Red squirrels ‘extinct in England within 25 years’ unless greys culled Conservationists warn urgent action is needed to save the cherished native species, as greys drive decline and threaten woodland ecosystems

Red squirrels ‘extinct in England within 25 years’ unless greys culled, warns nature watchdog
www.thetimes.com/uk/environme...

For all those saying they're expensive... I agree. I wish I had that sort of money to spend on a car. But you can also get very nice used EVs for £12K now (also a lot of money).

Tipping point?

"New electric cars now cost £42,620 on average, compared with £43,405 for petrol models."

plc.autotrader.co.uk/news-views/p...

Housebuilders could be exempt from paying for the destruction of nature in towns and cities, the UK government has proposed

New brownfield exemption for biodiversity net gain rules suggested in a consultation last night
consult.defra.gov.uk/defra-biodiv...

UK’s first major AI data centre on collision course with net zero The developments will add to fears that the government’s push to make the UK a leader in AI will fly in the face of its attempts to hit climate targets

Britain’s first proposed “nationally significant” data centre would be powered by gas, putting the government’s ambition to create an AI superpower on a collision course with its net-zero goals.

👇
www.thetimes.com/business/com...

Parliamentlive.tv Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee

South East Water CEO David Hinton has "surrendered" his £115,000 bonus after the company admitted leaving thousands of homes without water was "untenable" and a "failure"

Hinton is striking a much more humbe, apologetic note in front of MPs today
www.parliamentlive.tv/Event/Index/...

Britain could run without fossil fuels for first time since 1882 This Easter could mark a milestone for the country’s transformation of the energy system, though the exact moment depends on our mercurial weather

Britain could run without fossil fuels for first time since 1882

Story👇
www.thetimes.com/article/01d7...

Solar power surges as Lidl prepares to sell £200 plug-in panels Last year was the sunniest on record and helped lift the amount of electricity generated by panels to 7 per cent of total UK supply

Solar power soared to a record level last year, as Britain’s sunniest year was coupled with a surge in the number of panels installed by householders.
www.thetimes.com/uk/environme...

UK greenhouse gas emissions are now down 54% since 1990. They fell 2% last year.

It's something the country doesn't boast about enough. Yes, some of it is switch from industry to services. But the biggest reductions are from changes to electricity supply.

👇
www.gov.uk/government/s...

Hundreds of plant species and birds facing extinction in Britain The rate of loss would be three times faster than in the past under a worst-case scenario as climate change and changing habitat take their toll, scientists say

A fifth of Britain’s native plants and dozens of bird species could face extinction by 2070, experts have warned. Stark new paper in Nature Comms. Story here 👇
www.thetimes.com/uk/environme...

Also, in case anyone here knows...

Why is Straford-on-Avon district council so good at recycling?? It has the highest rate, 63.9%

Local authority collected waste management – annual results 2024/25

Stats out today here www.gov.uk/government/s...

Recycling rates still looking hopelessly stalled in England.

Stuck around 44% for the past few years. Way off 65% goal for 2035.

Hopefully the Simpler Recycling rules coming in for councils today will make a difference (by ending postcode lottery on what you can recycle and reducing confusion).

Analysis: UK is ‘halving’ its climate finance for developing countries

✍️ By @joshgabbatiss.bsky.social

Read the new analysis here ➡️ bit.ly/4t91fxL

Arctic Winter Sea Ice Ties Record Low, NASA, NSIDC Scientists Find - NASA Science For the second consecutive year, winter sea ice in the Arctic reached a level that matches the lowest peak observed since satellite monitoring began in 1979.

Latest climate news: Arctic sea ice has hit a record low for the end of winter.

Maximum winter sea ice extent was 14.29 million sq km. That's 1.36 million sq km below the long-term average. In other words, an area twice the size of Texas is missing.

👇
science.nasa.gov/uncategorize...

A decision on the biggest solar farm planned for the UK has been delayed until September
nsip-documents.planninginspectorate.gov.uk/published-do...
(likely biggest in whole of Europe too)

The duration of sewage spills into England’s rivers, lakes and seas almost halved last year, reaching the lowest level ever recorded 👇
www.thetimes.com/uk/environme...

Britain’s food supply ‘at risk of catastrophic failure by 2030’ A report written before the 2024 election says climate change, habitat loss and geopolitical instability are a danger to food security — and it has been ignored

Ministers ignored a report warning that Britain’s food supply is on course to collapse.

The report said climate change, habitat loss and geopolitical instability were undermining food security so much that it could be at risk of "catastrophic failure” by 2030.

www.thetimes.com/uk/environme...

Sewage spills fell in 2025 — but it may have been just the dry weather After years of outrage over pollution released into rivers and oceans the Environment Agency reports an improvement, but it’s not clear the water companies can take credit

Sewage spills fell in 2025 — but it may have been just the dry weather
www.thetimes.com/uk/environme...

Government must stop hiding the inconvenient truth on our environment I am an environmental campaigner and formerly an award-winning environment correspondent. I'm bringing this case to win greater transparency on vital environmental issues.

Important petition here on Britain's environmental transparency laws.

www.crowdjustice.com/case/governm...

A good number of my stories rely on these laws and wouldn't happen without them!

Net zero 'could save households hundreds of pounds' in a future energy price shock Britain’s pursuit of its net zero target could save households more than £800 a year on their energy bills if future wars trigger another oil and gas price shock, independent government advisers have ...

Net zero 'could save households hundreds of pounds' in a future energy price shock
www.linkedin.com/pulse/net-ze...

AI data centre to match carbon footprint of BA flights Planning documents for a £10 billion data centre project in Lincolnshire reveal its annual emissions will reach one million tonnes of carbon dioxide

Just one proposed data centre in England would produce annual climate emissions equivalent to all British Airways flights within the UK and to Europe - important story from @adamvaughan.bsky.social www.thetimes.com/uk/environme...

Iran, the Middle East and UK energy: factsheet Your questions answered on the impact of recent conflict in the Middle East.

Full thing here www.gov.uk/government/n...

Drilling more North Sea oil and gas won't drive down UK energy prices, says fact sheet put out by the UK government on the impact of Iran war

Interestingly, it's quite similar to the one the then Tory-led govt put out in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine

NEW

Britain used as much coal last year as it did in 1600, driving down greenhouse gas emissions by 2.4%

Story on @drsimevans.carbonbrief.org analysis of UK govt data

👇
www.thetimes.com/uk/environme...

80% of houseolds in England have access to green or blue space within a 15 minute walk, the govt's first estimate has found.

(Blue space is jargon for sea/lake/river etc).

The metric matters because 3 years ago ministers promised 100% of people would be 15 mins away

www.gov.uk/government/s...

Green Party seizes second place in polls as Labour hits record low Zack Polanski’s party is within touching distance of Reform UK after by-election win, survey for The Times suggests

The Green Party has leapfrogged Labour and the Conservatives to second place in the polls behind Reform UK
www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/...

After by-election, Labour could lose donor Dale Vince to Greens too The energy entrepreneur criticises the government’s heat pump subsidies and says he would happily talk to Reform about climate change

Dale Vince, the renewable energy entrepreneur and Labour’s “green knight”, is still weighing up whether to donate to the Greens or Keir Starmer’s party at the next election.

Interview also covers:
- heat pumps
- Labour climate record
- airline & Ecotricity

👇
www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/...

Comparing fuel pumps to electric vehicle public chargers

There are now almost twice as many public electric car charging points in the UK as there are petrol/diesel fuel pumps, a government analysis has found.

Obviously it's not a perfect like-for-like comparison given recharging/fuelling times, but symbolically important.

www.gov.uk/government/p...

When I interviewed Green party leader @zackpolanski.bsky.social in Nov, he said: "I think it is fair to say that 30 to 40 seats would... be a huge achievement for the Green Party" at the next general election.

Suspect they be having a new conversation about that after Gorton and Denton result.