Hundreds of votes were cast in Russia, but organisers say the email addresses appeared to be legitimateIt’s an election that has spawned meme wars, full-size billboards, trash talking between rival campaigns, and now, accusations of Russian electoral fraud. Organisers of New Zealand’s bird of the year contest – a wholesome poll that raises awareness about the plight of native species – have denied claims the 2019 result was marred by fowl play after revealing a high number of votes cast from other countries.“People are coming up with all kinds of theories about Russian involvement in New Zealand elections,” said Megan Hubscher, a spokesperson for Forest and Bird, the independent conservation group that runs the annual vote. “But we can assure everyone that everything seems above board this time around.” Continue reading...

A range of organisations are asking for financial aid to assist people, communities and wildlife affected by the firesThe scale and ferocity of bushfires sweeping NSW and Queensland is testing the resources of firefighters, charities, and animal rescue groups. Many have issued public pleas for financial help, warning of a worsening bushfire threat and a long road to recovery for affected communities. Most organisations are calling for financial donations - rather than donated goods - to help them best meet the varying needs of victims.Here are the main groups working on the ground right now and accepting donations. Continue reading...

Development has long been given priority over the endangered bird’s welfare – and is set to again with the Carmichael coalmine

Approval ratings dip for both Scott Morrison and Anthony Albanese in latest surveyAustralians are divided about a controversial plan, telegraphed by Scott Morrison, to curb environmental activism against the resources sector – with the Guardian Essential sample split between support, opposition and indifference.In the wake of the prime minister using a combative speech to the Queensland Resources Council to unload on “apocalyptic” progressivism and float potential curbs on activism, voters were asked whether they would support a change that could make consumer or environmental boycotts illegal in Australia. Continue reading...

Response follows Jeremy Corbyn urging PM to ‘take personal charge’ as locals tell of ruined homesBoris Johnson has agreed to chair a meeting of the government’s emergency committee on Tuesday to discuss the response to the recent severe floods, after he was urged by Jeremy Corbyn to “take personal charge” of the situation.The announcement by Downing Street came as residents began a clean-up operation, and warned that further damage was likely unless existing water was pumped away. Continue reading...

Long-running survey finds 1976 heatwave boom has been followed by dropping numbersMoths are declining in abundance by 10% each decade in Britain but the average weight of moths caught in traps is still double what it was in 1967, according to a new study.Researchers studying the biomass of moths caught in the world’s longest-running insect survey said their findings suggested that if there had been an “insect armageddon” in Britain, it had occurred before scientific recording began in 1967. Continue reading...

More than 575 NSW schools to close as conditions forecast to worsen on Tuesday, while dozens of bushfires continue to burn across Australia’s east coast. This blog is now closed

‘For heaven’s sake stay away from bushland,’ Gladys Berejiklian warns as conditions to worsen on TuesdayAcross New South Wales more than 575 schools will shut their doors on Tuesday, while aged care homes remain on high alert and animal shelters scramble to re-home pets as much of the state prepares for catastrophic fire conditions.The NSW premier, Gladys Berejiklian, declared a week-long state of emergency on Monday in the wake of devastating fires on the state’s mid-north coast in which three people died and at least 150 homes were destroyed. Continue reading...

Project links solar-fitted premises in ‘milestone’ to form a mini virtual power plantHundreds of homes and businesses in Cornwall have started selling electricity to their local energy network and the national energy system in a pioneering move.The trial is the first time that traditional energy users – such as homes, hotels and businesses – have acted as suppliers in a microcosm of a full energy system. Continue reading...

Federal regulator wants to know more about the consultation Equinor conducted and the risks posed by oil spillsNorwegian energy company Equinor has been ordered to modify and resubmit an environmental plan to drill an oil exploration well in the Great Australian Bight.The company has exploration rights on a site about 370km off the South Australian coast and first submitted its environmental statement on the drilling proposal in April. Continue reading...

Brown to Green report highlights Australia’s poor response on deforestation, transport, energy supply and carbon pricingAustralia’s response to climate change is one of the worst in the G20 with a lack of policy, reliance on fossil fuels and rising emissions leaving the country exposed “economically, politically and environmentally”, according to a new international report.Australia’s progress to meeting its already “unambitious” Paris climate targets was third worst, fossil fuel energy was on the rise and policies to tackle high transport emissions and deforestation were also among the worst across the G20 countries. Continue reading...

The Senate-only sitting week has started in the midst of a debate on climate change as ‘catastrophic’ blazes threaten swathes of NSW and Queensland. All the day’s events, live• Follow all the latest news on NSW and Queensland bushfires – live5.01am GMTOn that note, we are going to wrap up the blog for the day.But we’ll back tomorrow morning for day two of Senate-palooza.4.32am GMTSomeone is having fun.STATEMENT | Nationals kill dairy rescue bill.

For the first time since new fire ratings were introduced in 2009, the highest fire danger has been forecast for SydneyCatastrophic fire danger has been forecast for the greater Sydney, greater Hunter and Illawarra/Shoalhaven regions on Tuesday 12 November. This includes the central coast and the Blue Mountains.It’s the first time since the new fire ratings were introduced in 2009 that catastrophic conditions have been forecast for Sydney. Continue reading...

More than 140 flood warnings and alerts in place as South Yorkshire villagers evacuateFurther heavy rainfall has been forecast for the UK this week and more flooding is expected as communities already affected struggle to cope.Seven severe “danger to life” flood warnings remain in place in South Yorkshire in areas along the River Don. The Met Office also issued 41 active flood warnings and 94 flood alerts, and said a weather system moving across Europe would bring a “fair amount” of rainfall to England and Wales. Continue reading...

Australians to shoulder the risk of oil and gas exploration while Norway enjoys the financial gain, Australia Institute warnsThe Norwegian government stands to gain $400m more from drilling in the Great Australian Bight than the South Australian and federal governments combined, according to a new study.A report by the Australia Institute, to be released on Monday, finds that through its two-thirds ownership of Equinor the Norwegian government stands to make $8.1bn from oil and gas exploration in the Bight. Continue reading...

From humble beginnings, Market Forces is now in the crosshairs of the Coalition’s war on environmental boycottsWhen Market Forces, a small climate activist group, was singled out as the target of the government’s push to stop environmental campaigns that advocate boycotts of fossil-fuel companies, its leader was briefly taken aback but not disappointed.“You know you’re doing something right when the Morrison government tries to bring you down,” Julien Vincent, the group’s executive director and founder, says from its base in Melbourne. “It’s unpleasant, but it’s only happening because we are getting results.” Continue reading...

Defra revealed that more than £300,000 of public money has been spent on the devicesHundreds of thousands of pounds of UK taxpayers’ money has been spent on equipping badger cull marksmen and women with tracking devices so that their movements could be mapped by co-ordinators and police.Anti-cull activists have criticised the expense, arguing that the cost of the cull should be met by farmers rather than the public purse. Continue reading...

Torrential rain has cost one life and blighted communities that feel they are being left to fend for themselvesDriving north on a foggy Saturday morning on the M1, the signs say “Derbyshire flooding”. It sounds like the present continuous tense, ominous and ongoing. Twenty-four hours earlier, the body of Annie Hall, a former high sheriff of the county, had been found. She had been swept away by the River Derwent at Darley Dale, not far from Matlock.If that fatality lends a tragic note to the floods that hit the east Midlands and northern England on Friday, the streets are awash with many more mundane stories of hardship. Though the flooding has now subsided in most areas, in Doncaster people are still struggling to cope with the aftermath. Continue reading...

Backlash to prohibition on reef-harming chemicals frames issue as one of public health focused on skin cancer riskWhen city leaders in the Florida resort town of Key West voted earlier this year to ban the sale of sunscreens that scientists say are harmful to coral reefs, it was, in the words of mayor Teri Johnston, “a black and white issue”.Related: Florida county refuses to pay for New York Times in libraries: 'It's fake news' Continue reading...

Seven people unaccounted for, as fuller picture emerges of the devastation

Project by Argentinian artist Andrés Iglesias is poised for completion next week in eco-conscious citySan Francisco, a city that prides itself on its eco-consciousness, will soon have a giant likeness of Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg gazing upon its downtown, reminding residents to respect the planet.Related: 'Greta Thunberg effect' driving growth in carbon offsetting Continue reading...

Environment ministers sign off on timeline after Scott Morrison promises to tackle plastic waste in oceansA ban on the export of waste glass, plastic, paper and tyres will be phased in from mid next year after environment ministers agreed to a timetable for changes in the way Australia deals with recyclable material.The federal environment minister, Sussan Ley, and state and territory environment ministers signed off on the timeline, which will see the export of all of these waste materials banned by no later than 30 June 2022. Continue reading...

Activists of all ages join actor in Washington for her fifth ‘Fire Drill Friday’, focused on the militaryHundreds of protesters joined the celebrity activist Jane Fonda in Washington DC for her fifth Friday urging radical change to fight the climate crisis.In front of the US Capitol, Fonda spoke of the “urgency of the climate crisis and need for activism on an unprecedented scale”. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Aberdeen Standard Investments defends role of environmental groups including Market ForcesGlobal funds management giant Aberdeen Standard Investments has rejected prime minister’s Scott Morrison’s call for companies to listen to “quiet shareholders” as part of a comprehensive rebuff of the government’s attack on activist investors and the environmental movement.The UK’s biggest listed fund manager, which controls assets worth more than £550bn, also defended the role of environmental groups including Market Forces, which has been accused by the attorney general, Christian Porter, of pressuring companies through “widespread, co-ordinated harassment and threats of boycotts”. Continue reading...

Brexit poetry | Reporting abuse | Tom Watson’s resignation | Film ratings | GCSE marking | FrackingRhiannon Lucy Cosslett’s description of Brooke’s The Soldier as “snivelling ethnocentricity” (Brexit poetry offers pleasure and catharsis, Journal, 7 November) showed a marked lack of empathy for the catharsis of others. During and after both world wars, many soldiers and their wives/widows, children/orphans have found solace in Brooke’s stirring words. One could debate the merits of patriotism, but this poem is not “snivelling ethnocentricity”.

Andrew Wheeler’s top agency lawyer argues political staffers have leeway to decide what information to provide to investigationTop political appointees at Donald Trump’s environment agency are hindering an investigation into the agency’s chief of staff, who pressured a prominent scientist to alter her congressional testimony to make it more favorable for the agency, according to an ethics watchdog.In the latest development of the fight, the inspector general of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has forced the agency’s head, Andrew Wheeler to explain his position in a letter to Congress. Wheeler’s top agency lawyer is arguing that political staffers have leeway to decide what information to provide to the watchdog, while investigators are warning that agency leaders are trying to subvert their legally mandated independence. Continue reading...

Red squirrels, a laughing kookaburra and a dehydrated koala Continue reading...

Operator faces choice of weakening 14km barrier or potentially devastating a biodiversity hotspotThe biggest hydroelectric project in the Amazon rainforest has a design flaw that poses a “very serious” threat to human life and globally important ecosystems, according to documents and expert testimony received by the Guardian.The studies suggest engineers failed to anticipate the impact of water shortages on the Pimental dam at Belo Monte, which has been closed and turned into a barrier. This is forcing the operators to choose between a structural weakening of the 14km-wide compacted-earth barrier and a reallocation of water in the reservoir or on the Xingu river, which is home to indigenous communities, fishing villages and some of the world’s most endangered species. Continue reading...

Met Office says 117 flood warnings in place after downpours continued through the night

Labour criticises tender as firm running £400m investment fund awards millions to company it part-ownsThe private equity firm appointed by the government to manage as much as £400m in investment in electric car charging points has awarded millions of pounds to a company in which it holds a controlling financial interest.Zouk Capital is the largest shareholder in charge point builder Instavolt, having made an £18m investment in the company. Now Zouk has chosen Instavolt as the charge point fund’s first beneficiary, a decision criticised by the Labour party. Continue reading...

NGOs report fourfold increases in investments in carbon-reducing projects in developing countriesGrowing concern about the climate crisis and the “Greta Thunberg effect” are driving huge increases in individuals and businesses choosing to offset their emissions by investing in carbon-reducing projects in developing countries.NGOs and organisations involved in carbon offsetting have seen as much as a fourfold increase in investment from people who want to try to mitigate their carbon footprints. Continue reading...

Sheffield shopping centre cut off by rising waters as torrential rain deluges large areas and Met Office warns of more to comeDozens of people have been trapped in Sheffield’s Meadowhall shopping centre overnight after torrential rain caused flooding throughout the city and transport chaos across large parts of northern England.Heavy rain across the region on Thursday made roads impassable and forced the cancellation of train services, while 35 homes were evacuated in Mansfield after a mudlside. Continue reading...

The final votes have been counted and the results are in for the final run-off between the top 10 birds of 2019

Continent is set for massive urbanisation but can avoid relying on fossil fuels, says IEAAfrica is poised to lead the world’s cleanest economic revolution by using renewable energy sources to power a massive spread of urbanisation, says an IEA report.The IEA, or International Energy Agency, predicts that solar energy will play a big role in supporting the continent’s growing population and industrialisation over the next 20 years. Continue reading...

Meadowhall in Sheffield says those who wish to stay can, due to ‘extreme conditions’ outsidePeople trapped by flood water in a shopping mall near Sheffield have been told they can leave but were warned there will be severe delays due to “extreme weather conditions”.Shoppers at Meadowhall had earlier been told to stay put by police and not to attempt to leave the mall after flooding left roads gridlocked. Continue reading...

Continent is embarking on a huge expansion of power stations, most of which will burn coalLast week the UN secretary general, António Guterres, called for an end to new coal-fired power plants. Many European countries including the UK and Germany are decreasing their dependence on coal, but this is not the case everywhere. Across Africa many people rely on standby diesel generators to supplement erratic electricity supplies, leading to local air pollution problems and high emissions of climate-heating carbon dioxide.Although Africa is in a unique position to leapfrog dependence on fossil fuels and utilise abundant renewable sources such as wind and solar, the continent is embarking on a massive expansion of fossil fuel electricity. More than 200 new power stations are planned, the majority of which will burn coal. Power ships – vast floating power stations, some burning highly polluting bunker oil – are already moored in Ghana, Sierra Leone and Mozambique. Continue reading...

Head of Scotland’s railway calls for vastly increased investment in future-proofing networkBritain’s railways can no longer cope with the effects of the climate crisis, a senior rail executive has warned.Extreme weather events including heatwaves, storms and flooding have damaged infrastructure and halted thousands of services across the UK this year. Continue reading...

Groups say hundreds of millions of dollars in funding required along with stipulation public agencies use recycled materialEnvironment ministers have been told Scott Morrison’s promise to introduce a waste export ban is doomed to fail unless they change tack and back it with hundreds of millions of dollars in funding and a requirement that public agencies use recycled material.Federal, state and territory environment ministers meet on Friday in Adelaide, where they are due to announce a timetable to end the export of waste plastic, paper, glass and tyres. The prime minister has said he expected the ban to start next year. Continue reading...

Damon Gameau’s likable documentary charts the ways we tackle a climate emergency, from solar power to progressive farmingThis interesting film by the Australian environmentalist Damon Gameau is an optimistic guide to the workable “regenerative” community projects that can help combat climate change. He imagines the great things that could happen by 2040, when his daughter will be a young woman. Gameau is clearly concerned to move his rhetoric away from anything righteously angry or confrontational – he doesn’t, for example, insist on immediate veganism, just a progressive lessening of meat-eating – and gives us an easygoing can-do approach in which there is no great emphasis on sacrifice and not even any obvious sense of emergency.Related: A vision of 2040: everything we need for a sustainable world already exists Continue reading...

Invention to block waste, but not boats or wildlife, arrives in Dutch city’s famous waterwaysThe world’s first rubbish barrier made entirely from bubbles has been unveiled in Amsterdam in an attempt to catch waste in the city’s canals before it reaches the North Sea.A Dutch start-up and the Amsterdam municipality launched the Great Bubble Barrier, a simple device that channels rubbish – especially small pieces of plastic – to the side of the Westerdok canal where it can be retrieved. Tests have shown it can divert more than 80% of flotsam. Continue reading...

Bird suffers 51% decline over five years but some species show signs of recoveryThe turtle dove, Britain’s most endangered bird, continues to plummet towards extinction, its numbers having halved over five years, according to the latest data.The turtle dove’s 51% decline from 2013 to 2017 is the most drastic of a continuing slump for a quarter of farmland bird species. Continue reading...

Couple stumble upon unusual occurrence that is result of very particular weather conditionsA rare collection of “ice eggs” has been spotted in Finland, a phenomenon experts say only occurs in highly particular conditions.Risto Mattila, who photographed the eggs, said he and his wife were walking along Marjaniemi beach on Hailuoto island on Sunday when they came across the icy balls covering a 30-metre (98ft) expanse of shoreline. Continue reading...

Defra figures show 8% rise over last year, with most cases involving household rubbishCouncils had to clear up more than a million incidents of fly-tipping last year in England, as figures show the problem continues to rise.English local authorities reported 1,072,000 incidents in 2018/2019, up 8% on the 998,000 cases in 2017/2018, the latest statistics from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) reveal. Continue reading...

Exclusive: UK’s biggest fund manager LGIM ploughed extra £285m into firms such as ExxonMobilThe UK’s biggest fund manager has spent nearly £300m this year increasing its shareholdings in companies it named and shamed for dragging their heels on climate action.Legal & General Investment Management (LGIM), which has been one of the most outspoken fund managers over the climate crisis, announced in June it was cutting five more companies from its environmentally and socially conscious funds for not doing enough to mitigate the climate emergency. Continue reading...

Nearly half of Tory voters back plan, compared with 16% who back party’s 2050 targetA majority of the UK public and almost half of Conservative voters support a radical plan to transform the economy and tackle the climate crisis, a poll suggests.YouGov found that 56% of people back the total decarbonisation of the UK economy by 2030 and just under half support public spending to make large swathes of public transport free to use. Continue reading...

Cardboard can ‘toppers’ to be rolled out as brewer joins other drinks giants trying to reduce plastic packagingHeineken is ditching single-use plastic rings and shrink wrap from millions of multipack cans and replacing them with eco-friendly cardboard.The Dutch company has invested £22m in new technology and production facilities at its UK sites that will enable it to start rolling out the changes across its popular brands , which include Heineken and Foster’s, from April 2020. Continue reading...

Retailer’s fleets will use carbon neutral renewable biomethaneHundreds of John Lewis delivery trucks will begin running on cow power from 2021 as the retailer weans its fleet off polluting diesel fuel and switches to carbon-neutral cow manure.The retailer will begin using renewable biomethane made from manure slurry for almost 300 John Lewis and Waitrose delivery vans under new plans from its fuel supplier to swap rotting vegetables for poo power at no extra cost. Continue reading...

Pollution stretches across 2,400km of coastline, with scientists fearing contamination of food chainHundreds of kilometres of mangroves and coral reefs, as well as humpback whale breeding grounds, are under threat from an oil spill that has polluted more than 2,400km of Brazil’s north-eastern coast in the last two months.The Brazilian Navy, which has deployed 8,500 personnel, 30 ships and 17 aircraft in the cleanup operation, said this week that 4,200 tonnes of oil have been removed from beaches, amid fears by scientists that some has already entered the food chain. Continue reading...

For a brief moment solar, wind and hydro combined to deliver more than half the power into the National Electricity MarketAustralia’s main electricity grid was briefly powered by 50% renewable energy this week in a new milestone that experts say will become increasingly normal.Data on the sources of power in the National Electricity Market showed that at 11.50am on Wednesday, renewables were providing 50.2% of the power to Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania and South Australia – the five states served by the market. Continue reading...