Barnaby Joyce ponders ditching net zero, while Matt Canavan’s claim the climate goal is ‘a failed agenda’ globally dismissed as ‘laughably untrue’

LNP member for Flynn, Colin Boyce, signed international statement rejecting climate crisis and criticised science in state parliament

Claimants in England and Wales to receive more than £2,100 each after joining legal action against carmakerVolkswagen has agreed to pay £193m to settle 91,000 legal claims in England and Wales linked to the “dieselgate” emissions scandal that rocked the German carmaker.The claimants will receive average payments of more than £2,100 each after joining the action that alleged cars made by Volkswagen group, including its Audi, Seat and Skoda brands, emitted more nitrogen dioxide than the company claimed. The high court in London dismissed the proceedings on Wednesday after the settlement. Continue reading...

Wandering salamanders live in the world’s tallest trees and wind tunnel tests show how the amphibians take their ‘leaps of faith’A new study is shedding fresh light into the incredible world of California’s temperate forests, and the daring survival techniques of one of its inhabitants: parachuting salamanders.The study, published on Monday in the journal Current Biology, shows how salamanders living in the canopy are able to parachute consistently, slowing their speed and controlling their movements. Continue reading...

Other seven locations popular with locals have high concentrations of harmful bacteria due to sewage and livestockOnly one popular river spot for bathing and water sports in and around Oxford has bacteria within safe levels, a survey by a campaign group has found.The other seven locations in rivers which are regularly used by swimmers, punters, rowers and kayakers, were found to have concentrations of harmful bacteria one and a half to three times above recommended safe levels, a study by the Oxford Rivers Project funded by Thames Water has found. Continue reading...

Commitment to building four-storey bioreactors is gamechanger for cultivated meat industry, says expertThe building of the world’s largest bioreactors to produce cultivated meat has been announced, with the potential to supply tens of thousands of shops and restaurants. Experts said the move could be a “gamechanger” for the nascent industry.The US company Good Meat said the bioreactors would grow more than 13,000 tonnes of chicken and beef a year. It will use cells taken from cell banks or eggs, so the meat will not require the slaughter of any livestock. Continue reading...

Residents of Jacobabad say loss of trees and water facilities makes record-breaking temperatures unbearableMuhammad Akbar, 40, sells dried chickpeas on a wheelbarrow in Jacobabad, and has suffered heatstroke three times in his life.But now, he says, the heat is getting worse. “In those days there were many trees in the whole city and there was no shortage of water and we had other facilities so we could easily beat the heat. But now there are no trees or other facilities including water, due to which the heat is becoming unbearable. I’m scared that this heat will take our lives in the coming years.” Continue reading...

Host of November’s summit wants focus to be on ‘moving from pledges to implementation’Financial assistance for developing countries must be at the top of the agenda for UN climate talks this year, the host country, Egypt, has made clear, as governments will be required to follow through on promises made at the Cop26 summit last year.Egypt will host Cop27 in Sharm el-Sheikh in November. The talks will take place in the shadow of the war in Ukraine, as well as rising energy and food prices around the world, leaving rich countries grappling with a cost-of-living crisis and poor countries struggling with debt mountains. Continue reading...

Recipients from around world demonstrate power of unified community actionIndigenous activists and lawyers who took on transnational corporations and their own governments to force climate action are among the 2022 winners of the world’s pre-eminent environmental award.Taking on powerful vested interests is a risky business, and the recipients of this year’s Goldman prize demonstrate the power of unified community action, perseverance and the courts in the battle to save the planet from environmental collapse. Continue reading...

Julien Vincent’s Market Forces organisation started with a spare laptop and a spare bedroom before raising the ire of the former Coalition government

Marjan Minnesma’s legal fight forced the Dutch government to cut emissions, while Chima Williams took on Royal Dutch ShellThe road to a landmark legal victory compelling the Dutch government to take climate action began a decade ago when the 2022 Goldman prize winner Marjan Minnesma received an official letter saying the government did not want to be a frontrunner in tackling the climate crisis.At the time the Netherlands was one of the world’s worst greenhouse emitters and had a dismal record on renewables that was highly dependent on fossil fuels – a stark contrast with its environmentally friendly image of windmills and bicycles. Continue reading...

Residents tell of close encounters with the blood-sucking creatures which are spreading because of high rain and humidity

Unwanted lockdown goldfish pose a triple threat to native species in UK waterways, study revealsIf that lockdown goldfish is starting to lose its lustre, think twice before throwing it in the river or canal – the creatures may look innocent but their voracious appetite, tolerance for cold and have-a-go habits compared with native species can be catastrophic for local wildlife.New research shows that goldfish consume much more than comparable fish in UK waters, eat more than other invasive fish and are also much more willing to aggressively take on other competing species. Continue reading...

Time is running out to save 58 resident species, Butterfly Conservation warnsHalf of Britain’s butterfly species are now listed as threatened with extinction after five more joined the new “red list” of endangered butterflies.The increase in the number of species listed as “vulnerable” from nine in 2011 to 16 today is a warning that time is running out to save the 58 resident species, according to Butterfly Conservation, which compiled the red list from scientific monitoring data according to the criteria set out by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Continue reading...

Bureau of Meteorology climate report points to big wet in NSW and Queensland extending for months

The ruling, and another crucial court decision this week, will force the company to face charges it lied about global heatingThe Massachusetts high court on Tuesday ruled that the US’s largest oil company, ExxonMobil, must face a trial over accusations that it lied about the climate crisis and covered up the fossil fuel industry’s role in worsening environmental devastation.Exxon claimed the case brought by the Massachusetts attorney general, Maura Healey, was politically motivated and amounted to an attempt to prevent the company from exercising its free speech rights. But the state’s supreme judicial court unanimously dismissed the claim in the latest blow to the oil industry’s attempts to head off a wave of lawsuits across the country over its part in causing global heating. Continue reading...

Experts say 35% rise in acreage covered by migratory insects my reflect adaptation to changing climateMexican experts have said that 35% more monarch

Scientists hope Albanese government addresses extinction crisis as new research shows 63 vertebrates face annihilation by 2041

‘Fly Responsibly’ adverts mislead customers on the sustainability of flying with KLM, say campaignersEnvironmental campaigners are suing the Dutch airline KLM over “greenwashing” adverts they say misleadingly promote the sustainability of flying.Lawyers from ClientEarth are supporting Fossielvrij NL, a Netherlands-based campaign group, to bring a claim that KLM’s ad campaigns give a false impression of the sustainability of its flights and its plans to address its impact on the climate. Continue reading...

Unconventional garden by Lulu Urquhart and Adam Hunt features a dam and sticks pre-gnawed by beaversA garden with hardly a bloom in sight and inspired by the dramatic transformation of land through the reintroduction of beavers to the UK has won best in show at the Chelsea flower show.The garden – A Rewilding Britain Landscape by first-time Chelsea designers Lulu Urquhart and Adam Hunt – may lack eye-catching flowers but features a beaver dam, a pool with a lodge behind it, a shabby shed with corrugated iron roof and UK native plants. Continue reading...

Government limit on contracts for new renewable energy generation is ‘outdated thinking’, says Greenpeace UKConsumers will face higher energy bills than necessary next winter because of a decision by the government to limit new renewable energy generation, described as a “missed opportunity” by the renewables industry, and “outdated thinking” by a green campaign group.Ministers have decided to authorise contracts for about 12GW of new renewable energy generation, to start construction this year, with much of it likely to come on stream before next autumn. However, the renewable energy industry estimates that about 17.4GW of projects have cleared planning permission and are “shovel-ready”. Continue reading...

Environmental activists accuse firm’s board of spending more on green ads than green technologyThree people have been arrested after Shell was forced to pause its annual general meeting in London after it was interrupted by environmental protesters chanting: “We will stop you.”About 40 climate protesters attending the event as shareholders told the oil and gas company’s board: “We will expose you. We know who you are. We know what you have done. We will remember.” Continue reading...

António Guterres says young people should tackle climate crisis by using talent to deliver a renewable futureThe UN secretary general has told new university graduates not to take up careers with the “climate wreckers” – companies that drive the extraction of fossil fuels.António Guterres addressed thousands of graduates at Seton Hall University in New Jersey, US, on Tuesday. “You must be the generation that succeeds in addressing the planetary emergency of climate change,” he said. “Despite mountains of evidence of looming climate catastrophe, we still see mountains of funding for coal and fossil fuels that are killing our planet. Continue reading...

Warning follows first Bank of England climate stress tests on seven largest lendersUK banks and insurers will end up shouldering nearly £340bn worth of climate-related losses by 2050, unless action is taken to curb rising temperatures and sea levels, the Bank of England has warned.The numbers emerged from the Bank’s first climate stress tests on seven of the UK’s largest lenders. These involved three climate scenarios over a 30-year period, covering physical and transition risks, including one in which governments fail to take further steps to curb greenhouse gas emissions, resulting in average temperature rises of 3.3C, and a 3.9-metre rise in sea levels. Continue reading...

Team admit Gillyflower is not the first but hope it encourages a more sustainable approach to golfingThe views are spectacular, taking in a lovely Cornish river, a ruined castle and the rooftops of an ancient town while the golf is pleasantly challenging, with tight fairways and undulating greens.But what makes Gillyflower golf course in Lostwithiel different is that every square metre of non-playing surface will be used to grow fruit and vegetables or encourage flora and fauna. Continue reading...

Last seen in the South American country 20 years ago, 40 are being reintroduced to El Impenetrable park in the coming weeksIt may be one of the slowest-moving conservation projects in history, not just because of the red tape, but due to the animals themselves: 40 red-footed tortoises are being released into El Impenetrable national park in Argentina in the coming weeks after being rescued from the illegal pet trade in Paraguay and transported to Argentina.One of the larger tortoises in South America, the red-footed tortoise (Chelonoidis carbonarius) was once found throughout three provinces of Argentina. But the last live tortoise spotted in the country was in the north-eastern province of Formosa in 2002. A shell was found in the same province, 40 miles (60km) from El Impenetrable, in 2016. Continue reading...

Hands Off Mangrove represents plight of 1970s activists who overcame might of British stateThey were worlds apart in 1970, when the face of the Chelsea flower show was Britt Ekland posing with the rose of the year. Months later, the 55-day trial of defendants who became known as the Mangrove Nine would make legal history as black activists took on and overcame the might of the British state.More than five decades later, their story has pride of place at this year’s flower show, where thousands of visitors are getting their first view of a garden inspired by what the nine activists endured and achieved. Continue reading...

Sussan Ley tipped to be Peter Dutton’s deputy as conservatives call for shift to the right

Largest single release of the endangered animals seeks to grow population that had been completely wiped out from mainland Australia

Governor’s warning comes amid drought after driest January-March period in at least a centuryCalifornia could face mandatory water restrictions if residents don’t use less on their own as the drought drags on and the hotter summer months approach, the state’s governor has said.Gavin Newsom threatened the possibly of statewide mandates in a meeting with representatives from major water agencies, including those that supply Los Angeles, San Diego and the San Francisco Bay Area, according to his office. The Democratic governor has avoided issuing sweeping mandatory cuts in water use and instead favored an approach that gives local water agencies power to set rules for water use in the cities and towns they supply. Continue reading...

Focussing on carbon dioxide alone will not keep world within 1.5C limit of global heating, warn scientistsCutting methane sharply now is crucial, as focusing on carbon dioxide alone will not be enough to keep rising temperatures within livable limits, scientists have warned.CO is the greenhouse gas most responsible for heating the planet, with most of it coming from the burning of fossil fuels. As a result, it has been the major focus of international efforts to prevent climate breakdown. Continue reading...

Soaring temperatures in subcontinent, which have caused widespread suffering, would be extraordinarily rare without global heatingThe heatwave scorching India and Pakistan has been made 30 times more likely by the climate crisis, according to scientists. Extreme temperatures and low rainfall since mid-March have caused widespread suffering, including deaths, crop losses, forest fires, and cuts to power and water supplies.The study is the latest to show the already severe impacts of global heating on millions of people, even though the global average temperature has risen only 1.2C above pre-industrial levels to date. If it rises to 2C, heatwaves as intense as the current one would be expected as often as every five years in India and Pakistan, the scientists estimated. Continue reading...

Covid disruptions in China and rising costs are affecting supplies of solar panels and wind turbine parts, while domestic energy prices climb

Guardian Australia understands Climate 200 is likely to back independents in upcoming state elections

Annual survey is important for understanding health of the Atlantic puffin’s breeding colonies

Caroline Dennett tells staff in video she made decision because of ‘double-talk on climate’A senior safety consultant has quit working with Shell after 11 years, accusing the fossil fuel producer in a bombshell public video of causing “extreme harms” to the environment.Caroline Dennett claimed Shell had a “disregard for climate change risks” and urged others in the oil and gas industry to “walk away while there’s still time”. Continue reading...

Business and cycling groups say bike-buying scheme is often out of reach to those who need it mostBusiness and cycling groups have urged the government to reform its cycle to work scheme so it can be used by lower-paid and self-employed workers, arguing they are often the people who need it the most.Introduced more than 20 years ago and since used by more than a million people, the scheme allows users to pay for a bicycle and accessories in instalments taken from their salary on a tax-free basis, thus saving them between 25% and 40%. Continue reading...

Loving county judge and top official, Skeet Lee Jones, 71, is alleged to have taken stray cattle and sold themA senior official in west Texas has been arrested over cattle rustling in a case that has stirred up anger in the tiny county of Loving.Skeet Lee Jones, 71, a judge and chief elected official in the county, faces three counts of theft of livestock worth less than $150,000 and one of engaging in organised criminal activity after his arrest on Friday, the sheriff of neighbouring Winkler county, Darin Mitchell, said on Sunday. Continue reading...

Vulnerable island nation split over project to dredge millions of tonnes of sand to create land for resorts and industry on Unesco reserveA controversial project to reclaim land on an atoll threatened by rising sea levels has been announced in the Maldives, with hopes that it may boost tourism balanced against fears that it could “choke the ecosystem”.The low-lying island nation, one of the world’s most vulnerable to climate change, has commissioned a major shore protection and land reclamation scheme using sand dredged from a lagoon, despite concerns about the impact on this Unesco biosphere reserve. Continue reading...

Global Warming Policy Foundation is lobby group not charity and brings no public good, say signatoriesThe Global Warming Policy Foundation, a climate sceptic thinktank, has been reported to the Charity Commission by the Green MP Caroline Lucas and Extinction Rebellion.The move comes after the Guardian revealed that the group received funding from fossil fuel interests. Continue reading...

Bank investigating Stuart Kirk’s conference speech deriding flooding risks and climate warnings from UN and Bank of EnglandHSBC has suspended a senior banker after he referred to climate crisis warnings as “unsubstantiated” and “shrill” during a conference speech that has since been denounced by the lender’s chief executive.Stuart Kirk, who has been HSBC’s head of responsible investing since last July, will remain suspended until the bank completes an internal investigation into the matter. Continue reading...

Michael Lewis calls for substantial government intervention to help people deal with costsConsumers will have to cope with extraordinarily high fuel bills for at least another 18 months, the boss of Britain’s biggest energy supplier has said.Michael Lewis, the chief executive of E.ON UK, called for “very substantial” government intervention to help people with escalating fuel bills, one of the biggest factors in the cost-of-living crisis. Continue reading...

Research into costs of proposed Suffolk power station could further inflame debate over UK nuclear powerThe proposed Sizewell C nuclear power station could cost UK taxpayers more than double government estimates and take an extra five years to build, according to research.Ministers will decide in July whether to approve the development of the Suffolk power station proposed by the French developer EDF. The business department has estimated that the government-backed scheme will add an extra £1 a month to household bills to aid construction costs. Continue reading...

PM Scott Morrison has been dumped by electorate fed up with inaction on emissions and eager for changeWhen Scott Morrison won Australia’s federal election in 2019, it seemed like the country would never emerge from the climate wars that had begun a decade earlier.Morrison had taken the prime ministership late in 2018 after conservatives in the ruling Liberal-National Coalition deposed Malcolm Turnbull, in part, for his attempt to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in Australia’s energy sector. Continue reading...

Temperatures between 20 and 30F above average in the mid-Atlantic and north-east, with Washington set to hit 96F (35.5C)Dozens of states across the US began the weekend grappling with historically high spring temperatures, as a blistering heatwave that has scorched the country’s south and west moves east.The early arrival of sweltering weather, before what’s expected to be another hot, dry summer, is forecast to break or tie roughly 130 heat records for this time of year, with temperatures between 20F and 30F above average in the mid-Atlantic and north-east. Continue reading...

Earthworm native to east Asia and known for its large appetite poses threat to forest ecosystems, scientists sayAn invasive worm species known for its “voracious appetite” and ability to jump a foot (30cm) in the air is raising alarm in California, where scientists have expressed concerns about the threat the worms pose to forest ecosystems.The Amynthas agrestis, also known as the Asian jumping worm, Alabama jumper or crazy snake worm, have been spotted in California in recent months. The earthworm is native to east Asia, particularly to Japan and the Korean peninsula. However, in recent years the worms made their way to North America via various landscape plants that have been imported from the region. Continue reading...

Millions of tonnes of earth from the Crossrail project has been used to create a nature habitat on the Wallasea Island, Essex stretch of the linkLondon’s new Elizabeth line will allow commuters to start taking high-speed trains under the city this week, on part of a 73-mile route that stretches from Reading in the west to Shenfield in the east. They will not be the first travellers to enjoy the benefits of the new line, however.On Wallasea Island in Essex, thousands of birds have already taken advantage of the £19bn rail project – on a mosaic of lagoons, islands, and bays that have been created out of 3.5m tonnes of earth that were dug up during construction of its new stations and 13 miles of twin tunnels. Continue reading...

‘Extraordinarily hot’ in central and southern areas, say meteorologists, with forecast of 40C in AndalucíaParts of Spain are experiencing their hottest May since records began, as a mass of hot, dry air blows in from Africa, bringing with it dusty skies and temperatures of more than 40C (104F).Spain’s state meteorological agency, Aemet, has warned of a weekend heatwave of an “extraordinary intensity”, with temperatures between 10C and 15C above the seasonal average and more akin to high summer than mid-May. Continue reading...

The Life programme, which celebrates its birthday this weekend, has poured billions into saving Europe’s most vulnerable creatures“It has been a miracle,” whispers biologist Gabriel Llorens Folgado as he studies a tumble of granite boulders for any signs of movement. The miracle is that Spain’s lynx population has been saved. Today, in the wildflower-coated hills of the Sierra de Andújar in southern Spain, Folgado is looking for Magarza and her four cubs. “When I first saw a lynx, 20 years ago, there were fewer than 100 in just two places in Spain. I never stopped hoping, but I thought they might disappear,” he says.The Iberian lynx was the world’s most endangered cat 20 years ago, but after a number of EU Life projects, today there are more than 1,000 across Spain and Portugal. Carmen Rueda Rodriguez from the conservation group CBD Habitat, who has been working with the Iberian lynx since 2014, says the EU funding programme has been a gamechanger. Continue reading...

Documents indicate PM’s changes to foreign policy speech coincided with environment agreement in trade talks