Six emergency warnings issued in NSW, while many parts of the state and Queensland remain blanketed in smokeSix emergency warnings have been issued for fires in New South Wales on Thursday, including the 230,000-hectare Gospers Mountain blaze on Sydney’s north-western outskirts, as firefighters battle through a “long and challenging day”.Queensland fire crews are also still battling a large bushfire on the Darling Downs with fears some properties have been lost, as Sydney and large parts of New South Wales continue to struggle with “the longest and the most widespread” period on record of poor air quality and hazardous levels of pollution. Continue reading...

Australia Climate Roundtable says climate goals require ‘deep global emissions reductions’Groups representing business, unions, farmers, investors, the environment and social policy advocates say Australia should adopt climate change policies that can put it on a stable path to net zero national greenhouse gas emissions if it is to play its part in the Paris agreement.Launched to coincide with UN climate talks in Madrid, a joint statement by 10 groups under the Australian Climate Roundtable banner warns that unconstrained climate change would have serious economic, environmental and social impacts in Australia, and avoiding it would bring benefits and opportunities. Continue reading...

Firm ‘squeezing maximum potential’ from clean energy sources to help UK hit net zeroScottish Power plans to squeeze more renewable electricity from its onshore windfarms by covering the ground beside the turbines with photovoltaic panels and batteries.The wind power firm has applied for permission to build its first solar power projects beneath the blades of its existing windfarms in Cornwall, Lancashire and Coldham. Continue reading...

Findings confirm reliability of projections of temperature changes over last 50 yearsClimate models have accurately predicted global heating for the past 50 years, a study has found.The findings confirm that since as early as 1970, climate scientists have had a solid fundamental understanding of the Earth’s climate system and the ability to project how it will respond to continued increases in the greenhouse effect. Since climate models have accurately anticipated global temperature changes so far, we can expect projections of future warming to be reliable as well. Continue reading...

Former Greens leader and four other life members express ‘profound concern’ for 43-year-old organisation after staff sackedA group of Wilderness Society life members led by the former Greens leader Bob Brown are calling for an independent review into the conservation group after it recorded a $1.7m deficit last financial year, forcing it to sack campaign and other staff.In a letter to the organisation’s directors, Brown and four other life members expressed “profound concern” for the 43-year-old organisation, which they say is “one of the world’s most important defenders of wild and natural country”. Continue reading...

Scotland court ruling comes after climate protesters boarded two oil rigs in OctoberGreenpeace has been banned from carrying out climate protests on North Sea oil rigs after the oil giant Shell won a Scottish court order.A judge in Edinburgh granted Shell an interim interdict, similar to an injunction, banning Greenpeace from occupying four of its rigs in the Brent field 85 miles north-east of Shetland, after its activists boarded two decommissioned rigs in October. Continue reading...

Special system connected to Miguel’s tank enables his naturally occurring shocks to power strands of lights on a nearby tree

Greenpeace calls for fresh monitoring of region where nuclear disaster occurredGreenpeace has said it detected radiation hotspots near the starting point of the upcoming Olympic torch relay in Fukushima.Japan’s environment ministry said the area was generally safe but it was in talks with local communities to survey the region before the 2020 Games, which open on 24 July. Continue reading...

Activist dressed as insect targets battlebus as XR tries to push environment up agendaAn Extinction Rebellion protester dressed as a bee has glued himself to the Liberal Democrats’ battlebus, as the environmental group intervenes in the general election.The group said it was “buzzing around” political parties’ campaign battlebuses on Wednesday “demanding the climate and ecological emergency is top of the agenda this election”. Continue reading...

Coalition denounces call from Labor-Greens dominated Senate committee as ‘party political attack’

Cleveland magistrates court decision described as ‘a Queensland first’ and out of step with other similar casesThree Extinction Rebellion members will remain in custody for more than two weeks, after they were denied bail by a Queensland magistrate.Members of the activist group said they believed the decision in the Cleveland magistrates court to refuse bail was “a Queensland first” and out of step with other similar cases. Continue reading...

Members of WeShutDown stand trial for blockading the Weisweiler plant. Some call it ‘ecoterrorism’, while others label it a masterstroke in the art of protestA group of climate activists who shut down a lignite coal power plant in Germany said they had no regrets and were prepared to repeat the action, as they awaited the conclusion of their trial.The activists from the group WeShutDown blockaded the Weisweiler power plant near Aachen for several hours on 15 November 2017, by halting its coal-carrying conveyor belts and diggers. The energy company RWE, which owns the plant, claims the shutdown cost it €2m. Continue reading...

Europe’s environmental watchdog gives warning as climate crisis continuesPursuing economic growth at the expense of the environment is no longer an option as Europe faces “unprecedented” challenges from climate chaos, pollution, biodiversity loss and the overconsumption of natural resources, according to a report from Europe’s environmental watchdog.Europe was reaching the limits of what could be achieved by gradual means, by making efficiencies and small cuts to greenhouse gas emissions, with “transformational” change now necessary to stave off the impacts of global heating and environmental collapse, warned Hans Bruyninckx, executive director of the European Environment Agency. Continue reading...

James Shaw says environmental factors will be ‘at the forefront of our minds’ when major decisions are made

Funds are needed to prevent Tidal Lagoon Power’s development consent expiring in JuneThe developers of a pioneering tidal power project in Swansea Bay have launched an 11th hour bid to raise over £1m to keep the project afloat.The company has just over three months to raise enough cash to pay for the development costs of the £1.3bn project before its funds risk running dry in March. Continue reading...

Wet Tropics Management Authority offers grim assessment of impacts on region’s biodiversity and economyClimate change is escalating as “the most significant threat” to Australia’s wet tropics world heritage area, with an update to parliament reporting the outlook for the bioregion is a cause of “great concern”.The grim assessment of the critical north Queensland rainforest region is outlined in an annual snapshot of the protected area prepared by the Wet Tropics Management Authority, which urges greater national and international effort to address the causes of climate change. Continue reading...

John McDonnell rejects claim, saying thinktank is taking ‘nakedly ideological stance’Labour’s plan to renationalise large chunks of the economy risks years of disruption that could delay Britain’s transition to a low-carbon economy, a thinktank has said.The Institute for Fiscal Studies warned that taking water, energy companies, the Royal Mail and railways under state control would be costly, complex and risky and said Labour might do better to tighten regulation instead. Continue reading...

Climate activist heading to COP25 in Madrid after crossing Atlantic on family’s yachtThe climate activist Greta Thunberg has arrived in Lisbon after a three-week catamaran voyage across the Atlantic Ocean from the US.The Swedish teenager now plans to head to Spain to attend the UN climate conference in Madrid. Continue reading...

Diverting rangers is a way to direct federal resources to the border without the need for congressional approval

World Meteorological Organization says 2019 is likely to be second or third warmest year everThe last decade has been one of “exceptional” heat around the world, and was almost certainly the hottest on record, while the oceans have also warmed to record levels and grown markedly more acidic, the World Meteorological Organization has said.Temperatures for the years from 2010 to 2019 were about 1.1C above the average for the pre-industrial period, showing how close the world is coming to the 1.5C of warming that scientists say will cause dramatic impacts, extreme weather and the loss of vital ecosystems. Continue reading...

Federal minister David Littleproud responds to mounting pressure with water sharing review by Mick KeeltyThe leader of the New South Wales Nationals, John Barilaro, and the water minister, Melinda Pavey, have demanded a major rewrite of the Murray-Darling Basin plan, including that the state be excused from recovering further water for the environment, or the state will pull out.With a drought wreaking havoc on rural economies, particularly in NSW, the two Nationals ministers have upped the ante and set out a list of demands including that evaporation losses count toward water for the environment. Continue reading...

Tesco and Asda are among 67 firms and investors who have written to President BolsonaroTesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda and the UK’s largest asset manager are among 67 major companies and investors who have written to Brazil’s far-right president, Jair Bolsonaro, urging his government to stop further deforestation of the Amazon for soy production.The preservation of the Amazon rainforest, a vital sink for carbon dioxide, is widely considered by scientists and activists to be a priority in responding to the climate crisis. However, the Brazilian soy farmers’ association Aprosoja has mounted a campaign to end a voluntary ban on trading crops harvested from newly cleared land. Continue reading...

More than 10% of forest in NSW national parks destroyed by fire this season, with the damage to Gondwana rainforest a ‘global tragedy’

More than 370 species were gathered during a six-year mission to widen the gene pool and ensure future food securityThe seeds of more than 370 wild crop species have been collected as part of a six-year Indiana Jones-style mission to widen the gene pool of staple crops and ensure future global food security in increasingly unpredictable growing conditions.A hundred scientists from 25 countries travelled by horse, canoe and even elephant to reach remote corners of the world in search of wild species of common agricultural crops such as rice, barley, beans and potatoes that billions of people rely on for basic nutrition. Continue reading...

Special episode of the ABC show featuring Pacific leaders was dominated by climate crisis and Australia’s responseThe former prime minister of Tuvalu, Enele Sopoaga, who hosted Pacific leaders including Scott Morrison and Jacinda Ardern at the Pacific Islands Forum in August has told a special Pacific edition of Q&A he was “taken aback” by Scott Morrison’s behaviour in the diplomatic meetings.“Unfortunately prime minister Scott Morrison of Australia [was] expressing views that completely denies there is climate change happening already in the Pacific. As chairman I was taken a little bit aback,” he said. Continue reading...

People will wonder why there is so much the government wants to conceal, says GreenpeaceThe government has heavily redacted a secret report into the fracking industry after it was forced to comply with a court order for its release.The Whitehall report on the UK shale gas sector emerged on Monday after a years-long battle to uncover the hidden documents – but with three quarters of its pages blacked out. The 48-page report, seen by the Guardian, includes 37 pages that are entirely blacked out and only one – the front cover – that was left uncensored. Continue reading...

Lawyers bring biggest class action of its kind in Britain against carmaker over emissions scandalVolkswagen has employed a range of “progressively more innovative” arguments to claim the software fitted to millions of its vehicles is not a defeat device designed to cheat emissions tests, the high court has heard.Lawyers representing more than 90,000 UK customers are bringing the biggest class action of its kind in Britain against the carmaker over the dieselgate emissions scandal. Continue reading...

Early births are associated with health and developmental concerns, adding to fears over climate crisisHot weather increases the risk of early childbirth, which in turn is linked to worse health and developmental outcomes for children, a major new study has found.The report could have fresh implications for the impact of global heating on human health. Continue reading...

Vended water is many times more expensive than tap water. And there isn’t much evidence to show customers are getting the quality they’re paying forCustomers stream into the parking lot of a San Diego strip mall, lining up behind a windmill-shaped vending machine that fills their jugs for 25 to 35 cents a gallon.“The water that comes from the tap, I don’t trust it, and it doesn’t taste good,” Miguel Martinez said on a recent afternoon, as he filled his bottle from the kiosk. Martinez lives in San Diego’s nearby Shelltown neighborhood, an area located minutes from downtown where many immigrant families have landed. Continue reading...

TCI threatens to dump stakes in firms that do not have plan to reduce emissionsThe activist hedge fund TCI plans to target directors of companies that fail to disclose their carbon emissions, in the latest sign that investors are putting more pressure on boardrooms to step up their disclosure on climate risks.

ALP concerned about repeat of flawed roll-out of government’s regional jobs schemeLabor has raised concerns that a new round of government drought grants could be politically exploited, as parliament’s audit committee agrees to examine the Coalition’s troubled regional jobs and investment scheme.On Monday, the Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit announced it had agreed to commence an inquiry into the Regional Jobs and Investment Packages (RJIP) program, along with the Australian Research Council’s administration of the national competitive grants program. Continue reading...

US insurers join retreat from European insurers meaning coal projects cannot be built or operatedThe number of insurers withdrawing cover for coal projects more than doubled this year and for the first time US companies have taken action, leaving Lloyd’s of London and Asian insurers as the “last resort” for fossil fuels, according to a new report.The report, which rates the world’s 35 biggest insurers on their actions on fossil fuels, declares that coal – the biggest single contributor to climate change – “is on the way to becoming uninsurable” as most coal projects cannot be financed, built or operated without insurance. Continue reading...

Report to Unesco by the federal and Queensland governments says key features have deteriorated since reef was listed in 1981Australia has conceded in an official report that the Great Barrier Reef’s unique values as a world heritage site have been adversely affected by climate change.In the report to Unesco’s world heritage committee, the Queensland and federal governments say the reef is “an icon under pressure with a deteriorating long-term outlook”. Continue reading...

Bimblebox Nature Refuge owners say mine in Queensland’s Galilee Basin would destroy wildlife and impact graziersConservationists have launched a court battle against Clive Palmer’s proposed Queensland coalmine, saying it will destroy wildlife and impact graziers.The owners of the 8,000-hectare (20,000-acre) Bimblebox Nature Refuge in central Queensland filed an objection to Waratah Coal’s proposed mining project in the Galilee Basin on Monday in the land court in Brisbane. Continue reading...

‘We’ve got no leadership ... we’ve got nothing,’ says Melinda Plesman, who lost her house in Nymboida, near Grafton

Energy industry in particular fights back against planned new rules on green labellingFossil fuel lobbyists are trying to water down planned EU rules to stop “investment greenwashing’ by setting science-based criteria for any investment which lays claim to being environmentally sustainable.A report from lobbyist watchdog InfluenceMap has found that although some investors support the “green labelling” rules, 98% of Europe’s 50 largest investors are members of lobby groups trying to weaken the proposals. Continue reading...

Manifestos fall short of action needed to address biggest source of UK emissions, campaigners sayNone of the main parties in the general election has a coherent plan for reducing greenhouse gas emissions from transport, the biggest source of carbon in the UK, according to campaigners.The Conservative manifesto highlights the need to repair potholes, but the nearly £30bn pledge to be spent on roads is likely to add to greenhouse gases at a time when they need to be reduced drastically. Continue reading...

Bipartisan bloc aims to convince people that rapid action is required to halt carbon emissions within 30 yearsFormer US secretary of state and Democratic senator John Kerry has launched a new coalition of power-brokers, including top politicians, military leaders, and Hollywood celebrities, to fight for addressing the climate crisis.This coalition – named World War Zero, in reference to the national security danger presented by global heating – aims to convince people that rapid mobilization is required to halt the increase in carbon emissions within 30 years. According to United Nations scientists, global carbon emissions must be halved by 2030 – and eliminated completely by 2050 – to restrict warming to comparatively safe levels. Continue reading...

Pat Conroy lashes Greens’ decision to side with the Coalition as a ‘massive error’ with far-reaching consequencesAustralia’s carbon emissions would be more than 200m tonnes lower and electricity prices would be cheaper if the Greens had supported the carbon pollution reduction scheme a decade ago, the Labor frontbencher Pat Conroy says.Speaking on the 10th anniversary of the 2009 parliamentary defeat of Labor’s emissions trading system, Conroy has lashed the political failure to develop a national energy policy as “perhaps the most consequential policy failure of the modern era in Australia”. Continue reading...

Bank of England governor steps down in January and will replace Michael BloombergMark Carney has been appointed as UN special envoy for climate action and finance as he prepares to step down as governor of the Bank of England in January.Carney replaces billionaire Michael Bloomberg in the part time pro bono climate action role after the former New York mayor stepped down to focus on the US presidential race. Continue reading...

Rich should foot bill for impact on developing nations, report claimsA new international organisation should be set up to raise and distribute funds to nations who will suffer the worst impacts of global heating.That is the key conclusion of a UK report – Addressing the Impacts of Climate Change – that will be debated this week at the COP25 climate talks in Madrid. The authors argue that the cash raised by the new body should be used in addition to the $100bn a year rich countries have pledged to help poorer nations cut their carbon emissions and adapt to the climate crisis. Continue reading...

We compare the manifestos, from Labour’s £8.2bn a year to the Tories’ pothole fund

The minke whale was discovered on Friday by a patrol boat under Battersea BridgeAn eight-foot whale washed up on the shore of the Thames yesterday, where it was found by a patrol boat under Battersea Bridge.The minke whale was found on Friday evening at about 10pm by a Port of London Authority boat, but it is not yet known how it got there or why it died. Continue reading...

Jair Bolsonaro falsely accuses actor of funding deliberate destruction of rainforest

Genuine fascists remain on the political margins, but we can increasingly imagine the space that eco-fascism might occupyEarlier this year, when the fascist responsible for the El Paso massacre cited ecological degradation as part motivation for his killing spree, many considered him entirely deranged.Eco-fascism sounds oxymoronic, a mashup of irreconcilable philosophies. Continue reading...

Large turnouts in Madrid before UN summit, and in Sydney after deadly wildfiresHundreds of thousands of young people have taken to the streets from Manila to Copenhagen as part of the latest student climate strikes to demand radical action on the unfolding ecological emergency.School and university students around the world walked out of lessons on Friday with large turnouts in Madrid, where world leaders will gather on Monday for the latest UN climate summit, and Sydney, where protesters demanded action after devastating wildfires. Continue reading...

Mercedes-Benz owner aims to slash €1bn from wage bill in drive towards electric carsDaimler has announced plans to cut at least 10,000 jobs worldwide in the latest sign of stress in the German automotive industry as it invests billions in electric cars.Daimler, which owns Mercedes-Benz and also makes lorries, vans and buses, said on Friday it planned to cut thousands of jobs by the end of 2022, but later made it clear the toll would be higher. Continue reading...

Coldplay and Massive Attack have pledged greener tours – but is the billion-pound gigging industry compatible with eco activism?As they released their eighth album, Everyday Life, Coldplay announced last week that they would not be taking it on tour, instead performing the album just once on British soil at the Natural History Museum. Frontman Chris Martin expressed his concerns about the future of touring, highlighting the difficulties of reconciling flying with environmentalism and expressed a wish to see a Coldplay show run largely on solar power with no single-use plastic. Snark was instant – “Coldplay announces plan to spare planet the effects of future Coldplay concerts” ran one headline – but others lauded the move: the band’s previous tour featured 122 shows across five continents and generated £405m.Massive Attack also declared this week that “business as usual is over’’ as they begin working with the University of Manchester’s Tyndall Centre to map the carbon footprint of tours and work on a blueprint to reform the industry, a message similarly shared by Billy Bragg on his recent tour. Continue reading...

Pupils to declare December vote a ‘climate election’ as data highlights urgency of crisisChildren and young people in more than 100 towns and cities across the UK are walking out of classrooms on Friday for the latest youth strike to highlight the escalating climate crisis.Strikers are focusing on the polls next month, which they have pledged to make a “climate election” by demonstrating the growing public concern about the ecological crisis. Continue reading...

With global heating damaging corals worldwide, experts find potential tool in ‘acoustic enrichment’ to recolonise reefsPlaying sounds of a healthy coral reef can attract fish back to reefs that have become degraded and abandoned, researchers have found.Global heating together with factors such as pollution are causing widespread damage to coral and harming delicate reef ecosystems. Continue reading...