When framing the shortlist for the 2023 bird of the year, we opted for familiar Aussie birds that hold a special place in our hearts

Some of Australia's most recognised feathered denizens have been flying under the popularity radar for far too long

Militant pensioner says a majority want a traditional feature but project leaders call row an attack on democracyIlkley is an affluent, leafy town, one point of Yorkshire's Golden Triangle" where average house prices top 560,000. Last year it was named the best place to live in the UK, and its tree-lined streets hark back to the days when it was a spa town where wealthy Victorians took the waters, Charles Darwin among them.Now the peace and quiet of this favourite municipality of the middle-classes is being rocked by a row between the, often older, traditionalists in the town and a charitable body of volunteers who were hoping to give it just a flick of a modern makeover. The fight centres on the proposed design of a fountain, to be built at the heart of the town at the junction of its two wide shopping avenues. Continue reading...

The lungfish arrived in San Francisco on a steamship along with 230 other fish. Today, she's the only living aquatic animal from that vesselShe's super-gentle, and doesn't get overly excited. She enjoys eating earthworms, fruits and vegetables, and slowly moving around her tank. Her favorite food - at least for what is in season now - is a fig.If Methuselah sounds like a grand old dame, it's because she is: she is the oldest living fish in captivity, aged somewhere upwards of 92 and potentially as high as 101 years. She arrived on a steamship from Australia along with 230 other fish to the Steinhart aquarium in San Francisco in 1938 as a young, small fish. And Methuselah's story unfolded in a typical way, for a fish in an aquarium: she grew. Humans came to look at her. She peered back through glass at humans. Continue reading...

Former Cop26 chair says emissions cuts must be made elsewhere and ministers must show how they plan to achieve thisAlok Sharma, the former Tory cabinet minister who chaired the landmark Cop26 UN summit in Glasgow, has warned Rishi Sunak that he will now have to find other ways to cut emissions if the UK is to meet its international climate obligations, following last week's dramatic U-turns on green policy.In his first comments since Sunak's announcement on Wednesday, Sharma told the Observer that rolling back on certain policies will mean we need to find emissions reductions elsewhere, if we are to meet our legally binding near term carbon budgets and our internationally committed 2030 emissions reduction target". Continue reading...

Dismay as mogul's successor nominates Tony Abbott, a climate change sceptic, to board of Fox CorporationSix years ago the former Australian prime minister Tony Abbott argued global warming may benefit populations, noting that more people died from cold weather than heatwaves.The speech in London, to climate-sceptic thinktank the Global Warming Policy Foundation, is now under renewed scrutiny after it was announced on Friday that he had been nominated to join the board of the Fox Corporation, part of the Murdoch family's global media empire. Continue reading...

John Caudwell, who gave party 500,000 before 2019 election, did not rule out supporting LabourBillionaire John Caudwell, the biggest donor to the Conservative party before the last election, has said he will not back Rishi Sunak after the madness" of his U-turn on green policies.Caudwell said he was now thinking about switching to Labour instead. Continue reading...

Group tasked with overseeing initiative to insulate homes and upgrade boilers was only set up in March

A new law allows councils to impose on-the-spot fines for emitting smokePeople who live on narrowboats and barges - many on low incomes - say they may struggle to stay warm this winter because an increasing number of councils are planning to fine people burning wood on moored vessels.Under the Environment Act, which came into force in 2021, council enforcement officers can issue on-the-spot fines of up to 300 to boat dwellers emitting visible smoke from wood burners. Only Sandwell council, in the West Midlands, has so far approved plans to enforce smoke controls along its 41 miles of canals. But three other councils - Liverpool, Newham and Cannock Chase - are planning to start fining houseboats. Continue reading...

Six Portuguese young people claim inadequate policies to tackle global heating breach their human rights

The tycoon, who is stepping down from News Corp and Fox, has used his outlets to promote denial and delay action, experts say

Potential health risks of high salt concentrations for those who rely on Mississippi River lead mayor to sign declarationThe New Orleans mayor, LaToya Cantrell, signed an emergency declaration for the city on Friday amid concerns about saltwater from the the Gulf of Mexico that has been creeping up the drought-hit Mississippi River in Louisiana.The declaration came amid concerns the saltwater, which is impacting the river because it is at such low levels, could impact the drinking water of thousands of residents in the next few weeks Continue reading...

Exclusive: Poll finds fewer than a quarter of people trust PM to tackle climate crisis after policy U-turnOnly 22% of people trust Rishi Sunak to tackle the climate crisis after his announcement that he will weaken the UK's net zero policies.An exclusive poll for the Guardian found that fewer than a quarter of people trust the prime minister to take on the challenge. A total of 53% said they did not trust him, while 19% said they did not know.This article was corrected on 23 September 2023 to clarify that the name of the polling company is WeThink. Continue reading...

Farmers found guilty of crimes against environment for tapping aqueduct feeding Unesco-listed Donana national parkFive siblings have been jailed for more than three years for illegally extracting water from an aqueduct feeding a Unesco-listed Spanish nature reserve that is threatened by desertification, a court ruling showed.The farmers - four men and a woman - were found guilty of crimes against the environment and causing damage through the systematic and extensive extraction" of water supplying Donana national park, according to the ruling dated 18 September that was seen by Agence France-Presse on Friday. Continue reading...

Scientists ask PM to cease politicising' government's independent advisers after his remarks and Tory letter to journalistsScientists have written to Rishi Sunak asking him to stop politicising" and attacking the Climate Change Committee (CCC), an independent body that exists to advise the government on five-year carbon budgets" necessary to meet its 2050 target.This week Sunak spoke about his plans to weaken his government's environmental policies. When asked about comments from Chris Stark, the chief executive of the CCC, saying that the government would not hit the carbon budget with its current plans, Sunak replied: I am very happy to get opinions and advice from everybody, and everyone's entitled to their view." Continue reading...

Exclusive: two PR professionals from national oil firm listed as providing support' to team running UN climate summitSenior executives from the UAE's national oil company are working with the Cop28 team as the country ramps up its PR campaign ahead of the major UN climate summit later this year, leaked internal records show.Two PR professionals from the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) are identified as providing additional support" to the team running the summit, according to a Cop28 communications strategy document obtained by the Centre for Climate Reporting (CCR) and the Guardian. It adds to growing evidence of blurred lines between the UAE's Cop28 team and its fossil fuel industry. Continue reading...

Retailer responds to concerns about environmental impact of millions of e-cigarettes thrown away each weekSuperdrug will stop selling disposable vapes in all its UK and Ireland stores after concerns about the environmental damage from millions of single-use e-cigarettes.Brands such as Vuse GO and Flavaah Bars would no longer be sold, the retailer said, adding that it would have the stock completely cleared by the end of the year. Superdrug said it sold an average of 1,300 units of single-use vapes a week in stores and did not sell them online. Continue reading...

Brazil's supreme court has blocked efforts to dramatically strip back Indigenous land rights in what activists called a historic victory for the South American country's original inhabitants. Nine of the court's 11 members voted against what rights groups had called the 'time-limit trick' - an agribusiness-backed attempt to prevent Indigenous communities claiming land they did not physically occupy in 1998

Government accused of ignoring science' as it considers allowing use of a toxic neonicotinoidBee-killing pesticides have been found at dangerous levels in English rivers, as the government considers allowing the use of one that is banned in the EU.Environmental groups and farmers are waiting to hear whether a toxic neonicotinoid, thiamethoxam, will be approved by the government for English sugar beet farms for a fourth consecutive year. Wildlife campaigners say it is unacceptable" that ministers have ignored the science" and allowed the use of these dangerous chemicals. Continue reading...

A proposed federal law would wipe out existing state laws that prevent farm animal brutality and the spread of diseaseMany animals raised for meat in the US spend their lives in spaces barely bigger than their own bodies. Pregnant pigs are held in gestation crates so small they can only sit, stand or lie down in them. Chickens are packed into battery cages so crowded they often can't extend their wings. And calves raised for veal are packed into crates without enough room to turn around.While these conditions are part of what makes factory-farmed meat so cheap in the US, a growing number of consumers are rejecting these brutal practices, with more than a dozen states even enacting their own laws to ban them. But a new proposal in Congress would reverse these advances in animal welfare, threatening to upend years of work - and victories - by animal rights activists, farmers and food safety advocates. Continue reading...

The best of this week's wildlife photographs, including hungry bears, a goliath grouper and a dew-covered dragonfly Continue reading...

There is nothing Australians like more than running over living things in their car

Exclusive: wildfires, once rare in the UK, more than doubled last year to nearly 24,000 with devastating effects on wildlife habitatsWildfires recorded by UK fire brigades surged in 2022 amid extreme heat and droughts, new figures show, as a growing number of fire services invest in new equipment to deal with the rising fire risk due to climate change.Figures obtained by the Guardian under Freedom of Information Act requests show the number of wildfires recorded by fire brigades in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland more than doubled last year, reaching 23,699 in 2022, compared with 9,307 the year before. Continue reading...

IEA says firms are announcing more projects but waiting for government support before investingThe global push for clean hydrogen is being held back by rising costs and lagging" policy support from governments, a report has found.Announcements of low-emission hydrogen projects are rapidly expanding but developers are waiting for government support before investing in them, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). The report found hydrogen made through processes that are clean or less polluting account for less than 1% of the gas's total production and use. Continue reading...

Bifenthrin was found in water, sediment and crayfish samples from Hazelbrook Creek, the Environment Protection Authority says

Critics decry lack of political will in Serbian capital to clean polluted air that residents say they can feel and taste'When the Yugoslav prime minister Demal Bijedi promised to clean the country's air at a conference in Belgrade in 1974, a reporter from the New York Times wrote that there was little hope of early relief for the city's residents, who felt the pollution was getting worse. The choking, sulphurous atmosphere of Belgrade and several other major Yugoslav cities reddens eyes, shreds nylon stockings and ruins pianissimo passages in the concert hall because of the nearly continuous coughing it causes in audiences," the writer said.Half a century later, residents of Belgrade are still holding their breath. I have asthma and it's killing me," says Dejan, 40, a graffiti artist and MC who runs a paint shop in the industrial Palilula district. It's not smog, man, it's a black fog. You cannot see." Continue reading...

Tally rises to 27,000 but is still a far cry from former half a million, and Javan and Sumatran rhino remain critically endangeredGlobal rhinoceros numbers have increased to 27,000 despite populations being ravaged by poaching and habitat loss, new figures show, with some species rebounding for the first time in a decade.Rhinos numbered about 500,000 across Africa and Asia in the 20th century but their populations have been devastated. Last year, they began showing signs of recovery in some areas, although two species - the Javan and Sumatran - remain close to disappearing. Continue reading...

UK climate watchdog said policy change would make it more difficult to meet legal commitmentsRishi Sunak is likely to face a series of legal challenges aimed at thwarting his plans to U-turn on net zero policies amid further international condemnation of the proposals.Though the prime minister sought to shrug off criticism on Thursday, the UK's independent climate watchdog joined the voices of concern, saying it was disappointed with changes that would make it more difficult for Britain to meet its legal commitments. Continue reading...

PM's claim he has rescued the electorate from multiple recycling bins a particular focus of online lampooningRishi Sunak's pledge to scrap a series of green measures has prompted ridicule from critics who say they were never a reality - and on social media have taken on a life of their own.You boy, which of the seven bins is it this week?" read the caption above an image of Scrooge - from the 1951 adaptation of A Christmas Carol - in a tweet lampooning the prime minister's claim he had spared people from being forced to recycle in as many different bins. Continue reading...

Move has drawn comparisons to UK, where Rishi Sunak has U-turned on environmental commitmentsThe Swedish government is facing a huge backlash - including threats of no-confidence votes against its climate minister - after slashing the country's climate budget while admitting it will dramatically increase carbon dioxide emissions.The minority-run coalition, which has been in power for just under a year, announced on Wednesday it would be cutting funding for climate and environmental measures next year by 259m krona (19m) and introducing tax cuts on petrol and diesel. Continue reading...

Recent temperatures among highest on record in Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney with data stretching back more than 100 years

The prime minister said the UK was still on course to hit net zero targets despite announcements on Wednesday that he was rolling back key policies. Rishi Sunak said the UK was adopting a more 'proportionate and pragmatic way' to reach its climate goals and that he was 'absolutely confident that we are on track to hit all our international and domestic targets'

Prime minister ignores advice of official body and says UK still on track to meet 2050 target

Exclusive: Legislation was blocked by small group of peers who tabled more than 60 amendmentsLabour has urged ministers to resurrect a bill banning the import of body parts of endangered animals hunted overseas, which was blocked by a small group of peers, saying a failure to do so would leave the government complicit in the trophy hunting trade.The hunting trophies (import prohibition) bill, a private members' bill led by two Conservatives, Henry Smith, an MP, and Janet Fookes, a peer, has cross-party support and after passing all Commons stages appeared set to be approved by the Lords. Continue reading...

The BBC's Nick Robinson criticised the prime minister for announcing he had scrapped policies, including a tax on meat, that were never included in government policy. Rishi Sunak has said he is confident the UK will meet net zero by 2050, despite announcing delays to a number of green policies initially set out by the government. Sunak announced there would be a delay to banning petrol and diesel cars, which has sparked outrage from manufacturing companies for the government's lack of consistency

The Shipwrecked Mariners' Society has announced the winner of its 11th annual photography prize, which showcases the UK's relationship with the sea. Ian Watkin's surreal image of a fish embedded in a jellyfish beat more than 1,000 entries Continue reading...

Maria Neira highlights health impacts of dangerous pollution levels after Guardian investigation revealed scale of crisisPoliticians across Europe have a moral responsibility to urgently tackle the continent's dangerously polluted air, according to Maria Neira, the director of the World Health Organization's department of environment, climate change and health.On Wednesday a Guardian investigation revealed that Europe is facing a severe public health crisis, with almost everyone on the continent living in areas with dangerous levels of air pollution. Continue reading...

Decision by UK prime minister to water down key climate policies really shocking to me', says former US vice-presidentAl Gore, the former US vice-president, has described the decision by the UK prime minister, Rishi Sunak, to water down key climate policies as shocking and disappointing" and not what the world needs from the United Kingdom".Gore, now one of the world's foremost advocates for swift action to avert the climate crisis, told CNN: I find it shocking and really disappointing ... I think he's done the wrong thing. I've heard from many of my friends in the UK including a lot of Conservative party members who have used the phrase, utter disgust'. Continue reading...

More water company regulations and improvements at treatment plants needed to protect rivers, say authorsPollution from treated and untreated sewage is the greatest threat to river biodiversity, causing more damage than runoff from farms, according to research.There is a need for more regulation of water companies and improvements at their treatment plans to protect rivers, say the authors of the study. Continue reading...

Members of parliament and former politicians have reacted with scorn to Rishi Sunak's overhaul of the UK's net zero targets, which involved dropping several key policies and watering down others. Criticism came from across the political spectrum, with Tory MP Simon Clarke describing it as wrong and Green party co-leader Carla Denyer calling it a 'dangerous and desperate U-turn'

Antonio Guterres opened United Nations climate ambition summit with attack on wealthy countries and the fossil fuel industryHumanity has opened the gates to hell" by allowing the climate crisis to worsen, the secretary general of the United Nations has warned at a climate summit of leaders that saw angry denunciations of the fossil fuel industry but was undercut by the absence of many of the biggest carbon-emitting countries.Antonio Guterres opened the UN climate ambition summit, held in New York on Wednesday, with a lacerating attack on wealthy countries and the fossil fuel industry for their ponderous response to the climate crisis. Continue reading...

UK prime minister delays ban on sale of new petrol and diesel cars as he pushes back net zero goals

BlueTriton, the company that owns Arrowhead brand, has been taking water from San Bernardino springs for more than 100 yearsCalifornia has ordered the company that owns Arrowhead bottled water to stop using some of the natural springs it has utilized for more than a century, following a years-long campaign by environmentalists to stop the operation.Regulators on Tuesday voted to significantly reduce how much water BlueTriton - the owner of the Arrowhead brand - can take from public lands in the San Bernardino mountains. The ruling is a victory for community groups who have said for years that the bottled water firm has drained an important creek that serves as a habitat for wildlife and helps protect the area from wildfires. Continue reading...

The prime minister has announced the scrapping or watering down of some of the UK's net zero targets, pushing back a ban on diesel and petrol vehicles from 2030 to 2035 and weakening a plan to phase out the installation of gas boilers by 2035

Red wall' constituents critical of prime mininster's plan to water down climate commitmentsRishi likes to jump on his little jet. I don't have a car, I don't fly on planes."In the opinion of Claire Savage, the manager of the Ironstone Miner pub in Guisborough, the prime minister's plan to water down net zero commitments that he says impose a direct cost on consumers is disingenuous. Continue reading...

PM accused of delaying vital work on transforming UK economy as car industry leaders also condemn plans

Labour criticises deputy PM's decision to use 158-seat Voyager instead of a scheduled service as wrong on every level'

My favourite bird, the fastest in the world, calls to something in me

Scientists confirm three birds have died from virus as park authorities redouble efforts to protect islands' endemic birdsNational park authorities on the Galapagos Islands have heightened biosecurity measures to protect the archipelago's unique fauna from the deadly H5N1 strain of avian influenza after scientists confirmed that three birds had died from the virus.From preliminary tests of the five specimens, three of them have tested positive for H5N1 avian influenza," Danny Rueda, director of the Galapagos national park told the Guardian. Two frigate birds and one red-footed booby were confirmed to have died from the virus on Tuesday, after samples were sent to Guayaquil on the Ecuadorian mainland for examination. Continue reading...

Program, modeled on a Roosevelt scheme, will serve as a major green jobs training program and will employ 20,000 young adultsPresident Joe Biden will use his executive authority to create a New Deal-style American Climate Corps that will serve as a major green jobs training program.In an announcement on Wednesday, the White House said the program would employ about 20,000 young adults who will build trails, plant trees, help install solar panels and do other work to boost conservation and help prevent catastrophic wildfires. Continue reading...