US president Barack Obama said on Tuesday that any agreement on climate change must not only help the environment but also allow economies to thrive. Obama admitted that such a deal would be hard, but called on people to remain optimisist that an agreement can be reached Continue reading...

President offers apparent compromise over the periodic review of emission reduction targets as Hillary Clinton goes on attack against Republicans back in USBarack Obama declared on Tuesday that some components to a global climate change agreement must carry legal force, easing one obstacle to a successful outcome at negotiations in Paris.

Marshall Islands foreign minister says he hopes Australia might soon start to take islanders’ fears of climate change as seriously as the US presidentMalcolm Turnbull has been urged to show the same interest in the impact of climate change on low lying island island states as Barack Obama and to return Australia “to its former leadership role in the Pacific.”

Your editorial rightly highlights the serious problem of finding adequate funding to allow developing countries to tackle and cope with climate change (Last chance salon in Paris: there is no planet B, 30 November). It has been estimated that this could cost about $3,500bn, a truly staggering sum at this time of a global economic slowdown. Yet it mustn’t be forgotten that, when the global banking system was threatened, the world’s rich economies responded with programmes to print €7tn of quantitative easing to keep the financial system afloat, ie twice that thought to be required to deal with climate change in vulnerable countries.Indeed the European Central Bank is still e-printing €60bn a month under its QE programme and is committed to doing so until September 2016. Our report Climate QE for Paree proposed that if it were to allocate say €10bn a month either from this QE programme or from an additional QE commitment, it could use it to buy climate change bonds from the European Investment Bank. The EIB could then direct these funds to climate change programmes in both Europe and developing countries. This could have a galvanising effect on other rich countries, putting pressure on them to introduce their own climate QE initiatives and thus further bolster global funds towards thousands of billions eventually needed to keep temperature rises at 2C. We found the money to save the banks, we now need to do the same to save the planet.

Supermarket will work with families in Swadlincote to trial ideas such as growing mushrooms in coffee and artificial ‘noses’ that sniff out food spoilageSwadlincote, a market town in south Derbyshire, has won £1m from Sainsbury’s to invest in finding ways to halve household food waste.The supermarket will work with community groups and the local council next year to test ideas such as growing mushrooms in used coffee grounds, using artificial “noses” that detect whether food is safe to eat and introducing community cook-ups to find new ways of using unwanted food. Continue reading...

From ‘the eyes of the world are upon us’ to ‘planet is a patient’, here is a pick of how world leaders chose to describe the urgency for actionWorld leaders gathered in Paris on Monday for the crucial UN summit on climate change to negotiate a treaty to limit global warming to 2C, the widely accepted temperature threshold to avert catastrophic disasters.But in case the landmark conference was an insufficient reason to make you aware of this, then 147 heads of state and government were present to convey the weight of history with the power of language alone. Continue reading...

B&Q owner to install solar panels on some stores and distribution centres as part of £50m investment in sustainable energyKingfisher, the owner of B&Q and Screwfix, is to put solar panels on its distribution centres and some stores as part of a £50m investment to cut its reliance on the National Grid.The investment comes after Kingfisher installed solar panels at the Screwfix head office in Yeovil in the summer. They now generate a third of the site’s power. Continue reading...

Donald Trump said Obama’s remarks were ‘one of the dumbest statements I’ve heard in politics’ as other GOP candidates joined in derision of the US presidentRepublican presidential candidates have poured scorn on Barack Obama for his comments at the Paris climate talks, with Mike Huckabee mocking him as the “meteorologist-in-chief” and Ted Cruz claiming Obama thinks “having an SUV in your driveway” is more dangerous than Isis.In a speech to more than 130 world leaders and other delegates at the key UN summit on Monday, the US president quoted Martin Luther King by saying “there is such a thing as being too late”. Continue reading...

Recycling rates stall nationally and have even declined in some areas, down by 0.8% in London and 1.2% in the East MidlandsEngland must urgently improve its recycling rates if it is to reach European Union targets by 2020, according to one of Britain’s biggest waste companies.

Climate change seems such a mild word for what’s going on. Things are so desperate that even our fictional dystopias may turn out to be fantasies

People queue up to kill Norways’s wolves and bears, while Japan continues its whale slaughter. Despite the noble claims, there’s no justification for hunting as entertainmentIt is one of the world’s less lovely lotteries. Just under 12,000 people – the vast majority men – have registered for the chance to kill 16 wolves in the Norwegian hunting season, ostensibly to protect the nation’s livestock. Wild bears suffer the same onerous odds, with 10,000 humans going in pursuit of 18 animals. Meanwhile, on the other side of the world, the Japanese whaling fleet launches into its own new season, in an operation subsidised by its government. Today its whaling fleet sails for Antarctica, defying a UN resolution that their “scientific research” is nothing of the kind.Related: More than 11,000 Norwegians line up to shoot 16 wolves Continue reading...

COP21 advertisers criticised for lack of transparency, monitoring and emissions reduction as series of spoof adverts appear across ParisA survey of 10 sponsors of the Paris climate summit has found that most do not publish data on their CO2 emissions, half don’t track their lifetime carbon footprint, and only one is reducing its emissions in line with the EU’s targets.Full details of the summit’s sponsorship deals will not be made public until after its close, although campaigners say that the €16.9m raised so far represents barely 10% of overall costs, and half of what was expected. Continue reading...

How day one of COP21 unfolded as world leaders gathered in Le Bourget to begin to negotiate a treaty to limit global warming Continue reading...

François Hollande tells Paris climate summit that his government will double investments in wind, solar and hydropower to €2bnFrance plans to spend billions of euros in renewable energy and other environmental projects in its former west African colonies and across Africa over the next five years, President François Hollande said on Tuesday.

Factories in Beijing have been ordered to shut and children allowed to stay away from school as choking smog exceeds safe levels. Footage filmed by a high-rise resident in Xi’an city shows tower blocks floating in the polluted mist. Visibility is reduced in 17 city centres with some reporting no more than 200 metres

As another coal-fuelled ‘airpocalypse’ engulfs northern China, Nut Brother hopes his ‘smog bricks’ will raise awarenessHis idol is Subcomandante Marcos, the masked Mexican rebel; his weapon of choice a 1,000-watt vacuum cleaner.Meet Nut Brother, the Chinese activist-artist attempting to vanquish toxic smog by sucking it up through a black plastic nozzle.. Continue reading...

The UN’s World Food Programme says climate change is stretching resources, and warming could cause a ‘semi-permanent food disaster’ in parts of the worldEl Niños, climate change and increasing conflict linked to prolonged droughts and extreme weather are leaving the world unable to cope with the food needs of millions of people, the World Food Programme (WFP) has warned.The UN agency, which last year appealed for $8.5bn from governments to provide food aid to people in 80 or more countries but only received $5.5bn, said donors had never been more generous but that the challenges were now outpacing available funds. Continue reading...

Prenez de la vitesse sur l’événement le plus important de tous les temps sur le changement climatique avec notre guide-express

As world leaders gather in Paris to discuss the global response to climate change, we assess the impact of the widespread forest fires in Indonesia. Set to clear land for paper and palm oil production, the fires have not only destroyed forest and peatland, but also severely affected public health and released massive amounts of carbon Continue reading...

December spells the beginning of winter for the northern hemisphere, while the southern hemisphere is preparing for summertime. We’d like to see your photos of the December wildlife near youDecember is upon us, and while the cold and dark winter months embrace the northern hemisphere, the southern hemisphere is preparing for summer heatwaves. So what sort of wildlife will we all discover on our doorsteps? We’d like to see your photos of the December wildlife near you.Share your photos and videos with us and we’ll feature our favourites on the Guardian site. Continue reading...

You shared your experiences, photos and memories of forgotten or unloved rivers in cities around the world, from Birmingham to Belo HorizonteLA’s river is not your average city river, and is iconic for very different reasons to the picturesque Seine of Paris, or historic Thames of London. It is a mostly dry abandoned concrete channel, used for car chase movie scenes and home to a growing homeless population – though, as Olly Wainwright reports, there are ambitious plans to “revitalise” it.Although rivers often become celebrated focal points of cities around the world, many others are buried, neglected, underused or mistreated. We asked you to share your photographs and memories of unloved city rivers around the world. Here’s a selection of some of the best contributions, from tales of the River Irwell in 1940s Salford – so polluted with bleach it could give those who fell in “peroxide hair” – to exploring forgotten and historic rivers in water crisis-stricken São Paulo. Continue reading...

From Bristol to Sheffield, diverse groups of makers, fixers and techies are creating more self-reliant communities

Women bear severe gendered impacts of climate change but systematically lack equal representation in decision-making. That’s a problemAs the nations of the world meet in Paris to address climate change, it is critical that women play a central role in these historic negotiations. Gender equality is central to effective climate action. The world cannot afford to neglect the needs of half the world’s population, nor ignore their talents and potential in innovating solutions.Structural and cultural disparities make women disproportionately vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. Women are more likely than men to die during and in the aftermath of natural disasters and climate change-related events. For the women who survive, many often lack legal assets and rights to property, which leaves them few resources with which to rebuild their lives. As women travel greater distances to collect essential resources like water, firewood and food to support their families, they are often threatened and abused. Continue reading...

With one year to go before the 100 months countdown ends, how has the climate debate changed?The climate clock may tick loudly when world leaders turn their gaze in its direction, but it never stops. This series of articles about what’s happening in our warming world, which has seen attention to the issue come and go as the time for meaningful action to avert uncontrollable climate change slips away, now has one year to go. Continue reading...

Norwegian hunters outnumber wolves 763 to one, according to new figures for licences to kill population that could be as low as 30Wolves have emerged as the most sought-after animal for Norwegian hunters this season, with 11,571 people registering for licences to shoot 16 animals – a ratio of 723 hunters per wolf.The animals – of which Norway may have as few as 30 living in the wild – top the league in new figures that reveal a trigger-happy community of hunters. Continue reading...

Cristina Fernández de Kirchner’s hydroelectric project will bring jobs and money to Patagonia’s grasslands – but political and environmental implications of the $5.7bn scheme, backed by China, have sparked concernAs the presidency of Argentina’s Cristina Fernández de Kirchner enters its final days, her greatest – and arguably most controversial – legacy project is just getting under way in the remote grasslands of Patagonia.Here, amid herds of wild guanacos, condor nests and the occasional rhea, a Chinese-financed team of engineers will soon be dynamiting hillsides and pouring millions of tonnes of concrete for two giant hydroelectric dams that will flood an area the size of Buenos Aires. Continue reading...

The Prince of Wales will give a speech as UN climate talks turn the focus on efforts to cut emissions from deforestationThe Prince of Wales is to give a speech on protecting forests as efforts to cut emissions from deforestation are discussed at the UN climate talks in Paris.Experts warn agriculture, forestry and land use are responsible for almost a quarter of man-made greenhouse gas emissions, and action to tackle the problem is a key part of curbing climate change. Continue reading...

Every day, another 2,000 people move to the Bangladeshi capital. It’s nothing new – for generations Dhaka has been a magnet for those escaping rural poverty – but now climate change is accelerating the race to the cityParul Akter travelled across Bangladesh to escape the flood waters, but they seem to have followed her. The shack she shares with her husband and four children in Dhaka, the nation’s capital, sits on the edge of the sprawling Korail slum – next to a lake. When it rains, dank water sloshes into their shelter. Only the bed, raised up on bricks, stays dry. “This room is all we have, so we need to stay here no matter what happens,” said Akter.Seven years ago, a monsoon flood left nothing standing in their village, located in Bhola on the country’s south-west coast. “We had no option but to climb up the banks with our belongings immediately,” said Akter. “Within a week, we moved to Dhaka to start a new life.” Continue reading...

Indian prime minister Narendra Modi holds a news conference alongside French president François Hollande on Monday to launch a global initiative for the promotion of solar power. The alliance of over 120 countries has pledged to invest in providing solar energy to developing areas, with Modi stating that the project will create ‘unlimited economic opportunities’, which will form the ‘foundation of the new economy of this century’ Continue reading...

From sharing a cocktail in a care home, to nursing your vegetable patch – here’s how to give something back

Despite the creation of a 200-hectare conservation area, fishing communities on south-east Asia’s largest freshwater lake fear their way of life is slipping awayOut past the floating villages, the daytrippers and the mangrove arcades, the brown waters of the Tahas river open into a vast, dull green lake fringed by forest and a seemingly endless horizon.

Government urged not to sign off on third runway until airport shows it accepts key noise and emissions targets

Claxton, Norfolk Wigeon seem finely engineered, slender winged and pre-oiled so that all parts slide freely through the airThe wind was bitter and ice-edged and it inflicted a final layer of melancholy on the dank marsh, the slumped reeds, the plain of grey overhead and the river Yare, which was just leaden ooze twisting on an outgoing tide. Eventually I felt it all as the cold ache at my temple.But other creatures seemed to catch the same mood. Swans in the fields were all gangling necks and heavy waddle, while a buzzard, bulked up with air and feathers as it perched in the copse, flew off with that plodding tempo of its species. Then I climbed the riverbank and suddenly there were the wigeon. Continue reading...

Plane powered only by the sun had been grounded in Hawaii after Pacific crossing from Japan broke record for non-stop flight but cooked its batteriesThe Swiss-led team trying to fly a solar-powered plane around the world has raised €20m to continue its journey after being grounded in Hawaii by battery problems and the weather.Solar Impulse 2 broke records in July but also damaged its power banks with a five-day and night crossing of the Pacific from Japan to Hawaii. Co-founder and pilot André Borschberg later announced it would take off again in early 2016. Continue reading...

Wisdom, a Laysan albatross, was spotted at mating ground on Midway Atoll after a year’s absence and is expected to grow her brood, estimated at 36 chicksThe world’s oldest living tracked bird has returned to US soil to lay an egg at the sprightly age of 64.Wisdom, a Laysan albatross, was spotted at the Midway Atoll national wildlife refuge with a mate, following a year’s absence. It’s expected that Wisdom will use the world’s largest nesting albatross colony, located north-west of Hawaii in the Pacific Ocean, to raise another chick. Continue reading...

If India, China and the US work together and back renewable investment, there is hope after the Paris climate summitWhile all contributions from the 195 countries at the UN’s global climate change summit in Paris will be important, three are critical. China, the United States and India hold the key to large-scale global progress in reducing greenhouse gas emissions.So far, the UN climate process has faced the challenge of rallying all countries behind one unified resolution. While this remains crucial, efforts to build global consensus are increasingly varied, emphasising the role that multilateral, national and subnational policies can play in responding to the unique circumstances faced by societies around the globe. The Paris meeting reflects this shift, as the UN increasingly looks to shape the individual national commitments of countries around the world into a new, dynamic global compact. This approach creates encouraging possibilities for China, the US and India – which together make up roughly 40% of global carbon emissions – to become global leaders in a new and more sustainable energy future. Continue reading...

Arsène Wenger’s decision to fly his team to an away match against Norwich City has been met with ridicule. Which is progress of a sortWhile politicians gather in Paris to save the world from runaway climate change, a Frenchman committed a global-warming faux pas on a runway closer to home.Related: Arsenal let the plane take the strain for the Norwich away game Continue reading...