Breaking Waves: Ocean News

Cop30 live: exclusion zone around conference expanded after protests

admin — Tue, 18 Nov 2025 12:14:00 +0000

Negotiations continue on day eight of the summit, with more ministerial national statements expected

Hello, Ajit Niranjan here from Berlin - I’ll be hosting the liveblog this morning and my colleague Gabrielle Canon will take over this afternoon. We’re looking forward to bringing you the latest from the Cop30 climate summit.

Walking on to Belém’s Parque da Cidade, the site of Cop30, yesterday morning revealed the extent to which the so-called “Indigenous Cop” has become a zone of exclusion for the very Indigenous people it is celebrating.

California farms applied millions of pounds of PFAS to key crops, study finds

admin — Tue, 18 Nov 2025 12:00:51 +0000

‘Forever chemicals’ sprayed on almonds, grapes, tomatoes and other crops as activists warn of ‘obvious problem’

California farms applied an average of 2.5m lbs of PFAS “forever chemicals” per year on cropland from 2018 to 2023, or a total of about 15m lbs, a new review of state records shows.

The chemicals are added to pesticides that are sprayed on crops such as almonds, pistachios, wine grapes, alfalfa and tomatoes, the review of California Department of Pesticide Regulation data found. The Environmental Working Group nonprofit put together the report.

Australia will not oppose Turkey staging Cop31 as Albanese signals policy shift

admin — Tue, 18 Nov 2025 11:31:50 +0000

Prime minister says fight over hosting rights jeopardises global unity needed for action to help Pacific islands

Cop30: click here for full Guardian coverage of the climate talks in Brazil

At least 15 English sewage plants use plastic beads spilled at Camber Sands

admin — Tue, 18 Nov 2025 11:10:01 +0000

Exclusive: Experts urge water companies to update plants to avoid another catastrophe, as analysis reveals scale of use

At least 15 sewage plants on England’s south coast use the same contaminated plastic beads that were spilled in an environmental disaster in Camber Sands, Guardian analysis can reveal.

Environmental experts have urged water companies to update these old treatment plants to avoid another catastrophic spill, which can lead to plastic beads being permanently embedded in the environment and killing marine wildlife.

The Congo basin may be the world’s most important rainforest – why is it the least researched?

admin — Tue, 18 Nov 2025 11:00:50 +0000

It is the second-largest tropical forest on Earth, and one of the most vital carbon sinks, but is losing out when it comes to climate policy and funding

In October 2023, leaders, scientists and policymakers from three of the world’s great rainforest regions – the Amazon, the Congo, and the Borneo-Mekong basins – assembled in Brazzaville, capital of the Republic of Congo. They were there to discuss one urgent question: how to save the planet’s last great tropical forests from accelerating destruction.

More than 300 big agriculture lobbyists took part in Cop30, investigation finds

admin — Tue, 18 Nov 2025 08:00:28 +0000

Lobbyists representing industry responsible for a quarter to a third of global emissions participated in key talks at the UN climate summit

More than 300 industrial agriculture lobbyists have participated at this year’s UN climate talks taking place in the Brazilian Amazon, where the industry is the leading cause of deforestation, a new investigation has found.

The conservative parties can change their leaders – but it won’t stop the NSW Coalition’s death spiral | Anne Davies

admin — Tue, 18 Nov 2025 06:37:01 +0000

The Nationals have a new leader in Gurmesh Singh, and Kellie Sloane could soon replace Liberal leader Mark Speakman. But the Coalition is fractured on net zero

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The NSW Nationals have a new leader, Gurmesh Singh, and the Liberals will almost certainly follow suit by early next week.

Sussan Ley, it’s time we took a look at your climate policy report card. You appear to have learned nothing | Tristan Edis

admin — Tue, 18 Nov 2025 05:25:18 +0000

My advice to you if you want to avoid repeating 2025 is to pay far greater attention to the quality of your research sources

Sussan Ley, as your teacher I’m duty bound to give you an honest appraisal of your work.

Three sugar cubes worth of plastic enough to kill a puffin, study finds

admin — Mon, 17 Nov 2025 20:00:13 +0000

Scientists find tiny amounts can be a ‘fatal dose’ for marine life in the most comprehensive study of its kind

Ingesting less than three sugar cubes worth of plastic is enough to kill a puffin, a new study has found.

Scientists measured how much different kinds of plastic seabirds, sea turtles and marine mammals have to ingest to have a 90% risk of it killing them, in the study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

South Korean decision to close all coal-fired power plants by 2040 sounds alarm for Australian exports

admin — Mon, 17 Nov 2025 14:00:51 +0000

Decision announced at Cop30 climate conference signposts risks for Australia’s reliance on fossil fuel exports, analysts say

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