6 hours ago A mystery in Finnish Lapland, and what it means for the climate crisis – podcast

Biodiversity and environment reporter Patrick Greenfield travels to Finnish Lapland to investigate the disappearance of its carbon sink, and its implications for the fight against global heatingFinland has one of the most ambitious carbon-neutral goals in the world: to reach net zero by 2035. If this feels like a bold pledge, there’s good reason for it: two-thirds of the country is covered in forests, that have for decades absorbed more carbon dioxide than they have put out.But recently, something has changed: Finland’s carbon sink is no longer working. In fact, in barely over a decade, its forests and peatlands have become a net emitter of carbon dioxide with devastating consequences for the country’s climate goals. Continue reading...

Events

9 hours ago As Cop29 wraps up and the climate crisis gathers pace, Australia’s dash for gas is confounding | Bill Hare

Nearly all observers believe Chris Bowen is strongly committed to action. Most agree that can’t be said for his partyCop29 in Baku has concluded but its outcome is disappointing – in many dimensions. Its decisions on finance – agreeing that the developed world would provide US$300bn a year by 2035 – come nowhere close to what’s needed. Ultimately, it may even be poisonous because of its lack of ambition and muddled scope – it does not even cover loss and damage.Baku saw little sense of urgency or increased climate action, despite the universal message from scientific studies, including the Climate Action Tracker. Our global update this year found that in the last three years there’s been virtually no improvement in either action on the ground, nor ambition to take action in the future. ...

Society

17 hours ago Charred remains of Vladimir Putin's 8,370mph hypersonic Oreshnik missile retrieved by Ukraine after despot's boasts that 'no one in the world has such weapons'

The debris from the missile that was fired at the city of Dnipro on Thursday is being studied by Ukraine as it became the first time such a powerful weapon has been used in the war.

Events

20 hours ago Cop29 climate finance deal likely to be followed by equally bitter battles

Rich countries still need convincing that giving money to poorer nations is very much in their interests tooIt was only on the last scheduled day of two weeks of negotiations at the UN Cop29 climate summit that developed countries put a financial commitment on the table for the first time.In reality, this offer took not just two weeks of talks to prepare, but nine years – since article 9 of the Paris agreement in 2015 made it clear that the rich industrialised world would be obliged to supply cash to developing countries to help them tackle the climate crisis. Continue reading...

Economics

21 hours ago Classic Doctor Who episode The War Games has been colourised and will air in time for Christmas

Russell T Davies, showrunner said: "From the day I arrived back on 'Doctor Who', this was the plan. To colourise old stories and bring them back to life. And on Doctor Who Day itself, it's great to announce this, celebrating the show's wonderful heritage with an all-time-classic. "

Events

25 hours ago Yes, there is a lot of greenwashing, but Cop summits are our best chance of averting climate breakdown | Ashish Ghadiali

Despite its imperfections the process of tackling the climate crisis will not be derailed, even in the face of US backtrackingIt was never an indication of great things to come when the chief executive of Cop29, Elnur Soltanov, was filmed attempting to broker gas and oil deals for Azerbaijan in the slipstream of the past fortnight’s UN climate summit in Baku.More than 1,700 fossil fuel lobbyists have been operating in and around Cop29, outnumbering delegates from the 10 most climate-vulnerable countries combined. Many, including Greta Thunberg, now argue that the UN climate process has been entirely hijacked by corporate interests, reduced to a global stage for greenwash. Continue reading...

Politics