MPs ask ‘what will be left of Labour programme?’ amid calls for rethink and plan to speak out against decision
Labour MP Emily Darlington: ‘International aid is as vital as defence spending – cutting either undermines British security’
Keir Starmer is facing a backbench revolt by Labour MPs this week as anger mounts over the government’s decision to cut the international development budget by almost half in order to pay for an increase in defence spending.
The Labour chair of the all-party select committee on international development, Sarah Champion, who has already called on the government to rethink the decision, has secured a debate in the Commons on Wednesday at which dozens of Labour backbenchers are considering intervening to express their dismay.
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Breaking Waves: Ocean News
03/02/2025 - 02:00
03/02/2025 - 02:00
Experts hope research can create greener methods of extracting the metal vital for renewable energy revolution and boom in electrical devices
It is the key ingredient of bronze, the alloy that helped create some of the world’s greatest civilisations and took humanity out of the stone age on its way to modern times. For good measure, the metal is invaluable for electrical wiring, plumbing and industrial machinery. We owe a lot to copper.
But the metal now faces an uncertain future as manufacturers prepare to expand its use to make the electric cars, renewable power plants and other devices that will help the planet move towards net zero. Unrestricted extraction could cause widespread ecological devastation, scientists have warned.
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03/02/2025 - 02:00
The cute rodent helps combat drought and boosts biodiversity. Its rewilding is welcome and long overdue
The first time I laid eyes on a beaver was a couple of years ago on the Devon farm of Derek Gow, the farmer turned rewilder, who brought the furry rodents back to the UK 30 years ago.
It was magical. Sitting in the June dusk, the pink-and-purple sky was reflected in the still ponds of the beaver habitat. Suddenly, ripples emerged from the lodge and the head of a kit – a baby beaver – popped up from underwater.
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03/01/2025 - 14:00
Exclusive: Coalition energy efficiency package also on the cards as climate advocates urge better subsidies on solar and other alternatives
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Labor is expected to flick the switch on a household battery incentive scheme in a dual cost-of-living and climate action pitch to voters.
Guardian Australia understands the government is preparing a large residential energy efficiency package as part of Anthony Albanese’s re-election platform.
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03/01/2025 - 13:00
Backing of Glencore angers campaigners who have highlighted firm’s environmental breaches in South Africa
One of the world’s biggest banks, JP Morgan, has promoted environmental and “sustainable” funds to customers which have invested more than £200m in the mining giant Glencore, it can be revealed.
Ethical investing has become big business for JP Morgan and other financial giants, with worldwide “sustainable” investing expected to surpass $40tn by 2030. But the industry now faces scrutiny over the rules around investments focusing on environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues.
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03/01/2025 - 09:00
Regulators extended the life of two of the oldest US reactors in Miami. Millions of people in the area are now vulnerable
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A decision by regulators to extend the life of two of the oldest reactors in the US decades beyond their original permits has elevated the risk of a nuclear disaster in heavily populated south Florida, environmental groups are warning.
The Miami Waterkeeper says the ageing Turkey Point facility in south Miami-Dade county, which was built in 1967 and generates power for a metropolitan area covering about 3 million people, is especially vulnerable to flooding and excessive heat from the climate emergency, in part because of its low-lying position and coastal exposure to a major hurricane.
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03/01/2025 - 07:00
In February, thousands of civil servants were fired from agencies that study the country’s soils, seas and skies
It’s become known as the Valentine’s Day massacre.
On 14 February, tens of thousands of civil servants were fired, as the Trump administration hacked away indiscriminately at the federal government.
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03/01/2025 - 05:22
More than a thousand people have been evacuated near forest of Ofunato in northern region of Iwate
More than a thousand people have been evacuated as Japan battles its largest wildfire in more than three decades.
The flames are estimated to have spread over about 1,200 hectares (3,000 acres) in the forest of Ofunato in the northern region of Iwate since a fire broke out on Wednesday, according to the Fire and Disaster Management Agency.
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03/01/2025 - 03:00
Despite wet weather hitting yields, supermarkets are reporting a doubling in rhubarb sales compared to last year
It takes a while for the eyes to adjust to the darkness inside the shed. Slowly, the shapes of hundreds of pale stalks emerge from the gloom like an alien species, visible only by the glow cast by a handful of candles.
This candlelit ritual is the harvest of Yorkshire forced rhubarb, being carried out by growers Robert and Paula Tomlinson.
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02/28/2025 - 11:12
Our wildlife series Young Country Diary is looking for articles written by children, about their spring encounters with nature
Once again, the Young Country Diary series is open for submissions! Every three months, as the UK enters a new season, we ask you to send us an article written by a child aged 8-14.
The article needs to be about a recent encounter they’ve had with nature – whether it’s a field of early spring flowers, a nest-building bird or a pond full of frogspawn.
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