Breaking Waves: Ocean News

The Guardian view on the cultural life of trees: we must protect our natural heritage | Editorial

admin — Fri, 18 Jul 2025 16:36:41 +0000

From Shakespeare to Radiohead, ancient woodlands have shaped the UK’s creative landscape. They deserve to be celebrated

Ken Henry is right to be a bit worked up – he has a solid reform plan ready to go for an emboldened Labor | Tom McIlroy

admin — Fri, 18 Jul 2025 15:00:56 +0000

With tax reform back on the agenda thanks to the productivity roundtable, Henry’s 2010 review has a lot of answers to the biggest challenges facing the Albanese government

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Ofwat to be abolished as ministers look to create new water regulator

admin — Fri, 18 Jul 2025 12:22:16 +0000

Watchdog has faced intense criticism over sewage spills, shareholder payouts and ballooning debts

Serious pollution incidents by English water firms rose 60% last year

England and Wales’ embattled water regulator will be abolished under recommendations from a government-commissioned review due out on Monday, the Guardian understands.

US wetlands ‘restored’ using treated sewage tainted with forever chemicals

admin — Fri, 18 Jul 2025 11:00:49 +0000

Use of wastewater treatment plant effluent containing Pfas threatens wildlife, food and drinking water, advocates say

Many of the nation’s wetlands are being filled with toxic Pfas “forever chemicals” as wastewater treatment plant effluent tainted with the compounds is increasingly used to restore swampland and other waters. The practice threatens wildlife, food and drinking water sources, environmental advocates warn.

Labour MPs challenge Richard Tice over Reform UK’s plan to scrap green projects

admin — Fri, 18 Jul 2025 10:52:36 +0000

Exclusive: Letter signed by 59 MPs criticises party’s deputy leader after his warning to energy firms over new contracts

UK politics live – latest updates

Green groups fear business sector will dominate debate at Chalmers’ roundtable at environment’s expense

admin — Fri, 18 Jul 2025 09:07:14 +0000

Current list of 24 invitees to next month’s economic reform summit includes only one environmental representative

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Environmentalists fear they are being shut out of the economic debate after peak nature groups were overlooked for invites to Jim Chalmers’ reform roundtable.

Serious pollution incidents by English water companies rose 60% last year

admin — Fri, 18 Jul 2025 08:27:47 +0000

Environment Agency records 75 serious incidents among total of 2,800, with Thames Water being worst offender

Serious pollution incidents by water companies were up 60% last year compared with the year before, data has revealed.

These incidents are the most environmentally damaging and indicate that the sewage spill or other pollution incident has a serious, extensive or persistent impact on the environment, people or property. They could, for example, result in mass fish deaths in rivers.

Gas flaring created 389m tonnes of carbon pollution last year, report finds

admin — Fri, 18 Jul 2025 08:23:18 +0000

Rules to prevent ‘enormous waste’ of fuel are seen as weak and poorly enforced and firms have little incentive to stop

The fossil fuel industry pumped an extra 389m tonnes of carbon pollution into the atmosphere last year by needlessly flaring gas, a World Bank report has found, in an “enormous waste” of fuel that heats the planet by about as much as the country of France.

Week in wildlife: a hedgehog’s afternoon tea, royal cygnets and a snarling wolf

admin — Fri, 18 Jul 2025 06:00:45 +0000

The best of this week’s wildlife photographs from around the world

‘Keeping us hooked on fossil fuels’: how can we negotiate with autocracies on the climate crisis?

admin — Fri, 18 Jul 2025 05:00:44 +0000

The bulk of global greenhouse gas emissions come from countries that are not democratic, and many big oil and gas exporters are also authoritarian

The big emitters: which countries are holding back climate action and why?

When it comes to the climate crisis, how do you negotiate with an autocracy?