Breaking Waves: Ocean News https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-waves/index.php en Leaked Coalition talking points direct MPs to argue dumping net zero does not conflict with Paris agreement https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/leaked-coalition-talking-points-direct-mps-argue-dumping-net-zero-does-not-conflict-pa <p><strong>Exclusive: </strong>Guidance distributed to MPs seeks to pre-empt questions about plan’s compatibility with Paris agreement, indicating opposition is aware of potential breach</p> <ul> <li> <p>Get our <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/email-newsletters?CMP=cvau_sfl">breaking news email</a>, <a href="https://app.adjust.com/w4u7jx3">free app</a> or <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/series/full-story?CMP=cvau_sfl">daily news podcast</a></p> </li></ul><p><a href="https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/leaked-coalition-talking-points-direct-mps-argue-dumping-net-zero-does-not-conflict-pa" target="_blank">read more</a></p> Thu, 20 Nov 2025 14:00:11 +0000 admin 101950 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org Cop30 live: current climate pathway ‘a death sentence for many’, says UN secretary-general https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/cop30-live-current-climate-pathway-death-sentence-many-says-un-secretary-general <p>António Guterres uses speech at Belem summit to urge countries to find compromises in final hours of negotiations</p> <p>Inside the halls of Cop30 you see people from all around the world, and it can be easy to forget that there are many people who remain unrepresented.</p> <p>On Thursday morning, Magne Tony was standing with compatriots from French Guiana outside the entrance to the conference centre, trying to push pieces of paper into the hands of arriving delegates and observers headed: “Our Amazon is dying”.</p> <p><a href="https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/cop30-live-current-climate-pathway-death-sentence-many-says-un-secretary-general" target="_blank">read more</a></p> Thu, 20 Nov 2025 12:56:59 +0000 admin 101949 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org Quebec lake breaks bank and empties out downstream – video https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/quebec-lake-breaks-bank-and-empties-out-downstream-video <p>The reason for the disappearance of Lac Rouge in Quebec, Canada, is not confirmed, but the trigger may have been a combination of heavy rainfall and wildfires having rendered the surrounding soil more water-repellent. </p> <p>Tree root systems allow for greater water retention, meaning soil is able to absorb more water as snow melts in spring. Nicolas Mainville, the conservation and climate director at Snap Quebec, said: 'Flying over the area reveals how huge swathes of forest have been completely removed by salvage logging and post-fire scarification. </p> <p><a href="https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/quebec-lake-breaks-bank-and-empties-out-downstream-video" target="_blank">read more</a></p> Thu, 20 Nov 2025 11:40:44 +0000 admin 101948 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org Trump officials reveal plan to roll back regulations in Endangered Species Act https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/trump-officials-reveal-plan-roll-back-regulations-endangered-species-act <p>Experts fear plan, one of many attempts Trump’s made to dismantle wildlife protection, will speed up extinction crisis</p> <p>The Trump administration presented a new plan to roll back regulations in the Endangered Species Act (ESA) on Wednesday, a move experts fear will accelerate the extinction crisis if adopted.</p> <p><a href="https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/trump-officials-reveal-plan-roll-back-regulations-endangered-species-act" target="_blank">read more</a></p> Thu, 20 Nov 2025 11:00:06 +0000 admin 101947 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org ‘We can no longer predict the seasons’: why Indonesia’s coal mindset has to change https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/we-can-no-longer-predict-seasons-why-indonesia-s-coal-mindset-has-change <p>It’s a climate-vulnerable nation, while also being the world’s sixth-largest greenhouse-gas emitter. Global investment in climate action is vital</p> <p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/nov/20/indonesia-coal-mindset-climate-crisis-cop30">Continue reading...</a></p> Thu, 20 Nov 2025 10:43:22 +0000 admin 101945 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org Raiders of the lobster pot: wily wolves learn to haul in Canadian crab traps https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/raiders-lobster-pot-wily-wolves-learn-haul-canadian-crab-traps <p>Researchers in British Columbia catch sea wolves in the act after placing camera to solve mystery of damaged traps</p> <p>The clues read like something from mystery novel: crab traps, suspiciously hauled ashore by unseen hands, had been damaged by baffling teeth marks. The bait inside was missing.</p> <p>The question for researchers in the remote corner of British Columbia was: whodunnit? As with many crimes of opportunity in the modern era, the culprit was unmasked by a remote camera.</p> <p><a href="https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/raiders-lobster-pot-wily-wolves-learn-haul-canadian-crab-traps" target="_blank">read more</a></p> Thu, 20 Nov 2025 10:00:03 +0000 admin 101946 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org Thousands of toxic sites across US face risk of coastal flooding https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/thousands-toxic-sites-across-us-face-risk-coastal-flooding <p>Study finds rising seas could flood facilities handling waste, sewage, and oil and gas – and coastal states most at risk</p> <p>More than 5,500 toxic sites nationwide could face coastal flooding by 2100 due to rising sea levels, according to new research.</p> <p>The study, published on Thursday in Nature Communications and led by scientists at the University of California, warns that if heat-trapping pollution continues unabated, rising seas will flood a wide range of hazardous facilities including those handling sewage, toxic waste, oil and gas, as well as other industrial pollutants.</p> <p><a href="https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/thousands-toxic-sites-across-us-face-risk-coastal-flooding" target="_blank">read more</a></p> Thu, 20 Nov 2025 10:00:03 +0000 admin 101944 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org Coalition to help Labor rush through new nature laws if environmental protections dropped https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/coalition-help-labor-rush-through-new-nature-laws-if-environmental-protections-dropped <p>Sussan Ley’s offer allows a clear path to pass laws to rewrite Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act in final sitting week</p> <ul> <li> <p>Get our <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/email-newsletters?CMP=cvau_sfl">breaking news email</a>, <a href="https://app.adjust.com/w4u7jx3">free app</a> or <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/series/full-story?CMP=cvau_sfl">daily news podcast</a></p> </li></ul><p><a href="https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/coalition-help-labor-rush-through-new-nature-laws-if-environmental-protections-dropped" target="_blank">read more</a></p> Thu, 20 Nov 2025 09:00:02 +0000 admin 101943 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org Australia’s failed bid to host Cop31 looks like a mess – but it may actually be the best result possible | Adam Morton https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/australia-s-failed-bid-host-cop31-looks-mess-it-may-actually-be-best-result-possible-a <p>While the outcome is a let down for those who want Australia to do better on climate, Chris Bowen looks set to play a pivotal role in the UN talks</p> <ul> <li> <p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/mar/10/sign-up-for-the-clear-air-australia-environment-newsletter-with-adam-morton?CMP=cvau_sfl">Sign up for climate and environment editor Adam Morton’s free Clear Air newsletter here</a></p> </li> </ul> <p>Ouch. From one perspective, Australia’s long-running bid to host the Cop31 UN climate conference next year has ended in clear failure.</p> <p><a href="https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/australia-s-failed-bid-host-cop31-looks-mess-it-may-actually-be-best-result-possible-a" target="_blank">read more</a></p> Thu, 20 Nov 2025 07:16:16 +0000 admin 101942 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org Nazi bombs, torpedo heads and mines: how marine life thrives on dumped weapons https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/nazi-bombs-torpedo-heads-and-mines-how-marine-life-thrives-dumped-weapons <p>Scientists discover thousands of sea creatures have made their homes amid the detritus of abandoned second world war munitions off the coast of Germany</p> <p>In the brackish waters off the German coast lies a wasteland of Nazi bombs, torpedo heads and mines. Thrown off barges at the end of the second world war and forgotten about, thousands of munitions have become matted together over the years. They form a rusting carpet on the shallow, muddy seafloor of the Bay of Lübeck in the western tip of the Baltic Sea.</p> <p><a href="https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/nazi-bombs-torpedo-heads-and-mines-how-marine-life-thrives-dumped-weapons" target="_blank">read more</a></p> Thu, 20 Nov 2025 05:00:16 +0000 admin 101941 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org