The Best of Guardian Environment

Investigation into Verra carbon standard finds most are ‘phantom credits’ and may worsen global heating

Study shows ‘disastrous consequences for wildlife’ if human-caused emissions push global temperatures up 4.4C

The long read: Nothing is produced at Sellafield anymore. But making safe what is left behind is an almost unimaginably expensive and complex task that requires us to think not on a human timescale,…

Hopes of a new weapon against diseases that routinely ravage colonies that are relied upon for food pollination

Environment Agency under fire for extending schedule for tackling pollution in rivers, lakes and coastal waters to 2063

The long read: In a pristine forest in central India, the multibillion-dollar mining giant Adani has razed trees – and homes – to dig more coal. How does this kind of destruction get the go-ahead?

Nature ‘in charge again’ at Swindale Beck for first time in 200 years as award-winning conservation project bears fruit

Many botanists dispute idea of plant sentience, but study of climbing beans sows seed of doubt

Earth is already becoming unlivable. Will governments act to stop this disaster from getting worse?

«At 1.5C, about 14% of the world’s population will be hit by severe heatwaves once every five years. with this number jumping to more than a third of the global population at 2C.»

Instead of focusing on ‘micro consumerist bollocks’ like ditching our plastic coffee cups, we must challenge the pursuit of wealth and level down, not up

«The main cause of your environmental impact is your money. You persuade yourself you’re a green mega-consumer, but you’re just a mega-consumer»

New data shows how fossil fuel companies have driven climate crisis despite industry knowing dangers

Unpalatable as it may be for those wedded to producing and eating meat, the environmental and health evidence for a plant-based diet is clear

Apple and cherry production hampered by lack of wild bees, who are suffering from a loss of habitat, toxic pesticides and the climate crisis

At least eight types of bird flu, all of which can kill humans, are circulating around the world’s factory farms – and they could be worse than Covid-19

«At least eight types of bird flu, all of which can kill humans, are circulating around the world’s factory farms – and they could be worse than Covid-19»

From now, house style guide recommends terms such as ‘climate crisis’ and ‘global heating’

Film by Swedish activist and Guardian journalist George Monbiot says nature must be used to repair broken climate

Expert tips on how to be kinder to the planet – from cooking and cleaning to fashion and finance

Singapore’s approval of chicken cells grown in bioreactors is seen as landmark moment across industry

Oceans are clearest measure of climate crisis as they absorb 90% of heat trapped by greenhouse gases

From the EverGiven blocking the Suez, to the Costa Concordia cruise ship hitting a reef, what exactly do you do when a vessel comes to grief – and how do you prevent catastrophic pollution?

The breakthrough, spurred by the discovery of plastic-eating bugs at a Japanese dump, could help solve the global plastic pollution crisis

Study calls for cap on production and release as pollution threatens global ecosystems upon which life depends

Its enzymes degrade polyethylene within hours at room temperature and could ‘revolutionise’ recycling

You sort your recycling, leave it to be collected – and then what? From councils burning the lot to foreign landfill sites overflowing with British rubbish, Oliver Franklin-Wallis reports on a global…

Major review reports recovery of marine life but a redoubling of efforts is still needed

Global emissions fell 2% amid milder winters and reduced reliance on coal-fired power plants

Since the 1980s, fossil fuel firms have run ads touting climate denial messages – many of which they’d now like us to forget. Here’s our visual guide

«Why is meaningful action to avert the climate crisis proving so difficult? It is, at least in part, because of ads.»

Giant ice sheets, ocean currents and permafrost regions may already have passed point of irreversible change

The long read presents Reconstruction after Covid: It’s easy to despair at the climate crisis, or to decide it’s already too late – but it’s not. Here’s how to keep the fight alive

«We still have time to choose the best rather than the worst scenarios, though the longer we wait the harder it gets, and the more dramatic the measures are required.»

Trees lost to drought and wildfires are not returning. Climate change is taking is a toll on the world’s forests - and radically changing the environment before our eyes

«Forests also absorb around one-quarter of all human carbon emissions annually, and increasingly there are worries that if forests die back they will switch from storing carbon to emitting it, because dead trees will release all the carbon they have accumulated.»

‘Stunned’ scientists say there is little doubt global heating is to blame for the loss