Breaking Waves: Ocean News

Conservative party to ditch commitment to net zero in UK by 2050

admin — Mon, 17 Mar 2025 22:30:50 +0000

Break in cross-party consensus on issue to be announced on Tuesday

Kemi Badenoch is dropping her party’s commitment to reaching net zero by 2050, as she launches the Conservatives’ widest policy review in a generation.

The Tory leader will give a speech on Tuesday in which she will argue that hitting Britain’s legally binding climate target is “impossible”, abandoning one of the most significant policies enacted by her recent predecessor Theresa May.

‘It’s a history lesson’: fossil fish up to 16m years old found perfectly preserved in central NSW

admin — Mon, 17 Mar 2025 19:00:46 +0000

Fossils retain microscopic structural features including stomach contents and provide first detailed evidence in Australia for fish called Osmeriformes

Cop30 in talks to hire PR firm that worked for lobby seeking weaker Amazon protections

admin — Mon, 17 Mar 2025 16:00:43 +0000

Revealed: Edelman worked for Brazilian trade group accused of pushing for environmental rollbacks in Amazon

Edelman, the world’s largest public relations agency, is in talks to work with the Cop30 team organising the UN climate summit in the Amazon later this year despite its prior connections to a major trade group accused of lobbying to roll back measures to protect the area from deforestation, the Guardian and the Centre for Climate Reporting can reveal.

Storrington in West Sussex named UK’s first European stork village

admin — Mon, 17 Mar 2025 15:19:13 +0000

Village joins continental network alongside nearby Knepp estate, as birds previously extinct in Britain flourish

The Saxons knew the West Sussex village of Storrington as Estorchestone, the “abode of the storks”.

But the graceful white birds disappeared from its skies more than 600 years ago, when they became extinct in Britain.

Appeal court rules in favour of £3bn bailout for Thames Water

admin — Mon, 17 Mar 2025 11:52:44 +0000

Judges dismiss appeal from campaigners who argued ‘eye-watering’ cost of loan was not in public interest

The court of appeal has upheld Thames Water’s £3bn emergency bailout loan, in a decision published on Monday.

Appeal court judges dismissed an appeal from environmental campaigners and a small group of Thames creditors after a three-day hearing last week.

Ed Miliband vows to engage with China on climate after Tory ‘negligence’

admin — Mon, 17 Mar 2025 10:24:27 +0000

Energy security and net zero secretary travels to Beijing for countries’ first formal climate meetings since 2017

Ed Miliband has accused the previous Conservative government of negligence for failing to engage with China on climate issues, as he travelled to Beijing for the countries’ first formal climate meetings since 2017.

From sewage and scum to swimming in ‘blue gold’: how Switzerland transformed its rivers

admin — Mon, 17 Mar 2025 10:00:24 +0000

In the 1960s, the Swiss had some of the dirtiest water in Europe. Now, their cities boast pristine rivers and lakes – and other countries are looking to follow their lead

In the first days of spring, people flock to Lake Geneva’s broad, tree-lined promenade, their faces tilted towards the sun. Dior, Cartier and Rolex are among the high-end shopfronts overlooking the water. René Rottenberg, 75, has just finished his 400m swim through this upmarket urban jungle – a ritual he repeats up to five times a week, even in midwinter.

Coal pollution chokes Ulaanbataar – in pictures

admin — Mon, 17 Mar 2025 09:00:43 +0000

The toxic smog that settles over the Mongolian capital every winter has been a suffocating problem for well over a decade that successive governments have failed to dispel. In the depths of winter, the city’s daily average of pollutants that can enter the lungs and bloodstream can be 27 times higher than the level considered safe by the World Health Organization. Respiratory illness cases have risen steadily, with pneumonia the second leading cause of death for children under five

The Guardian view on microplastics: harmful pollution must be curbed | Editorial

admin — Sun, 16 Mar 2025 17:25:23 +0000

New evidence of particles damaging crops strengthens the case for an international plastics treaty

Underwater ‘doorbell’ helps scientists catch coral-eating fish in Florida

admin — Sun, 16 Mar 2025 13:00:18 +0000

Researchers use innovative cameras to identify fish species hindering coral reef restoration

Marine scientists in Florida working to help reverse a calamitous decades-long decline in coral reefs caught fishy “porch pirates” in the act with an innovative underwater doorbell-style surveillance camera.