Long-planned charge on greenhouse gas emissions postponed as Trump officials accused of intimidation tactics
Under intense pressure from Donald Trump’s government, countries have postponed plans to force shipowners to start paying for the damage they do to the climate.
US officials were accused of “bullying” and “intimidation”, as nations met in London for what should have been the rubber-stamping of a decision made months ago to place a small levy on the greenhouse gases from global shipping.
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Breaking Waves: Ocean News
10/17/2025 - 10:03
Nearby residents say they have had health concerns due to air pollution from Drax Biomass facility
Residents of a small Mississippi town are suing Drax Biomass after the company won a permit to become a “major source” of hazardous air pollution at a local wood pellet production plant.
The subsidiary of the FTSE 250 energy company was previously denied permission to increase emissions in the 900-person town of Gloster, Mississippi, after local residents warned that they had already suffered serious adverse health consequences because of the operation.
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10/17/2025 - 09:00
Exclusive: Rainforest Reserves Australia has published submissions naming nonexistent government authorities and a nonexistent windfarm
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A conservation charity known for its anti-renewables stance has made submissions to federal and state inquiries that name non-existent government authorities and a nonexistent windfarm, and cite scientific articles that the supposed publisher says don’t exist, a Guardian Australia investigation has found.
Two US-based academics and experts said Rainforest Reserves Australia’s (RRA) claims in submissions about their work were “100% misleading” and “absurd”.
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10/17/2025 - 07:30
With AI datacenters soaring power bills for households, a policy called ‘demand flexibility’ could help ease grid strain
A cheap, bipartisan tool could help the US meet increasing energy demand from AI datacenters while also easing soaring power bills for households, preventing deadly blackouts and helping the climate.
The policy solution, called “demand flexibility”, can be quickly deployed across the US. Demand flexibility essentially means rewarding customers for using less power during times of high demand, reducing strain on the grid or in some cases, selling energy they have captured by solar panels on their homes.
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10/17/2025 - 07:00
Decision from governor, eyeing presidential bid, could echo across US as similar bans considered in states like New York
Are Pfas in everything? What you need to know about ‘forever chemicals’
A decision by Gavin Newsom, the California governor, to veto a bill that would have banned the sale of cookware and some other consumer products made with toxic Pfas “forever chemicals” may reverberate across the US by slowing or killing similar legislation in other states, public health advocates fear.
California is often looked to for guidance by other states considering new environmental rules, and some legislatures, including large states like New York and Illinois, are weighing bans on Pfas in cookware.
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10/17/2025 - 06:09
Housing minister Steve Reed refuses to back mandating measure, despite giving support while in environment job
The government is refusing to support a new amendment to install a swift brick in every new home – a U-turn by Steve Reed since he became housing secretary.
When he was environment secretary, Reed told a campaigner, Hannah Bourne-Taylor, she was “pushing at an open door” and he and others wanted to add to the party’s manifesto her proposal that developers must include a £35 hollow brick in every new home.
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10/17/2025 - 02:00
The best of this week’s wildlife photographs from around the world
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10/17/2025 - 00:00
Experts suggest replacing gas hobs with electric ones, saying it is a win–win for health and the climate
Air pollution from wood burning and gas cooking is massively costly to our healthcare systems and the economy. These are the conclusions of a peer-reviewed study from New Zealand that calculated the cost of hospital treatment, days off ill and early deaths from the air pollution produced by fireplaces, stoves, gas cooking and un-flued room heaters.
Indoor air pollution from New Zealand’s 523,000 wood burners was estimated to account for 446 hospital admissions for heart and lung problems, and 101 early deaths annually, in a country with a population of just over 5 million people. Breathing fumes from gas cooking indoors created more than 1,000 hospital admissions, 208 early deaths and more than 3,000 new cases of childhood asthma each year.
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10/16/2025 - 17:00
States who received funding under an EPA project aimed to expand solar energy for low-income communities
Nearly two dozen states are suing the Trump administration over its cancellation of a $7bn grant program aimed at expanding solar energy in low-income communities, according to court papers.
In a statement on Thursday, California’s attorney general, Rob Bonta, announced two lawsuits by a group of states that received grants under the Environmental Protection Agency’s Solar for All program. The EPA’s administrator, Lee Zeldin, announced the termination of the program in August. The agency said in an email that it would not comment on pending litigation.
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10/16/2025 - 12:57
Premium charge aims to combat steep rise in SUVs and other larger vehicles which are ‘a danger to other road users’
Cardiff council will force drivers with larger vehicles to pay more for parking, becoming the first local authority in the UK to impose a parking premium to combat the dangers of larger vehicles.
Councillors voted on Thursday to approve a new parking plan for the city whereby owners of larger vehicles will be charged more for parking permits because their cars “take up more parking space and are a danger to other road users”.
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