Breaking Waves: Ocean News

The legislation is a product of joined-up environmental thinking – aiming to create housing while preventing nature loss Nick Williams was an economic policy adviser to Keir Starmer between 2023 and 2025, having previously worked in HM Treasury In recent weeks, various nature groups and newspaper columnists have promoted claims that the government’s flagship planning and infrastructure bill is a “nature sellout”. The argument goes that the government is conspiring with malign developers to destroy irreplaceable habitats as a first resort. This sounds alarming, if only it were true. The truth is that our current framework for protecting habitats has been in place for decades but has failed to prevent nature loss. This is because we approach conservation in the least effective way possible, with tens of thousands of individual site-by-site protections. Ecological science is clear that this is outdated. Modern conservation strategies recognise the necessity of interconnectivity and scale for supporting complex ecosystems. Nick Williams was an economic policy adviser to Keir Starmer between 2023 and 2025, having previously worked in HM Treasury Continue reading...

Exclusive: National Fire Chiefs Council warns of pressures, with callouts up 20% in a decade as firefighter numbers fall Fire stations in England are “falling apart”, fire chiefs have warned, with funding plummeting by an estimated £1bn in the last decade as callouts have increased by a fifth. Fire and rescue must not become the “forgotten emergency service”, the National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC) urged, warning of mounting pressures that “risk undermining public and firefighter safety”, as it responds to more 999 calls with fewer firefighters. Continue reading...

npj Ocean Sustainability, Published online: 04 June 2025; doi:10.1038/s44183-025-00125-6 A blueprint for national assessments of the blue carbon capacity of kelp forests applied to Canada’s coastline

New research demonstrates that with collaboration between stakeholders, Australia can fully decarbonize its domestic and energy export economies by 2060 -- a feat requiring $6.2 trillion USD and around 110,000 square kilomters of land -- while avoiding harm to important areas for biodiversity outcomes, safeguarding agricultural activities, and respecting Indigenous land rights.