Ofwat to be scrapped and smart meters to be compulsory as report aims to tackle sewage spills and financial turmoil
Ofwat to be abolished in ‘reset’ of water industry regulation
Business live – latest updates
The biggest review of the water industry in England and Wales since firms were privatised in 1989 has said that the sector is “broken” and requires fundamental reform.
Sir John Cunliffe, the former Bank of England deputy governor who led the Independent Water Commission (IWC) review, has published a 465-page report to attempt to address an industry beset by underinvestment, rising pollution incidents, soaring customers bills and meaty shareholder payouts.
Continue reading...
Breaking Waves: Ocean News
07/21/2025 - 05:05
Claimed sighting 300km south of typical crocodile territory started as a Facebook post before doing the rounds of breakfast TV
Sign up for climate and environment editor Adam Morton’s free Clear Air newsletter here
It started as a Facebook post on a community noticeboard by a man with a designer dog as his profile picture and just a few friends – but within 24 hours it was doing the rounds of breakfast TV and online news platforms.
The question was: had Ross Buckley really seen a 3.5-metre crocodile while on his “usual 6:30am stroll” down the dog beach at the mouth of the Noosa River? Was Buckley even real?
Continue reading...
07/21/2025 - 05:00
In Satartia, Mississippi, locals say a CO2 pipeline leak created an aftermath ‘like a zombie apocalypse’
On a clear February evening in 2020, a smell of rotten eggs started to waft over the small town of Satartia, Mississippi, followed by a green-tinged cloud. A load roar could be heard near the highway that passes the town.
Soon, nearby residents started to feel dizzy, some even passed out or lay on the ground shaking, unable to breathe. Cars, inexplicably, cut out, their drivers leaving them abandoned with the doors open on the highway.
Continue reading...
07/21/2025 - 04:53
Greens’ Sarah Hanson-Young warns $14m in federal funding ‘nowhere near’ enough to support South Australian communities reeling from toxic algal bloom covering coast
Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast
Get Guardian Australia environment editor Adam Morton’s Clear Air column as an email
The Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young says $14m in federal funding is “nowhere near what will be needed” to support South Australian communities dealing with the state’s algal bloom catastrophe.
The environment minister, Murray Watt, announced the federal assistance package on Monday while visiting South Australia to see the impacts of a toxic algal bloom that for months has caused mass deaths of marine life across the state’s beaches.
Get Guardian Australia environment editor Adam Morton’s Clear Air column as an email
Continue reading...
07/21/2025 - 03:50
Albert Manifold, ex-boss at buildings material company CRH, to take over from embattled Helge Lund
BP has appointed a successor to its embattled chair, Helge Lund, as the company breaks from its net zero strategy and pivots back to fossil fuels.
Albert Manifold, the former boss of the building material company CRH, will join the BP board on 1 September as a non-executive director and as chair-elect, before taking over on 1 October.
Continue reading...
07/21/2025 - 01:34
Environment secretary backs plan to end sewage spills and financial mismanagement in England and Wales
Water review in England and Wales: seven key takeways
Business live – latest updates
A new water regulator will replace the powers of Ofwat, the Drinking Water Inspectorate and the Environment Agency to “reset” a sector tarnished by scandals over sewage spills and financial mismanagement, after a major review of the sector.
The government will adopt the recommendation for England and Wales made in the review it commissioned from Sir Jon Cunliffe, a former deputy governor of the Bank of England, which was released on Monday. In England, the powers of Natural England will also be subsumed.
Continue reading...
07/21/2025 - 01:25
Experts say the level of ambition in Labor’s upcoming 2035 emissions target will influence the capital decisions of many companies
Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates
Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast
Investment analysts have uncovered what they say is a “significant gap” between the climate commitments of major Australian companies and how they actually spend their money.
A report from climate consultancy group Pollination included analysis of the public climate disclosures of 12 major Australian companies, looking especially at their decisions on how and where to spend capital.
Continue reading...
07/21/2025 - 01:24
Gene editing may hold the key to rescuing endangered species—not just by preserving them, but by restoring their lost genetic diversity using DNA from museum specimens and related species. Scientists propose a visionary framework that merges biotechnology with traditional conservation, aiming to give struggling populations like Mauritius’ pink pigeon a fighting chance against extinction. From agriculture to de-extinction, these tools are already transforming biology—and now, they could transform the future of biodiversity itself.
07/20/2025 - 09:16
Continue reading...
07/20/2025 - 06:00
The decision to let a small blaze burn – before it suddenly erupted – has drawn scrutiny. Now those who love the remote North Rim are reckoning with the destruction
When lightning struck on 4 July along the remote North Rim of Grand Canyon national park, sparking a small wildfire in a patch of dry forest, few predicted the terror and loss that lay ahead.
Fire managers decided that conditions seemed ideal to let the blaze burn at a low intensity – a practice known as “control and contain” that helps clear out excess fuels and decreases the chance of a more catastrophic wildfire in the future. Rains from previous weeks had left the forest floor moist and weather forecasts indicated the summer monsoon season would arrive soon.
Continue reading...
