Tories to pledge to scrap Environment Agency and Natural England
Shadow chancellor will also promise to scrap affordable homes regulations as part of strategy to refocus on growth (date: 05/10/2026)
My Climate Change bookmarks
The following Pinboard feed contains links to climate change news items, scientific articles and other information that I have bookmarked recently.
‘Climate change is happening now’ | UNISON - the public service union
Every day, UNISON members in the water and environment sectors are having to manage increasingly extreme working conditions due to climate change and decades of government underinvestment (date: 05/10/2026)
Revealed: Government quietly dropped plan to prepare England for wildfires
FOI request shows wildfire risk scheme scrapped, as data highlights many fire services lack proper protective gear (date: 05/10/2026)
Huge El Niño projected to cause 450,000 deaths in next six months
New report predicts a heavy toll from Nigeria to the US â and comes on top of existing impacts of the climate crisis (date: 23/09/2026)
Andy Burnham: UK must fully commit to reaching net zero by 2050
Exclusive: PM, who is facing pressure over whether to approve North Sea oil and gasfields, makes strongest comments yet on issue (date: 17/09/2026)
‘It bloody works’: why the world’s oldest cheddar-maker uses a ‘milk-source’ heat pump
Barberâs Farmhouse Cheesemakers can draw enough heat from cowsâ fresh milk to bring water close to the boil, slashing carbon emissions (date: 17/09/2026)
Who are the 514 people accused of starting French wildfires and what motivates them?
Experts believe one-third of wildfires in France are set deliberately, with arson the biggest single cause of forest fires last year (date: 13/09/2026)
‘We can see into the other room’: insurers face surge in subsidence claims
Stressed UK homeowners tell of cracks opening up in the walls around them after two record-hot summers (date: 12/09/2026)
UK datacentres will create just 25% of jobs predicted by tech sector, analysis finds
Facilities likely to employ 10,400 workers, compared with 40,000 in industry estimates, thinktank says (date: 09/09/2026)
‘Supersizing before our eyes’: UN warns of record El Niño approaching
Event is likely to be largest in at least 1,000 years and will pile extra heat into a world already in a climate crisis (date: 03/09/2026)
Summer of 2026 was UK’s hottest on record, Met Office says
Meteorologists say mean average temperature of 16.5C was made 130 times more likely by climate crisis (date: 01/09/2026)
High winds during El Niño could be deadly for England’s stressed trees, say experts
Head of tree collections at Kew âvery worried about this autumnâ as hot, dry summer has caused brittleness (date: 01/09/2026)
Climate crisis could be destabilising mountain areas like Nepal, experts warn
Unusual heat this year may have melted ice and thawed bonds that hold glaciers in place – leading to catastrophe (date: 28/08/2026)
Two planned datacentres will have higher UK carbon emissions than ExxonMobil, analysis finds
Exclusive: Buckinghamshire and Bedfordshire sites predicted to emit 4.5m tonnes a year when fully running (date: 25/08/2026)
Government contracts to require job creation instead of green targets under new rules
Ministers will scrap the requirement for companies to prove their green and progressive values before they are awarded government contracts, and instead ask firms to prove they will help young people back into work. (date: 24/08/2026)
Carbon capture and storage could make the Rosebank site compatible with UK net zero commitments – if its owners are willing to pay the price, says economist Michael Jacobs (date: 24/08/2026)
From bone-dry to soaked to the bone, welcome to the age of climate whiplash | Aditya Chakrabortty
This punishingly hot and dry summer will probably be followed by another wet winter. But it’s nothing compared with what Britain will endure in years to come, says Guardian columnist Aditya Chakrabortty (date: 20/08/2026)
Look at our blazing forests and parched cities. Green policies arenât a âluxuryâ, and we canât burn more oil and gas. People need the truth, says London mayor Sadiq Khan (date: 09/08/2026)
Extreme heat breaks temperature records in central and eastern Europe
Slovakia reaches new high of 42C as authorities in Poland forced to shut down Kozienice and Połaniec power plants (date: 08/08/2026)
Could England and Wales ever run out of water?
Last month in England was the driest July since records began almost two centuries ago. How concerned should we be? (date: 08/08/2026)
We launched a war on nature. Now we are in a climate warzone | Rebecca Solnit
…It’s as if we launched a war against nature, and that has turned place after place into something that resembles a war zone. The climate movement is a peace movement, a movement to end this war and its casualties. We often talk about what climate change has wrecked in terms of what’s material, tangible, structures lost to fire, flood, or sea level rise, trees dying, species threatened, glaciers melting in warmer weather. But summer was an immaterial treasure and joy that belonged to all of us…. (date: 05/08/2026)
Romania blasts rock to divert water from drought-hit Danube to nuclear reactor
Hungary and Romania face energy crisis as record-low river levels force atomic power plants to reduce output (date: 03/08/2026)
Relentless UK heatwaves turn ‘green and pleasant land’ brown
Visible impact of warming climate is impossible to ignore across landscapes that have been starved of rainfall (date: 02/08/2026)
Solar powers record share of Britain’s electricity mix in July
Farms and rooftop panels contribute 14.4% to the grid â and figures reveal a surge in new installations (date: 02/08/2026)
‘We can’t make it better again’: what Europe’s wildfires tell us about the climate crisis
In this week’s newsletter: As France and Spain battle huge fires in this summer of relentless heat, will it be enough to spur us to take action? (date: 01/08/2026)
Five years ago, I wrote an open letter asking climate scientists to speak out. Now governments are in retreat, it is surely time to act, says climate professor Bill McGuire (date: 30/07/2026)
Three firefighters killed on Crete and in mainland Greece as Europe battles wildfires
Repeated heatwaves and strong winds alarm experts, who warn blazes are becoming harder to quell (date: 29/07/2026)
Half of England officially in ‘exceptionally serious’ drought
Environment Agency names seven regions affected by unusually hot and dry weather and shortage of water (date: 29/07/2026)
Ben Jennings on southern Europe’s wildfires – cartoon
Firefighters in France and Spain race to contain huge wildfires before a fresh heatwave begins in the middle of the week (date: 28/07/2026)
‘We have lost everything’: extreme rainfall across Asia brings flash floods and typhoons
From Afghanistan to Taiwan, unprecedented deluge highlights devastating impact of climate breakdown (date: 28/07/2026)
What is a ‘fire cloud’, and how have they worsened wildfires in Europe?
Severe wildfires can generate their own unique weather systems. One of the most striking examples of this are dangerous pyrocumulonimbus, or pyroCB, clouds (date: 27/07/2026)
France and Spain race to contain huge wildfires before fresh heatwave begins
Coming days are ‘absolutely critical’ for firefighters before temperatures rise again this week, officials say (date: 27/07/2026)
While many people in the UK recognise the need to preserve water, others are furious and planning to flout the ban in their area. The target of their anger? Failing water companies and frighteningly thirsty datacentres (date: 26/07/2026)
Swinney requests UK military aid as 500 firefighters tackle Cairngorms wildfire
Scottish first minister hopes aerial support will help quench 10-day fire that has forced evacuation of Highlands village (date: 25/07/2026)
How dangerous are wildfires and how can we stop them from getting worse?
The conditions for ferocious fires are expected to worsen as the planet heats up, putting more people at risk (date: 24/07/2026)
More than 100,000 people flee or are locked down as wildfires sweep France and Spain
‘Unpredictable’ blaze forces evacuation of French holiday spot Cap Ferret and Spain declares emergency over fires near Madrid (date: 24/07/2026)
Drought declared in parts of Wales as July on course to be driest in nearly 200 years
Government agency confirms status in north Wales and Upper Severn after series of heatwaves and lack of rainfall (date: 23/07/2026)
Funding bus fare cap from aid budget will hit world’s poorest, Burnham told
Proposal âthrows global south countries under the busâ, says ActionAid UK directorr (date: 23/07/2026)
More than 20,000 evacuated after intense wildfire in France
Reception centres open to thousands of evacuees after blaze begins in pine forest 45km west of Bordeaux (date: 23/07/2026)
Climate crisis-driven heat ‘sucking soils dry’ as extreme drought hits Europe
Analysis shows how heatwaves are making atmosphere thirstier, damaging water supplies, food production and power generation (date: 23/07/2026)
Not enough water for UK’s datacentre plans, trade body says
Industry says governmentâs failure to address cooling demands means AI growth plans are âfatally flawedâ (date: 21/07/2026)
Why has Labour briefed against Ed Miliband – is it his success and popularity?
Tories, Reform, fossil fuel industry and some in his party lined up against net zero agenda as energy secretary (date: 21/07/2026)
Council rescinds Climate Emergency declaration and launches review - Suffolk County Council
A bad decision... 'Suffolk County Council has voted to rescind the Climate Emergency declaration originally adopted in March 2019 and commission a comprehensive review of climate, net zero and environmental programmes across the authority.' (date: 20/07/2026)
Europe’s most effective tool to cut greenhouse gas emissions ‘risks being weakened’
European Commission proposal to overhaul emissions trading system would give companies less demanding pathway to reductions (date: 18/07/2026)
Republicans threaten Canada with sanctions over drifting wildfire smoke
Fires are also blazing across the US and the Trump administration has repealed several climate protections (date: 18/07/2026)
Revealed: how Europe’s most powerful farming lobby killed EU’s pesticide law
Exclusive: High-level documents show how Copa Cogeca worked to weaken legislation to protect climate and wildlife (date: 16/07/2026)
Burnham too influenced by ‘vested interests’ to offer change, Polanski says
Exclusive: Green party launches pushback against idea that next PM will have more left-leaning agenda than Starmer (date: 16/07/2026)
Britons urged to take ‘small steps’ to prepare for potential national crises
Government to launch campaign to help people cope with events such as weather emergencies or cyber-attacks (date: 14/07/2026)
Around the world, climate-sceptic parties are exploiting floods and fires to make political capital. Without urgent changes, this deadly spiral will continue, says Laurie Laybourn, executive director of the Strategic Climate Risks Initiative (date: 14/07/2026)
Most UK media reports on June heatwave failed to mention climate crisis
Exclusive: Analysis of nearly 2,500 articles finds almost three-quarters made no reference to global heating (date: 14/07/2026)
Firefighting planes scrambled from south of France to tackle huge wildfire near Paris
Officials say blaze in Fontainebleau forest is of ‘exceptional scale’, with 900 homes evacuated and road and rail links hit (date: 13/07/2026)
Wildfires burn in Wales and England as environment officials warn of ‘exceptional risk’
Major incidents declared in north Wales and Derbyshire, with firefighters also called out to two large fires in London (date: 13/07/2026)
May and June heatwaves killed about 2,700 people in England and Wales, data suggests
Extreme heat led to 440 deaths a day during June peak, say scientists, with climate crisis ramping up temperatures (date: 13/07/2026)
‘Children were calling for their mummies’: UK pupils struggle in 40C-plus classrooms
Teachers call for schools to be urgently adapted for hot weather amid reports of nausea, fainting and heatstroke (date: 11/07/2026)
Remembering summer 1976: how the historic heatwave has become our new normal
Half a century on, Britain braces for temperatures up to 40C as global heating brings yet more extreme weather (date: 09/07/2026)
Great Britain’s grid operator issues fresh warning over power supplies in heatwave
Neso asks for extra supplies from electricity generators to cope with added demand on Thursday night (date: 09/07/2026)
UK swelters in third heatwave of the year as western Europe counts cost of hottest-ever June
Britain expands heat alerts while estimates suggest June’s death toll could surpass 20,000 across continent (date: 09/07/2026)
Western Europe records hottest-ever June as heatwaves intensify
Temperatures across ravaged region 3C above average as scientists warn of risks for people, ecosystems and infrastructure (date: 09/07/2026)
The great carbon capture con: behold the wasted billions Burnham could claw back | George Monbiot
There are far better ways to tackle climate breakdown, but successive governments have chosen to listen to the fossil fuel companies instead, says Guardian columnist George Monbiot (date: 09/07/2026)
Stymied datacentre projects threaten global AI revolution
Large-scale datacentre projects around the world are being challenged or cancelled, as infrastructure’s energy demands ramp up (date: 07/07/2026)
Exceeding 1.5 °C of global warming above pre-industrial levels has become a distinct possibility, yet the consequences of such an overshoot for mountain glaciers and their contribution to raising sea levels and impacting water availability are not well understood. Here we show that exceeding and then returning to below 1.5 °C will have irreversible consequences for glacier mass and runoff over centuries. Global climate and glacier simulations project that a 3.0 °C peak-and-decline scenario will lead to 11% more global glacier mass loss by 2500 compared with limiting warming to 1.5 °C without overshooting. In basins where glaciers regrow after peak temperature, glacier runoff reduces further than if the glaciers stabilize, a phenomenon we call ‘trough water’. Half the studied glaciated basins show reduced glacier runoff with overshoot compared with without for decades to centuries after peak warming. These findings underscore the urgency of near-term emissions reductions and limiting temperature overshoot. (date: 07/07/2026)
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