Ella Kissi-Debrah, nine, who lived near South Circular Road in south London, died in 2013A fresh inquest into the death of a nine-year-old girl who suffered a fatal asthma attack will examine the role of the government as it looks at whether air pollution caused or contributed to her death.Ella Kissi-Debrah died in February 2013 after three years of seizures and 27 visits to hospital for breathing problems. Continue reading...

Levels high enough to potentially impact human health and trigger regulatory action, which only targets two of 4,700 variants

Study is a first to show direct evidence of the disease passing between the two speciesTuberculosis in cattle can be spread by badgers but cow-to-cow transmission is more significant than badger-to-cow, according to the first study to provide direct evidence of the disease passing between the two species.Scientists undertook whole genome sequencing of different strains of bovine TB to detect how it moved between cows and badgers in Woodchester Park, Gloucestershire. Continue reading...

Progress on cutting emissions in danger of stalling before Glasgow hosts COP26, says peer

Exclusive: GHD announcement it has ‘no ongoing contracts’ on project comes as Siemens considers backing outThe global engineering and services firm GHD has told staff it has concluded its work on Adani’s Carmichael coal project after a 10-year association with the company.The announcement follows an intense campaign by activists, a movement of engineers to shift their industry away from fossil fuels, and significant internal pressure on management by GHD staff. Continue reading...

New South Wales had said it would quit plan if state was not offered concessions on environmental water targetsThe federal water minister, David Littleproud, appears to have averted a walkout from from the Murray-Darling Basin plan ahead of a crucial meeting in Brisbane to discuss possible concessions to cope with the drought.New South Wales had threatened to walk away from the $13bn joint federal-state agreement if it did not receive relief from some targets it must reach under the plan. These include returning its share of 2,750GL of water to the environment to improve the river system’s health. Continue reading...

Renewables help fossil fuel’s decline in Europe and US but capacity rises in ChinaGlobal demand for coal has fallen this year for the first time in two years as Europe and the US turn their backs on coal-fired power plants in favour of cheap gas and renewable energy.A report from the International Energy Agency (IEA) found that the world’s appetite for coal declined in 2019 after a two-year resurgence following the steepest ever drop in the use of coal-fired power plants. Continue reading...

Conservationists condemn New South Wales government as feral horse numbers increase by 16,000 since 2014The feral horse population in Australia’s alpine national parks has more than doubled in the past five years, with conservationists blaming what they have called a disgraceful lack of management by the New South Wales government.The updated population figures come from an aerial survey of the alpine national parks and surrounding state forests in NSW and Victoria conducted in April and May of this year. It mimicked a survey of the same area in 2014. Continue reading...

Frustrated by government ‘denial’, Emergency Leaders for Climate Action ready to go it alone on bushfire crisis summit

A historic graveyard in Texas lies within the barrier’s 150ft ‘enforcement zone’ the government has said it plans to razeThe Eli Jackson cemetery is the final resting place for Native Americans, war veterans, freed slaves and Christian abolitionists who shaped the cultural, spiritual and racial history of the Rio Grande Valley.The historic graveyard is next door to the Jackson Ranch chapel, the oldest Protestant church still standing in the valley. Continue reading...

National park’s decision not to ban 4x4s from tracks is outrageous, says action groupCampaigners are launching a legal challenge to the Lake District National Park Authority’s “outrageous” refusal to ban 4x4s and trail motorbikes from farm tracks on hills once owned by Beatrix Potter.In recent years there has been a marked increase in the number of off-road vehicles using the tracks between Little Langdale and High Tilberthwaite, which Potter bought in 1929 and which was later acquired by the National Trust. Continue reading...

Water company issues Christmas plea for customers to stop pouring fat down drainsTwo huge fatbergs together weighing almost 100 tonnes and threatening to cause floods in homes and businesses over Christmas have been cleared from sewers in central London.Thames Water said a fatberg weighing 63 tonnes – several tonnes of which was concrete – was cleared from a Pall Mall sewer after being broken up by engineers with power tools and by hand. Continue reading...

Network bans passengers from using their own cups because of risk to catering staffIrish Rail bills itself as part of a solution to the climate crisis and pollution, saying clean transport can help avert global warming, rising sea levels and famine.But don’t try using your own reusable coffee cup on one of its trains. Ireland’s national railway network has banned passengers from using their own cups, citing safety concerns. Continue reading...

River waters fall to a record low as dams continue to be built, putting hundreds of species at riskTbong sits in the shade of a makeshift stilt hut over the edge of Tonlé Sap lake, surrounded by curious children. Continue reading...

Experts horrified at large-scale forest removal to meet wood pellet demandPlans to shift Europe’s coal plants to burning wood pellets instead could accelerate rather than combat the climate crisis and lay waste to woodland equal to half the size of Germany’s Black Forest a year, according to campaigners.The climate thinktank Sandbag said the heavily subsidised plans to cut carbon emissions would result in a “staggering” amount of tree cutting, potentially destroying forests faster than they can regrow. Continue reading...

Charity finds one in five won’t re-wear new outfits, despite spending average of £73.90 eachBritons are poised to spend £2.4bn on new outfits for the Christmas party season this year – yet many items may be worn fewer than three times – a survey shows.After shelling out an average of £73.90 per person on partywear for the festive period, one in five people admit they won’t wear the same outfit to more than one party or event, according to the study from environmental charity Hubbub. Continue reading...

The 3,500-year-old, single-use vessel for wine will go on display at the British MuseumThe finding of an ancient disposable cup that dates back 3,500 years shows that the idea that throwaway vessels for drinks is a modern habit is not true and even ancient civilisations didn’t want “to do the washing up”, experts say.The Minoans, one of the first advanced civilisations in Europe, used the cup to drink wine in Greek island of Crete where they resided. Thousands of the handleless, conical clay cups have been discovered on archeological sites on the island and the palace of Knossos. They will go on display from Friday at the the British Museum, which has been under pressure from environment campaigners over its sponsorship by oil giant BP. Continue reading...

Morrison government criticised for planning to use accounting loophole to meet emissions targetDisagreement over Australia’s plan to use an accounting loophole to meet its climate target will spill into 2020 after a United Nations conference in Madrid failed to reach consensus on rules to implement the global deal.As talks dragged past the scheduled Friday close into Sunday afternoon, Australia was accused of “cheating” and named by other countries and conference observers as one of a handful of nations that thwarted a deal on the rulebook for the Paris climate agreement. Continue reading...

Damaged valve has affected the area around Leighton Buzzard, home to 40,000 peopleResidents in Bedfordshire are facing a third night without water after a damaged valve cut off supplies on Friday evening.The fault has affected the area surrounding Leighton Buzzard, which is home to about 40,000 people. Continue reading...

Sisters of Mercy of the Americas singles out fund over its investmentsAn investment fund representing 9,000 nuns hascriticised the multitrillion-dollar investment group BlackRock for failing to combat the climate crisis.The Sisters of Mercy of the Americas called on the world’s largest asset manager, which has $7tn (£5.25tn) of assets, to use its clout to coax companies into moving faster to reduce emissions. Continue reading...

Partial agreement at COP25 that countries must be more ambitious to fulfil Paris goalsClimate talks in Madrid have ended with a partial agreement to ask countries to come up with more ambitious targets to cut greenhouse gas emissions in order to meet the terms of the 2015 Paris accord.Few countries came to this year’s talks with updated plans to reach the Paris goals, though the EU finally agreed its long-term target of reaching net zero emissions by 2050. Experts say more ambitious emissions cuts are needed globally if the Paris pledge to hold global heating to no more than 2C is to be met. Continue reading...

Edinburgh zoo stays silent on prospect of a final bid to produce cubs before Tian Tian and Yang Guang return to ChinaFor a couple of years, Scotland’s two giant pandas were the biggest celebrities in the land. Now, as they prepare for their final scheduled year in captivity on Scottish soil, before returning to their native China, Tian Tian and Yang Guang are largely forgotten after a decade of failed and increasingly desperate attempts to coax them into producing offspring.They arrived at Edinburgh zoo in 2011 and made headlines for months as the nation waited for the first giant panda to be born in Scotland. Record numbers of visitors followed, and at one point the then first minister, Alex Salmond, joked that the country had more pandas than Tories. Continue reading...

Trees for Cities, one of the four groups we are supporting in the 2019 charity appeal, helps schools in deprived areas create inspiring green spaces

Martijn Wilder says more companies are talking about the climate crisis but not moving quickly enough – and his new firm Pollination aims to improve thatA growing number of governments, including of every Australian state, Britain and the European Union, have set targets of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. Few have mapped how to get there.It is a similar story in the corporate sector. Businesses are under increasing pressure from investors and shareholders to back up claims they are committed to the goals of the Paris agreement. Take BHP, one of the world’s 20 big emitters: it has set a mid-century net-zero emissions target but is yet explain how it will reach it, and plans to invest more in oil and gas than climate solutions. Continue reading...

Large deposits of sediment and ash in reservoir which supplies 80% of the city’s drinking water creates ‘serious situation’Sydney’s drinking water supply is at risk of the same “worst-case scenario” facing some New South Wales regional communities, where large amounts of bushfire ash has been swept into dams by heavy rainfall, a water expert has warned.Stuart Khan, a water quality security expert and environmental engineer from the University of NSW, said recent bushfires had left large deposits of ash in the Warragamba Dam catchment, which supplies 80% of the city’s drinking water. Continue reading...

Decision on Moorside Fields in Lancaster makes it harder to stop public space being developedIt is not the most attractive piece of land in Lancashire. But for Janine Bebbington and her friends, Moorside Fields was where all the important things in life happened.“It was our playground, it was where we went and climbed trees, used the running track from the nearby school, played rounders, explored, kissed people in the bushes, drank cider, did all the things that people get up to in green spaces.” Continue reading...

Tougher limits on pollutants could cut dangers of heart disease, cancers and poor brain development in childrenThe UK’s failure to meet World Health Organisation standards limiting the amount of ultra-fine particles in the air represents a major danger to health that is only now being recognised, experts claim.Studies published this year link the particles to cancers, lung and heart disease, adverse effects on foetal development, and poor lung and brain development in children. They are considered a key threat to health because they go deep into the lungs and then reach other organs, including the brain. But European standards allow the levels of particles in the air to be 2.5 times higher than those stipulated by the WHO. Continue reading...

Erisvan Soares Guajajara’s body was found with knife wounds in Maranhão regionA 15-year-old indigenous boy has been murdered in Brazil on the edge of a heavily deforested indigenous reserve in the state of Maranhão, on the fringes of the Amazon.The murder, the fourth from the Guajajara tribe in recent weeks, came as a wave of racist abuse against indigenous people swept social media in the state. Continue reading...

Government-dominated committee calls for partial lifting of nuclear ban and for greater work on nuclear technologyThe Labor leader, Anthony Albanese, has described the call from Coalition MPs to lift a longstanding ban on nuclear energy as “fantasy”.A 230-page report released on Friday by the chairman of the parliament’s energy committee and Liberal MP Ted O’Brien said nuclear energy should be considered as part of Australia’s future energy mix. Continue reading...

The pick of the best flora and fauna photos from around the world, from an illuminated giraffe to an elusive southern elephant seal Continue reading...

Green party vote rises as campaigners urge Tories to meet pledge to cut emissionsThe new Conservative government must urgently bring forward plans to fulfil its pledge to cut greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050 or risk losing the fight against climate breakdown, green campaigners have urged.Rebecca Newsom, the head of politics at Greenpeace UK, said the Tory manifesto was “full of holes” on the environment and had been judged inadequate by green groups, and people would expect swift action. Continue reading...

Former first lady told climate activist ‘don’t let anyone dim your light’ after Trump said teen had an ‘anger management problem’Michelle Obama has sent a public message of support to the 16-year-old climate activist Greta Thunberg after the teenager was mocked by Donald Trump.“@GretaThunberg, Don’t let anyone dim your light,” the former first lady wrote following a visit to Vietnam. “Like the girls I’ve met in Vietnam and all over the world, you have so much to offer us all. Ignore the doubters and know that millions of people are cheering you on.” Continue reading...

Volunteers find nests made by descendants of creatures released by student in 2004As an idealistic PhD student, Wendy Fail’s ambition was to reintroduce harvest mice to Northumberland. She painstakingly bred 240 mice in captivity and in 2004 released the elusive mammals on to a coastal nature reserve with plenty of reedbeds for them to hide in.When not a single harvest mouse – Britain’s smallest rodent – was recaptured in subsequent trap surveys, Fail concluded that her efforts to reintroduce them had been unsuccessful. Continue reading...

Here are our highlights – tell us yours and we’ll showcase them in next week’s Christmas newsletterHow’s it been for you? Annus horribilis or golden year? We’d love to hear from Upside fans about their 2019: what was the best thing that happened? The funniest thing you witnessed? The very best joke? The most promising dab of progress that you came across? Anything that made it good to feel alive?Email us at the usual address (theupside@theguardian.com). We’ll showcase a sample in next week’s festive edition, the last newsletter of the year. The best email wins a hole punch. Continue reading...

Ilene Dondlinger of California says she does not want the big cat killed, despite its fatal attack on her miniature schnauzerWhen Ilene Dondlinger jumped on the mountain lion attacking her miniature schnauzer in the early hours of 5 December, she reacted without thinking. The 54-year-old wrestled with the big cat in her backyard, desperately trying to open its jaws to save her beloved dog Pumba. But there was nothing she could do.“I couldn’t prise its jaws open, no matter what I did,” Dondlinger said, detailing how she punched, kicked and jumped on the big cat, even putting her knee to its throat in desperation. Continue reading...

Germanwatch says assessment that ranked Australia last or near last was based on scientific criteria and data

Exclusive: forest regrowth can reabsorb emissions from fires but scientists fear natural carbon ‘sinks’ have been compromisedBushfires in New South Wales and Queensland have emitted a massive pulse of CO2 into the atmosphere since August that is equivalent to almost half of Australia’s annual greenhouse gas emissions, Guardian Australia can reveal.Analysis by Nasa shows the NSW fires have emitted about 195m tonnes of CO2 since 1 August, with Queensland’s fires adding a further 55m tonnes over the same period. Continue reading...

Fat innkeeper worms typically burrow under the sand but recent storms have swept away layers, leaving them exposedI’m not sure this is what the Weather Girls meant when they sang, “It’s raining men.”Related: 'Truly astounding': inside the Farallon Islands' battle against a plague of mice Continue reading...

Campaigners frustrated at how women and indigenous people have struggled to have voices heardYouth climate activists have called for a global strike on Friday to protest that human rights and social justice have been sidelined at the UN climate talks in Madrid, where governments look set to wrap up two weeks of negotiations without a breakthrough on the pressing issue of greenhouse gas reduction.Campaigners have been frustrated not only at the slow progress of the talks but also that groups representing women, indigenous people and poor people have struggled to have their voices heard within the conference halls where the official negotiations are taking place, even while 500,000 people took part in a mass protest in the streets outside last Friday. Continue reading...

After reviewing its membership of associations, BHP will resist shareholder pressure and not leave anyBHP has bucked shareholder pressure to quit the Minerals Council of Australia and will remain a member of the lobby group despite disagreeing with it over the importance of putting a price on carbon emissions.After a review of its membership of industry associations, first revealed by Guardian Australia, BHP has decided not to leave any of them. Continue reading...

Organisers criticised over environmental impact as site is thousands of miles from host cityThe organisers of the 2024 Paris Olympics have chosen Tahiti as the site for surfing events, arguing that the waves are more dependable than the French coast, despite being nearly 10,000 miles (more than 15,000km) from the host city.Tahiti is part of French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity, which is an administrative division of France with semi-autonomous status. The International Olympic Committee still has to approve the choice, but Paris organisers believe the famous waves at Teahupo’o in Tahiti – among the most spectacular and powerful in the world – mean it would be a more predictable wave site than the Atlantic coast of France. Continue reading...

Waste management firm suggests greener ways of celebrating festive seasonBerlin’s rubbish collection service is urging the city’s residents to cut down on their waste this Christmas by gifting time rather than material objects.In an advertising campaign, BSR suggests the festive season could be more meaningful if people reduce their rubbish by shopping less, try to eat rather than throw away leftovers, and do a good turn for a neighbour. Continue reading...

Greenpeace activists unfurl climate emergency banner on Brussels venue before eventEuropean leaders meeting at a summit in Brussels will make a new attempt to set the European Union on course for carbon neutrality by 2050, in a test of the bloc’s credibility on the climate emergency.Hours before EU leaders were due to arrive on Thursday, Greenpeace activists unfurled a banner on the side of the summit venue warning of the climate emergency. Continue reading...

Green groups say 52% vote against federal government facility should rule out region as potential siteResidents in South Australia’s Flinders Ranges have voted narrowly against having a nuclear waste dump in their region.About 52% of the people who took part in the ballot voted against the federal government’s facility being established on land near Hawker. Continue reading...

Parents have been told to consider keeping Tamborine Mountain state school students at home, while trucks take local water to bottling plants for companies including Coca-ColaThe Tamborine Mountain state school has run out of water, even as water miners in the Gold Coast hinterland are sending millions of litres to commercial bottling operations.Trucks sent by the Queensland government carrying emergency supplies to the school, including Mount Tamborine bottled water, have been passing trucks heading in the opposite direction taking local water to bottling plants for beverage giants such as Coca-Cola. Continue reading...

Officials are doing little to reduce the biggest source of pollutants in local water, researchers findLos Angeles beaches are plagued by stormwater pollution that can make people sick and damage ecosystems, and local governments are largely failing to address the hazards, according to a new report.The LA region has made little progress toward reducing pollution from stormwater, which is the single greatest source of pollutants in local rivers, lakes and the ocean, according to researchers with Heal the Bay, a not-for-profit environmental organization. Continue reading...

Popular broadcaster and scientist hailed as man who ‘inspired a whole generation’The naturalist and broadcaster David Bellamy has died aged 86, the Conservation Foundation has said.Bellamy died on Wednesday, according to the foundation, of which he was president and co-founder. In a statement, David Shreeve, its director, said: “Sadly, I have to report that David Bellamy died this morning. David and I worked together on a variety of projects in various places since launching the Conservation Foundation in 1982. Continue reading...