13 h. ago Record leap in CO2 fuels fears of accelerating global heating

CO2 in air hit new high last year, with scientists concerned natural land and ocean carbon sinks are weakeningLevels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere soared by a record amount in 2024 to hit another high, UN data shows, deepening the climate crisis that is already taking lives and livelihoods across the world.Scientists are worried that the natural land and ocean “sinks” that remove CO2 from the air are weakening as a result of global heating, which could form a vicious circle and drive temperatures up even faster. Continue reading...

Politics

17 h. ago Paris Agreement working but too slowly to prevent dangerous global heat, scientists warn

Planet may experience 57 fewer extremely hot days a year if all countries meet their current emissions targets and limit global warming to 2.6C this century

Events

20 h. ago UK must prepare buildings for 2C rise in global temperature, government told

Climate advisers warn that current plans to protect against extreme weather are inadequateBritain must prepare for global heating far in excess of the level scientists have pegged as the limit of safety, the government’s climate advisers have warned, as current plans to protect against extreme weather are inadequate.Heatwaves will occur in at least four of every five years in England by 2050, and time spent in drought will double. The number of days of peak wildfire conditions in July will nearly treble for the UK, while floods will increase in frequency throughout the year, with some peak river flows increasing by 40%. Continue reading...

Politics

25 h. ago UK must be ready for ‘unprecedented’ heatwaves and flooding, climate experts warn

Heatwaves, droughts, wildfires and flooding will all become more regular and intense, experts say

Events

30 h. ago The Guardian view on the rising risk from flooding: uninsurable buildings should focus minds on climate adaptation | Editorial

The bleak future faced by one small town offers a cautionary tale about the threat from global heatingThe bleak prospect facing the market town of Tenbury Wells in Worcestershire, due to rising flood risks, is first and foremost a problem for locals. After seven floods in four years, and with plans for new flood defences around the town abandoned after costs rose to £30m, the town council announced this month that three buildings it owns, including a theatre and historic pump rooms, no longer have insurance. Independent retailers are in a similar situation, and some are packing up as a result. The number of empty properties is growing.Tenbury is at higher risk than most places from floods, due to its low-lying position between the River Teme and Kyre Brook. But the threat it faces is not unique, and will become more common in future. Last year UK insurers paid out a record £585m for weather-related damage to homes and possessions, after unusually s...

Events

48 h. ago Waiting until disaster strikes hurting aid as early action five times more cost

Under the current system, governments and donors respond after disasters occur, through humanitarian relief or emergency social protection payments. But researchers say these measures are inefficient and far more expensive.

Events

62 h. ago ‘It’s a road to destruction’: climate defenders facing surge in reprisals, says UN expert

Mary Lawlor, UN special rapporteur for human rights defenders, accuses US, UK and other governments of paying lip service to climate goals while criminalizing activistsHuman rights defenders organizing to prevent climate catastrophe are facing a surge in reprisals, as governments around the world denigrate, delegitimize and criminalize activists in spite of worsening global heating, a top United Nations official has told the Guardian.Mary Lawlor, the UN special rapporteur for human rights defenders since 2020, has documented hundreds of cases where states have sought to smear and silence climate defenders engaged in peaceful protest, non-violent civil disobedience and litigation. Continue reading...

Politics

3 d. ago Coral reefs, ice sheets and Amazon rainforest approaching a tipping point due to global heating, report says

Unless global heating is reduced to 1.2C ‘as fast as possible’, warm water coral reefs will not remain ‘at any meaningful scale’, a report by 160 scientists from 23 countries warnsSign up for climate and environment editor Adam Morton’s free Clear Air newsletter hereThe earth has reached its first catastrophic tipping point linked to greenhouse gas emissions, with warm water coral reefs now facing a long-term decline and risking the livelihoods of hundreds of millions of people, according to a new report.The report from scientists and conservationists warns the world is also “on the brink” of reaching other tipping points, including the dieback of the Amazon, the collapse of major ocean currents and the loss of ice sheets.Sign up to get climate and environment editor Adam Morton’s Clear Air column as a free newsletter Continue reading...

Politics

3 d. ago Planet’s first catastrophic climate tipping point reached, report says, with coral reefs facing ‘widespread dieback’

Unless global heating is reduced to 1.2C ‘as fast as possible’, warm water coral reefs will not remain ‘at any meaningful scale’, a report by 160 scientists from 23 countries warnsSign up for climate and environment editor Adam Morton’s free Clear Air newsletter hereThe earth has reached its first catastrophic tipping point linked to greenhouse gas emissions, with warm water coral reefs now facing a long-term decline and risking the livelihoods of hundreds of millions of people, according to a new report.The report from scientists and conservationists warns the world is also “on the brink” of reaching other tipping points, including the dieback of the Amazon, the collapse of major ocean currents and the loss of ice sheets.Sign up to get climate and environment editor Adam Morton’s Clear Air column as a free newsletter Continue reading...

Events

4 d. ago Number of wild bee species at risk of extinction in Europe doubles in 10 years

Number of endangered butterfly species also surging amid habitat destruction and global heating, finds studyThe number of wild bee species in Europe at risk of extinction has more than doubled over the past decade, while the number of endangered butterfly species has almost doubled.The jeopardy facing crucial pollinators was revealed by scientific studies for the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) red list of threatened species, which found that at least 172 bee species out of 1,928 were at risk of extinction in Europe. Continue reading...

Events

9 d. ago Carbon offsets fail to cut global heating due to ‘intractable’ systemic problems, study says

Analysis of 25 years of evidence shows most schemes are poor quality and fail to lower emissions The failure of carbon offsets to cut planet-heating pollution is “not due to a few bad apples”, a review paper has found, but down to deep-seated systemic problems that incremental change will not solve.Research over two decades has found “intractable” problems that have made carbon credits in most big programmes poor quality, according to the study. While the industry and diplomats have made efforts to improve the system, it found much-awaited rules agreed at a UN climate summit last year “did not substantially address the quality problem”. Continue reading...

Events

1 week ago ‘Planetary health diet’ could save 40,000 deaths a day, landmark report finds

Diet allows modest meat consumption and would also slash food-related climate emissions by half, says report by 70 leading experts from 35 countriesAdoption of a plant-rich “planetary health diet” could prevent 40,000 early deaths a day across the world, according to a landmark report.The diet – which allows moderate meat consumption – and related measures would also slash the food-related emissions driving global heating by half by 2050. Today, a third of greenhouse gas emissions come from the global food system and taming the climate crisis is impossible without changing how the world eats, the researchers said. Food production is also the biggest cause of the destruction of wildlife and forests and the pollution of water. Continue reading...

Events

2 w. ago Our world is hurtling into climate disaster and what do politicians give us? Oilfields and new runways | Bill McGuire

In the name of ‘pragmatism’, green measures are being ditched, net zero derided. Be very clear: without slashing emissions we are in deep, deep troubleThe hope that followed the signing of the Paris climate agreement in 2016 has long gone as the global community has failed utterly to rein in emissions, which – barring a small pandemic-induced blip in 2020 – have headed remorselessly upwards ever since. And there is little sign of this changing anytime soon. Indeed, as global heating has accelerated over the past few years, instead of trying harder, the world is turning its back on measures to tackle the climate crisis.In the UK, Labour is considering the approval of two major new oilfields in the North Sea – Rosebank and Jackdaw – with both Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves reported to be backing the proposals, which would lock in reliance on fossil fuels at the expense of renewables. Alongside this, instead of the government introducing measures to reduce aviation emissions, such as a...

Politics

2 w. ago ‘I couldn’t look’: European farmers on losing crops as the industry collides with worsening drought

Global heating means annual drought losses across Europe could reach €17.5bn. Shipping and power generation are also being affected by low water levelsCrumbling a fistful of sandy soil by his dried-up sunflower field, Thomas Goebel pointed to one of the many casualties of this year’s drought: a bright green machine that resembles a tractor crossed with a biplane.The Gurkenflieger (cucumber plane) used to roll proudly through his fields with farmhands in the wings plucking vegetables to make salty-sweet-sour Spreewald gherkins. Goebel stopped using it for production five years ago – his pickles could not compete with supermarket prices – and a recent experiment letting tourists ride inside generated enthusiasm but little profit. Continue reading...

Politics

3 w. ago Fossil fuel burning poses threat to health of 1.6bn people, data shows

New interactive map tracking PM2.5 air pollution reveals 900m people in path of ‘super-emitting’ industrial facilitiesFossil fuel burning is not just damaging the world’s climate; it is also threatening the health of at least 1.6 billion people through the toxic pollutants it produces, data shows.Carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse gas from fossil fuel burning, does not directly damage health, but leads to global heating. However, coal and oil burning for power generation, and the burning of fossil fuels in industrial facilities, pollute the air with particulate matter called PM2.5, which has serious health impacts when breathed in. Continue reading...

Events

3 w. ago AI ‘carries risks’ but will help tackle global heating, says UN’s climate chief

Simon Stiell insists it is vital governments regulate the technology to blunt its dangerous edgesHarnessing artificial intelligence will help the world to tackle the climate crisis, but governments must step in to regulate the technology, the UN’s climate chief has said.AI is being used to make energy systems more efficient, and to develop tools to reduce carbon from industrial processes. The UN is also using AI as an aid to climate diplomacy. Continue reading...

Society

3 w. ago Wildfire smoke will kill nearly 1.4m each year by end of century if emissions not curbed – study

A separate research found that at the current rate of global heating, more than 70,000 people will die in the US by 2050Smoke billowing from wildfires will cause a growing number of deaths around the world in the decades ahead as the planet continues to heat up, new research has found.Wildfire smoke is expected to kill as many as 1.4 million people globally each year by the end of the century if planet-heating emissions are not curbed, according to a study published on Thursday. Continue reading...

Events

4 w. ago Study recommends ‘planetary diet’ to cut diabetes risk and emissions

Researchers say dietary changes are crucial part of effort to tackle global heating

Events