19 h. ago Hot summer and damp autumn cause UK boom in destructive honey fungus

Huge increase in tree-killing disease is result of climate crisis, experts sayA golden mushroom that grows in clusters and can attack and kill trees has increased by 200% in the UK in a year because of the hot summer and damp autumn.Recorded sightings of honey fungus are up by almost 200% compared with the same period last year, according to iNaturalist. Continue reading...

Politics

20 h. ago World leaders, remember that future generations will judge you. At Cop30, you can define how | Gordon Brown

Keir Starmer is taking the lead on tackling the climate crisis. With the US backing away, now is the moment when other nations must step upWith the once-familiar pillars of the old world order crumbling and the US stepping away from action on climate crisis, it falls to others to assume global environmental leadership. Those leaders who understand the urgency should seize the opportunity afforded by Brazil hosting Cop30 this month to build a coalition of committed countries determined to turn back the climate deniers.Many now see China – the most successful manufacturer of solar, wind, battery and electric vehicle technologies – as the global low-carbon powerhouse. But its national emission goals, recently submitted to the UN, are underwhelming and it is unclear whether China is willing to take up the mantle of climate leadership. Continue reading...

Politics

40 h. ago Harrison Ford says Trump’s assault on climate policy ‘scares the shit out of me’

Indiana Jones star calls US president one of history’s greatest criminals for attacks on science and boosting of fossil fuelsHarrison Ford has said that Donald Trump’s assault upon measures to address the climate crisis “scares the shit out of me” and makes the US president among the worst criminals in history.In a blistering attack upon the president, Ford told the Guardian that Trump “doesn’t have any policies, he has whims. It scares the shit out of me. The ignorance, the hubris, the lies, the perfidy. [Trump] knows better, but he’s an instrument of the status quo and he’s making money, hand over fist, while the world goes to hell in a handbasket.” Continue reading...

Events

60 h. ago Money to fight climate crisis falls by £1.5 billion – and aid cuts will make things far worse

UN says the money required to adapt to climate change is 12 to 14 times greater than what is currently available, and that gap is set to only widen has the impact of aid cuts continue to be felt

Economics

64 h. ago When the rains don’t come: how drought and endless dry seasons are changing life in Puntland – in pictures

October rains have been light across Somalia, a country which in recent years has found itself on the frontline of the climate crisis. The latest estimate is that 3.4 million people don’t have enough food. One of the worst affected areas is Puntland, where disappearing water sources, pasture and food supplies have forced many to abandon their way of life Continue reading...

Politics

3 d. ago Tony Blair ‘has a contribution to make’ to Trump’s Gaza peace deal, UK’s Middle East minister says

Exclusive: Hamish Falconer has spoken to The Independent on Gaza and why cutting international aid has not made the migrant crisis worse

Politics

3 d. ago Tony Blair should be part of Trump’s Gaza peace deal, UK’s Middle East minister says

Exclusive: Hamish Falconer has spoken to The Independent on Gaza and why cutting international aid has not made the migrant crisis worse

Politics

4 d. ago Rising heat kills one person a minute worldwide, major report reveals

Biggest analysis of its kind finds millions are dying each year because of failure to tackle climate crisisRising global heat is now killing one person a minute around the world, a major report on the health impact of the climate crisis has revealed.It says the world’s addiction to fossil fuels also causes toxic air pollution, wildfires and the spread of diseases such as dengue fever, and millions each year are dying owing to the failure to tackle global heating. Continue reading...

Events

4 d. ago Bill Gates says climate crisis won’t cause ‘humanity’s demise’ in call to shift focus to ‘improving lives’

Billionaire’s statement comes a day after UN said humanity missed 1.5C climate target and warned of devastationBill Gates has called for a “strategic pivot” in the effort against the climate crisis, writing that the world should shift away from trying to limit rising temperatures to instead focusing on efforts to prevent disease and poverty.Writing on his Gates Notes website, the billionaire Microsoft co-founder criticized what he described as a “doomsday view of climate change” which is focusing “too much on near-term emissions goals”. Continue reading...

Society

4 d. ago How do you move a village? Residents of France’s last outpost in North America try to outrun the sea

As rising tides eat away at Canada’s Saint-Pierre and Miquelon archipelago, plans to move the historic village to higher ground have divided friends and familiesFranck Detcheverry, Miquelon’s 41-year-old mayor, trudges up a grassy hill. “The view isn’t too bad, huh?” he jokes. The ocean sparkles 40 metres below the empty mound. The sound of a man playing the bagpipes, as if serenading the sea, floats up from the shoreline. This hill will be the location of his new home and those of all his fellow villagers.In the distance, about half a mile away, you can see the outline of the 400 or so buildings in the village of Miquelon. It sits only 2 metres above sea level on the archipelago of Saint-Pierre and Miquelon. Situated off the Canadian coast to the south of Newfoundland, it is an “overseas collectivity” of France, and the country’s last foothold in North America. Continue reading...

Politics

5 d. ago The Guardian view on global aid cuts: a malaria resurgence could be the canary in the coalmine | Editorial

The consequences of Donald Trump’s decision to scrap USAID, and other countries’ decisions to reduce funding, are playing out in deadly fashionMalaria is a pandemic disease that hits the voiceless hardest: most of those who fall ill and die are small children and pregnant women in Africa. It is the leading infectious killer of the continent, responsible for nearly 600,000 deaths a year. Cases are rising and there is an urgent need for more funding, yet western donor countries are instead cutting back on aid. We still hear brave talk about eliminating malaria. But an expert report now warns of a potential resurgence that could add almost a million more deaths to the annual toll by the end of the decade.Most of the money to fight the mosquito-borne disease – 59% – comes through the Global Fund to Fight Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria. Its executive director, Peter Sands, said last week at the World Health Summit in Berlin that of the three killers, the one that kept him awake...

Politics

5 d. ago Two crucial Florida coral species left ‘functionally extinct’ by ocean heatwave

Climate crisis drives near-total collapse of staghorn and elkhorn corals that formed backbone to state’s reefsTwo of the most important coral species that made up Florida’s reef are now functionally extinct after a withering ocean heatwave caused catastrophic losses, scientists have found.The near-total collapse of the corals that once formed the backbone of reefs in Florida and the Caribbean means they can no longer play their previously crucial role in building and sustaining reef ecosystems that host a variety of marine life. Continue reading...

Politics

6 d. ago Brazil and Peru are failing uncontacted people – and the Amazon’s future is at stake | Julio Cusurichi Palacios and Beto Marubo

As Cop30 approaches, a new report makes it clear the survival of isolated tribes is under threat as protections are eroded. It’s time our countries fulfilled their obligations to defend Indigenous peopleA new report published on Monday by the NGO Survival International reveals 196 uncontacted Indigenous groups across 10 countries in South America, Asia, and the Pacific, according to a five-year study titled Uncontacted peoples: At the edge of survival. Half of these groups – tens of thousands of people – face extinction within a decade due to industrial activity, criminal gangs and missionary incursions, with logging, mining and agribusiness cited as the primary threats.The report also warns that even indirect contact, such as disease spread by outsiders, could devastate populations, while the climate crisis and illegal activities further endanger their survival. Continue reading...

Events

6 d. ago Dire warning aid cuts are stopping vulnerable nations from preparing for climate disaster

The climate negotiator for Malawi tells Nick Ferris that the slashing of funding, plus the failure to agree a financial target to help poorer countries adapt to climate change, is already having a stark impact

Events

9 d. ago Renewable energy investment should come from defence budgets, say retired military leaders

Former European officers say spending on low-carbon power would make nations more resilient to threats from potential aggressorsInvestment in renewable energy should be counted under defence expenditure, says a group of retired senior military personnel, because the climate crisis represents a threat to national security.They have called for increased spending on low-carbon power as a way of making the UK and other European countries more resilient to threats from Russia and other potential aggressors. Continue reading...

Events

9 d. ago Africa’s children: 20 years on, what happened to the millennium babies?

In 2005, the Guardian documented the births of 10 babies as a way to tell the story of millions across the continent. We caught up with three of them, finding hardship – and hopeTwenty years ago, the Guardian featured 10 newborn babies in countries across Africa, describing their births, their families and the environments they had been born into. We followed these babies at five-year intervals up to 2015 – the date the United Nations had set for achieving the millennium development goals – as a way to tell stories that might be those of millions of others across the continent as they worked to provide the best chance for their children.Although some progress was made, the millennium development goals were not met by 2015 and that year UN member states adopted a new approach – the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development with 17 goals for ending poverty and inequality, while also tackling the climate crisis. With five years to go, only 18% of those goals are on track to be met. Conti...

Politics

1 week ago Four easy and cheap ways to keep your home drier to fight off black mould

CONDENSATION build-up in your home at this time of year can cause issues that hit you in the pocket. Humidity makes rooms feel colder, costing you more in heating, and can also provide conditions for problematic black mould to grow. Here are some easy and cheap ways to keep your home drier. WINDOW VAC: Condensation...

Politics

1 week ago ‘They can’t dismiss Leo so easily’: how the pope has confounded conservatives

As pontiff prepares for visit of King Charles, the contours of his papacy are slowly becoming apparentWhen King Charles meets Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican this week, the two leaders are likely to discuss pressing global issues as well as sharing a historic moment of prayer.In the face of volatility and rising nationalism, Leo, the first North American chosen to lead the Roman Catholic church, has begun to outline the contours of his papacy after a low-key start to his five-month-old papacy. Continue reading...

Politics

1 week ago Mosquitoes found in Iceland for first time as climate crisis warms country

Three specimens discovered in what was previously one of the only places in the world without the insectsMosquitoes have been found in Iceland for the first time as global heating makes the country more hospitable for insects.The country was until this month one of the only places in the world that did not have a mosquito population. The other is Antarctica. Continue reading...

Events

1 week ago Chocolate bars that aren't: List of snacks that can no longer be classed as chocs

Soaring cocoa prices - driven by the climate crisis - along with higher production costs and inflation have forced manufacturers to slash chocolate content and shrink product sizes

Politics