It’s a jam-packed environment news round-up this month as we kick off with two major events from the end of October, Labour’s first budget since July’s election and the COP16 biodiversity conference. We’ll also look at the environmental implications of Donald Trump’s victory in the US elections at the start of November. And, of course, we’ll have details of the recent climate COP in Azerbaijan. As usual, we’ll round up the latest research news, as well.
Labour’s Budget Brings Good and Bad News for the Environment
Labour’s Rachel Reeves presented the party’s first budget since returning to power in July at the end of October. In environmental terms, there were a number of pluses and minuses. As announced in last month’s news, plans to invest in carbon capture and storage projects were included. Critics say there should be more emphasis on reducing emissions than relying on untested technologies. Less controversially, the budget also contained commitments to invest in electric vehicle production and charging point installation, as well as incentives for consumers switching to EVs. There was confirmation, too, that Labour would be increasing the windfall tax on oil and gas firms by 3%. This increase was less than many in the sector had feared.
There was mixed news when it came to funding for Defra’s nature-friendly farming and flood defence schemes. With Reeves insisting the government needs to plug a £22 billion fiscal blackhole inherited from the Conservatives, there was a concern that the schemes would fall foul of the need of many departments to make huge cuts. While the budget included a pledge to honour the current round of payments, this will be reviewed for 2025-6 and could still be axed. The move led to criticism from the Wildlife Trusts who said that the money secured amounts to real-terms cuts after inflation. They also stress that nature-friendly farming schemes are essential as part of the government meeting legally binding targets. Another negative aspect of the budget was a continued freeze on fuel duty on petrol and diesel. Critics say that cuts and freezes since 2010 have not only led to increased CO2 emissions, but that they have deprived the Treasury of billions of pounds of taxes. For a full analysis of the budget’s climate and energy implications, see Carbon Brief’s excellent summary.
Funding a Major Sticking Point at COP16
There were mixed results, too, at the biodiversity COP held in Colombia. On a positive note, conference delegates agreed that Indigenous peoples should have their own permanent body, allowing them to negotiate and participate fully at future COPs. There was also agreement that companies ‘should’ pay for genetic digital sequencing information (DSI) if they profit from it. This DSI is often obtained from organisms found in poorer nations, often located in the biodiverse tropics, and utilised by companies from developed countries producing drugs and food, for example. Until now, there was no way of ensuring the source nations, including Indigenous peoples, benefitted. The new agreement includes the establishment of a global fund, the ‘Cali fund’. that companies using DSI should contribute to. Although contributions remain voluntary, individual nations could include compulsory payments into their own legislation.
The biggest stumbling block at this year’s COP, however, was financing for biodiversity goals. At COP15 in 2022, the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework established 22 biodiversity targets reliant on wealthier nations contributing $20 billion to poorer countries by 2025 and $200 billion by 2030. Inaction by developed nations means that none of these targets are likely to be met. As the conference overran, many less affluent delegations were forced to leave before key finance discussions could take place, leaving the subject of funding no closer to being solved. Further talks will take place next year in Bangkok, but many from the Global South criticised richer nations for their lack of action on providing funds, saying the issue of biodiversity loss is too urgent to ignore. There was also criticism as it was revealed that record numbers of lobbyists from the meat, oil and pesticide industries were present at COP16.
COP29 Also Hit by Funding Disagreements
The latest United Nations climate talks also ended with fury from many developing nations at the lack of financial support from the Global North. Kicking off on the 11th of November, there was controversy before the talks even started. Climate campaigners’ anger at petrostate Azerbaijan hosting the talks seemed to be justified as the country’s top COP representative, Elnur Soltanov, was recorded agreeing to help fossil fuel companies strike deals at the summit. Just as at last year’s COP in Dubai, huge numbers of delegates were from the such companies. Many campaigners want oil, coal and gas firms to be barred from the talks completely, feeling they exert undue influence on discussions. As talks began, Azerbaijan’s President also claimed that oil and gas are a ‘gift from god‘. There was concern, as well, due to the number of high profile leaders that failed to attend the summit, including the EU’s Ursula von der Leyen, US President Joe Biden and France’s Emmanuel Macron.
As expected, the talks themselves overran. The closing stages saw a series of chaotic negotiations over how much rich countries will pay developing nations to decarbonise and withstand the effects of climate change. Many wanted the Global North to commit to $1.3 trillion a year in grants and loans towards these goals. Instead, richer nations pledged just $300 billion directly, with the higher figure a ‘target’ that might be achieved via private investment or as yet unconfirmed levies on fossil fuel producers and frequent fliers. Many poorer countries felt betrayed by the outcome and that the final deal was concluded without everyone’s consent. In more positive news from the summit, Keir Starmer announced at the start of COP29 that the UK is committed to cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 81% compared to 1990 levels by the year 2035.
US Presidential Election Returns Trump to Office
Early November brought the United States’ presidential election. Predicted to be a close-run vote, many were surprised when Republican nominee Donald Trump won both Electoral College and popular votes with relative ease. Although the Democrat campaign had received a boost in August as incumbent Joe Biden stepped down from standing again, the move was not enough to prevent Trump’s return to the White House. Trump’s victory also came despite his conviction in a New York court in May for falsifying business records in relation to a hush money scandal in the run up to his last election win in 2016.
As well as major concerns for the rights of women, immigrants and freedom of the press, there are fears Trump’s win could have devastating consequences for the environment. Trump is a committed climate denier, calling climate change a ‘hoax’ and green energy a ‘scam’. There is a possibility he will withdraw the US from the Paris climate agreement to cut emissions, just as he did during his last tenure. In addition, he has frequently announced that should he return to the presidency, he would ‘drill, baby, drill’ in reference to continuing oil and gas exploitation. As November progressed, Trump announced his nominees for key governmental posts and many of these, too, are either lukewarm to climate action or outright deniers. Trump’s nominee for the post of head of the Department of Energy, for example, is Chris Wright, CEO of a fracking firm who has said ‘there is no climate crisis’ and supports continued use of fossil fuels.
Wildlife Crime Levels Worryingly High and Scotland Bans Snares
Following on from the release of the latest RSPB Birdcrime Report, as covered in our October round-up, this month, conservation coalition Wildlife and Countryside Link published their own data on wildlife crime. Worryingly, their figures show that rates are still at the high levels first recorded during the COVID-19 pandemic, with over 4,700 incidents reported in 2023 alone. In addition, persecution incidences of bats, badgers and marine mammals increased. Despite the rise in reported incidents, conviction levels, though, are at an all-time low. A rise in cases of marine mammal disturbance is particularly worrying. Many of these disturbance cases result from ignorance rather than malicious intent, and a result of greater numbers of people using marine environments for recreational purposes. Disturbance to marine mammals such as seals and dolphins, can have a huge impact, preventing them from resting or feeding at preferred sites. In extreme cases, they can result in death. The report highlights the need for greater education of the public on ways to enjoy the marine environment without impacting wildlife.
In better news for wildlife, campaigners celebrated as Scotland’s complete ban on snare use came into force towards the end of the month. Forming one aspect of the Wildlife Management and Muirburn (Scotland) Act 2024, the ban follows years of campaigning by animal welfare groups. Although gamekeeping and farming interests claim that snares are essential to help prevent predation of ground nesting birds, welfare groups say that they are inhumane and cause unnecessary pain and suffering. They also frequently catch non-target species. The new law also grants the Scottish SPCA greater powers to investigate wildlife crime.
Research Round-up
A new report from the Scottish Government this month outlined the natural world’s importance to the country’s economy. The research set out to measure how natural capital impacts the economy by looking at a range of industries reliant on the environment, including agriculture, fisheries, forestry and renewables. Natural capital is defined as ‘geology, soil, air, water and plants and animals’ that in combination provide benefits to people. The study found that Scotland’s natural assets not only generate billions for the economy, but they also support approximately 260,000 jobs. Economic assessments often fail to include nature’s contribution to a nation’s performance and with this report, the Scottish Government aimed to redress this imbalance and acknowledge the vital role the environment plays.
Still in Scotland, the country’s nature agency NatureScot, published their latest Scottish Biodiversity Indicator on butterflies. Using data compiled predominantly from the UK Butterfly Monitoring Scheme and put together by Butterfly Conservation and the UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, the report looks at long-term butterfly population trends between 1979 and 2023. The research found that 10 species, including orange tip, peacock and speckled wood, have become much more common in Scotland over the last 40 years, likely as a result of climate change. While long-term population increases might seem like good news on the surface, the gains mask the effects that extreme weather events can have in the short term. Extremes events such as droughts, floods and cold snaps are likely to become more frequent as our climate changes. The report also shows that some of our more specialist butterflies like the grayling and small tortoiseshell have declined dramatically over the same period, with habitat loss a large factor in both species’ declines.
Finally, there was devastating, if unsurprising, news this month as a new publication announced the almost certain extinction of the slender-billed curlew. This smaller relative of the Eurasian curlew has not been definitively sighted since 1995, although there have been a few later, unconfirmed records. Conservationists have long suspected it may be extinct as a result. Breeding in western Siberia, the wader traditionally wintered in North Africa after migrating through eastern Europe and the Mediterranean. Its rarity and the remoteness of its breeding range means that much of its ecology has been little understood, making conservation efforts that much harder. The joint paper from BirdLife International, the RSPB, Naturalis Biodiversity Center and the Natural History Museum analysed all the available information on the species and concludes that there is a 99.6% chance that the curlew is now extinct.
We’ll be taking a month off from publishing our news round-up next month, but look out for a catch up at the end of January!