Andrew ‘Twiggy’ Forrest joins Mike Cannon-Brookes to raise tens of millions of dollars for Sun CableThe mining magnate and philanthropist Andrew “Twiggy” Forrest has joined fellow billionaire Mike Cannon-Brookes in raising tens of millions of dollars to build a giant solar farm in the Northern Territory to supply electricity to Singapore.The company behind the project, Sun Cable, said Forrest’s Squadron Energy and Grok Ventures, the investment firm of Cannon-Brookes and his wife, Annie, had become co-lead investors in the $20bn-plus development. Continue reading...

Offshore infrastructure in place to store carbon emissions under seabed, new report heraldsNorth Sea oil executives believe the ageing fossil fuel basin may still lead a global climate revolution by providing a testbed for clean energy breakthroughs.An industry report has revealed that the North Sea could emerge as an unlikely climate hero by becoming a global showcase for the energy transition after decades producing fossil fuels. Continue reading...

‘Nature’s engineers’ to be introduced on National Trust land in south of EnglandThree families of beavers are to be introduced on land managed by the National Trust as part of plans to ease flooding and improve biodiversity.Two Eurasian beaver families will be released next spring into enclosures at Holnicote estate on Exmoor, in Somerset, and another group will arrive at Valewood on the Black Down estate, on the border of West Sussex and Surrey. Continue reading...

‘We’re in a deep hole over the climate crisis and we need to stop digging,’ warn expertsThe world’s nations are on track to produce more than twice as much coal, oil and gas as can be burned in 2030 while restricting rise in the global temperature to 1.5C, analysis shows.The report is the first to compare countries’ stated plans for fossil fuel extraction with the goals of the Paris climate agreement, which is to keep global heating well below 2C above pre-industrial levels, and to aim for 1.5C. It exposes a huge gap, with fossil fuel production in 2030 heading for 50% more than is consistent with 2C, and 120% more than that for 1.5C. Continue reading...

Company has told shareholders rail line will be completed by May, but needs more investment from Adani familyThe Adani Group company financing the Carmichael mine in north Queensland has told shareholders to expect a first coal shipment in August 2021, but the project’s rail plans will still require unspecified additional investment from “the family”.In a conference call to discuss its financial-year earnings, executives from Adani Enterprises Limited – the ultimate parent company of the Carmichael mine – indicated the company may use “additional lines to fundraise”. Continue reading...

Long delayed meeting of federal and state energy ministers to discuss the $2.55bn ERF, now rebadged the Climate Solutions FundAngus Taylor has scheduled a discussion with state and territory energy ministers about the planned overhaul of the Morrison government’s emissions reduction fund, a move following the government’s decision to quietly appoint an expert panel to come up with new ways to cut greenhouse gas emissions.According to the draft agenda for Friday’s Coag energy council meeting, obtained by Guardian Australia, the commonwealth has scheduled a discussion about the $2.55bn ERF, now rebadged the Climate Solutions Fund, at the long delayed meeting of federal and state energy ministers. Continue reading...

Airline will also relaunch its package holiday business in wake of Thomas Cook collapseEasyJet is set to become the world’s first major airline to operate net-zero carbon flights across its entire network, after announcing it would offset all jet fuel emissions.The British budget airline said it would start offsetting all flights from Tuesday, which it said would cost about £25m in the next financial year through schemes to plant trees or avoid the release of additional carbon dioxide. Continue reading...

EasyJet is the latest firm to adopt offsetting – but is it a solution to the climate crisis?

Children as young as 11 discovered on boats fishing illegally in Thai waters for seafood that could end up on sale in EU supermarketsChildren as young as 11 are working aboard Vietnamese vessels fishing illegally for seafood that could end up on sale in supermarkets in the EU and US, according to an investigation by the Environmental Justice Foundation.The children were discovered on boats detained by Thai authorities for fishing illegally in Thai waters, thousands of miles from their homes. Continue reading...

Heliogen uses mirrors to concentrate solar energy that can power heavy industryBill Gates is backing a new venture which aims to turn sunlight into a source of heat exceeding 1,000C that could help replace fossil fuels.The world’s richest man is joining investors behind Heliogen, the first company to concentrate sunlight to reach temperatures that are high enough to power heavy industry without carbon emissions. Continue reading...

All but one of 459 species have traits making them vulnerable to rising temperatures, study findsThe climate crisis is poised to deliver a severe blow to America’s most threatened animals, with a new study finding that almost every species considered endangered is vulnerable in some way to global heating.Of the 459 animal species listed as endangered by the US government, researchers found that all but one, or 99.8%, have characteristics that will make it difficult for them to adapt to rising temperatures. Continue reading...

Less than £2 per person was spent on trees and forestry in 2017-18, Defra figures showSpending on trees and forestry fell by nearly £20m a year between 2015 and 2018, when a purely Conservative government had taken over from the coalition, despite pledges to plant more trees.The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said £132m was spent across the UK on trees in 2017-18, down from £151m in 2014-15. The more recent total included £32m in England, with most of the rest spent in Scotland. Continue reading...

‘Green new deal’ at heart of manifesto to be outlined in election broadcast on Tuesday

Activists occupy speaker’s office to mark start of hunger strike and to demand that she meet with them for an hour on cameraYoung activists frustrated and frightened by Democrats’ inaction on the climate crisis occupied the office of the top Democrat in Congress on Monday to mark the beginning of a hunger strike.Roughly a dozen strikers with Extinction Rebellion are taking part in a global climate hunger strike that nearly 300 people have pledged to join. Continue reading...

Tara Clark says the central claim of the Institute of Public Affairs’ YouTube film attacking her coral report is wrongA coral scientist whose work is attacked in a mini-documentary from the Institute of Public Affairs says the rightwing thinktank has misrepresented her study.The IPA says its YouTube film, Beige Reef, is a “must watch” because it shows healthy Acropora corals living at Stone Island, near Bowen. This, the film claims, is in a place where a study published in 2016 claimed all those corals had died. Continue reading...

Almost 10,000 sq kms lost in year to August, according to Brazilian government dataDeforestation of the Brazilian Amazon has hit the highest annual level in a decade, according to new government data which highlights the impact the president, Jair Bolsonaro, has made on the world’s biggest rainforest.The new numbers, showing almost 10,000 sq kms were lost in the year to August, were released as emboldened farm owners scuffled with forest defenders in Altamira, the Amazonian city at the heart of the recent devastation. Continue reading...

State minister says she wants to work on underwriting new power generation and KerangLink is ‘vital’Victoria has asked the Morrison government to fast-track work on the KerangLink – a transmission line increasing power transfer capability between the Snowy area and Melbourne – ahead of Friday’s long-delayed meeting of federal and state energy ministers.The request from Victoria follows a similar pitch from the New South Wales government, which has asked Canberra to underwrite new generation to replace the Liddell power station, and either underwrite or de-risk new investments in transmission that have been highlighted as urgent by the Australian Energy Market Operator (Aemo). Continue reading...

70 warnings issued as rivers Severn and Avon burst banks, but drier weather forecastLarge parts of Britain remain flooded and experts are warning the chaos could continue until Tuesday.There were 53 flood warnings from the Environment Agency (EA) in effect on Sunday evening, meaning flooding was expected and immediate action required. A further 89 flood alerts where possible flooding may occur had also been issued. Continue reading...

Election contenders have been setting out plans to win over voters concerned about the environmentLabour’s “green new deal” – or “green industrial revolution” – puts a radical environmental plan at the heart of the party’s election offer. It proposes a massive programme of state investment to rapidly decarbonise the economy, which it says would create hundreds of thousands of green jobs. Continue reading...

Conservative environmental policies since 2010 have been characterised by confusion and mixed messages

Party under pressure on climate crisis as Corbyn says Johnson can not be trusted

Italian city suffers worst series of high tides since 1872, with an estimated cost of €1bnVenice has closed St Mark’s Square as the city suffered a third major flooding in less than a week, while rain lashed the rest of Italy and warnings were issued in Florence and Pisa.Venice was hit with an “acqua alta”, or high water, of 150cm (5ft) on Sunday, lower than Tuesday’s 187cm – the highest level in half a century – but still dangerous. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Newly elected QFF head promoted tour by controversial scientist Peter Ridd and said reef regulation was based on ‘dodgy modelling’The Queensland Farmers’ Federation’s newly elected president once called Great Barrier Reef science “unsubstantiated scaremongering”, which has prompted calls for the suspension of the organisation’s reef foundation grants.The peak body for Queensland farmers, the QFF manages water quality improvement grants from the Great Barrier Reef Foundation totalling $4.6m – among the most awarded to a single organisation under a controversial $443m federal funding deal. Continue reading...

Australians are embracing the ‘virtual power plant’, which advocates say can protect the grid, save money and combat the climate crisisPower to the people might remain a political pipe dream, but changes taking place in the energy market across Australia are making suburban homeowners the unlikely disruptors in an Uber-style revolution that promises to change how we all live.Despite a toxic political debate about energy that cost the last prime minister his job, thousands of households are showing Canberra the way forward as they group their individual solar systems together to form local networks that help to slash bills, stabilise the electricity grid and cut carbon emissions. Continue reading...

Mark Ibbertson and his son helped children, elderly people and a hedgehog to safetyWhen the floodwaters rose in Bentley in Doncaster on Friday last week, Mark Ibbertson and his teenage son Logan ventured out with their summer holiday dinghy and began to rescue people from their homes.By the end of the day they had taken to safety more than 20 people, including babies and older people, and even a hedgehog. Continue reading...

Jo Swinson sets out ‘largest tree-planting programme in UK history’ to fight climate crisis

Tracking technology has been developed to reduce emissions in climate change fightThe type of fuel used by ships has a substantial effect on cloud formation. Exhausts from dirty heavy oils leave a telltale trail of such dense cloud that they can be tracked from space. While ship emissions contain many chemicals including black carbon, researchers have discovered that it is the sulphate aerosols formed from the sulphur in the oil that is responsible for the clouds that sometimes trail behind ships for hundreds of miles.The tracking technology was developed because researchers are trying to discover what effect this pollution is having on climate change and rainfall but also it will help enforce new regulations to curb these emissions. Continue reading...

Hunters and government biologists searching for explanations after unusual sounds recorded in forests of north-western OntarioA series of howls and shrieks recorded in the Canadian wilderness have left a hunter and government biologists searching for explanations.Gino Meekis was out hunting grouse with his wife and grandson in the forests of north-western Ontario – more than 50km from the closest town – when they heard a series of eerie noises in the distance. Continue reading...

Group of 157 children aged 10 to 17 make recommendations on environment to politiciansIreland’s first youth assembly on the climate crisis has challenged politicians to lead a transformation of schools, supermarkets, farms, forests and businesses.A group of 157 children aged 10 to 17 filled the chamber of the Dáil, Ireland’s lower house of parliament, in Dublin to debate environmental priorities and issue 10 recommendations. Continue reading...

Heavy rains have led to 107 flood warnings across much of England and parts of WalesFlood barriers were erected in the historic town of Stratford-upon-Avon on Friday as more than 100 warnings were issued across the country following November’s wet weather.The Environment Agency (EA) moved to protect some of the key sites associated with William Shakespeare, including the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, which is on the banks of the Avon. Continue reading...

Rightwing parties reject proposals as lagoon city faces worst flooding in 53 yearsVeneto’s regional council rejected a plan to combat climate change minutes before its offices on the Grand Canal, in Venice, were flooded, it has emerged as the city continues to battle high water levels.Venice has been hit by recurrent flooding since Tuesday, with 70% of the lagoon city engulfed on Friday morning as the acqua alta, or high water, level reached 1.54 metres amid heavy downpours. Continue reading...

The pick of this week’s best flora and fauna photos from around the world, including a tired tiger and sea goldies Continue reading...

America Recycles Day promoted by EPA is brainchild of not-for-profit backed by companies that produce plastic productsAmerica’s government-backed national recycling awareness day is being used as cover by large corporations that are churning out enormous volumes of plastic that end up strewn across landscapes, rivers and in the ocean, critics have said.The America Recycles Day event on Friday is being vigorously promoted by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as a way to encourage Americans to recycle more. Continue reading...

Young XR members travel by canoe into heart of Amazon to form ‘forest pact’ with indigenous groups and land activistsThe search for solutions to the climate crisis does not get any more radical, far-reaching or deeper into nature than the alternative climate conference currently taking place in the heart of the Amazon rainforest.In the past few days, European climate strikers and Extinction Rebellion youth activists have travelled by motor canoe deep into a region known as Terra do Meio to share ideas with indigenous leaders, forest dwellers, environmental activists and Brazil’s leading climate scientists, anthropologists and archaeologists. The Russian punk anarchist Nadya Tolokonnikova, of Pussy Riot, was also set to join the gathering along with local artists and Catholic bishops. Continue reading...

Since climate campaigner’s transatlantic adventures, more people are looking to travel by sailHitching a ride on a sailing boat across the Atlantic might sound like a far-fetched endeavour reserved for the famous and well-connected. But Greta Thunberg has now managed it twice in three months – and her antics appear to be inspiring a growing, if nascent, movement in sail-hitching.Maritime hitchhiking has hitherto been reserved for sailors looking for experience on different routes and vessels. Continue reading...

EU’s lending arm to become first ‘climate bank’ by ending financing of oil, gas and coal projects after 2021The European Investment Bank has agreed to phase out its multibillion-euro financing for fossil fuels within the next two years to become the world’s first ‘“climate bank”.The bank will end its financing of oil, gas, and coal projects after 2021, a policy that will make the EU’s lending arm the first multilateral lender to rule out financing for projects that contribute to the climate crisis. Continue reading...

Millions of tonnes belched into atmosphere as bad as shipping and aviation emissions combined, researchers findThe methane emissions leaking from the world’s coalmines could be stoking the global climate crisis at the same rate as the shipping and aviation industries combined.Coalmines are belching millions of tonnes of methane into the atmosphere unchecked, because policymakers have overlooked the rising climate threat, according to new research. Continue reading...

Richard Berman is running a campaign to educate the public on plant-based meat burgers such as Impossible and Beyond BeefThe food industry has a “weapon of mass destruction”. His name is Richard Berman. And he has his sights set on destroying the growing appetite for meatless burgers and plant-based meat substitutes.Berman has form in this line of work. A longtime Washington DC lobbyist and PR strategist, he has advised – and tried to shield – some of America’s most powerful industries from criticism. Continue reading...

The final votes in the Guardian/BirdLife Australia poll have been counted and the results are in• How the highly endangered black-throated finch harnessed support of conservationists10.36pm GMTAnd with that, we’ll be wrapping up our live coverage for this morning.The black-throated finch, on debut, has landed with the biggest winning margin in bird of the year history.10.24pm GMTMagpies, the 2017 winners, have staged a walkout after learning this morning’s result.Lorena Allam, Guardian Australia’s Indigenous affairs editor and magpie supporter, captured this image from her home this morning. Continue reading...

• Hamilton’s been talking with Chase Carey ’for nearly three years’

Highly endangered finch, which is under threat from the Adani Carmichael coalmine, harnessed support of conservationists

Former heads of state fire services say government ‘fundamentally doesn’t like talking about climate change’

While the ibis may be trailing in bird of the year, it has made it into the top 10 most commonly seen birds in the Aussie backyard bird count

Global energy watchdog issues warning in climate forecast for the next two decadesThe world’s thirst for oil will continue to grow over the next two decades, with climate-damaging emissions climbing until at least 2040, the global energy watchdog has warned, pointing the finger at the growing appetite for gas-guzzling cars.Growing demand for SUVs in the US, China, Europe and elsewhere could negate all the environmental benefits of the increased use of electric cars, the International Energy Agency (IEA) says. Because of their size, SUVs are harder to electrify than smaller vehicles. Continue reading...

Urgent national action is needed to prevent serious declines in public health from climate change, the multi-institutional Countdown study saysThe federal government’s lack of engagement on health and climate change has left Australians at significant risk of illness through heat, fire and extreme weather events, and urgent national action is required to prevent harm and deaths, a global scientific collaboration has found.On Thursday, international medical journal the Lancet published its Countdown report, a multi-institutional project led by University College in London that examines progress on climate change and health throughout the world. Continue reading...

Government working ‘round the clock’ to help deluged regions, prime minister saysBoris Johnson declined to apologise over his government’s slow response to the flooding across parts of the north of England, insisting that a huge amount of work was going on to help and compensate victims.The prime minister faced difficult questions over whether enough had been spent on flood defences in deluged regions of Yorkshire, the east Midlands and Lincolnshire, after giving a speech on how he would give billions of pounds to research and development. Continue reading...

Businesses and residents say they feel helpless as they brace for next high tidesAs tourists posed for selfies at St Mark’s Square on Wednesday evening, shop owners mopped the floors of their premises and cleared debris while assessing the cost of the damage caused by record high tides.“An apocalypse happened,” said Antonella Rossi, who owns a handmade jewellery shop under the portico that surrounds the square. Continue reading...

The lying, the scheming and the intrigue puts storylines on The Bold and the Beautiful to shameIf this was a poll on which Australian bird is featured most frequently on homewares, superb fairy-wrens would win by a mile. Teacups, plates, tea towels and cushions across the country are adorned with their image. The combination of their tiny size (they weigh about the same as a 20c piece), pointing up tail and the way they cuddle together makes them pretty darn adorable. I’m going to argue though that there are many more reasons that you should vote for them in 2019 than simply “they look cute”.It is not only the public that is drawn to this gorgeously sweet bird. Superb fairy-wrens are actually one of our most well-studied Australian birds (heck I did my PhD on them). The more we learn about them the more we realise that that image of a sweet happy family unit is far from reality. Continue reading...

Cows missing for two months were located on North Carolina’s Outer Banks after ‘mini tsunami’ carried wildlife awayThree cows swept off an island during the raging storm of Hurricane Dorian have been located on North Carolina’s Outer Banks after apparently swimming four miles during the storm.Related: ‘Insect apocalypse’ poses risk to all life on Earth, conservationists warn Continue reading...

‘This is result of climate change,’ says Venice mayor, who declares state of emergency