Breaking Waves: Ocean News

11/19/2024 - 03:47
Prime minister says government is taking balanced approach amid protest in Westminster over proposed inheritance tax changes Farmers protest in Whitehall – live updates What are the tax changes affecting UK farmers? Keir Starmer has denied that he is mounting a class war by targeting wealthy landowners and private schools, after the head of the National Farmers’ Union accused the government of an extraordinary “betrayal” over inheritance tax changes. In an escalating war of words between food producers and ministers, the NFU president, Tom Bradshaw, called the government’s budget measures a “stab in the back”, after the sector had been previously told that taxes such as agricultural property relief (APR) would not be changed. He was addressing hundreds of farmers who had travelled to London to lobby their local MPs. Continue reading...
11/19/2024 - 02:35
Albanese government denies media reports it is signing up to collaboration to share advanced nuclear technology Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast The UK government has conceded that Australia was mistakenly included on a list of countries that were expected to sign up to a US-UK civil nuclear deal. The Albanese government flatly denied media reports on Tuesday that it would join the UK and the US in a collaboration to share advanced nuclear technology. The UK and the US announcement said they would speed up work on “cutting-edge nuclear technology”, including small modular reactors, after inking a deal at the Cop29 UN climate summit in the Azerbaijani capital of Baku. Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email Continue reading...
11/19/2024 - 01:46
Cop29 presidency announces new drive to cut methane emissions from waste dumps as G20 reaffirms transition from fossil fuels The UK government has conceded that Australia was mistakenly included on a list of countries that were expected to sign up to a US-UK civil nuclear deal agreed at Cop29 on Monday, writes Adam Morton, Guardian Australia’s climate and environment editor. The Albanese government flatly denied media reports on Tuesday that it would join the UK and the US in a collaboration to share advanced nuclear technology. The UK and the US announcement said they would speed up work on “cutting-edge nuclear technology”, including small modular reactors, after inking a deal at the Cop29 UN climate summit in the Azerbaijani capital of Baku. We urge them to use the G20 meeting to send a positive signal of their commitment to address the climate crisis. Continue reading...
11/19/2024 - 01:00
Experts say mix of taxes with development bank and private funding can provide $1tn a year needed by 2030 Raising money needed to tackle the climate crisis need not be a burden on overstretched government budgets, leading economists have said. The sums needed – approximately $1tn a year by 2030 – are achievable without disruption to the global economy, and would help to generate greener economic growth for the future. Continue reading...
11/19/2024 - 01:00
When exploring wrecked warship the London I can barely see six inches ahead, but I’ve dived 500 times to document and save the secrets of this vessel built by Oliver Cromwell When I dive to the shipwreck of the London, a warship which was accidentally blown up in the murky waters of the Thames estuary in 1665, I dive in darkness. I can barely see six inches in front of me. And if I turn my torch off, I cannot see anything at all. But I love it. I’ve dived to the London about 500 times and I only have to feel certain timbers of the wreck, and I know where I am. Continue reading...
11/18/2024 - 23:24
Small island states must continue to be protected by special circumstances and need access to sufficient climate-based finance, Palau’s president writes A week into Cop29 negotiations, we’re not moving fast enough – or anywhere for that matter – on some key issues. Climate finance, or more specifically the new collective quantified goal (NCQG) to replace the current $100bn a year goal, and the work to operationalise the loss and damage fund, are key expected outcomes here in Baku. Continue reading...
11/18/2024 - 19:13
Marine scientists say one area around Cooktown and Lizard Island had lost more than a third of its live hard coral after bleaching event Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast Reefs across the north of the Great Barrier Reef have seen “substantial losses” of coral cover after a summer of extreme heat, two cyclones and major flooding, according to the first results of surveys from government marine scientists. After the most widespread coral bleaching event seen on the world’s biggest reef system, the Australian Institute of Marine Science said one area around Cooktown and Lizard Island had lost more than a third of its live hard coral – the biggest annual drop in 39 years of monitoring. Continue reading...
11/18/2024 - 18:45
When the heat is on, the onus should be on the Coalition to explain why they don’t support measures to ensure their newly discovered battlers have access to rooftop solar Guardian Essential poll: almost half of Australian voters want Aukus reviewed after Donald Trump’s election win Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast Australia is facing the extreme risk of dangerous concentrations of high pressure and hot air this summer. There is also a strong likelihood of heatwaves. The return of the performatively anti-climate Donald Trump will see the world’s biggest per capita carbon polluter pull out of global targets, emboldening energy incumbents and their mouthpieces to amp up their attacks on renewables. Continue reading...
11/18/2024 - 13:00
Different species of seabirds can coexist on small, isolated islands despite eating the same kind of fish. A researcher has been involved in developing a mathematical model that can be used to better understand how this ecosystem works.
11/18/2024 - 13:00
Sherry Rehman says rich nations should pay ‘internationally determined contributions’ to help poorer and worst-affected countries Amid the endless politicking and inscrutable arguments at the UN climate negotiations in Baku, Azerbaijan, this month, it can be hard to remember what is at stake. That’s why Sherry Rehman, Pakistan’s former climate change minister, is calling on global leaders to “keep an eye on the big picture”. “We’re here for life and death reasons,” Rehman said. Continue reading...