Climate & Energy

North Sea oil industry urges Burnham to approve new drilling in UK waters

Lobby appeals to prospective PM’s reindustrialisation agenda as it pushes for Rosebank and Jackdaw approval The UK’s North Sea oil industry has made a last-ditch attempt to curry favour with the Labour government by appealing to Andy Burnham’s reindustrialisation agenda just days before he is expected to become Britain’s next prime minister. Industry lobbyists have written to more than 400 Labour MPs to call on the government’s new leaders to allow more oil and gas drilling in UK waters to support homegrown energy and show “a commitment to UK manufacturing, industrial capability and the skilled workforce that has powered the nation for generations”.

Lawyers to investigate claims of GB power grid cover-up over blackout risk

Operator brings in independent legal firm to look into whistleblower allegations relating to June heatwave Great Britain’s grid operator has brought in independent investigators to look into accusations that its staff were involved in a cover-up over the power system being at a greater risk of blackouts during the heatwave. The government-owned energy system operator will face the scrutiny of an external legal firm after a whistleblower claimed that control room staff were warned against leaving a paper trail relating to efforts to stabilise the power system during record high temperatures in late June.

Dolphin deaths in South Australia spike after algal bloom decimates food sources

The marine disaster may be linked to a high number of dolphin deaths in the region, scientists say Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast The number of dead dolphins washing up on South Australian beaches spiked in 2025, according to long-term data that reveals mortalities during the state’s devastating algal bloom were the highest in 12 years. Last year, at least 70 carcasses of common and bottlenose dolphins were found across SA, with a further 20 reported in 2026, including the recent death of a popular Port River dolphin known as Zoom.

UK in ‘firewave’ as extreme heat provides ideal conditions for wildfires, experts warn

As of Monday afternoon, the National Fire Chiefs Council said emergency services were dealing with 19 wildfires The UK is in the grip of a “firewave”, with this summer’s extreme heat producing the ideal conditions for wildfires, scientists and environmentalists have warned. A particular danger was that more blazes seem to be taking place closer to urban areas rather than in remote countryside, causing hazards to homes and health, they said.

Hello from the outside: heat domes impeding radio and other signals in US midwest

Higher temperatures can cause radio, TV and microwave signals to travel hundreds of miles farther, upsetting communications It was 3am in north-east Indiana’s Huntington county when the outdoor emergency alarm went off on 1 July. The only issue? There wasn’t a storm, tornado or any other emergency weather event forecast or present anywhere for hundreds of miles.

Lancashire chemicals factory facing potential legal claim announces closure

More than 90 residents have expressed interest in contamination claim against AGC Chemicals Europe A Pfas factory in Lancashire has announced plans to close down, just days after the Guardian revealed that more than 90 residents had signed up to be involved in a potential legal claim over contamination of the local area. AGC Chemicals Europe is consulting with employees and their union representatives about plans to cease operations at its manufacturing plant in Thornton-Cleveleys, Lancashire. The consultation is expected to last for at least 45 days.

First came the dead fish, then invasive plants. A year later and Lake Suchitlán’s pollution remains a mystery

Fishers on El Salvador’s largest lake are still looking for answers after the die-off, with no explanation provided by the government From the village of Copapayo, Noel Avalos recalls the morning they ran to the shore of Lake Suchitlán, El Salvador’s main hydroelectric reservoir, also known as Cerrón Grande, and its largest body of freshwater, to find thousands of dead fish had washed up overnight. By August 2025, nearly 70% of the lake’s 135 sq km (33,000 acres) surface was carpeted with an invasive species, water lettuce (Pistia stratiotes). In the following months, plastic waste accumulated along the shoreline, dead fish became more frequent and residents who rely on fishing the lake for income reported that their livelihoods were deteriorating.

Heat deaths are a public health crisis rooted in housing inequality

The heat waves of late May and June killed an estimated 2,700 people in England and Wales, according to a recent analysis—around 550 in May, when west London hit 35.1°C (95°F), and 2,200 in June, as East Anglia reached 37°C (99°F).

‘Climate free fall’: why the biggest risk to our economies is yet to be recognized

Oil’s Oversupply Narrative Just Died

Trump says a nuclear renaissance is coming. The deals aren’t

The administration touts breakthroughs for the industry as it cites AI’s enormous energy appetite. So why aren't commercial reactors getting built?

DoD watchdog finds 155mm artillery plant built 2 years ago has produced nothing

An ammunition plant in Mesquite, Texas, has not produced any metal projectile parts after the Army spent $469 million to establish the facility.

Keystone pipeline operator agrees to pay $26.9m penalty over Kansas oil spill

Proposed legal settlement over 2022 oil spill would resolve allegations that South Bow violated clean water laws A proposed legal settlement with the US government would require the Keystone pipeline system’s operator to pay a $26.9m civil penalty over a large oil spill in Kansas in December 2022 and spend about $40m more to prevent future accidents. The agreement would resolve allegations from the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Kansas that South Bow, based in Canada, violated US and state clean water laws. The rupture dumped nearly 13,000 barrels of heavy crude oil into a creek running through a rural pasture in Washington county, Kansas, about 150 miles (241km) north-west of Kansas City.

🔴 More than 1,900 hectares of Fontainebleau forest near Paris destroyed by wildfires

French firefighters on Tuesday are still fighting two wildfires that have so far ravaged more than 1,900 hectares of Fontainebleau forest, a UNESCO biosphere reserve near Paris. Police on Monday arrested two people suspected of starting the blaze that has forced some 1,000 local residents to evacuate.