Study shows how individual fossil fuel companies are making previously impossible heatwaves happen and could have to pay compensation
Carbon emissions from the world’s biggest fossil fuel companies have been directly linked to dozens of deadly heatwaves for the first time, according to a new analysis. The research has been hailed as a “leap forward” in the legal battle to hold big oil accountable for the damages being caused by the climate crisis.
The research found that the emissions from any one of the 14 biggest companies were by themselves enough to cause more than 50 heatwaves that would otherwise have been virtually impossible. The study shows, in effect, that those emissions caused the heatwaves.
Continue reading...
Breaking Waves: Ocean News
09/10/2025 - 10:00
09/10/2025 - 07:00
Colton Berens was looking forward to the added income from his farm, but armed with rightwing falsehoods, other Selby residents opposed the move
Like most of South Dakota, Walworth county is built on farming. To the east of Selby, the county seat, vast fields of soybeans and wheat grow between roads that run straight to the horizon. To the west, beyond the county line, the Standing Rock Indian reservation spreads across miles of rumpled green prairie studded with creamy erratics and dark clumps of trees.
Like many farming regions, Walworth’s deeply conservative population has been steadily declining and aging, from roughly 8,000 in the 1960s to 5,200 today. The grain elevator that towers over Main Street in Selby is among the busiest in the region, but most of the squat brick buildings in its shadow are weathered and lifeless.
Continue reading...
09/10/2025 - 04:00
‘Abrupt shift’ in policy since Trump took office will have major consequences for climate crisis, forecast says
A jump in greenhouse gas pollution in the US helped push global emissions higher in the first half of this year. This could be an omen of what’s to come, with Donald Trump’s pro-fossil fuel agenda set to significantly slow down the emissions cuts required to avoid disastrous climate impacts, a new forecast has found.
The “most abrupt shift in energy and climate policy in recent memory” that has occurred since Trump re-entered the White House will have profound consequences for the global climate crisis by slowing the pace of US emissions cuts by as much as half the rate achieved over the past two decades, the Rhodium Group forecast states.
Continue reading...
09/10/2025 - 02:00
This summer, locals and tourists enjoyed new river-bathing sites. As global heating escalates, we need more of these ‘cool islands’
Sign up for our new weekly newsletter Matters of Opinion, where our columnists and writers will reflect on what they’ve been debating, thinking about, reading and more
After la rentrée, when adults and children alike across France head back to work and school after the seemingly endless summer holidays, you would be forgiven for thinking autumn is upon us. But, weather permitting, enthusiastic swimmers in Paris will be able to prolong that holiday feeling into September – by taking a dip in the River Seine.
For nearly 100,000 swimmers, one of the highlights of this summer in the city has been being able to take a splash in the cool river waters at one of the three free public bathing spots, made available this year for the first time in over a century.
Helen Massy-Beresford is a journalist based in Paris
Continue reading...
09/10/2025 - 00:00
Wildlife coalition says figure stands at 2.83% of country, less than in 2024 and tiny fraction of the 2030 target of 30%
The area of England protected effectively for nature is continuing to decline, according to data from the country’s largest coalition of wildlife organisations, as experts say the government is allowing habitats to deteriorate.
The government is under a legal obligation to protect 30% of land and sea in the UK for nature by 2030, a pledge made in 2020 by the then prime minister, Boris Johnson. At the moment, however, 2.83% of England is well protected for nature, 2.4% of Wales, 4% of Northern Ireland and 12.6% of Scotland. This gives an average of 6% of the UK as a whole, which is well below the target.
Continue reading...
09/09/2025 - 22:38
Bob Irwin and animal rights organisations say Mike Holston – AKA ‘The Real Tarzann’ – should be deported from Australia
Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates
Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast
Online content creators who engage in “reckless stunts” with crocodiles should have so-called “dickhead legislation” thrown at them, and international influencers that do so in Australia should be “booted out the door”, Bob Irwin says.
The father of the late “Crocodile Hunter”, Steve Irwin, and lifelong crocodile advocate issued the rare statement after Queensland authorities confirmed they were investigating US influencer Mike Holston – who goes by the online moniker “The Real Tarzann” – for wrestling with wild crocodiles.
Continue reading...
09/09/2025 - 17:54
Flathead catfish are rapidly reshaping the Susquehanna River’s ecosystem. Once introduced, these voracious predators climbed to the top of the food chain, forcing native fish like channel catfish and bass to shift diets and habitats. Using stable isotope analysis, researchers uncovered how the invaders disrupt food webs, broaden dietary overlaps, and destabilize energy flow across the river system. The findings show how a single invasive species can spark cascading ecological consequences.
09/09/2025 - 17:07
Tiny ocean microbes called Prochlorococcus, once thought to be climate survivors, may struggle as seas warm. These cyanobacteria drive 5% of Earth’s photosynthesis and underpin much of the marine food web. A decade of research shows they thrive only within a narrow temperature range, and warming oceans could slash their populations by up to 50% in tropical waters.
09/09/2025 - 12:45
Raids by rival hives aren’t rare after a dry, hot summer, but Christine McDonald was surprised to find her store besieged
A Canadian beekeeper has described fending off thousands of “robber bees” as they raided her shop in a brazen attempt to steal honey.
Christine McDonald, who owns Rushing River Apiaries in the British Columbia city of Terrace, said she entered her shop to find it overrun by the swarm.
Continue reading...
09/09/2025 - 10:00
Party’s grassroots campaigners urge leadership to ignore business warnings about cost of setting ‘ambitious’ target
Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates
Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast
Labor’s grassroots environmental action network wants the Albanese government to adopt a 2035 emissions reduction target of at least 70% as a show of global climate action leadership, countering warnings from big business about the cost of such a goal.
In her first interview as the new co-convener of Labor Environment Action Network (Lean), Louise Crawford also said she had faith the government would finally deliver long-awaited reforms to the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act after plans collapsed in the previous term.
Continue reading...
