Willie Walsh, head of British Airways’ parent company, says he believes there will still be only two runways at airport by 2050Willie Walsh, the chief executive of British Airways’ parent company, has criticised Heathrow airport and David Cameron as the government considers building a third runway at the London hub.The IAG boss accused Heathrow of wanting to build a “gold-plated airport to fleece its customers”. He said other options were being considered only to “satisfy the ego” of the prime minister who had “spoken before he understood” the runway debate. Continue reading...

Orphaned tiger who was rehabilitated and released back into the wild has given birth to two cubs in Russia, raising hope for the species’ survivalAn orphaned Siberian tiger who was rehabilitated and released back into the wild has given birth two cubs, conservationists in Russia said on Thursday.It is believed to be the first time a released tiger has gone onto become a mother and raises hope for the survival of Siberian tigers. Also known as Amur tigersjust 500 individuals remain in the wild following decades of illegal poaching and deforestation.

Maatalii Okalik is taking the young voice of the Canadian Arctic to the global climate change talks in Paris: ‘We’re the ones really affected by it’Maatalii Okalik is tired of seeing polar bears as the face of climate change. “Make it an Inuit face. We’re the ones that are really affected by it,” she told the Guardian in a phone interview from Paris.

A Siberian tiger called Zolushka is filmed in the Bastak nature reserve in east Russia playing with two young cubs. Zolushka was found orphaned in 2012 and after a year of rehabilitation was retuned to the wild. Now it seems Zolushka has given birth to cubs in the wild. The Siberian tiger is one of the most endangered species in the world with as few as 500 left in the wild Continue reading...

A ‘red alert’ for air quality and a leaked online documentary show there is still an urgent need to cut levels of pollution in the Chinese capitalIn February, a Chinese documentary called Under the Dome was leaked online and threatened to shake up China’s environmental status quo. Likened to An Inconvenient Truth, the film by journalist Chai Jing recounted the story of her daughter’s health complications, which were attributed to air pollution. Chai also got political, citing environmental research and calling for government leaders to take action. A viral video was born.Related: Smog-hit Beijing residents told to stay positive and drink more tea Continue reading...

The Kichwa tribe in the Sarayaku region of the Amazon in Ecuador believe in the ‘living forest’, where humans, animals and plants live in harmony. They are fighting oil companies who want to exploit their ancestral land. A delegation of indigenous people are at the Paris COP21 climate conference to make sure their voices are heard. Can they win their battle? Continue reading...

Climate Home: American people back flagship clean power plan despite lawsuits and Republican assaults, says Barack Obama’s top environmental regulatorThe Obama administration’s climate centrepiece is bulletproof, the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) told Climate Home on Thursday.The legislation upon which it rests – the Clean Air Act – is sound in the face of legal appeals by states and industry groups, Gina McCarthy said on the sidelines of the COP21 summit. Continue reading...

Effects of sea level rise hit close to home for Americans as US army corps of engineers report finds that Tangier Island is crumbling into the seaYou don’t have to travel to a balmy Pacific island to hear the anguish of people whose land and culture is under threat from climate change. In Virginia’s portion of the Chesapeake Bay, the idiosyncratic, and historic, community of Tangier Island is facing an uncertain future as the sea gnaws away at the land beneath them.A bird’s eye view of the island, just three miles long and one mile wide, would once have taken in a hook-shaped piece of land jutting out from the middle of the bay. The shape is more a teardrop these days, with erosion occurring at a bewildering rate. Continue reading...

From presidents to poets, female delegates at the UN climate conference reflect on how global warming is affecting women, and how grassroots movements are leading the way in climate-proofing communitiesI saw my mother working in women’s clubs – to increase incomes, do childcare, keep girls in school. I was very aware as a little girl that I had to claim rights. It is a life story – it only became my job much later. Continue reading...

Some urban trees won’t be hemmed in by walls, pavements or concrete, their roots slowly working their way into the very structure of the city Continue reading...

Japanese technology firm in talks with financial institutions to support atomic construction programme after share price tumblesToshiba, the technology company at the centre of plans to build more nuclear reactors in Britain, is looking for outside help to fund its £8bn programme after a collapse in its share price.The Japanese group is in talks with local financial institutions to support the construction of an atomic plant near the Sellafield facility in Cumbria, after running up losses following an accounting scandal. Continue reading...

The Guardian environment editor John Vidal reports from the UN climate change conference in Paris, where gritty but positive negotiations to broker an agreement are nearing a conclusionThere has been a discernible shift in attitude towards global warming among world leaders since the last major climate conference, held in Copenhagen in 2009. The will to act is stronger, and the majority of the 196 countries in Paris have lodged their intended contributions with the UN. But while there is a cautious optimism about the talks, it remains to be seen whether world leaders will move far enough, fast enough.The former Labour leader Ed Miliband, British climate secretary at the time of the Copenhagen talks, reflects on how our understanding of global warming willingness to take action has moved on over the past six years. Mary Robinson, the UN special envoy on climate change and president of the Climate Justice Foundation, expresses hope that an agreement can be struck. Meena Raman from the Third World Network, an international NGO based in Malaysia, argues that rich countries must take responsibility for their historical emissions, while Shiferaw Teklemariam, Ethiopia’s environment, forest and climate change minister, explains how his country is already feeling the effects of global warming. Dessima Williams, a former Grenadian ambassador to the UN who is advising Oxfam on climate change, talks about the ways in which global warming has affected agriculture, tourism and other aspects of life in Grenada. Continue reading...

Anti-food waste proposal, described as ‘a crucial measure for the planet’, passed unanimously in the Assemblée NationaleFrench MPs have voted unanimously to force supermarkets to give away unsold food that has reached its sell-by date. Shops will also be banned from destroying food products, as they have in the past – sometimes by soaking them in bleach – to prevent them being distributed.The proposal was passed as part of another law in May but was subsequently annulled by France’s constitutional court because of procedural faults.

From cheating emissions tests, recalling cars, Leonardo DiCaprio threatening to make a film to tumbling sales ... here’s what’s happened so farThe Volkswagen diesel emissions scandal broke on a Friday in mid-September and continues to deepen. Here is how it unfolded. Continue reading...

Whale in sperm family named ‘albicetus’, meaning white whale, after whale in Herman Melville’s novel after 15m-year-old fossil is re-examinedResearchers have identified a new species of whale that they are naming after the mythic beast of Herman Melville’s Moby-Dick.In a study published on Wednesday in the journal Plos One, lead researcher Alex Boersma corrected a 90-year-old error and created a new branch of the sperm whale family tree for the fossil. She and co-author Nicholas Pyenson, the Smithsonian’s curator of marine mammal fossils, named the genus “albicetus”, meaning white whale. Continue reading...

From 1.5C or 2C limit, to climate aid and public reporting of emissions, here are the main differences in the draft textNegotiators at the UN climate talks in Paris are now into their eighth day of talking in search of a global deal on climate change. The mood is upbeat but there are still significant disagreements over some key issues. They came out in the publication on Wednesday of the draft negotiating text.

Algunos son estudiantes y otros trabajan como periodistas o como coordinadores comunitarios, pero todos impulsan el debate antes de la cumbre climáticaUna serie de jóvenes activistas y autores de blogs de todo el mundo están fomentando el debate público durante la cumbre climática de París, siguiendo de cerca a negociadores, coordinando las campañas de desinversión en los combustibles fósiles en universidades y explorando los vínculos que existen entre los problemas sociales y los medioambientales. Algunos son estudiantes, mientras que otros trabajan como periodistas o coordinadores comunitarios. A continuación indicamos aquellos a los que leer y seguir. Continue reading...

Situation in Glenridding described as ‘extremely dangerous’ as local MP and Lib Dem leader Tim Farron says ministers must learn from disasterPolice have urged people to stay indoors after a Cumbrian village was flooded for the second time within a few days. The Liberal Democrat leader, Tim Farron, a local MP, said the government must learn that flooding is likely to become more frequent.

The Royal Norwegian coastguard rescue a humpback whale trapped in a large rope at sea, west of Tromso. The footage shows the whale with the rope wound around its body and the coastguard crew using a hook to gradually remove it from its mid section and tail. Lieutant Commander Jimmy Haugland confirmed that the whale was eventually cut free and swam away unhurt. Continue reading...

David Cameron and senior ministers meet to consider proposals but may decide that further consultation is needed before final decision is madeThe government is to announce its decision – or lack of one – on Heathrow expansion later on Thursday when David Cameron and key cabinet ministers meet to consider the Airports Commission’s recommendation to build a third runway.Heathrow’s hopes are likely to remain in the balance with the government expected to give no more than a lukewarm endorsement of the commission’s verdict, and say that further consultation and environmental safeguards are needed. Continue reading...

Beijing may hit headlines, but European cities such as Paris also regularly exceed safe limits for pollutants such as NO2, with impacts on health and climate change. John Vidal takes to the skies to get a clearer pictureThe air quality is officially “good”, 400ft above Paris in a balloon at rush hour. From that height you can see the ring road and many of the city’s 37 bridges blocked with traffic, the commuting trains coming in, and – on the first cold day of winter – water vapour rising from several power stations as thousands of central heating systems fire up .

German carmaker says for first time there was a ‘whole chain’ of errors and a mindset that tolerated rule-breakingVolkswagen has admitted for the first time that the diesel emissions scandal was the result of systematic failures within the company, rather than just the actions of rogue engineers.Hans Dieter Pötsch, the VW chairman, said there had been a “whole chain” of errors at VW and a mindset within it that tolerated rule-breaking. Continue reading...

Despite a state of emergency ban on demonstrations following attacks in the French capital, people from around the world staged colourful and creative protests to call for climate justice and a strong global deal Continue reading...

Deep water flows through Glenridding on Wednesday night after fresh heavy rainfall. Volunteers in diggers and emergency service teams worked through the night to reinforce defences. It is the second major flood to hit the Cumbrian town in less than a week, with many homes and businesses suffering extensive damage during Storm Desmond over the weekend

Leading scientists and former ministers say the country has undermined its record as a world leader on climate change and is ‘moving backwards’The UK has given up its leadership role at the UN climate talks in Paris and is “moving backwards” with a string of cuts to green domestic policies, according to Prof Anne Glover, the former chief scientific adviser to the European commission.Her comments were endorsed by business people, NGOs, an ex-diplomat and two former ministers who are worried that the government is squandering the UK’s international standing on climate issues. Continue reading...

A flurry of conceptual art has provided an eloquent visual counterpoint to the sound and fury of political negotiations at the UN climate summit

Investigators uncover widespread fraud which allows traders to register ivory as ‘legal’ despite coming from endangered sourcesJapan is fuelling the trade in illegal ivory and undermining international efforts to protect Africa’s elephants by failing to crack down on illegal registration practices, according to a report released today.

Foreign affairs minister earns mock award for claim that ‘coal will remain critical to promoting prosperity, growing economies and alleviating hunger for years’Australia has finally won the “fossil of the day” award – bestowed each day by young climate activists at big international climate summits.

In the third in a series of films for Guardian Australia, Olandi Pearson, an elder from the island of Poruma in the Torres Strait, walks the shoreline of his home to show the effects of erosion caused by climate change. Pearson was born on Poruma but was forced to leave in 1964 owing to a water shortage. Since his return in 1985 he has kept a close eye on rising sea levels and coastal erosion, hoping something will be done to stop the sand disappearing Continue reading...

After more than 20 years of negotiations, the next 48 hours are seen as crunch time in reaching a deal to avoid dangerous temperature riseAustralia has warned against stripping the Paris climate agreement of ambition in order to get some kind of deal as negotiators met to consider yet another draft agreement.

When disasters happen we look for an explanation. This week’s extreme rainfall in the north-west of the UK will be no exception. Honister, in Cumbria, had a record-breaking 341mm of rainfall within 24 hours, breaking the previous record of 316mm set at nearby Seathwaite in November 2009. More than 5,200 properties have been affected by the recent flooding, and insurers estimate a bill of as much as £250m to clean up the mess.Just like November 2009, Cumbria this season has been affected by an “atmospheric river”, a narrow ribbon of very moist air, stretching back over thousands of kilometres. About 10 potentially damaging atmospheric rivers pummel the UK each winter, but this one was particularly strong. Continue reading...

Signing declaration at the Paris climate talks ‘recognises the role a carbon market might play after 2020’, foreign minister Julie Bishop saysAustralia has signed a Paris declaration calling for new clear rules for international carbon trading in a signal the Coalition’s six-year carbon pricing policy veto could be softening as it prepares to review its climate policy in 2017.

Despite agreeing on need for bold plans to protect vulnerable countries from rising seas, gaps remain in latest draft text, with next 48 hours crucialNearly 200 governments honing in on a deal to fight climate change have set lofty aspirations for protecting vulnerable countries from rising seas, but delegates said there were still gaps in the latest draft of an agreement.

Critics including Greenpeace UK say proposals affecting solar panels and wind turbines make a mockery of David Cameron’s claims to climate leadershipThe government has shocked the renewable energy industry by proposing a massive hike in VAT on solar panels and wind turbines from next summer.The moves, announced by the revenue and customs authority, HMRC, made “a mockery of (David) Cameron’s claims to climate leadership” say critics and come amid proposed cuts of almost 90% in some solar subsidies. Continue reading...

Storm Desmond washed us out too, say Northumberland residents who feel abandoned by media and government“There’s been so much on the TV about Cumbria and the north-west – but what about us?” asked Andy Feeley as he helped his brother Ian clear his ruined house in the pretty town of Corbridge, Northumberland. Sodden carpets, muddy sofa cushions and soggy kitchen units were heaped up in the back garden, the shed tipped on its side, tools spewing out on to the grass.“They kept showing an aerial shot of Carlisle football pitch, but they could just as easily have come here and shown our rugby and cricket pitches under water,” he said on Wednesday, gesturing to the waterlogged fields behind him, where fish were swimming in the car park a day earlier. Continue reading...

Study raises concerns over accelerating climate change as the icy mass under state’s surface releases carbon into atmosphereUp to a quarter of the permafrost that lies underneath the surface of Alaska could melt by the end of the century, spewing long-held carbon into the atmosphere and helping accelerate climate change, US government scientists have predicted.The US Geological Survey used satellite and on-ground data to estimate that 38% of mainland Alaska has permafrost, a band of soil, rock or sediment that is frozen underground for at least two consecutive years. In Fairbanks, Alaska, the soil has been frozen for several thousand years at just 30 to 40cm underground, with only the upper level of soil thawing every summer before freezing again in winter. Continue reading...

Thousands of my constituents in South Lakeland have been forced out by floods again. But the high number of second homes are a perfect temporary solutionOn Saturday, Storm Desmond unleashed upon Kendal some of the worst floods in living memory, as the river Kent burst its banks and water gushed through the streets. By the next morning, the appalling scale of the damage was clear. Flooding had affected more than 1,400 homes in the area, forcing huge numbers of residents to evacuate their homes, and leaving countless more with irreparable damage.Walking around areas such as Sandylands the next day, I was shocked by the damage the water had wrought. One local resident had lived there for more than 60 years, yet had never experienced flooding on this scale before. People had torrents of filthy water pouring into their homes. It was heartbreaking to see people, many of whom are not covered by insurance, carrying piles of sodden, ruined belongings out of their floodswept homes. Continue reading...

Unlike Arthur Boyt of Cornwall, I’d never have dolphin on the menu in my house, no matter how it died. Here are my personal guidelines on such mattersThere’s been no end of speculation about the palaeolithic diet, and most of it is nonsense. There’s a simpler description of what our ancient ancestors were likely to have eaten than the precise diets on which various mountebanks insist: whatever they came across.This would have varied greatly from place to place and season to season. The remarkable saltmarsh excavations at Goldcliff on the Severn estuary provide us with a few glimpses of how the mesolithic hunter-gatherers who lived there some 8,000 years ago might have survived. Continue reading...

People who fled their homes when the water rose in early 2014 say the hardest part was coming back and seeing all the work to be done“I really do feel for those poor people in Cumbria,” said Margaret Lock, a 72-year-old carer. “They are in for a very difficult time. For me, the worst wasn’t leaving. It was the coming back that was most traumatic, seeing the mess and realising there was so much work to do.”Lock has firsthand experience of what is it like to be driven from a beloved home by flooding. She was one of the scores of residents who had to flee when murky, smelly water spilled into homes in the villages of Moorland and Fordgate on the Somerset Levels in February 2014. Continue reading...

The first unassisted expedition to the North Pole took place in 1990; 25 years later the effects of global warming mean the trip is almost impossible. A new TV shows takes a look at the ‘final’ race to the poleYou don’t need to be in Paris this week to get in on the climate change conversation. Watching modern explorers attempt to get to the North Pole while an ice cap melts around them might be enough to get even the staunchest of global warming apologists thinking. That’s the set-up for Melting: Last Race to the Pole, a reality show/expedition that details what its creators are claiming could be the final trip to the North Pole before the impact of climate change makes the journey impossible.

Ten people arrested during demonstration against Paris museum’s sponsorship deals with major oil companies Total and EniTen activists have been arrested inside the Louvre in Paris after protesting against oil sponsorship of the museum.The group, clad in black, walked barefoot through an “oil spill” created by molasses poured on the museum’s marble floor. Meanwhile, hundreds of artists and activists gathered by the pyramid outside the museum with black umbrellas painted in white with the words “fossil free culture”.