bills under plans set out in the government’s solar power strategy.
The proposals could mean that British households that are unable to install rooftop solar panels will soon join millions of people across Europe who generate their own electricity with “plug-in” panels.
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Negotiators doubt countries’ financial and environmental commitment as military and trade wars divert attention
“Climate is our biggest war. Climate is here for the next 100 years. We need to focus and … not allow those [other] wars to take our attention away from the bigger fight that we need to have.”
Ana Toni, the chief executive of Cop30, the UN climate summit to be held in Brazil this November, is worried. With only four months before the crucial global summit, the world’s response to the climate crisis is in limbo.
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Guardian investigation sheds light on private intelligence industry that runs covert surveillance operations
Wildlife activists who exposed horrific conditions at Scottish salmon farms were subjected to “Big Brother” surveillance by spies for hire working for an elite British army veteran.
One of the activists believes he was with his young daughter on at least one of the occasions when he was followed and photographed by the former paratrooper Damian Ozenbrook’s operatives.
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Warm weather and wet conditions caused by the climate emergency could trigger huge swarms of winged ants this July, experts warn. But why do they all take to the skies at once?
Name: Flying ants.
Age: Their ancestors have been with us since the end of the Jurassic period.
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These starfish relatives have lots of remarkable features and are a keystone species. My hope is that we will recognise how vital these charismatic creatures are
Brittle stars have a lot of remarkable features as a species. Many of them are bioluminescent and can flash blue light; some will have patterns and do displays. These slender relatives of starfish can be very beautiful to look at and come in a range of colours – in the tropics, for example, they can be red, black or orange. And they’ve got spines all over them, so they can look quite ornate.
They can also regenerate. Fish and other creatures will often nip off bits of their arms – known as sublethal predation – so they are constantly regenerating themselves. You can even break off all their arms, and sometimes even half the disc, and the brittle star will still regenerate.
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A drunk old man’s report of sighting an angel opens on to much broader mysteries
Nest Box
When the drunken old fool
saw the barn owl,
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