International: United Kingdom
Nine percent of England's farmland needs to be converted into wildlife habitats and forests
5 Feb 2025
Roughly nine percent of England's farmland needs to be converted into habitats for wildlife and forest by 2050 in order to meet the country's nature and net-zero goals, according to a consultation launched by Steve Reed, the United Kingdom's environment secretary.
In historic win, court rules against UK's Rosebank oilfield over climate impacts
3 Feb 2025
The decision by the previous Conservative government in the United Kingdom to approve the giant Rosebank oilfield off Shetland was ruled unlawful by an Edinburgh court on Thursday.
UK drops climate and nature bill
31 Jan 2025
In dropping the bill, UK Labour ministers avoided an internal party row by promising potential rebels supporting the bill they would have input into environmental legislation.
The bitter final showdown over British coal, as sun sets on ‘dirtiest fuel’
20 Dec 2024
The county of Cumbria in Northern England has become the battleground for a final war, which is raging over plans to build a new coal mine.
How the UK plans to reach clean power by 2030
19 Dec 2024
The UK government has set out an “action plan” for reaching its target of clean power by 2030, which it describes as “the most ambitious reforms to our energy system in generations”.
Government unveils new powers to approve onshore wind farms
16 Dec 2024
The government has unveiled plans to give ministers the final say on approving large onshore wind farms rather than leaving decisions to local councils, where opposition has often been fierce.
UK 'not ready' for extreme weather
10 Dec 2024
The government is "not ready" for the sort of extreme weather brought by Storm Darragh, the new head of the Climate Change Committee has warned.
Oil and gas investments of Donald Trump’s new UK ambassador
9 Dec 2024
Campaigners warn that the UK will face “pressure from American fossil fuel interests” to slow its energy transition.
Burping cows, Bovaer and boycotts: The anti-methane additive that’s taking social media by storm
5 Dec 2024
UK shoppers have threatened to boycott supermarkets Tesco, Aldi and Morrisons over a ‘miracle’ methane-busting additive trial.
We have officially advised our university to ditch carbon offsets – and focus on cutting emissions
3 Dec 2024
Some would say carbon offsetting offers us a way out. At the University of Exeter we have explored the role of carbon offsets in the university’s very ambitious target of net zero by 2030.
Clean-up continues for areas hit by Storm Bert
28 Nov 2024
Heavy rain and high winds caused widespread disruption across Wiltshire, Gloucestershire and South Gloucestershire, with damage to homes, shops and roads.
Ford cuts jobs claiming weak demand for electric cars
22 Nov 2024
The company said it had to act because of difficult trading conditions, including intense competition and weak demand for electric vehicles.
UK unveils principles for voluntary market in nature credits
15 Nov 2024
The UK is setting out its own principles for the voluntary market for nature credits, representing a vote of confidence in a largely experimental financial product that’s intended to protect biodiversity.
Scotland passes climate change legislation
7 Nov 2024
Scotland has officially scrapped annual climate targets as well as its 2030 and 2040 interim targets, but is still aiming to reach net-zero by 2045.
COP29: What is the ‘new collective quantified goal’ on climate finance?
6 Nov 2024
As nations assemble at COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan, one issue is expected to dominate the summit: climate finance.
UK’s next Paris pledge should commit to ‘81% emissions cut by 2035’: govt advisors
29 Oct 2024
The UK should make an international pledge to cut its greenhouse gas emissions to 81% below 1990 levels by 2035, according to the government’s advisory Climate Change Committee.
Cities face ‘severe degradation’ without meaningful climate action, warn experts
23 Oct 2024
Cities that fail to take meaningful climate action face a future of severe degradation with infrastructure collapse and environmental deterioration, climate and health experts warn.
Will carbon capture help the UK tackle climate change?
8 Oct 2024
There is a lot of rousing rhetoric today about carbon capture, following the government’s pledge of £21.7bn of public funds over the next 25 years to help kick-start the industry in the UK.
Climate scientists call on UK govt to pause £1bn plans for carbon capture
3 Oct 2024
Leading climate scientists are urging the government to pause plans for a billion pound investment in “green technologies” they say are unproven and would make it harder for the UK to reach its net zero targets.
UK's last coal-fired power station set to close
30 Sep 2024
The closure of the UK's last coal-fired power station has been described by officials as a "tremendously important milestone" in energy production.
Surprise benefit of London's fines for high-polluting cars: More active kids
23 Sep 2024
Four in 10 London children stopped driving and started walking to school a year after the city's clean air zone went into effect.
Climate a more fundamental threat than terror: UK foreign secretary
19 Sep 2024
The United Kingdom's foreign secretary has said climate change is a more urgent threat than terrorism or Putin.
High Court rejects the UK’s first new coal mine in 30 years
18 Sep 2024
A judge on Friday rejected plans for the United Kingdom’s first new coal mine in three decades, delivering a victory for climate groups who challenged the project’s claim it would have zero impact on global emissions.
How farms are using 'magic dust' to capture carbon
16 Sep 2024
Scottish farmers are using crushed basalt to both capture carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and to help crops grow.
UK farming's 'net zero' climate target in doubt
12 Sep 2024
Ambitious plans to make farming ‘net zero’ by 2040 - 10 years ahead of the UK’s legally-binding national target – may not be achieved, the National Farmers' Union (NFU) has told the BBC.
UK’s methane hotspots include landfills and last coalmine
5 Sep 2024
Greenpeace urges UK’s Labour to ‘fulfil international obligations’ as critics question accuracy of official data.
Renewable energy auction secures enough power for 11m UK homes
4 Sep 2024
Great Britain’s renewable energy auction has secured enough new clean electricity projects to power 11m UK homes after the Labour government made record funding available to suppliers.
Green groups call on UK govt to stop subsidies for biomass plant
2 Sep 2024
More than 40 groups are calling on the government to scrap plans to pay billions in subsidies to the Drax biomass power plant, which was recently revealed as the country's worst carbon emitter.
UK could approve 13 new oil and gas projects despite North Sea pledge
13 Aug 2024
The UK government could approve 13 new oil and gas projects in the North Sea, with the fuel produced emitting 350m tonnes of CO2 equivalent (MtCO2e) if burned.
How a livestock industry lobbying campaign is turning Europe against lab-grown meat
2 Aug 2024
Last month the UK became the first country in Europe to approve the sale of meat grown in a laboratory, giving the green light to a pet food made of cell-cultivated chicken.
UK’s Labour will honour pledge of £11.6bn in overseas climate aid
30 Jul 2024
Labour will honour a pledge of £11.6bn in overseas aid for the climate crisis, the energy secretary, Ed Miliband, told an unusual meeting of COP presidents past and present.
Landmark lawsuit challenges Britain’s climate change adaptation plan
26 Jul 2024
In a landmark climate case, Friends of the Earth and two people whose lives have been severely affected by the changing climate are suing the government of the United Kingdom over its failure to safeguard people, property and infrastructure against foreseeable effects of the climate crisis.
UK first European country to approve lab-grown meat, starting with pet food
22 Jul 2024
Lab-grown pet food is to hit UK shelves as Britain becomes the first country in Europe to approve cultivated meat.
UK supermarkets to trial methane-reducing feed supplement for dairy cows
19 Jul 2024
UK supermarket chain Tesco has announced it will trial a methane-reducing feed supplement for dairy cows as part of an initiative to cut its carbon footprint.
From green energy to rivers, environment at heart of nine plans in King’s speech
19 Jul 2024
The UK's new Labour government recognises the ‘urgency of climate challenge’ but also presents measures as way to also cut the cost of living.
Preparing London for climate impacts is ‘non-negotiable,’ landmark review warns
18 Jul 2024
The government has been warned that preparing London for climate change is “non-negotiable” as a landmark review of the capital’s climate resilience is published.
New UK govt lifts ‘absurd’ ban on onshore windfarms
10 Jul 2024
The de facto ban on new onshore windfarms has been dropped by the Labour government, to the delight of environmentalists and energy experts.
‘Our work is urgent’: Will the UK’s new Labour government prioritise the climate crisis?
8 Jul 2024
Campaigners and experts say support for environmental policies in the UK general election means Labour must now make climate action a top priority.
The Guardian view on Britain’s green future: where was the debate?
5 Jul 2024
OPINION: The climate emergency should have been a more prominent theme during an underwhelming election campaign.
Key oil project must count full climate impact - court
24 Jun 2024
The Supreme Court has ruled a local council should have considered the full climate impact of burning oil from new wells - a landmark decision which could put future UK oil and gas projects in question.
The Tory network of climate denial and fossil fuel funding
14 Jun 2024
DeSmog catalogues how oil and gas firms have forged ties with the highest levels of government in the UK, as well as with the media and influential think tanks.
UK climate aid reaches record £1.8bn in 2023 after loosening rules
10 Jun 2024
The UK government’s spending on climate aid reached its highest-ever level last year, with more than £1.8bn channelled into projects aimed at cutting emissions.
UK won’t cook the books to hit its climate goals
23 May 2024
Announcement on next carbon budget comes after weeks of speculation the government would try and find more ‘headroom.’
BP and Shell ‘shaped’ UK carbon tax proposals, private emails show
13 May 2024
Internal documents expose how oil and gas majors were given the chance to influence a report by the Policy Exchange think tank.
UK's new climate action plan unlawful due to delivery risk
6 May 2024
Britain's latest climate action plan is unlawful because ministers were not told of the risk that key policies could not be delivered, London's High Court ruled.
Liz Truss book calls for climate laws to be abolished and boasts of effort to cancel UK COP summit
23 Apr 2024
The former UK prime minister attacks flagship climate deals and makes false claims about electric vehicles, Russia’s influence on energy policies, and net zero.
Food security threatened by extreme flooding, farmers warn
16 Apr 2024
The flooding and extreme weather linked to climate change will undermine UK food production unless farmers get more help, according to the National Farmers Union.
UK Government faces High Court challenge over ‘inadequate’ climate protection plans
16 Apr 2024
The case has been brought by an activist who lost his house to coastal erosion, a disability campaigner and Friends of the Earth.
UK emissions in 2023 fell to lowest level since 1879
13 Mar 2024
The UK’s greenhouse gas emissions fell by 5.7% in 2023 to their lowest level since 1879, according to new Carbon Brief analysis.
Rewilding Ireland: ‘Undoing the damage’ from a history of deforestation
4 Mar 2024
Eoghan Daltun has spent the past 14 years successfully rewilding 29 hectares (73 acres) of farmland on the Beara Peninsula in southwestern Ireland.
Forget net zero. We need ‘real zero’ – and these companies prove it’s profitable
Fri 15 Aug 2025
OPINION: Three huge global companies – IKEA, Lendlease and Fortescue Mining – are heading towards real zero. If they can do it, so can everyone.
Trump’s climate report includes more than 100 false or misleading claims
Fri 15 Aug 2025
A “critical assessment” report commissioned by the Trump administration to justify a rollback of US climate regulations contains at least 100 false or misleading statements, according to a Carbon Brief factcheck involving dozens of leading climate scientists.
Why China is still building new coal – and when it might stop
Thu 14 Aug 2025
Last year, China started construction on an estimated 95 gigawatts (GW) of new coal power capacity, enough to power the entire UK twice over.
Wildfires fanned by heatwave and strong winds rage across Europe
Fri 15 Aug 2025
Wildfires caused by arsonists or thunderstorms and fanned by a heatwave and strong winds wreaked destruction across southern Europe on Wednesday, burning homes and forcing thousands of residents and tourists to flee.
Challenges persist in bid to mine the deep sea, even after boost from Trump
29 Jul 2025
After years of delay, the deep-sea mining plans of Canadian firm The Metals Company (TMC) now appear to be progressing as it pursues a controversial new path to securing a license to mine in international waters under U.S. jurisdiction.
India misses chance to tackle UK carbon tax in trade pact
28 Jul 2025
India’s efforts to secure a concession for its small and medium enterprises under the UK’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism did not materialise, as the text of the India-UK Free Trade Agreement made no mention of a resolution on the contentious issue.
Rise in dengue fever outbreaks across the Pacific driven by the climate crisis, experts say
Wed 13 Aug 2025
Samoa, Fiji and Tonga among the worst affected amid warning the disease and others will become ‘more common and more serious’ as the planet warms.
Nordic countries hit by ‘truly unprecedented’ heatwave
5 Aug 2025
Scientists have recorded the longest streak of temperatures higher than 30C in the region in records going back to 1961.
African $60 billion high-speed rail project takes shape
Fri 15 Aug 2025
One of the largest infrastructure projects in Africa has received a new update that could see construction begin soon.
Brazil's Lula vetoes parts of environment bill pushed by the opposition that could harm the Amazon
Wed 13 Aug 2025
Brazil’s president has vetoed parts of a controversial congressional bill that sought to loosen the country’s environmental licensing rules.
How could the UN climate talks be reformed?
Wed 13 Aug 2025
This year marks a decade since nations successfully negotiated the Paris Agreement, a landmark treaty that has been the guiding force for international climate politics ever since.
