Breaking Waves: Ocean News

01/12/2026 - 17:29
Ørsted and other wind developers have faced repeated disruptions to multibillion dollar projects under Trump A federal judge on Monday cleared Danish offshore wind developer Ørsted to resume work on its nearly finished Revolution Wind project, which Donald Trump’s administration halted along with four other projects last month. The ruling by US district judge Royce Lamberth is a legal setback for Trump, who has sought to block expansion of offshore wind in federal waters. Continue reading...
01/12/2026 - 11:54
Exclusive: ClimatePartner analysis shows how move would risk plunging Earth further into climate catastrophe US plans to exploit Venezuela’s oil reserves could by 2050 consume more than a tenth of the world’s remaining carbon budget to limit global heating to 1.5C, according to an exclusive analysis. The calculation highlights how any moves to further exploit the South American nation’s oil reserves – the largest in the world, at least on paper – would put increasing pressure on climate goals, and risk plunging the Earth further into climate catastrophe. Continue reading...
01/12/2026 - 09:00
Joyce says the pair were saving taxpayers’ money and ‘I’ve got no problems with that at all’ Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast The One Nation MPs Pauline Hanson and Barnaby Joyce have used a private jet owned by the mining magnate Gina Rinehart to tour flood-affected Queensland communities. Joyce, who defected from the Nationals last month, said the pair were saving taxpayers’ money by using the Gulfstream G700 plane and a helicopter at the weekend, including to meet with mayors in north Queensland. Continue reading...
01/12/2026 - 07:45
South East Water blames cold weather and Storm Goretti for problems, with schools and libraries closed for day A major incident has been declared after 30,000 homes in Kent and Sussex were left without water. People in areas including Tunbridge Wells, Canterbury and Maidstone have been without water for as long as five days. Continue reading...
01/12/2026 - 07:30
President’s memo stating US ‘shall withdraw’ from UNFCCC marks first time any country has tried to exit the agreement The Trump administration’s long-anticipated decision this week to pull the US from the world’s most important climate treaty may have been illegal, some experts say. “In my legal opinion, he does not have the authority,” Harold Hongju Koh, former head lawyer for the US state department, told the Guardian. Continue reading...
01/12/2026 - 02:00
Foreign Office and MoD among only four departments with declining morale in annual Whitehall monitor report Civil service morale rose slightly after Labour took power in 2024, with the biggest jumps in satisfaction in the energy and health departments, an annual Whitehall monitor report will show. The survey from the Institute for Government (IfG) thinktank, due to be published this week, found that morale rose from 60.7 to 61.2% on the civil service employee engagement index. Continue reading...
01/12/2026 - 01:29
Volunteers found thousands of dead bats at Melbourne’s Brimbank park, wildlife expert says Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast Thousands of flying foxes have perished in the heatwave that scorched south-east Australia last week, the largest mass mortality event for flying foxes since black summer. Extreme temperatures resulted in deaths in camps across South Australia, Victoria and New South Wales. Grey-headed flying foxes, listed as vulnerable under federal environment laws, were the most affected. Continue reading...
01/12/2026 - 00:00
Charity plans to make stately homes more welcoming by inviting visitors to use furniture and reading rooms There was a time, not so long ago, when a visit to a National Trust stately home could be a staid affair and sitting on the furniture tended to be discouraged, with pine cones or teasels often placed on chairs to remind people not to perch. This year, one of the aims of the conservation charity will be to make people feel more at ease in its grand houses and, where practical, allow them to sit on historic chairs and use libraries and reading rooms rather than simply peer into them. Continue reading...
01/11/2026 - 18:43
Flood warnings in place as BoM forecasts more rain while thousands remain without power Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast Queenslanders are bracing for floods as repairs are under way after a tropical cyclone battered the north coast. After days of intense buildup, ex-Tropical Cyclone Koji ran out of power as it crossed the coast and was downgraded to a tropical low on Sunday. Continue reading...
01/10/2026 - 21:57
Almost a dozen emergency warnings remain in place across Victoria, with state premier saying ‘we are not through the worst of this by a long way’ Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast Australian authorities are assessing the damage after one of the worst heatwaves in years resulted in bushfires igniting across the country’s south-east, with one person dead, hundreds of homes and structures lost, thousands of hectares burned and entire towns evacuated. A state of disaster remained in place across much of Victoria on Sunday as thousands of firefighters and emergency service workers continued to battle blazes that were expected to burn “for weeks”. Continue reading...