Breaking Waves: Ocean News

Proposal that ships pay levy on emissions to fund climate action in poor countries opposed by powerful economies Poor countries have accused the rich world of “backsliding” and betrayal of their climate commitments, as they desperately tried to keep alive a long-awaited deal to cut carbon from shipping. Nations from 175 countries have gathered in London this week at the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) to hammer out the final details of a deal, more than a decade in the making, that could finally deliver a plan to decarbonise shipping over the next 25 years. Continue reading...

Victoria Rance says the ‘1970s technology’ will cause pollution that will damage health for decades, but London mayor and TfL claim it will reduce congestion A multibillion-pound road tunnel under the River Thames will be out of date the moment it opens, according to campaigners. The first cars and lorries are due through the Silvertown tunnel in east London on Monday, passing between Greenwich on the south side of the river and Newham in the north. Continue reading...

Without the strongest conservation efforts, it can’t be long before the Maugean skate – and other marine living fossils in Australia – are wiped out Explore the series – Last chance: the extinction crisis being ignored this election Get Guardian Australia environment editor Adam Morton’s Clear Air column as an email Australia is justly famous as a place where ancient species, long extinct elsewhere, live on. After aeons of adversity, Australia’s living fossils often survive only in protected habitats: the Wollemi, Huon and King Billy pines, the Queensland lungfish and even the Tasmanian devil (which thrived on the mainland at the same time as the Egyptians were building the pyramids) are good examples. Such species are a source of wonder for anyone interested in the living world and they should serve as a source of hope that, given half a chance, even ancient, slow-changing species can survive periods of dramatic climate change. Australia’s largest repository of living fossils is arguably the cool, shallow marine waters off its southern coastline. Despite that fact that most of us enjoy a swim, snorkel or walk on the beach, the biological importance of our shallow temperate seas is almost entirely unrecognised. Get Guardian Australia environment editor Adam Morton’s Clear Air column as an email Continue reading...

Exclusive: State makes no admissions as it settles case with activist who alleged police misconduct during 2019 arrest at Melbourne mining conference Get our afternoon election email, free app or daily news podcast Election 2025 live updates: Australia’s federal election campaign A climate protester who alleged their head was repeatedly slammed by members of Victoria police’s riot squad in 2019 has reached a settlement with the state. Timothy Buchanan, 39, alleged their head was slammed into a metal wall, the ground and a glass door that their head was then used to open, during their arrest at a protest at an international mining conference in Melbourne. Continue reading...