6 h. ago Changes to polar bear DNA could help them adapt to global heating, study finds

Scientists say bears in southern Greenland differ genetically to those in the north, suggesting they could adjustChanges in polar bear DNA that could help the animals adapt to warmer climates have been detected by researchers, in a study thought to be the first time a statistically significant link has been found between rising temperatures and changing DNA in a wild mammal species.Climate breakdown is threatening the survival of polar bears. Two-thirds of them are expected to have disappeared by 2050 as their icy habitat melts and the weather becomes hotter. Continue reading...

Politics

37 h. ago BA A380 flight dumps fuel off coast of Scotland and diverts back to major UK airport

A LONG haul British Airways flight suffered a technical issue and dumped fuel off the Hebrides before heading back to London today. According to global flight tracking service FlightRadar24, BA flight BA285, flying from London Heathrow to San Francisco, entered a holding pattern west of the islands for one hour. The drama was observed by...

Transport

66 h. ago A dog that loves fish pate and squirty cheese and is the size of a 'small polar bear' is looking for a home

Brody is a Pyrenean Mountain Dog who also has a fondness for a good head scratch and lounging on his owner

Politics

3 d. ago Caribbean reefs have lost 48% of hard coral since 1980, study finds

‘Destructive’ marine heatwaves driving loss of microalgae that feed coral, says Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network Caribbean reefs have half as much hard coral now as they did in 1980, a study has found.The 48% decrease in coral cover has been driven by climate breakdown, specifically marine heatwaves. They affect the microalgae that feed coral, making them toxic and forcing the coral to expel them. Continue reading...

Politics

3 d. ago Watch James Acaster’s Saturday Kitchen outburst crowned ‘TV moment of the year’

James Acaster punched Saturday Kitchen's polar bear figurine and attacked their Christmas decorations in a moment viewers have crowned “TV moment of the year.”

Politics

4 d. ago 'Small polar bear' dog who loves sitting on owner to seek new home – but there's a catch

Brody is a massive Pyrenean Mountain Dog who weighs 66kg and stands six feet tall on his hind legs - and Animal Concern Cumbria is preparing to find him a new home

Politics

4 d. ago Inside world's coldest towns with bitter 55C temperatures, ice roads and polar bear laws

If you thought the UK was cold this winter, think again. Take a look at our round-up of some of the coldest places on the planet – and humans still survive there!

Politics

9 d. ago Global heating and other human activity are making Asia’s floods more lethal

Much improved response systems are struggling to cope with ever more powerful and destructive stormsDeath toll from Indonesia floods passes 700 as 1 million evacuatedFamilies stranded on their rooftops. Homes buried by fast-flowing mud. Jagged brown craters scarring lush green hillsides.The scenes are the result of a series of cyclones and storms in a heavy monsoon season that have struck Asia with torrential rains, gutting essential infrastructure and reshaping landscapes. The violent weather has killed at least 1,200 people in the past week and forced a million to flee without knowing whether their homes will still be standing when they go back. Continue reading...

Events

9 d. ago Families on rooftops, homes buried by mud: Asia floods show water is overtaking wind as main threat

Much improved response systems are struggling to cope with ever more powerful and destructive stormsDeath toll from Indonesia floods passes 700 as 1 million evacuatedFamilies stranded on their rooftops. Homes buried by fast-flowing mud. Jagged brown craters scarring lush green hillsides.The scenes are the result of a series of cyclones and storms in a heavy monsoon season that have struck Asia with torrential rains, gutting essential infrastructure and reshaping landscapes. The violent weather has killed at least 1,200 people in the past week and forced a million to flee without knowing whether their homes will still be standing when they go back. Continue reading...

Events

2 w. ago Another Cop wrecked by fossil fuel interests and our leaders’ cowardice – but there is another way | Genevieve Guenther

The fingerprints of Russia and Saudi Arabia are all over the decision text in Brazil. But a group of nations led by Colombia and the Netherlands offer hopeGenevieve Guenther is the founding director of End Climate SilenceThe 30th conference of the parties (Cop30), the annual climate summit of all nations party to the UNFCCC, just ended. Stakeholders are out in the media trying spin the outcome as a win. Simon Stiell, climate change executive secretary for the UN is, for instance, praising Cop30 for showing that “climate cooperation is alive and kicking, keeping humanity in the fight for a liveable planet”. But let us be clear. The conference was a failure. Its outcome, the decision text known as the Global Mutirão or Global Collective Effort, is, in essence, a form of climate denial.In 2023, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) determined that the world had already developed, or planned to develop, too much fossil fuel to be able to halt global heating at 2C. It ackn...

Politics

2 w. ago Trump, war, absent media: five threats to climate progress that dogged Cop30

Did the talks succeed or fail? The verdict must take account of the geopolitical minefield they took place inCop30 in Belém wrapped up on Saturday night more than 24 hours later than planned, and with an Amazonian rainstorm thundering down on the conference centre. The United Nations structure just about held, as it has done these past three weeks despite fire, savage tropical heat and blistering political attacks on the multilateral system of global environmental governance.Dozens of agreements were gavelled through on the final day, as the most collective form of humanity worked to resolve the most complex and dangerous challenge that our species has ever faced. It was chaotic. The process very nearly collapsed and had to be rescued by last-ditch talks that lasted into the early morning. Veteran observers told me the Paris agreement was on life-support. Continue reading...

Events

3 w. ago The two extraordinary young activists making me feel optimistic at Cop30

In today’s newsletter: Despite valid criticisms, the summits are filled with smart, passionate people dedicating their lives to fighting the climate crisis• Don’t get Down to Earth delivered to your inbox? Sign up hereIt is easy to criticise the UN climate conferences. But unless you’ve been, there’s one wonderful, almost miraculous, thing that you may not be aware of: it is a beautiful gathering of humanity, people from virtually every country on Earth, all thrown together in common cause.What’s more, many are incredibly smart, passionate and dedicating their lives to fighting the climate crisis. The more of them you meet, the more your hope grows that global heating can be defeated.Trump’s anti-climate agenda could result in 1.3m more deaths globally, analysis findsTropical cyclone Fina intensifies to category two and could hit NT coast on FridayEngland’s Beth Mead: ‘If we don’t adapt to climate change, football becomes a privilege, not a right‘ Continue reading...

Politics

3 w. ago Keeping promises on renewables, energy efficiency and methane ‘would avoid nearly 1C of global heating’

Analysis published at Cop30 summit shows adhering to pledges offer world hope of avoiding climate breakdownSticking to three key climate promises – on renewables, energy efficiency and methane – would avoid nearly 1C of global heating and give the world hope of avoiding climate breakdown, analysis published at the Cop30 climate summit suggests.Governments have already agreed to triple the amount of renewable energy generated by 2030, double global energy efficiency by then, and make substantial cuts to methane emissions. Continue reading...

Politics

3 w. ago ‘This is survival’: Jamaica leads calls from vulnerable nations at Cop30

Countries including Mauritius and Cuba reiterate life-or-death nature of cutting emissions, calling it ‘a moral duty’Cop30: click here for full Guardian coverage of climate talks in BrazilJamaica has led calls from vulnerable nations at the Cop30 climate summit to urge immediate action on climate breakdown as the conference entered its second week.As high-level ministers from governments around the world took over negotiations in Belém, Brazil, vulnerable nations lined up to say how important it was that wealthier countries cut emissions in order to limit the worst effects of global heating. In addition, they renewed a longstanding call for rich nations to do more financially to help poor countries deal with warming. Continue reading...

Events

3 w. ago Can methane cuts pull us back from the brink of climate breakdown?

With temperatures breaching the Paris limit, experts say tackling the powerful gas could buy crucial time as the clean-energy shift stallsCop30: click here for full Guardian coverage of the climate talks in BrazilFor two years, global temperatures have exceeded the 1.5C heating limit laid out in the Paris climate agreement. This overshooting will have “devastating consequences”, the UN secretary general, António Guterres, has warned.The biggest worry for scientists is that further heating could trigger irreversible tipping points, such as the widespread drying out and dying off of the Amazon, or the melting of the Greenland ice sheet, beyond which climate breakdown could spiral out of control. Continue reading...

Politics

4 w. ago Once a global leader on climate action, the EU has given in to the right’s green

From deforestation to emissions trading, vital policies are being watered down in the name of ‘competitiveness’. But Europe is shooting itself in the footClimate action has long been a flagship European policy. As negotiators gather in Brazil for Cop30, however, Europe’s leadership risks faltering. Things were very different a decade ago in Paris, when a landmark deal to limit global heating to 1.5C was achieved at Cop21. That agreement relied on an understanding between the US and China – one that would be difficult to replicate today. Its ambition was elevated by Europe acting in concert with a broad coalition of global south countries.The Paris climate agreement paved the way for the European Green Deal in 2019, which enshrined into law the ambition of climate neutrality in the EU by 2050 and introduced the world’s first comprehensive plan to achieve it, featuring a robust set of pricing, regulatory and funding measures.Nathalie Tocci is a Guardian Europe columnist Continue readi...

Politics

4 w. ago World still on track for catastrophic 2.6C temperature rise, report finds

Fossil fuel emissions have hit a record high while many nations have done too little to avert deadly global heatingThe world is still on track for a catastrophic 2.6C increase in temperature as countries have not made sufficiently strong climate pledges, while emissions from fossil fuels have hit a record high, two major reports have found.Despite their promises, governments’ new emission-cutting plans submitted for the Cop30 climate talks taking place in Brazil have done little to avert dangerous global heating for the fourth consecutive year, according to the Climate Action Tracker update. Continue reading...

Politics

4 w. ago Cop30 live: ‘literally insane’ that we are letting global heating happen, says Al Gore

Former US vice-president also critical of Donald Trump and Bill Gates as negotiations begin in earnestHello comrades, this is Nina Lakhani in chilly New York City taking over the blog for the next few hours. Thanks very much to my colleague Matt Taylor in London Town who will be back in the hot seat on Friday morning.Leading climate activists and influencers have signed a letter criticising PR firm Edelman over its role at the Cop30 summit in Brazil. Continue reading...

Society