Don Harwin tells Committee for Economic Development of Australia the ‘self-indulgent climate culture war’ should end

The Liberal New South Wales energy minister has delivered a speech marking a sharp departure from his federal colleagues saying the coal-fired power industry should accept the clean energy target that will see the industry close in the coming decades as “the best deal that coal will get”.

He also ridiculed claims that expanding gas exploration in NSW was the key to fixing Australia’s gas crisis, saying such an idea was “curious”, and pointedly called for an end to the “self-indulgent climate culture war”.

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Source: Guardian Climate Change

BBC Springwatch host urges gardeners to manage molluscs without killing them or risk losing hedgehogs and song thrushes

The naturalist and broadcaster Chris Packham has advised the nation to encourage the ecosystem of their gardens by ceasing to kill slugs.

Extolling the virtues of tolerance, Packham said “draconian choices” like “I don’t want slugs and snails to eat my plants” puts the gardener at risk of losing other wildlife such as hedgehogs, slowworms and song thrushes.

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Source: Guardian Climate Change

Environmental Protection Agency had announced stay in rule that would require oil and gas companies to fix methane leaks in equipment

The Environmental Protection Agency cannot freeze the implementation of a rule requiring oil and gas companies to fix methane leaks in their equipment, a federal appeals court ruled on Monday in a setback for Donald Trump’s push to cut environmental regulations.

Related: Trump’s planned EPA cuts will hit America’s most vulnerable | Mustafa Santiago Ali

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Source: Guardian Climate Change

Sainsbury’s launches packaging that shows how long its own-brand ham has been open to stop slices being thrown away

A major UK supermarket is launching a new “smart” label on packets of its own-brand ham in a bid to reduce waste by telling consumers how fresh it is.

Ham is Sainsbury’s top-selling cooked meat product, but many buyers find it difficult to remember how long it has been open. Figures from Wrap, the government’s waste advisory body, reveal that British households throw away 1.9 million slices of ham a day – equivalent to 32,500kg – at a cost of more than £170m a year.

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Source: Guardian Climate Change

Tepid government response to limited cap for yet-to-be-defined ‘vulnerable’ people shows universal cap is virtually dead

This is how political U-turns are performed in the energy sector – not with a visible yank on the steering wheel but with some vague words from the secretary of state designed to disguise the manoeuvre in hand.

As Ofgem announced a limited price cap that will apply only to yet-to-be-defined “vulnerable” customers, the business and energy secretary, Greg Clark, attempted to suggest the government could yet go further. “I will consider next steps when I have received Ofgem’s proposed actions,” he declared.

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Source: Guardian Climate Change

Whether basking in sunshine in the northern hemisphere or fighting cooler temperatures in the south, we’d like to see the wildlife you discover

After the June heatwaves in the northern hemisphere, July has got off to a slightly more uneven start, but there will still be plenty of sun rays around. As winter takes hold of the southern hemisphere, the temperatures will get even cooler. So what sort of wildlife will we all discover on our doorsteps? We’d love to see your photos of the July wildlife near you.

You can share your July wildlife photos, videos and stories with us by clicking on the blue ‘Contribute’ buttons. Or if you’re out and about you can look for our assignments in the new Guardian app.

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Source: Guardian Climate Change

What do you see when you look at an elephant? The world’s biggest land mammal – or a giant data store, sharing information in a living, breathing network?

Elephants have such sad expressive faces that is hard to imagine how anyone could harm them. They have drawn lips and sagging shoulders; a long, drooping demeanour; sad, knowing eyes capable of laying on the guilt. Yet, it would appear that guilt is not enough to save them. Eighty years ago there were perhaps 6 to 9 million African and Asian elephants. Today there are roughly half a million left. Day by day, they are getting closer to extinction.

Perhaps we need some new ideas. Perhaps it is time for a different perspective on why elephants need saving. Rather than their bodies, maybe it is their shared memories and experience that we might one day come to value. This is the argument that I’d like to put forward in this piece.

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Source: Guardian Climate Change

A new global report is putting pressure on publicly listed companies to disclose their risk to climate change

Some of Australia’s largest listed companies, including Woodside, Rio Tinto and Santos, are likely to face sweeping changes to the way in which they model, plan for and disclose risk from climate change to investors. How they respond will affect their ability to attract funding from lenders, insurers and superannuation funds who are under pressure to stress-test investments for a carbon-constrained future.

The release last week of a report by the Financial Stability Board’s taskforce on climate-related financial disclosures is expected to add pressure on publicly listed companies to formalise their climate risk disclosure practices – particularly through scenario analysis – or risk investors pulling finance and rating agencies making assumptions about their risk profile.

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Source: Guardian Climate Change

Originally published in the Manchester Guardian on 7 July 1917

SURREY
Helped by moisture from the north downs, the river to-day runs higher, swirling along by the tall grasses and the loosestrife, bending reeds, and flags, flowing above the few yellow blooms on the near banks, and lifting “water-blobs” like small boats, which rock a little while the tide runs in. Kingfishers on the wing show now of a deep, now of a pale blue as a momentary light strikes from the sun. They perch on a swaying willow stem which dips to the stream, then a glint flashes all along the stretch of water and one of them flies in and with it gives a picture of many hues. Swallows, skimming low, are wonderfully white in plumage when they make a sudden turn, and there is a constant low warbling of the smaller willow wrens. Up the bank, where the teasel is breast high and its prickly bloom is forming, linnets whistle a few notes before they move restlessly from bush to bush.

Related: How to access the Guardian and Observer digital archive

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Source: Guardian Climate Change