Environment

Circular Economy Minister Lorna Slater. Image: Jane Barlow/Press Association.

Lorna Slater told to 'go back to the drawing board' on recycling bill

A capercaillie hen (pic: Getty Images/iStockphoto)

New report calls for end to certain predator control measures on grouse moors

Heat pumps like this one on a house near Oslo are commonplace in Norway and other Scandinavian countries (Picture: Petter Berntsen/AFP via Getty Images)

Heat pumps are new battleground for those opposed to climate change action

Yang Guang and Tian Tian are loaded onto a China Southern cargo plane at Edinburgh Airport. Photo: Jane Barlow/PA Wire

Farewell Yang Guang and Tian Tian as Edinburgh Zoo's pandas leave for China

Building work on the new nuclear reactor at Hinkley Point C Power Station in Somerset. Image: EDF/SWNS.

Scottish Greens accused of being ‘out-of-step’ in opposing nuclear power

The sea eagle was reintroduced to Scotland in 1975 and has since made a promising comeback (pic: Gemma Wearing)

New award-winning film follows the complex comeback of the sea eagle

Concern is growing about the failure of the international COP climate change summits to stop the rise of greenhouse gas emissions (Picture: Sean Gallup/Getty Images)

COP28 must end three decades of failure to tackle carbon emissions

Loch Lomond. Picture: Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images

Ministers accused of ‘jeopardising the future’ by cutting environmental budgets

COP28 a bloated sham that risks condemning future generations Bill McGuire

The building is tucked away in the North Ayrshire countryside (pic: David Barbour)

Building developed inside Scottish ruin wins prestigious architect award

Scottish Engineering chief executive Paul Sheerin. Picture: Guy Hinks

Scottish engineers dismayed at UK government’s 'flip-flop approach' to climate

King Charles III meets with Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, president of the United Arab Emirates - which holds the Cop28 presidency - at Expo City in Dubai on the opening day of the UN climate summit. Picture: Andrew Matthews/Getty Images

UN Cop summits are ‘imperfect’ but 'all we’ve got' to tackle climate warming

COP28 must tackle shocking amount of carbon emissions from farming Philip Lymbery

Scientific innovation is helping Scotland along the road to hitting its net zero targets

Between the lines: Scottish successes lead biotech revolution

Circular Economy Minister Lorna Slater. Image: Jane Barlow/Press Association.

Scottish Government criticised for a lack of financial planning

Global warming has led to a dramatic increase in wildfires in places like California (Picture: David McNew/Getty Images)

COP28 climate summit risks a descent into farcical greenwashing

Scottish farmland makes up large chunk of overall land sales in Scotland in the last three years (pic: Caron Munro)

Scottish farmland makes up large chunk of £1.3bn land sales in last three years

First Minister Humza Yousaf. Image: Lesley Martin/Press Association.

What is Humza Yousaf doing at COP28?

We're sleepwalking to climate Armageddon – Alastair Dalton Alastair Dalton

Tom Walker is head of wind at renewables multinational Statkraft, which operates several onshore wind and solar assets in Scotland and the UK has recently opened a new headquarters in Glasgow

How wind sector deal will help meet an era-defining challenge

Much more work needs to be done to ensure a 'just transition' for workers when the Grangemouth oil refinery closes (Picture: Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)

Grangemouth closure plan no surprise, so lack of just transition is worrying

The Grassland Geladas by Marco Gaiotti, Italy, of Gelada monkeys in the Simien Mountains of Ethiopia, which has been shortlisted for the Wildlife Photographer of the Year People's Choice Award.

Photography fans given chance to vote for favourite wildlife image

Scottish Greens co-leader and Scottish net zero buildings minister Patrick Harvie has outlined proposals for a new Heat in Buildings Bill, which it is hoped will be passed in 2025. Picture: Jane Barlow/Getty Images

All properties to start move from oil and gas boilers to green systems in 2028

Cerulean Winds has signed three floating wind Exclusivity Agreements as part of Crown Estate Scotland’s INTOG leasing round. Picture: contributed.

Deals signed for trio of wind farms helping decarbonise North Sea oil and gas

Floods, droughts and wildfires are a growing problem for many parts of the world (Picture: Rizwan Tabassum/AFP via Getty Images)

Is COP28 climate change summit turning into an oil industry trade fair?

Wood burners and open fires are the second biggest source of small particle air pollution in the UK. Photo: Adobe

Calls to ban wood burner fuels in bid to prevent pollution-related diseases

As wildfires and other symptoms of global warming become an increasing problem, the next international summit on the issue, COP28, will be run by an oil industry executive. Picture: Angelos Tzortzinis/AFP via Getty Images

COP28 : Call for urgent probe into ‘backroom oil deals’ by summit host UAE

Sunak needs to realise how important post offices truly are Christine Jardine

Photo of a halo around the moon above houses in Staffordshire (Pic: Ben Light/PA Wire)

Halo moon: ‘night-time rainbow’ as social media users spot ‘unbelievable’ moment

Grangemouth

‘A national emergency’: Grangemouth refinery closure sparks fears for the future

The Heat in Buildings strategy, announced in 2021, is a key part of the Bute House power-sharing agreement between the SNP and Scottish Greens. Picture: Lisa Ferguson

Westminster dragging of climate into culture war could cause ‘immense harm’

A gamekeeper burning off heather on a Grouse moor. Picture: Steve Cox/Shutterstock

MSPs call for more clarity on how wildlife policy will work in practice

Grangemouth oil refinery could close as early as spring 2025 with the loss of 400 jobs (Picture: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)

Grangemouth closure plan sees the SNP heading for a collision with reality

Plans to close the Grangemouth oil refinery, possibly by spring 2025, demonstrate how difficult the transition to net zero could be for Scotland's economy (Picture: Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)

With SNP-Green coalition in charge, net zero may not be in safe hands

“A just transition to net zero can be achieved through decarbonising homes and the electrification of heat,” Josiah Lockhart, Chief Executive of leading environmental charity Changeworks. Picture - supplied

Ad Feature Two years on from COP26 in Glasgow Scotland needs to step up – Changeworks

Irresponsible climate alarmism is leading politicians to make bad decisions Paul Wilson

The Petroineos oil refinery at Grangemouth is the second biggest climate polluter in Scotland, responsible for more than one million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions in 2022. Picture: Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images

Oil refinery closure is bad for workers and the economy – is there an upside?

Making a house cosy isn’t the whole story. Picture - Sarah Lewis

Ad Feature Property Podcast: Reaching net zero

Exclusive Call for public inquiry as councillors oppose Skye power line plan

People who vape should choose reusable devices over disposable ones (Picture: Tolga Akmen/AFP via Getty Images)

Disposable vapes are one of the most wasteful things you can buy. Time for a ban

A hydrogen filled balloon is used to replicate the sun

Why low-carbon 'blue' hydrogen could solve decarbonisation dilemmas

A new report from campaign group Surfers Against Sewage shows there were nearly known 60,000 spills of untreated sewer waste across Scotland in a five-year period - but a lack of monitoring means the figure is likely much higher. There is no recording of overflows at many popular beaches - like Thurso, a hotspot for surfers from around the world. Picture: Mike Guest

Raw sewage spewed into rivers and seas nearly 60,000 times

Pumping sewage onto beaches is bad for bathers' health, as these protesters attempt to point out (Picture: Sion Touhig/Getty Images)

Shocking level of sewage overflows into rivers and seas is unacceptable

Ayr is best known for its miles of sandy beaches and ancient harbour. Better cycling and walking routes and more electric vehicle charge points will be funded across North and South Ayrshire thanks to a new round of UK Government grants. Picture: Shutterstock

Scotland given multi-million pound cash injection for towns and rural services

The M8 motorway is not part of Glasgow's LEZ, but many exits will land drivers directly inside the area where restrictions on the dirtiest vehicles apply. Picture: David MacArthur/University of Glasgow

LEZ: Car wars and conspiracy theories threaten goal for cleaner, safer streets

The Scottish Government will propose a full ban on all snares with no exceptions in the upcoming Wildlife Management and Muirburn Bill (pic: supplied)

Wildlife policy concern after minister's 'apparent indifference' on evidence

Keir Starmer and Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar visited the St Fergus Gas Terminal in Aberdeenshire yesterday (Picture: Jeff J Mitchell/PA)

Starmer's message to oil industry about net-zero is the right one

Giant panda Yang Guang at Edinburgh Zoo. Picture: RZSS/PA Wire

Two weeks left to see Edinburgh Zoo’s giant pandas before China return

The Allt Coire Ardair and glacial moraines at Creag Meagaidh National Nature Reserve (pic: Lorne Gill/NatureScot)

First-of-its kind community deer stalking takes place on nature reserve

First Bus electric vehicles at the Caledonia depot in Glasgow.

FirstGroup partners with Hitachi to lease 1,000 electric bus batteries

A flotilla of 1,000 paper boats, made from newspapers and magazines and carrying massages of climate hope, will be presented to politicians at Holyrood during the demonstration next week

Scotland’s Makar joins poetic protest at Holyrood, demanding climate action

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer during his visit to the InchDairnie Distillery in Glenrothes, Fife. Picture: Jane Barlow/PA Wire

Starmer pledge to make UK a ‘clean energy superpower’ on visit to Aberdeen

Anna Campbell-Jones by Andrew Jackson.

Go Green: Judge Anna gives show yes verdict

The scene outside the Sainsbury's on Buchanan Street in Glasgow, after red paint was thrown at the supermarket windows. Picture: Tim Moss/PA Wire

Protesters arrested after throwing red paint onto Sainsbury's windows in Glasgow

Life in rural Scotland is a worryingly isolating experience for members of the LGBTQ+ community, research has shown. Picture: Getty Images

'It's a silent world': Challenges of older LGBTQ+ in rural Scotland

A rise in onshore windfarm projects across Scotland has seen a rise in community groups protesting against developments (pic: Nicholas.T.Ansell/PA)

Vandals take the wind out of energy company's sails

A Black Guillemot bird. Picture: Edmund Fellowes/SWNS

Most Scottish seabird populations in decline, research shows

Perth-headquartered FTSE-100 company SSE is one the world's largest investors in onshore and offshore wind power.

SSE says energy transition 'gathering pace' as it pumps in further £2.5 billion

Mairi MacDonald, local enterprise manager at Royal Bank of Scotland. Picture - supplied.

Ad Feature Podcast: Hospitality and net zero

Twenty years in prison would make the worst polluters think twice Richard Dixon

Mocean Energy has secured fresh investment to accelerate the commercialisation of its ground-breaking wave energy technology.

Big lift for Scottish wave pioneer looking to decarbonise offshore energy sector

It is thought that carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology for heavy industry and gas plants will be among those set to benefit, as well as bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS), which has been developed by Drax, which runs the biomass power station in North Yorkshire.

Legal challenge over burning of trees for energy in net-zero plan

National Trust for Scotland ranger David Allsop captured the broken spectre – a rare mountaintop weather phenomenon which sees a person's shadow greatly magnified and projected onto low-lying blankets of mist and illuminated by the sun behind them – on Ben Lomond, one of the country's most popular Munros

Ghostly apparition appears in the mist on famous Scottish mountain

Icelandic volcano eruption 'imminent' as risk upgraded

Torness nuclear power station. Picture: Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images

UK minister: Scottish Government opposition to new nuclear power 'plain wrong'

The LEZ has been enforced in Glasgow from June 1. Picture: John Devlin

Almost 90 motorists hit with mammoth £960 LEZ surcharge fines

Meet the energy firm powering Edinburgh Zoo, and inspiring schoolchildren across the Lothians. Project delivery manager Colin Heggie is photographed by Sandy Young/scottishphotographer.com

Ad Feature Animal magic: Solar power helps power Edinburgh Zoo

Stay safe during floods: Know the risks of leptospirosis and how to prevent it. Stock picture for illustrative purposes. Picture by Paul Macguire

Ad Feature Seek medical advice if you’ve been in floods and have these symptoms

The Scotsman Top Stories

Scotland has failed to meet its latest target for reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, the latest official figures show. Picture: John Giles/PA Wire

Fail: Scotland misses climate target

Pro-independence protesters with Scottish Saltire flags (top) march for Scottish independence. Picture: Andy Buchanan/AFP via Getty Images

Yousaf: Growing popular support for Yes the only way to Scottish independence

Nadine Dorries. Picture: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

SNP MP cleared of bullying Nadine Dorries