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Indigenous and other climate activists say they need to 'make their voices heard' as UN conference hits halfway mark.
The Brazilian academic believes that the tipping point he has warned of for decades is ‘much closer’ — but he retains his optimism about the next generation
Members of the team representing China at the COP30 summit said trade rules and restrictions, including US President Donald Trump’s tariffs and measures adopted by the EU, are undermining global efforts to limit warming and are weakening climate ambition.
After years of UN climate summits being held in authoritarian countries, protesters are once again taking to the streets (and water) in democratic Brazil. Today’s newsletter shows you what that looks like on the ground, as a march expected to draw thousands kicks off in Belém.
Demonstrators marched through the city centre on a day of global action to coincide with the COP30 climate talks in Brazil.
This is the first time since 2021 that protesters have been allowed to demonstrate outside the UN talks.
Demonstrators marched through Glasgow city centre on a day of global action to coincide with the COP30 climate talks in Brazil.
Funeral for fossil fuels held as part of ‘Great People’s March’ calling on governments to step up climate effortsThe streets of Belém echoed with indigenous chants, classical Brazilian songs and calls for environmental justice on Saturday as tens of thousands of people marched to demand urgent action on the climate and nature crisis.Activists from around the world converged on the Amazonian host city of COP30, urging negotiators to ramp up ambition. Continue reading...
Desert kingdom depends on oil dollars but its people already face a climate ‘at the verge of livability’. What’s going on? Continue reading...
A huge cleanup effort has seen volunteers working to remove beads by hand and machine. They can only wait and see the extent of damage to wildlife and dune habitatJust past a scrum of dog walkers, about 40 people are urgently combing through the sand on hands and knees. Their task is to try to remove millions of peppercorn-sized black plastic biobeads from where they have settled in the sand. Beyond them, a seal carcass grins menacingly, teeth protruding from its rotting skull.Last week, an environmental disaster took place on Camber Sands beach, on what could turn out to be an unprecedented scale. Eastbourne Wastewater Treatment Works, owned by Southern Water, experienced a mechanical failure and spewed out millions of biobeads on to the Sussex coastline. Southern Water has since taken responsibility for the spill. Ironically, biobeads are used to clean wastewater – bacteria attach to their rough, crinkly surface and clean the water of contaminants.Camber Sands is one of England’s most popular beaches, with rare dune habitat Continue reading...
Area’s MP says it would cost more than local council’s annual budget to remove the 10-metre high pile of wasteFly-tippers have dumped a “mountain of illegal waste” in Oxfordshire so large that removing it could cost more than the local council’s annual budget, the area’s MP has said.Hundreds of tonnes of waste, stacked 10 metres high, appeared in a field between the River Cherwell and the A34 near Kidlington. One charity called the huge dump of rubbish “an environmental catastrophe unfolding in plain sight”. Continue reading...
In January the island’s beaches were inundated with waves of plastic pollution, a phenomenon that has been getting worse by the year. Photographer and film-maker Sean Gallagher travelled to Bali to document the increasing tide of rubbish washing up on beaches and riverbanks, and the people facing the monumental challenge of cleaning up. His portraits are on show as part of the 2025 Head On photo festival at Bondi Beach promenade until 30 November Continue reading...
The average Australian generates about 22kg of e-waste yearly. Here’s how to responsibly recycle your unwanted devices Change by degrees offers life hacks and sustainable living tips each Saturday to help reduce your household’s carbon footprintGot a question or tip for reducing household emissions? Email us at changebydegrees@theguardian.comIt takes time, money and fossil fuels to make the electronics that underpin modern life. From the mining of rare earths and metals to processing, manufacture and shipping, the engineering and logistical innovations that make it possible to buy a new phone every year produce incredible amounts of waste.According to the latest Global E-Waste Monitor, the world is generating 62m tonnes of e-waste annually and is on track to reach 82m tonnes by 2030. Australia alone produces 580,000 tonnes yearly. Between planned obsolescence, advancing technology and genuine malfunctions, this figure is expected to rise. Continue reading...
Swamped by lobbyists and hobbled by a lack of urgency, there are fears Cop could become a sprawling spectacle that betrays those who depend on it mostThousands of diplomats, activists, journalists and lobbyists are gathering in the sweltering, tropical heat of Belém, at the mouth of the Amazon, for the Cop30 climate talks.Since Brazil was awarded the hosting duties three years ago, hopes have been high that the Amazonian Cop – taking place in the country that hosted the Earth summit where the global fight for the climate first began – could be a turning point in the fight against climate breakdown. Continue reading...
In this post-truth environment, the interests of coal and gas are somehow able to win the hearts and minds of votersFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastDuring the last parliament I negotiated an amendment to the Climate Change Act to lock in Australia’s carbon emissions target as a floor – not a ceiling.I did it to promote government ambition to exceed the target and, having covered the first Trump administration’s withdrawal from the Paris agreement, to provide a legislative buffer against backsliding by a future Australian government. Continue reading...
Illegal logging, gold mining, and drug trafficking: Organized crime in Brazil is sabotaging efforts to combat global warming. This issue has long been overlooked at climate conferences. Is that finally about to change?