Readers respond to the government’s announcement on fracking, suspecting that the Tories have merely temporarily halted an unpopular practice to gain some votesShould we temper exultation with realism (Fracking banned in UK after government U-turn, 2 November)? Remember that politicians, even Conservative prime ministers, have a record of telling high-profile lies, especially in the run-up to an election. Remember David Cameron’s emphatic assurance that there would be no new Heathrow runway, “no ifs, no buts”, repeated several times before the 2010 general election? Boris Johnson, whose promises have frequently been shown to be false, knows fracking is unpopular in a number of Midlands and northern constituencies, including Conservative targets. He might well assure us that fracking will be banned, but in the longer term cite “changed circumstances” to reverse the pledge.

They’re an eye-popping treat, but drought and the bulldozer have thinned their numbers. Now a coal plant and dam wall threaten their survival

Car fumes, industrial emissions and smoke from farms have contributed to pollution crisisPollution in Delhi has reached its worst levels so far this year, at almost 400 times the amount deemed healthy, causing planes to be diverted away from the city.A week on from Diwali, the thick brown smog that shrouded the city after the festival has shown no sign of shifting. On Friday a public health emergency was declared and Delhi’s chief minister Arvind Kejriwal said the city had turned into a “gas chamber”. Continue reading...

A firm with the biggest carbon footprint seeks cash to grow just as the fight against climate change needs it to shrink

Decision coincides with net-zero emissions review and is branded ‘backwards step’A new coalmine in Cumbria has been given the green light by the government in the same week that the Treasury launched a review into how the UK can end its contribution to global heating.The developer, West Cumbria Mining, said the £165m mine would create 500 jobs. Continue reading...

Mushrooms are a key feature of Spanish autumnal cuisine but are in thin on the groundWhile street protests and riots in Barcelona continue to grab the headlines, deep in the woods of northern Catalonia another crisis is unfolding: a scarcity of wild mushrooms that is being blamed on climate change.Mushroom hunting is a serious and lucrative business in Catalonia when the autumn rains come and the precious fungi appear overnight on the damp woodland floor. But so far this season, mushrooms have been thin on the ground in Catalonia and elsewhere in Spain. Continue reading...

World’s biggest ever IPO poised to take place next month after regulators give approval

Scientists say research on carbon capture was always better environmental optionMinisters have been condemned for wasting millions of pounds of taxpayers’ money in a failed attempt to introduce fracking to the UK. The bid also cost the nation a decade of effort that should have been expended on other, more environmentally friendly energy projects, scientists and activists claimed yesterday.The criticisms were made in the wake of the government’s decision on Friday to impose a moratorium on fracking in the UK. A review published by the Oil and Gas Authority concluded it was impossible to predict the likelihood or scale of earthquakes triggered by fracking. Continue reading...

Rain not expected to extinguish all 70 fires raging across the state, and firefighters fear lightning could spark further blazesThunderstorms that hit New South Wales on Sunday will help firefighters working to contain bush and grass fires across the state, but will also bring with them lightning and the possibility of more fires.The state’s fire danger ratings were expected to improve somewhat on Sunday as showers offered firefighters some reprieve. Continue reading...

Swedish teenager needs help getting back to Europe following the COP25 meeting’s move from Chile to SpainAs delegates to the COP25 climate summit scramble to adjust to a last-minute change of venue from Santiago to Madrid, one of the highest-profile attendees has stuck out a metaphorical thumb on social media to ask for a lift across the Atlantic.Teenage Swedish activist Greta Thunberg, who was speaking in California during a stop on her low-emissions journey from Sweden to Chile, tweeted that she was now in need of a ride to Spain. Continue reading...

One officer photographed with a sticker on his body camera and a second posted ‘inappropriate memes’Victoria police have expressed “extreme disappointment” at the behaviour of two officers involved in policing climate change protests in Melbourne last week, after one was photographed with a sticker on his body camera and another was discovered to have posted “inappropriate memes” on his social media.The same officer who posted the memes, which included Pepe the frog, was criticised this week after he was photographed making a hand gesture that Victoria police deny was the “white power” symbol. Continue reading...

Air pollution in capital territory 20 times higher than WHO recommended safe levelThe residents of Delhi have already begun to forget what it is like to wake up and see the sky.Almost a week on from Diwali, the thick brown smog that shrouded the city after the festival has showed no sign of shifting. On Friday, as the air became poison and 20 million people struggled to breathe, a public health emergency was declared, with Delhi’s chief minister Arvind Kejriwal declaring the city had turned into a “gas chamber”. Continue reading...

Jeremy Corbyn has said the decision to halt fracking in England with immediate effect is an election stunt. The Labour leader says he believes the moratorium will be lifted on 13 December, the day after the general election, if Boris Johnson's government is returned to office

Labour leader’s comments come after minister suggests halt may only be temporaryCalls are growing for the next government to make the suspension of fracking in England permanent after a minister suggested the halt to exploration may only be temporary.The government announced an immediate moratorium on fracking on Friday in a major U-turn after the Oil and Gas Authority said in a report that it was unable to predict the magnitude of any earthquakes triggered by hydraulic fracturing. One in August measured 2.9 on the Richter scale. Continue reading...

Environmentalist actor says first meeting with teenage climate activist was ‘an honour’Leonardo DiCaprio has praised teenage climate change activist Greta Thunberg as a “leader of our time” following their first meeting.DiCaprio, a prominent environmental campaigner, said 16-year-old Thunberg’s message should be a “wake-up call to world leaders everywhere that the time for inaction is over”. Continue reading...

Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources unable to agree on plan backed by Australia, France and EUConservationists have expressed frustration that an international commission for protecting marine life in Antarctica has failed for the eighth consecutive time to create a marine park across 1 million sq km on the continent’s east.Members of the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) could not agree on the proposal, backed by Australia, France and the EU, that would have protected habitat for penguins, seals, whales and seabirds. Continue reading...

The Swedish climate activist joined more than 1,000 people for an afternoon of youth-led climate action in Los AngelesParadise is not what it used to be, as Greta Thunberg witnessed earlier this week. Today the town with a lovely name is best known for the apocalyptic fire that ripped through it last year, decimating nearly every home and killing 86 people.This week California is once more in flames as fires rage in the north and south – a point that was not lost on the 16-year-old Swedish climate activist who spoke at a rally in Los Angeles on Friday. Continue reading...

Victory for green groups follows damning scientific study and criticism from spending watchdogThe government has halted fracking in England with immediate effect in a watershed moment for environmentalists and community activists.Ministers also warned shale gas companies it would not support future fracking projects, in a crushing blow to companies that had been hoping to capitalise on one of the new frontiers of growth in the fossil fuel industry. Continue reading...

Jeremy Corbyn to say new standard for housebuilders is part of the real change he is promising the countryLabour would introduce tough new standards forcing housebuilders to make new properties zero carbon within three years, Jeremy Corbyn is to announce.The last Labour government introduced regulations to make all homes zero carbon by 2016, but the rules were scrapped by David Cameron less than a year before they were due to come into force. Continue reading...

Annual carbon dioxide emissions from burning diesel increased by 21.7m tonnes between 2011 and 2018Greenhouse gas emissions from diesel cars, utes and vans have risen sharply since 2011, effectively cancelling out the cut in pollution from new renewable energy replacing some coal plants.A surge in ownership of larger diesel vehicles is a central reason emissions from transport leapt by more than 10% over the decade, according to the monthly emissions audit published by progressive thinktank the Australia Institute. Continue reading...

News of Santiago summit’s cancellation reportedly came as heavy blow but youngsters decide to push ahead with boat tripChile’s decision to withdraw as host of the COP 25 UN climate conference has prompted tears and frustration from a group of school-strike activists sailing across the Atlantic to attend the talks.Related: Chilean president cancels Apec and climate summits amid wave of unrest Continue reading...

Event will take place from 2-13 December as planned after Spain intervenes to save talksThe world’s governments will meet in Madrid this December to discuss the climate emergency, it has been confirmed, after a last-minute intervention by the Spanish government to save the talks.The conference had been set to take place in Santiago, Chile, but the government of President Sebastian Pinera decided on Wednesday to call it off because of the unrest in the capital. Scores of people have been killed and injured in weeks of rioting over economic inequality and social problems. Continue reading...

Seven largest companies must make 35% cut by 2040 to limit climate crisis and meet 1.5C goal, says thinktankThe world’s largest oil and gas companies need to slash their production by more than a third by 2040 to meet global climate targets, according to a new report.The seven listed oil majors - including ExxonMobil, BP and Shell - would need to cut the total amount of oil and gas they produce every day by 35% to avoid driving temperatures 1.5C higher than pre-industrialised levels. Continue reading...

Rose tells staff she also aims to make bank ‘more open’ to help regain trust after string of scandalsThe first female boss of a major British bank has pledged to make the climate crisis a priority as she took over the top job at Royal Bank of Scotland.Alison Rose said she would build a more “open and, accessible and inclusive” bank following years of scandal at the state-owned lender. Rose said she would reveal her new strategy for the bank in the new year, but sought to draw a line under the past following the departure of Ross McEwan, who led the bank since 2013. Continue reading...

Country has changed definition of waste, which campaigners far could lead to imports of low-grade plastic scrapsArgentina has changed its definition of waste in a move that could allow it to import millions of tonnes of plastic waste discarded in the US.The country’s president, Mauricio Macri, signed a decree in August reclassifying some materials destined for recycling as commodities instead of waste, allowing looser oversight of mixed and contaminated plastic scraps that are difficult to process, and are often dumped or incinerated. Continue reading...

PM signals action on secondary boycotts of resources companies and says progressives want to tell Australians ‘what you can say, what you can think’Scott Morrison has branded environmental protesters “anarchists” and threatened a radical crackdown on the right to protest in a speech claiming progressives are seeking to “deny the liberties of Australians”.In a speech to the Queensland Resources Council on Friday, the prime minister said a threat to the future of mining was coming from a “new breed of radical activism” and signalled the government would seek to apply penalties to those targeting businesses who provide services to the resources industry. Continue reading...

Warning comes a week after company flagged it may close its New Zealand smelter

Hillside fire sparked overnight about 60 miles east of Los Angeles, while the Ronald Reagan library has so far survived a close call with the Easy fire12.16am GMTThat’s it for me here in Oakland as I leave my post for the night. Thanks for sticking with me for another day of wildfire news. With any luck, winds should ease up overnight and into the weekend, allowing firefighters to get a handle on the more than a dozen fires that burned today.Before I sign off, let’s take a look back at the day and see where firefighters stand on some of the biggests wildfires:11.42pm GMTWhat it means to ‘contain’ a fireAs we tune into wildfire coverage, we often hear the word “contain,” as in the percentage at which a fire is contained. But what does that mean? It means, roughly, that firefighters have a handle on the inferno. But it doesn’t necessarily mean the fire has been extinguished. In fact, fires can burn long after firefighters have contained them.In the firefighting world, containment means a certain level of control — specifically, how much of the fire’s edge, or perimeter, firefighters believe they can stop from expanding. A natural barrier such as a river or creek can help. So can human interventions such as using a bulldozer to scrape the vegetation off a swath of land to deprive the fire of fuel it could use to grow.That’s why even when a fire is 100% contained, it can still be burning and firefighters stay to make sure it does not get out of control.Firefighters often set up layers of defense called contingency lines some distance from the containment line. They will scrape the earth clean down to the dirt on ridge tops up to a mile away from a fire’s edge to set up a position to make a future defensive stand. Meanwhile, they work their way closer to the fire, building layer after layer of additional defense by laying lines of fire retardant and using bulldozers, shovels, axes and chain saws to clear out vegetation...After a fire reaches 100% containment — which can take months, depending on the weather conditions, the fire’s size and the area’s topography — crews work toward declaring the fire “controlled,” McLean said.When a fire is controlled, it’s essentially out. Authorities will no longer assign crews to the blaze and will instead send a patrol out daily to ensure no scorched areas rekindle and start another fire. Continue reading...

Supermarket says it will remove 1bn pieces of plastic by the end of next yearTesco is ditching plastic ready-meal trays, yoghurt pot lids, straws and loose fruit bags in the latest stage of its drive to cut out non-recyclable packaging.The UK’s biggest supermarket chain is aiming to remove 1bn pieces of plastic by the end of next year from its own-label products. Continue reading...

Spanish government says it will also run Apec trade summit following protests in ChileSpain has offered to host the COP25 UN climate conference in December after weeks of violent protests forced the Chilean government to cancel both the global environmental meeting and next month’s Apec trade summit.On Thursday afternoon, the Spanish government said the acting prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, had offered to help the Chilean president, Sebastián Piñera, “in any way that might be needed – including hosting the summit in Madrid”. Continue reading...

Common pesticides found to starve fish ‘astoundingly fast’ by killing aquatic insectsThe Silent Spring prophecy that pesticides could “still the leaping of fish” has been confirmed, according to scientists investigating the collapse of fisheries in Japan. They say similar impacts are likely to have occurred around the world.The long-term study showed an immediate plunge in insect and plankton numbers in a large lake after the introduction of neonicotinoid pesticides to rice paddies. This was rapidly followed by the collapse of smelt and eel populations, which had been stable for decades but rely on the tiny creatures for food. Continue reading...

The fairy penguins under my shack are gone, and soon the forty-spotted pardalotes and swift parrots will join them. Our children knew these birds; their children will not

Big emitting companies should be held responsible for the burning of their coal overseas, report saysCoalmining in Australia by the nation’s six biggest coal producers ultimately results in more greenhouse gas emissions each year than the entire domestic economy.In the latest report to estimate the role fossil fuel businesses play in driving the climate crisis, researchers from the University of New South Wales calculated the total emissions from the coal and gas produced by Australia’s top carbon companies, from extraction to the resources being burned for energy, mostly overseas. Continue reading...

Decision would mark U-turn for PM, who once said fracking was ‘glorious news for humanity’

Firm reports 15% drop in last quarter to £3.7bn as shrinking global economy hits demandRoyal Dutch Shell has reported a 15% slump in profits for the last quarter at a time of lower oil prices and a weaker global economy.The company made $4.8bn (£3.7bn) in the past three months, compared with $5.6bn in the same period last year, and warned it may miss targets to reduce debt and pay back shareholders. Continue reading...

Researchers found only two living koalas after fires burned through the native marsupial’s breeding ground in north-eastern NSWBushfires sweeping through prime koala habitat in New South Wales may have killed as many as 350 of the iconic native marsupial, conservationists say.The blaze, near Port Macquarie in northern NSW, has burned through thousands of hectares including an important koala breeding ground. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Carmichael delays raise questions about whether Indian parent company has allocated the required financeAdani has sought to delay significant upfront expenses for its Carmichael coalmine by another two years, raising questions about the company’s claims its Indian parent has allocated the required finance.Guardian Australia can reveal Adani was granted a reissued water licence to take up to 12.5bn litres a year from the Suttor River by the Queensland government on 29 May. The deadline for the $18.5m outstanding payment has now been pushed back until mid-2021. Continue reading...

Air quality in Sydney and surrounds has been classed ‘hazardous’, as parts of Victoria set to face hottest October day on recordSmoke from fires burning in northern New South Wales has triggered health warnings for Sydney and other parts of the state, with conditions expected to persist into the weekend.It comes as parts of Victoria were forecast to reach their hottest October day on record and Melbourne was set to record its hottest October day since 2015. Continue reading...

Technology and leadership could save thousands of jobs and accelerate Australia’s energy transitionThe Australian aluminium smelting sector is crawling through a dark tunnel. Looking far behind, it can just make out the starting point – cheap hydroelectricity. A short distance back lies the remains of competitively priced power from what were once young, government-owned coal power stations. Today it’s inching forward, choking on its own emissions and struggling under the weight of uncompetitive prices arising from a decade of politicised mismanagement.The sector is faltering, threatening the livelihoods of thousands of workers and their families. Continue reading...

I ended up incorporating him into my novel Carpentaria, where he now looms larger than life• Vote for your favourite in the 2019 bird of the year pollThis is a story of Pirate, Australia’s proper number one rex regum et volucres, king of birds. As a fledging, so I was told, he was rescued in a relocation of sulphur-crested cockatoos from the vicinity of Tullamarine airport, so that he would not end up being a bird-strike victim caught up in a jet turbine of one of those long-haul international Boeing jetliners taking off at about 180mph to Hong Kong, London, Paris or wherever else these people carriers fly to on the planet.This wild young cockatoo was taken to central Australia, where the skies would eventually be large enough for his freewheeling temperament to roam. Within days of arriving in Alice Springs he came to live with my family as a basically wild, and seemingly untameable, rebellious adolescent. He hated everyone and hissed like a mad white ghost whenever anyone went near his cage. Every day I talked to him, paid him many compliments for his extraordinary beauty, and gave him the name of Pirate. Somehow I managed to clean his cage with all the newspapers he ripped up without having my hand bitten off while he was going completely bananas, and then I brought him fresh gumtree foliage to beautify his home, which he destroyed along with the newspaper, and gave him saucers of cut-up fruit, vegetables, seed and water. In other words, he was the boss and I was his slave. Continue reading...

Commonwealth environmental water holder confirms rights from firm once linked to Angus Taylor yield no waterThe federal government has received not a drop of water for the $80m it spent on buying water entitlements from Eastern Australia Agriculture in 2017, a company once linked to the energy minister, Angus Taylor.Taylor was a director and co-founder of EAA, an agribusiness in Queensland, which was backed by a group of foreign investors. Taylor founded the Australian company in 2007 and served briefly as a director between 2008 and 2009, well before becoming an MP in 2013. His business partner, Tony Reid, was also a director and acted as a consultant on the controversial sale of overland flow entitlements to the government. Continue reading...

Sebastián Piñera confirms he will not hold summits in November and December, as government struggles with massive protestsChile’s embattled president has been forced to cancel two major international summits after government concessions failed to defuse weeks of violent protests that have seen thousands of arrests, left at least 20 dead and sent shock waves across Latin America.Related: Chile protesters: 'We are subjugated by the rich. It's time for that to end' Continue reading...

Energy supplier loses 165,000 customers but wind-based renewables business growsScottish Power’s profits have slumped by almost 80% after the big six energy supplier lost about 165,000 customers in the past year.The supplier, owned by the Spanish utility company Iberdrola, blamed mild winter weather and the government’s energy price cap for the sharp drop in profits. Continue reading...

Organisations such as Australian Industry Group and National Farmers’ Federation letter says greater private-sector action neededIndustry, farming and investor groups say the federal government signed up to a goal of global net zero emissions under the Paris agreement and have warned unless new policies are introduced taxpayer spending on climate programs will need to be dramatically increased.A joint letter by 10 business organisations, including the Australian Industry Group and the National Farmers’ Federation, says the government will either need to back new climate policies that drive private-sector action or boost taxpayer funding now and into the future. Continue reading...

Survey also finds two-thirds of people agree climate is biggest issue facing humankind

Greens say ALP voters should despair as four MPs tour Queensland mines with lobby groupLabor MPs have been accused of “sucking up to the coal lobby” as they embark on a three-day tour of Queensland mines hosted by the Minerals Council of Australia.Greens’ environment spokeswoman Sarah Hanson-Young said the decision of a group of Labor MPs to embrace the coal lobby would cause despair among Labor voters. Continue reading...

Officers use capsicum spray to break up blockade and arrest a dozen climate protesters outside a mining conference in MelbourneVictoria Police have defended the actions of their officers over two days of protests at a mining conference in Melbourne, after one protester was hospitalised and reporters covering the event were pushed by police and pepper-sprayed.A dozen climate change protesters have been arrested on day two of action outside a global mining conference in Melbourne, where activists glued themselves to the ground. Continue reading...

New money for the Clean Energy Finance Corporation will go to projects such as pumped hydro, batteries and gasAn extra $1bn is being handed to the Clean Energy Finance Corporation to invest in projects aimed at ensuring a reliable electricity supply.The new fund – separate to the corporation’s existing capital – will be earmarked for power generation, storage and transmission projects such as pumped hydro, batteries and gas. Continue reading...