Latest news with #climate change
The Independent
an hour ago
- Politics
- The Independent
Social media companies not doing enough to protect England players from racism, says FA chief
Your support helps us to tell the story Read more Support Now From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging. At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story. The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it. Your support makes all the difference. Read more Social media companies are still not doing enough to prevent England players from suffering racist abuse online, according to FA chief executive Mark Bullingham. Lionesses defender Jess Carter revealed before England's semi-final against Italy that she had received 'vile' and "abhorrent" racist abuse during Euro 2025. It came four years after Bukayo Saka, Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho were sent racist abuse after missing penalties in England's Euro 2020 final defeat to Italy. open image in gallery Jess Carter was sent abuse on social media during Euro 2025 ( Getty ) Bullingham said the FA thought 'things would improve' following the Euro 2020 final, after conversations with social media platforms, but believes there has not been enough progress. The FA are working with the UK police following the abuse received by Carter and Bullingham said they want government regulator Ofcom to use the powers it now has under the Online Safety Act 2023 to 'hold social media companies to account' following the abuse. Under the Online Safety Act, social media platforms have a duty to protect users from harmful content such as racism and Ofcom are responsible for enforcing the legislation if there are breaches. 'We did think things would improve [after 2021] and we lobbied very hard together with Kick It Out and other representatives in football to make sure the online harms act came through,' Bullingham said. 'I think we would have liked it to have been stronger in some cases – if you look at the specific areas like 'legal but harmful'. There's a real risk that if we're not firm in how the act is implemented, it won't be as strong as we hope. 'I think now it's incumbent on Ofcom to make sure they really do bring those responsible for running social media platforms to account and I haven't seen huge progress in the last couple of years. We would like to see it now.' England defender Lotte Wubben-Moy said she would be joining Carter by stepping away from social media, posting that she would 'not continue to feed the very platform that enables abuse with no consequence'. open image in gallery Mark Bullingham and Sir Keir Starmer with England's players before Euro 2025 ( Getty Images ) The FA joined a mass boycott of social media, led by football players, clubs and leagues in 2021, and while Bullingham did not rule out taking such action again in the future, he pointed that it is down to regulators to step in. 'I think we'll look at any tool within our disposal, to make a difference,' said Bullingham, who confirmed he had yet to hear directly from any of the social media platforms following the abuse suffered by Carter during Euro 2025. 'I think what you've got now, that's different to before, is you've got the online safety act and online harms act that I think we're very keen to see how Ofcom start implementing measures to bring personal accountability to those that are running social media companies, 'Within that, so I think there are different tools at our disposal now and we'll definitely be pursuing those.' While the FA are working with UK police following the abuse suffered by Carter, many of the hateful posts are likely to have also come from abroad, with Bullingham underlined the challenges in tackling social media abuse by saying that prosecuting anyone outside the UK can be 'really hard and generally really expensive'. He added: 'There's been a lot of focus on taking down content - and I think they [social media platforms] could be much better at taking down content - but more importantly, I think they could be much better at preventing it as well, and then in aiding the prosecution when it happens. So at all stages they need to be better.'
Reuters
10 hours ago
- Science
- Reuters
Greek fir forests dying as heat peaks and snow cover wanes
KALAVRYTA, Greece, July 24 (Reuters) - On the wooded slopes surrounding the village of Kalavryta in southwestern Greece, hundreds of dying fir trees stand out among the dark green foliage, their brittle, reddish needles a stark reminder of how drought slowly drains the life from nature. Fir trees are known to need cooler, moist climates. But prolonged droughts in recent years linked to a fast-changing climate in Greece are leaving them exposed to pest infestations, scientists and locals said. "In the past, we used to see a few dead trees scattered amongst the healthy ones," said Katerina Kolirou, head of the local forest service in Kalavryta, a village famed for its forests of the Greek fir species Abies cephalonica. "Now, unfortunately, among the dead ones, we try to spot the few remaining healthy green firs." Less water and moisture mean that fir trees become more vulnerable to attacks by pests that bore into their bark to lay eggs and create tunnels, disrupting the trees' ability to transport nutrients between roots and branches and leading to their death. "These are wood-boring beetles," said Dimitrios Avtzis, a forest entomologist and research director at the Greek Agricultural Organization Demeter, a state research agency, as he cut into the bark of a decaying tree in Kalavryta and found a beetle that he later placed in a vial for examination. "They don't form populations as large as bark beetles, but they are just as destructive to the tree." Across the globe, 2024 was the warmest year on record, with the average temperature exceeding 1.5 degrees Celsius above the pre-industrial era for the first time. Temperatures in Greece rose by the same amount between 1991-2020, but in some northwestern mountain areas there was a larger 2C increase, said director of research at the National Observatory of Athens Kostas Lagouvardos, who led a study on rising temperatures and snow cover. This, in turn, reduced the number of days the soil was covered by snow, another vital source of moisture for fir trees. He estimated a 30-40% snow-cover decrease over the years. Fir forest decline, also seen on the Greek mainland and the Ionian Islands, is not unique to Greece. In the province of Huesca in Spain, also in the Mediterranean region, a different species of fir in the Pyrenees mountains, the Abies Alba, has also shown signs of declining in recent years, a development that scientists link to extreme heat. In Kalavryta, authorities plan to remove dead and infested trees to limit the damage. But this might not be enough to save the forests. "We cannot stop climate change," Lagouvardos said. "What we can try to do is mitigate it or find solutions. But we cannot create snow."
ABC News
12 hours ago
- Business
- ABC News
Mount Pleasant coal mine expansion halted after community legal challenge
A Hunter Valley community group has won a legal challenge to bring one of the largest coal mine expansions in New South Wales to a halt. In 2022 the Independent Planning Commission (IPC) approved MACH Energy's application to extend the life of its Mount Pleasant coal mine to 2048 and increase its output. The Denman Aberdeen Muswellbrook Scone Healthy Environment Group (DAMSHEG) appealed the approval in the Supreme Court, arguing that the impacts of the project on the environment and climate were not properly considered by the IPC. The NSW Court of Appeal sided with the group on Thursday morning. DAMSHEG president Wendy Wales said it was a "landmark case". "We're just over the moon," she said. The group had requested a judicial review of the approval but that was denied by the Land and Environment Court. The Court of Appeal ruling has rendered the IPC's approval invalid. It will be subject to a review in the Land and Environment Court. The proposed expansion would allow the company to mine an additional 247 million tonnes of coal by 2048. In court DAMSHEG argued that the impact of scope 3 emissions — those created from the burning of exported coal — was not adequately considered. Justice JulieWard ruled there was "nothing" in the IPC's reasoning that showed it had accepted the scope 3 emissions would contribute to global climate change. "Thus, I consider that it has been established that the commission failed to consider a mandatory consideration in this regard," she said. Ms Wales said she wanted the region to move away from reliance on fossil fuels. "We would like to see that Mount Pleasant doesn't go through till 2048, doubling its rate of production," she said. The judge ordered MACH Energy to pay the costs incurred by DAMSHEG for the appeal. The ABC has contacted MACH Energy for comment. The case will now proceed to the Land and Environment Court for a decision on whether the expansion approval should be reversed. The mine employs more than 400 people in the Upper Hunter region and was previously approved to mine until the end of 2026. Ms Wales says bringing new jobs to the Muswellbrook region needs to be the priority. "We need to be working at how we do that and it takes all the collective brains to work towards that," she said. "[Muswellbrook Shire] Council has been calling for much more investment in and attention to how we're going to look after the workers and the rehab of our area."
Yahoo
13 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Coal mine stalled in 'groundbreaking' climate decision
A controversial coal mine expansion has hit a stumbling block after a court found possible climate change harms had not been fully considered, a ruling that could have implications for other fossil fuel projects. A community environment group from the NSW Hunter region successfully challenged an Independent Planning Commission decision to allow the expansion of the Mount Pleasant open-cut mine, near Muswellbrook. Operator MACH Energy applied to deepen the mine and double its output, extending its life for 22 years to enable the extraction of an additional 406 megatonnes of coal. The commission consented to the expansion in September 2022 and a judicial review brought by the community group was dismissed by the Land and Environment Court two years later. Denman Aberdeen Muswellbrook Scone Healthy Environment Group took its fight to the Court of Appeal, arguing the environment court had erred and the commission failed to consider the likely climate effects in the region. The Court of Appeal on Thursday found the commission had accepted the project's emissions would contribute to global climate change, but there was nothing in its reasons to indicate it had considered the local impacts. The commission's consent referred to Australia's obligations under the Paris Agreement, noting that the mine's emissions would be "accounted for" in the countries where the coal was burnt. "The commission's obligation to consider the likely impacts of the development on the natural and built environment in the locality of the mine ... required it to address the potentially adverse effects of climate change in the locality," the judgment said. "This obligation could not be discharged by general references to the effects of global warming on the planet generally." Environmental lawyer Elaine Johnson, the director of the firm that represented the community group, said the court's decision was groundbreaking. "The NSW Court of Appeal has just confirmed that the local impacts of climate change on communities are a direct consequence of continued fossil fuel production in NSW," Ms Johnson said in a statement. "From today, climate harm must be specifically considered when deciding proposals for fossil fuel expansions." NSW Greens MP Sue Higginson also said it was a significant legal breakthrough. "With this decision, the government must now reckon with the fact that they have a responsibility to the whole planet when it comes to allowing more coal to be dug up and burnt," Ms Higginson said. "The status quo of setting emissions reduction targets domestically and then exporting the climate crisis is now broken with this decision." The case will be returned to the Land and Environment Court to consider and MACH Energy was ordered to pay the costs of the appeal. The company was contacted for comment.
France 24
13 hours ago
- Science
- France 24
Cook Islands wages war on 'plague' of hungry starfish
These makeshift tools are their best weapons in the war against crown-of-thorns starfish, a coral-munching species eating through tropical reefs already weakened by climate change. The Cook Islands, a South Pacific nation of about 17,000 people, is in the grips of a years-long outbreak, says marine biologist Teina Rongo. "It can completely kill off the entire reef, right around the island," said Rongo, who organises volunteers protecting the reefs fringing the isle of Rarotonga. "I think there seems to be a Pacific-wide outbreak at the moment, because we're hearing other countries are facing similar challenges." A single crown-of-thorns adult can eat more than 10 square metres (110 square feet) of reef each year, squeezing its stomach through its mouth to coat coral in digestive juices. They pose a major threat to Australia's Great Barrier Reef, where scientists have developed robots that hunt down the prickly invertebrates and inject them with poison. "At the moment, you basically kill them by injection," said researcher Sven Uthicke, from the Australian Institute of Marine Science. "It could be vinegar, it could be lime juice or ox bile. "Others are building chemical attraction traps. It's all very promising -- but it's in the development stage." Rongo finds it quickest to pry the feasting starfish loose using a wooden stick cut from the dense timber of the Pacific Ironwood tree. "Basically, we use a stick with a hook at the end," he said. "We've made some modifications over time because we were getting pricked by these starfish. It's painful." Named for their hundreds of venomous spikes, crown-of-thorns starfish have as many as 21 fleshy arms and can grow larger than a car tyre. They are typically found in such low numbers that they are not considered a problem. But sporadically populations explode in a feeding frenzy that rapidly strips the life from reefs. 'Plague proportions ' They spawn in "plague proportions", according to the Australian Institute of Marine Science, and are a major driver of coral loss. From the Red Sea to the Pacific Ocean, crown-of-thorns outbreaks appear to be becoming both more frequent and more severe. "Some argue that the crown-of-thorns has become chronic in the last few decades," said Rongo, talking about the reefs of the South Pacific. Scientists suspect these outbreaks are triggered by a mix of factors, including nutrients leached into the sea from agriculture and fluctuations in natural predators. But the damage they can cause is getting worse as reefs are weakened by climate change-fuelled coral bleaching and ocean acidification. "This is why it's important for us to help the reef," says Rongo. Scuba divers scour the Cook Islands' reefs for hard-to-spot starfish wedged into dimly lit crevices. Once peeled off the coral, the starfish are pierced with a thick rope so they can be dragged back up to a waiting boat. The day's haul is dumped into a plastic chest before the starfish are lugged ashore to be counted, measured and mulched for garden fertiliser. They are known as "taramea" in Cook Islands Maori, which loosely translates to "spiky thing". The volunteer divers working with Rongo and his environmental group Korero O Te Orau -- or Knowledge of the Land, Sky and Sea -- remove thousands of starfish every year. Rongo is spurred by the devastation from the nation's last major infestation in the 1990s. "I was part of that eradication effort. © 2025 AFP
