Diesel sales in May are down 20% with industry insiders blaming lack of government clarity for consumer uncertainty

Demand for new diesel cars plummeted by a fifth last month amid rising concerns over air pollution.

Approximately 81,500 new diesel cars were registered in May, down 20% on the same month last year, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). This represented a fall in market share from 50% to 43.7%.

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Source: Guardian Climate Change

Snap election and reality of EU referendum result have led to confidence levels and investment falling, farmers’ union poll shows

Despite overwhelmingly being in support of leaving the EU at the Brexit referendum, farmers are increasingly gloomy now that they are staring down the reality of what leaving will entail.

In two years, confidence levels on the outlook for the next three years, as measured by the National Farmers’ Union (NFU), have plummeted to just above zero from a high of 19 points on the positive side, in the wake of the general election being called and Brexit being set.

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Source: Guardian Climate Change

Food wastage is a global problem affecting our economy, society and environment. Australians throw out $8bn to $10bn worth of food every year. OzHarvest is a food rescue organisation that collects excess food from commercial outlets across the country and then delivers it to those in need. Guardian Australia takes a ride with OzHarvest driver Steve Negrine to see first-hand the organisation’s innovative approach to minimising food waste

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Source: Guardian Climate Change

When it finally opens in September, the complex will have the latest energy efficiency technology – but will it be worth the $2.3bn spent?

When it comes to the power consumption of hospitals, the diagnosis isn’t pretty: they rate as the second most energy-intensive of all commercial buildings, behind only food service providers.

As the places where our babies are delivered, our sick are treated and our dying nursed, energy efficiency understandably slips down the priority list behind ensuring hospitals are properly funded, staffed and offer the best standards of care possible.

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Source: Guardian Climate Change

Originally published in the Manchester Guardian on 5 June 1917

Upwards of sixty members of a Manchester lads’ club spent Whit-week near Redesmere; two pairs of willow wrens nested in the fields the boys camped and played in. These boys are not slow, and found some nests, but they failed to discover the neat little domed, feather-lined homes of the warblers. Perhaps, however, the presence of so many lively youngsters was too much for one pair, although the nest was in the safest corner of one field, for the birds deserted their spotted eggs about the middle of the week. The other nest was close to a busy roadway to the farm, along which, in addition to the boys, cyclists, vehicles, and motors passed constantly; perhaps this traffic saved the birds, for on Sunday, after the lads had left, one of the pair was sitting undisturbed.

Naturally many city boys know little about nature, though they are sharp enough in other ways. Taking birds’ eggs is forbidden, but rules are sometimes broken, and three juveniles brought me an egg to look at and tell them what bird had laid it; probably that particular egg would never hatch, though it was returned to the nest. Each of the boys was asked to guess what the egg was, and the three birds named were the waterhen, thrush, and wild duck; it was an egg of the reed bunting! It is fair to add that these boys had not attended the classes now held at the Manchester Museum.

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Source: Guardian Climate Change

Whatever he thought he’d achieve by pulling out of the Paris agreement, he has ensured that America will be left behind in the race to combat global warming

The Paris climate change agreement will survive Donald Trump’s decision to pull out. It was not a surprise, but it is a shock to the deal so painstakingly woven together after years of effort only 18 months ago. It is another indication of US readiness to abandon global leadership, and it is a gift to China, ambitious to be seen as a mature and reliable global player, and already a world leader in renewable energy technology. There will not be immediate consequences for the planet, but the time available for effective action is already perilously short; even the threat of a backward step by the world’s second-largest emitter of greenhouse gases could carry serious consequences. Yet it is now clear how soundly the Paris agreement has been built: nearly 150 of the 197 signatories have ratified the deal. Pulling out even as big a part of the edifice as the US will not destroy it. The reaction to President Trump’s decision suggests that just as Brexit has made the rest of the EU come together, so support for the Paris agreement will be reinvigorated. From the immediate public condemnation of the move by Germany, France, Italy and China, and India’s reaffirmation of its commitment, to the Vatican’s description of it as a slap in the face for the pope, it may be that this will galvanise the rest of the world.

There is still a chance that the US will not, in the end, withdraw. The agreement’s built-in time delay means it cannot happen until the next presidential election year, 2020. There are echoes here of an earlier attempt by Republicans to stymie a climate deal. In 2005, George W Bush’s White House refused to ratify the Kyoto agreement, and then insisted on a twin-track approach which allowed it to appear concerned while blocking every possible deal. Finally, in Bali in 2007, a Papua New Guinea delegate bellowed at a procrastinating American representative: “If you’re not willing to lead, get out of the way!” Over the next eight years, under pressure of the evidence, the tireless and creative efforts of UN negotiators like Christiana Figueres and the leadership of Barack Obama, who wanted it to be part of his legacy, a deal was devised. The Paris agreement is not perfect, but it is intended to ratchet up slowly to achieve the target of holding global warming to 2C. It establishes a fund to help the countries most affected by climate change and created the confidence that has rapidly accelerated the development of renewable energy sources. No investor would take seriously the risks of restarting US coalmines. The secretary of state and former Exxon boss Rex Tillerson, who barely a fortnight ago signed the Fairbank agreement stressing the threat of global warming to the Arctic, knows that. Ivanka Trump was said to be lobbying business to buy advertising space demanding that her father, the president, change his mind. There has been a furious response from Republicans as well as Democrats, and high-profile resignations by people like the Tesla car developer Elon Musk from presidential advisory councils. One World Trade Center, along with other iconic buildings around the world, has been lit up in green. Michael Bloomberg has said he will personally compensate the UN for the $15m it will lose.

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Source: Guardian Climate Change

A new gold rush is targeting rich ores on the ocean floor containing valuable metals needed for smartphones and green technologies, but also hosting exotic ecosystems

Mining the deep ocean floor for valuable metals is both inevitable and vital, according to the scientists, engineers and industrialists exploring the world’s newest mining frontier.

The special metals found in rich deposits there are critical for smart electronics and crucial green technologies, such as solar power and electric cars. But as the world’s population rises, demand is now outstripping the production from mines on land for some important elements.

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Source: Guardian Climate Change

Sustainable fish is the only option if we’re not going to wipe species out. So it’s a big round of applause for new Princes tuna with the all-important blue tick

Whenever a sustainable seafood product reaches the shelves of UK stores I feel like doing a little dance. Step forward tinned tuna from Princes. Prosaic it may be, but it’s the first certified tuna from the Western Pacific wearing the Marine Stewardship Council’s (MSC) blue tick.

It’s time to remove all non-sustainable fish from shelves and menus

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Source: Guardian Climate Change

His withdrawal from the Paris climate agreement belittles his country, but could galvanise the world

Life here in the US feels surreal lately, like a very bad reality TV show, thanks to Donald Trump. In no case is this more evident than the president’s decision – and the process and theatre around it – to abandon the Paris climate agreement and nearly every other country in the world.

The Paris agreement was a groundbreaking deal that allowed each country to decide its own contribution to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Even though it is non-binding, the agreement puts the world on the path to keep global temperatures from rising more than 2C, which scientists warn would be disastrous for our planet.

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Source: Guardian Climate Change