Breaking Waves: Ocean News

Plant species can fulfill different functions within an ecosystem, even if they are closely related to each other. This surprising conclusion was reached by a global analysis of around 1.7 million datasets on plant communities. The findings overturn previous assumptions in ecology.

The Baku Cop29 talks were marked by division and self-interest, with rancorous meddling right until the end Fiona Harvey is an environment editor at the Guardian When I first visited Azerbaijan this spring, one fixture of the Baku skyline was unmissable. The bright orange of flaring – the product of the oil and gas extraction that makes up 90% of Azerbaijan’s export revenues – lit up the night sky, not far from the Olympic stadium, where nearly 200 nations would gather in November for the Cop29 climate summit. Flaring burns methane, a powerful greenhouse gas, and is a major source of carbon emissions. If all the world’s flared gas were captured instead, it could power sub-Saharan Africa. But that entails installing new equipment, so producers don’t bother. Fiona Harvey is an environment editor at the Guardian Continue reading...

As ICJ hears landmark climate case, Grenada’s PM says vulnerable nations expect a long, hard fight for aid It’s a macabre picture: tombs, headstones and wreaths, lovingly selected by family members, floating into the oblivion of the ocean, and with them the remains of loved ones uprooted from their final resting place. Some are dragged back to land, washed up on beaches on the Grenadian island of Carriacou, transforming the beautiful Caribbean shoreline into a chaotic graveyard. This disturbing reality, says Grenada’s prime minister, Dickon Mitchell, is a poignant example of the gravity of the climate crisis and its impact on his country. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Campaigners say company’s apparent abandoning of 2030 pledge is a ‘masterclass in greenwashing’ Coca-Cola has been accused of quietly abandoning a pledge to achieve a 25% reusable packaging target by 2030 in what campaigners call a “masterclass in greenwashing”. The company has been previously found by researchers to be among the world’s most polluting brands when it comes to plastic waste. Continue reading...