4 h. ago Voices: We banned cigarette ads for the good of public health – fossil fuels must be next

Ahead of a Commons debate that could see oil companies banned from sponsoring museums and sporting events such as Formula One, Jonathon Porritt, a former environmental adviser to King Charles, says it’s a vital next step in breaking our reliance on fossil fuels

Events

3 d. ago ‘Legal bullying’: global protest rights on line in Dutch court case, say activists

After US jury said it should pay oil pipeline firm $660m, Greenpeace is hoping to reclaim funds via EU anti-Slapp lawThe outcome of a court case in the Netherlands could shape the right to protest around the globe for decades to come, campaigners have warned, as figures show a dramatic rise in legal action taken by fossil fuel companies against activists and journalists.Greenpeace International is using a recently introduced EU directive to try to reclaim costs and damages it incurred when a US jury decided it should pay the oil pipeline corporation Energy Transfer more than $660m in damages earlier this year. Continue reading...

Events

7 d. ago Spain records highs of 46C and France under alert as Europe swelters in heatwave

Extreme heat ‘the new normal’, says UN chief, as authorities across the continent issue health warningsEurope live – latest updatesA vicious heatwave has engulfed southern Europe, with punishing temperatures that have reached highs of 46C (114.8F) in Spain and placed almost the entirety of mainland France under alert.Extreme heat, made stronger by fossil fuel pollution, has for several days scorched Portugal, Spain, France, Italy and Greece as southern Europe endures its first major heatwave of the summer. Continue reading...

Events

7 d. ago UN expert urges criminalizing fossil fuel disinformation, banning lobbying

Rapporteur calls for defossilization of economies and urgent reparations to avert ‘catastrophic’ rights and climate harmsA leading UN expert is calling for criminal penalties against those peddling disinformation about the climate crisis and a total ban on fossil fuel industry lobbying and advertising, as part of a radical shake-up to safeguard human rights and curtail planetary catastrophe.Elisa Morgera, the UN special rapporteur on human rights and climate change who presents her damning new report to the general assembly in Geneva on Monday, argues that the US, UK, Canada, Australia and other wealthy fossil fuel nations are legally obliged under international law to fully phase out oil, gas and coal by 2030 – and compensate communities for harms caused. Continue reading...

Events

1 week ago Suspend UK from oil oversight body over protests crackdown, say campaign groups

Groups question UK membership of Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative after actions of successive governmentsA coalition of civil society groups is calling for the UK government to be suspended from a key global body that oversees how oil and gas companies are run.The campaigners say Keir Starmer’s Labour party has overseen a “fossil-fuel sponsored crackdown” on peaceful protest and direct action in the UK since it came to power last year. Continue reading...

Events

1 week ago ‘It looks more likely with each day we burn fossil fuels’: polar scientist on Antarctic tipping points

Despite working on polar science for the British Antarctic Survey for 20 years, Louise Sime finds the magnitude of potential sea-level rise hard to comprehendFor more than 20 years, Louise Sime has worked at the British Antarctic Survey specialising in polar climate dynamics. She uses ice cores to reconstruct past conditions and predict future changes. She now leads several international Earth modelling projects.Why are the Arctic and Antarctic regions important for the rest of the world?They are one of the pillars of global climate stability, a giant store of frozen water, an essential “biotic pump” that helps to store carbon, and an albedo shield that reflects much of the sun’s light and heat back out to space. Continue reading...

Events

1 week ago Shell has ‘no intention’ of making offer to buy BP after £60bn takeover rumours

Shell doubles down on denials after media reports of early talks with rival BP to create £200bn UK oil companyBusiness live – latest updatesShell has said it has “no intention” of making an offer for the rival fossil fuel company BP after speculation it had been planning a £60bn takeover, ruling out a formal approach for the next six months.In an official statement to markets on Thursday, the company doubled down on the previous day’s denials that it was planning a bid, after media reports that it was in early talks with its competitor to create a £200bn UK oil supermajor. Continue reading...

Economics

1 week ago Shell ‘no intention’ of making offer to buy BP after £60bn takeover rumours

Shell doubles down on denials after media reports of early talks with rival BP to create £200bn UK oil companyBusiness live – latest updatesShell has said it has “no intention” of making an offer for the rival fossil fuel company BP after speculation it had been planning a £60bn takeover, ruling out a formal approach for the next six months.In an official statement to markets on Thursday, the company doubled down on the previous day’s denials that it was planning a bid, following media reports that it was in early talks with its competitor to create a £200bn UK oil supermajor. Continue reading...

Economics

1 week ago New Zealand ad campaign to make country ‘best place in the world to have herpes’ wins top prize at Cannes Lions

Retro-style tourism video fronted by a former All Blacks coach won the Cannes Lions grand prix for good awardA public health advertisement that campaigned to make New Zealand “the best place in the world to have herpes” has won a top prize at the Cannes Lions – one of world’s most prestigious advertising awards.The campaign, launched by the New Zealand Herpes Foundation in October last year, attempts to challenge decades of entrenched stigma around genital herpes – a condition that affects up to 80% of New Zealanders at some point in their lives, the foundation said. Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago Current heatwave ‘likely to kill almost 600 people in England and Wales’

Surge in deaths would not be occurring without human-caused global heating, scientists say as analysis publishedAlmost 600 people are expected to die early in the heatwave roasting England and Wales, a rapid analysis has found.The surge in deaths would not be occurring without human-caused global heating, the scientists said, with temperatures boosted by 2C-4C by the pollution from fossil fuels. Continue reading...

Events

2 w. ago US supreme court divided as fossil fuel industry wins in car pollution case – live

The conservative-dominated supreme court voted seven to two to back a challenge by oil and gas companiesFuel firms can challenge California’s emission limits, supreme court rulesDonald Trump is once again repeating unfounded claims that the results of the 2020 presidential election were fraudulent, saying that the evidence is “massive and overwhelming” but not providing any of it. The president called for a special prosecutor to be appointed to the case.He wrote on Truth Social this morning: Continue reading...

Events

2 w. ago Deadly weekend heat in England ‘100 times more likely’ due to climate crisis

High temperatures likely to cause deaths and will worsen in future as global heating intensifies, scientists warnThe dangerous 32C heat that will be endured by people in the south-east of England on Saturday will have been made 100 times more likely by the climate crisis, scientists have calculated.Global heating, caused by the burning of fossil fuels, is making every heatwave more likely and more intense. The 32C (89.6F) day forecast on Saturday would have been expected only once every 2,500 years without the climate crisis, the researchers said, and June heatwaves are now about 2-4C (3.6-7.2F) hotter than in the past. Continue reading...

Events

2 w. ago Louisiana bill would redefine gas as ‘green’ amid Trump energy push

Critics of the plan say that there’s nothing green about fossil fuel production

Politics

2 w. ago Public Health Wales issues 'stay indoors' heatwave advice as amber alert issued in England

The heatwave is forecast to last as temperatures are set to hits highs of 30°C in parts of Wales

Society

2 w. ago Want to plant trees to offset fossil fuels? You'd need all of North and Central America, study finds

Planting trees can help save the planet, right

Politics

2 w. ago New environmental guidance published for halted North Sea oil and gas projects

Emissions created when fossil fuels are burned will now be taken into account in the wake of a Supreme Court ruling.

Politics

2 w. ago Climate misinformation turning crisis into catastrophe – major report

False claims obstructing climate action, say researchers, amid calls for climate lies to be criminalisedRampant climate misinformation is turning the crisis into a catastrophe, according to the authors of a new report.It found climate action was being obstructed and delayed by false and misleading information stemming from fossil fuel companies, rightwing politicians and some nation states. The report, from the International Panel on the Information Environment (Ipie), systematically reviewed 300 studies. Continue reading...

Events

2 w. ago Reeves promised oil industry ‘quid pro quo’ over windfall tax in private meeting

Government accused of making ‘secret exchange deal’ with fossil fuel companies to compensate for tax hikeThe chancellor, Rachel Reeves, told a fossil fuel company the industry would receive a “quid pro quo” in return for higher taxes on its windfall profits, it can be revealed.In a meeting with the Norwegian state energy company Equinor on 27 August, Reeves suggested that the government’s carbon capture, usage and storage (CCUS) subsidies were a payoff for oil firms being hit with a higher tax rate. Continue reading...

Economics

2 w. ago Death toll from Russian attack on Kyiv rises to 28 – Europe live

More than 130 were injured in Tuesday’s attack on Ukrainian capitalAnd speaking of Russia’s impact on its neighbours, let’s quickly go to Miranda Bryant in the Nordics and see how the region monitors the global threat of war, terror and piracy on seas from its Maritime Cyber Resilience Centre.The European Commission has insisted there will be no return to Russian gas, as it published plans to phase out fossil fuel imports from its eastern neighbour by 2028. Continue reading...

Events

2 w. ago Trump promised riches from ‘liquid gold’ in the US. Now fossil fuel donors are benefiting

How Kelcy Warren, one of Trump’s biggest industry backers, and his pipeline firm are likely to flourish in his second termKelcy Warren was among the top donors for Donald Trump’s 2024 White House bid, personally pouring at least $5m into the campaign and co-hosting a fundraiser for the then presidential hopeful in Houston.Trump’s win appears to already be benefiting Warren and Energy Transfer Partners, the pipeline and energy firm of which he is co-founder, executive chair and primary shareholder. Continue reading...

Politics