Michael Shanks says guidance brings ‘clarity’ to approval process as analysis finds UK will be almost fully dependent on foreign gas by 2050 even if sites get green light
Ministers have opened the door to approving drilling at two controversial North Sea oilfields, as new guidance on how energy firms should account for future emissions was released.
Michael Shanks, the energy security minister, said on Thursday the guidance would “offer clarity on the way forward for the North Sea oil and gas industry”, after a supreme court ruling in 2024 that blocked drilling.
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Breaking Waves: Ocean News
06/19/2025 - 01:00
06/19/2025 - 00:00
Royal College of Physicians also says poor air quality costs country more than £500m a week
Air pollution in the UK is costing more than £500m a week in ill health, NHS care and productivity losses, with 99% of the population breathing in “toxic air”, doctors have said.
Dirty air is killing more than 500 people a week, with health harm to almost every organ of the body caused by air pollution, even at low concentrations, the Royal College of Physicians (RCP) said.
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Rampaging raccoons: how the American mammals took over a German city – and are heading across Europe
06/18/2025 - 23:00
Many in Kassel have embraced the animal but the EU classes it as an invasive species and ecologists are divided about what to do next
In Kassel, everyone has a story about raccoons. Some struggle with a family of them that moved into their roof and simply will not leave. Others recount how a picnic in the park turned into an ambush as gangs of the black and white animals, known in Germany as Waschbären, raided the food. Almost everyone seems to have a neighbour who feeds them, to the annoyance of the entire street.
“We are the raccoon city. They are everywhere,” says Lars, a Kassel resident, as he tends his allotment by Karlsaue park in the fading light.
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06/18/2025 - 19:08
Michigan wildlife experts surprised by the bear’s ability to eat and sleep despite the uncomfortable accessory
Michigan wildlife experts finally were able to trap a black bear and remove a large lid that was stuck around his neck – after two years.
“It’s pretty incredible that the bear survived and was able to feed itself,” Cody Norton, a state bear specialist, said on Wednesday. “The neck was scarred and missing hair, but the bear was in much better condition than we expected it to be.”
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06/18/2025 - 18:00
Volatile weather patterns may be altering taste of juniper berries – a key botanical in the spirit – scientists say
The flavour of a gin and tonic may be impacted by climate change, scientists have found.
Volatile weather patterns, made more likely by climate breakdown, could change the taste of juniper berries, which are the key botanical that give gin its distinctive taste.
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06/18/2025 - 17:01
Breaching threshold would ramp up catastrophic weather events, further increasing human suffering
The planet’s remaining carbon budget to meet the international target of 1.5C has just two years left at the current rate of emissions, scientists have warned, showing how deep into the climate crisis the world has fallen.
Breaching the target would ramp up the extreme weather already devastating communities around the world. It would also require carbon dioxide to be sucked from the atmosphere in future to restore the stable climate in which the whole of civilisation developed over the past 10,000 years.
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06/18/2025 - 11:20
Production of staple crops projected to fall by as much as 120 calories per person per day for every 1C of heating
Some of our critical staple crops could suffer “substantial” production losses due to climate breakdown, a study has found, even if farmers adapt to worsening weather.
Maize, soy, rice, wheat, cassava and sorghum yields are projected to fall by as much as 120 calories per person per day for every 1C the planet heats up, according to new research in Nature, with average daily losses that could add up to the equivalent of not having breakfast.
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06/18/2025 - 10:00
With climate policies under siege by the Trump, young climate activists are intensifying their campaign
The youth activists who put the Green New Deal on the political map are launching a new campaign to “villainize big oil” which will push for the industry to pay for climate action so the costs don’t fall on ordinary people.
Seven years ago, the Sunrise Movement captured headlines when its members stormed the office of the incoming House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, demanding the rapid phase-out of fossil fuels and creation of good jobs.
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06/18/2025 - 09:00
A new study investigates possible ties to pesticides, nitrates and other farm-related risks
Six months ago, Alex Hammer was diagnosed with colon cancer at the age of 37. Dianne Chambers endured surgery, chemotherapy and dozens of rounds of radiation to fight aggressive breast cancer, and Janan Haugen spends most days helping care for her 16-year-old grandson, who is still being treated for brain cancer he developed at the age of seven.
The three were among a group of about two dozen people who came together last week in a small town in central Iowa to share their experiences of cancer. They are part of a new research project investigating potential environmental causes for what the American Cancer Society’s advocacy arm calls a cancer “crisis”.
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06/18/2025 - 09:00
We won a high court case against Shropshire council’s plans for a new polluting poultry unit. Now a precedent has been set
Charles Watson is chair and founder of River Action
The recent ecological collapse of the River Wye due to pollution from intensive agriculture has been well documented. But the slow-motion repetition of this ecocide on the neighbouring River Severn has largely unfolded out of sight.
For years, local authorities have been waving through industrial-scale livestock production units across the catchment of this iconic river. These toxic megafarms produce vast quantities of animal waste, which is spread on local land with minimal consideration for the cumulative environmental destruction it can cause.
Charles Watson is chair and founder of River Action
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