21 h. ago Some of UK’s biggest banks ‘investing ever larger sums into fossil fuels’

Which’s analysis follows research finding that the world’s biggest banks significantly increased their fossil fuel finance in 2024.

Economics

27 h. ago The Guardian view on climate policy: Britain needs clean power, not culture wars | Editorial

Kemi Badenoch’s plan to scrap the Climate Change Act is reckless. Ed Miliband offers a bolder, fairer vision. The future must be built on renewablesLet’s scrap Britain’s successful climate law so we can burn more gas, lose investment and have higher bills. Crazy as it might seem, that is the message of Kemi Badenoch’s new energy strategy. The Conservative leader proposes to repeal the 2008 Climate Change Act in favour of a plan to “maximise oil and gas extraction”, and remove all legally binding carbon targets. It’s pitched as pragmatism. But it’s a lurch into ideological self-harm.Britain’s energy problem isn’t its climate legislation, which is admired globally, backed by industry and supported by the public. It’s that this country remains too dependent on volatile fossil fuels. Emissions targets are not the reason for high bills. It is gas prices, which skyrocketed after Russia invaded Ukraine. They set UK electricity prices. In Europe, they don’t – that’s why bills are lower...

Events

3 d. 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

3 d. ago ‘I think we’re headed to a shutdown,’ says JD Vance as Mike Johnson calls for more time for negotiations – live

Congressional leaders meet with Trump over government shutdown as vice-president reportedly says Democrats ‘won’t do’ the right thingTrump officials to announce plan to boost coal outputThe US is set to announce on Monday policies to try to boost the output of coal, the interior department said, as the Trump administration seeks to reverse the decline of the fossil fuel’s use. Continue reading...

Politics

4 d. ago Trump demands Hamas accept US plan to ‘end Gaza conflict’ as Netanyahu says Israel will ‘finish the job’ if they don’t

Netanyahu says he supports Trump’s Gaza peace plan but Hamas still must agree to proposalTrump officials to announce plan to boost coal outputThe US is set to announce on Monday policies to try to boost the output of coal, the interior department said, as the Trump administration seeks to reverse the decline of the fossil fuel’s use. Continue reading...

Politics

4 d. ago Trump demands Hamas accept US plan to ‘end Gaza conflict’ as Netanyahu says Israel will ‘finish the job’ if they don’t – live

Netanyahu says he supports Trump’s Gaza peace plan but Hamas still must agree to proposalTrump officials to announce plan to boost coal outputThe US is set to announce on Monday policies to try to boost the output of coal, the interior department said, as the Trump administration seeks to reverse the decline of the fossil fuel’s use. Continue reading...

Politics

4 d. ago Trump administration spending $625m to revive dying coal industry

White House allocating 13.1m acres of public land to coal mining, which has been on rapid decline over past 30 yearsThe White House will open 13.1m acres (5.3m hectares) of public land to coal mining while providing $625m for coal-fired power plants, the Trump administration has announced.The efforts came as part of a suite of initiatives from the Department of the Interior, Department of Energy, and Environmental Protection Agency, aimed at reviving the flagging coal sector. Coal, the most polluting and costly fossil fuel, has been on a rapid decline over the past 30 years, with the US halving its production between 2008 and 2023, according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA). Continue reading...

Politics

4 d. ago White House says Netanyahu ‘expressed deep regret’ that Israeli strike on Doha killed Qatari serviceman – live

Trump hosted phone call between US, Israel and Qatar before holding press conference alongside Benjamin Netanyahu at the White HouseTrump officials to announce plan to boost coal outputThe US is set to announce on Monday policies to try to boost the output of coal, the interior department said, as the Trump administration seeks to reverse the decline of the fossil fuel’s use. Continue reading...

Events

4 d. ago Interactive map shows how much pollution is blanketing your city

‘Facilities that burn fossil fuels are the overwhelmingly dominant source of heat-trapping pollution that is driving the climate crisis – by using the sky as if it were an open sewer,’ says Al Gore, whose climate group backed the tool

Politics

4 d. ago Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu to discuss Gaza peace plan at the White House – US politics live

US president to push Israeli prime minister to agree to new framework to end war in Gaza and free remaining hostages held by HamasTrump officials to announce plan to boost coal outputThe US is set to announce on Monday policies to try to boost the output of coal, the interior department said, as the Trump administration seeks to reverse the decline of the fossil fuel’s use. Continue reading...

Politics

4 d. ago BP confirms $5bn offshore oil project as energy giant doubles down on fossil fuels

BP will move ahead with a $5billion offshore drilling project as the energy giant continues to re-embrace fossil fuels under chief executive Murray Auchincloss.

Economics

4 d. ago German identity doesn’t rely on cars – Brussels should face down the mighty automakers

Mercedes-Benz and other big manufacturers want to overturn the EU’s 2035 ban on petrol cars. This would be as disastrous for jobs as for the climateThere is something rather old-fashioned about the way Germany views its car industry. When the prime minister of Bavaria, Markus Söder, calls the car the destiny of Germany and the heart of its economy, and says that “without the car, collapse is imminent”, the vehicle he seems to be describing is one with a combustion engine, running on fossil fuels or their derivatives. This nostalgic attachment to the heavy-duty, polluting industries of the 20th century is now colliding with the urgent realities of the climate crisis.Earlier this month, heads of European automotive companies gathered in the Berlaymont building, the headquarters of the European Commission in Brussels, for a meeting with its president, Ursula von der Leyen. German car manufacturers came with two demands: to reverse the EU ban on the manufacture of new cars with CO2-emit...

Politics

4 d. ago German identity doesn’t rely on cars – Brussels should face down the mighty automakers | Tania Roettger

Mercedes-Benz and other big manufacturers want to overturn the EU’s 2035 ban on petrol cars. This would be as disastrous for jobs as for the climateThere is something rather old-fashioned about the way Germany views its car industry. When the prime minister of Bavaria, Markus Söder, calls the car the destiny of Germany and the heart of its economy, and says that “without the car, collapse is imminent”, the vehicle he seems to be describing is one with a combustion engine, running on fossil fuels or their derivatives. This nostalgic attachment to the heavy-duty, polluting industries of the 20th century is now colliding with the urgent realities of the climate crisis.Earlier this month, heads of European automotive companies gathered in the Berlaymont building, the headquarters of the European Commission in Brussels, for a meeting with its president, Ursula von der Leyen. German car manufacturers came with two demands: to reverse the EU ban on the manufacture of new cars with CO2-emit...

Politics

6 d. ago Meat is a leading emissions source – but few outlets report on it, analysis finds

Sentient Media reveals less than 4% of climate news stories mention animal agriculture as source of carbon emissionsFood and agriculture contribute one-third of global greenhouse gas emissions – second only to the burning of fossil fuels. And yet the vast majority of media coverage of the climate crisis overlooks this critical sector, according to a new data analysis from Sentient Media.The findings suggest that only about a quarter of climate articles in 11 major US outlets, including the Guardian, mention food and agriculture as a cause. And of the 940 articles analyzed, only 36 – or 3.8% – mentioned animal agriculture or meat production, by far the largest source of food-related emissions. Continue reading...

Events

9 d. ago The Guardian view on the climate crisis: green energy is booming – but fossil fuels need to shrink too | Editorial

The planet is nearing dangerous limits. Yet progress on clean energy shows what’s possible. With political will, cooperation can still avert the worst of the climate crisisAll is not lost, Simon Stiell, the UN’s climate chief, told the Guardian last week. But the latest planetary health check from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research is a brutal reminder of how close the Earth is being pushed beyond repair. Seven of the nine planetary boundaries are now breached, with ocean acidification added to the danger list. Yet the world has proved that cooperation works: the ozone layer is healing, air pollution controls are working. A decisive test looms at the end of the month, when governments must file new climate pledges, known as nationally determined contributions (NDCs). This is no time to ease off: the fossil-fuel era must end, and the clean‑energy transition must accelerate.There is real concern that big emitters, including China and the EU, will fall short of what is n...

Events

9 d. ago World’s oceans fail key health check as acidity crosses critical threshold for marine life

Scientists call for renewed global effort to curb fossil fuels as seven of nine planetary boundaries now transgressedThe world’s oceans have failed a key planetary health check for the first time, primarily due to the burning of fossil fuels, a report has shown.In its latest annual assessment, the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research said ocean acidity had crossed a critical threshold for marine life. Continue reading...

Events

9 d. 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

1 week ago Nations’ plans to ramp up coal, gas and oil extraction ‘will put climate goals beyond reach’

New data shows governments now planning more fossil fuel production in coming decades than they were in 2023Governments around the world are ramping up coal, gas and oil extraction which will put climate goals beyond reach, new data has shown.Far from reducing reliance on fossil fuels, nations are planning higher levels of fossil fuel production for the coming decades than they did in 2023, the last time comparable data was compiled. Continue reading...

Society

1 week ago Trump administration moves to revoke permit for Massachusetts offshore wind project

The Trump administration has moved to block a Massachusetts offshore wind farm, its latest effort to hobble an industry and technology that President Donald Trump has attacked as “ugly” and unreliable compared to fossil fuels such as coal and natural gas

Politics

2 w. ago Drill, baby, drill! Donald Trump piles pressure on Keir Starmer to U

The US President took a swipe at the Prime Minister's Net Zero goals as he suggested ramping up the production of fossil fuels would cut Brits' energy bills.

Politics