Campaigners hail U-turn during legal challenge over proposed centre an ‘embarrassing climbdown’
The government has been forced to admit its own planning approval for a major AI datacentre should be quashed after it failed to fully consider the climate impact, in what campaigners described as “an embarrassing climbdown”.
Angela Rayner, the former deputy prime minister, had overruled opposition from a local council to grant permission for a hyperscale datacentre on greenbelt land by the M25 in Buckinghamshire in line with Labour’s pledge to enable faster private investment in AI. But her successor, Steve Reed, has admitted the reasons for not requiring an environmental impact assessment were “inadequate” and that “permission should be quashed”.
Continue reading...
Breaking Waves: Ocean News
01/22/2026 - 14:11
01/22/2026 - 12:33
Marineland seeks approval to sell belugas to United States after its China export proposal was rejected
‘It’s heartbreaking’: how 30 captive beluga whales have become pawns in row over animal cruelty
Marineland, the Canadian amusement park and aquarium which has threatened to kill its captive whales, wants government approval to sell the belugas to the United States after its China export proposal was rejected, according to an official and a former trainer.
The former tourist attraction near the famed Niagara Falls has been mired in controversy for years. Twenty animals, including 19 belugas, have died at the park since 2019, according to a tally by the Canadian Press.
Continue reading...
01/22/2026 - 12:00
Sheldon Whitehouse adds auto giant to investigation after US president claimed CEO requests changes to regulations
As the Trump administration prepares to overturn the rule underpinning virtually all US climate regulations, a Senate committee is investigating whether the US’s second-largest automaker lobbied for the rollback.
In September, the Senate environment and public works committee launched investigations into two dozen oil companies, thinktanks, law firms and trade associations, focused on how the companies may have persuaded the White House to initiate the repeal of the 2009 endangerment finding. Now, the committee, chaired by the Rhode Island senator Sheldon Whitehouse, is expanding the investigation to include Ford Motor Company.
Continue reading...
01/22/2026 - 08:56
Pollution from wood burners kills thousands but proposed emissions limit would cut toxic particles by 10%
New wood-burning stoves will carry a health warning highlighting the impact of the air pollution they produce, under UK government plans.
Ministers have also proposed cutting the limit on the smoke emitted from wood burners by 80%. However, the measure would only apply to new stoves, most of which already meet the stricter limit. The new limit would cut the annual toxic emissions from wood burning in the UK by only 10% over the next decade, according to the consultation.
Continue reading...
01/22/2026 - 08:08
Cash, gold, mercury and firearms seized in operations in Brazil, French Guiana, Guyana and Suriname
Police and prosecutors from Brazil, French Guiana, Guyana and Suriname have arrested nearly 200 people in their first joint cross-border operation targeting illegal gold mining in the Amazon region, authorities said.
The operation was backed by Interpol, the EU and Dutch police specialising in environmental crime. It involved more than 24,500 checks on vehicles and people across remote border areas and led to the seizure of cash, unprocessed gold, mercury, firearms, drugs and mining equipment, Interpol said.
Continue reading...
01/22/2026 - 08:03
Road safety activists ‘vindicated’ after success of campaign supported by NHS trusts and headteachers
UK politics live – latest updates
The mayor of Tower Hamlets acted unlawfully in attempting to remove three low traffic neighbourhood (LTN) schemes, the court of appeal has ruled.
Road safety activists say they feel vindicated after campaigning for more than three years to keep the traffic restrictions in place in the east London neighbourhoods of Bethnal Green, Shoreditch and Columbia Road.
Continue reading...
01/22/2026 - 08:01
Extreme heat ‘is getting worse and whether we like it or not … there’s ultimately a limit to what we can actually physically cope with,’ scientist says
Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast
Human-caused global heating made the intense heatwave that affected much of Australia in early January five times more likely, new analysis suggests.
The heatwave earlier this month was the most severe since the 2019-20 black summer, with temperatures over 40C in Melbourne and Sydney, even hotter conditions in regional Victoria and New South Wales, and extreme heat also affecting Western Australia, South Australia and Tasmania.
Continue reading...
01/22/2026 - 06:00
The removal of sulphur from shipping fuels caused ‘a lot of extra sunlight’ to get through atmosphere and hit reef in 2022
Steps to clean up the shipping industry by removing sulphur from fuels intensified a major coral bleaching event on the Great Barrier Reef by allowing more of the sun’s energy to hit the oceanic wonder, according to a new study.
Sulphur pollution can cause respiratory problems for humans and cause acid rain, but it also has a shading effect and can make clouds brighter, providing more shade to areas underneath.
Continue reading...
01/22/2026 - 05:00
Described by one researcher as looking ‘already dead’, the enigmatic creatures are one of the least understood species on the planet
It looks more like a worn sock than a fearsome predator. It moves slower than an escalator. By most accounts, it is a clumsy and near-sightless relic drifting in the twilight waters of the Arctic, lazily searching for food scraps.
The Greenland shark, an animal one researcher (lovingly) said, “looks like it’s already dead”, is also one of the least understood, biologically enigmatic species on the planet.
Continue reading...
01/22/2026 - 01:00
Exclusive: Beijing, Delhi, Los Angeles and Rio de Janeiro among worst affected, with demand close to exceeding supply
Half the world’s 100 largest cities are experiencing high levels of water stress, with 38 of these sitting in regions of “extremely high water stress”, new analysis and mapping has shown.
Water stress means that water withdrawals for public water supply and industry are close to exceeding available supplies, often caused by poor management of water resources exacerbated by climate breakdown.
Continue reading...
