In order to avoid climate calamity, global temperatures must not rise by more than 2C. Here’s how you can do your bitOn Monday, one of the biggest meetings in the world will begin in Paris. COP21, or the 21st conference of the parties, is the UN’s most significant summit on climate change since the 2009 meeting in Copenhagen, bringing together political leaders and delegates from just about every country in the world. Their mission is to negotiate a new deal on cutting greenhouse gas emissions after 2020 – a deal on which the earth’s future may depend.Related: World set to use more energy for cooling than heating Continue reading...

One quarter of 570 bird species studied globally have been affected negatively by climate change, says Birdlife InternationalThe world’s birds have begun flocking towards the earth’s north and south poles and upwards to higher ground as climate change begins to transform their habitats, a new report has found.One quarter of 570 bird species studied globally have been affected negatively by climate change, while 13% have responded positively, says the study by Birdlife International. Continue reading...

At the UN 2015 Paris Climate Conference between 30 November and 11 December, governments of more than 190 nations will meet for a new global agreement on climate change. The world’s changed a lot since they last met in Copenhagen in 2009, when countries united – but didn’t seal the deal. From the rise of renewables to changing attitudes of big polluters like the US, here’s why will this year’s deal could be better

The maths doesn’t add up – Australia’s emissions are trending up and yet we are meeting pledges to cut them. But it all makes sense in the complicated and chaotic world of climate negotiationsThe numbers look clear. In 1990, Australia emitted 564m tonnes of carbon dioxide. In 2005 that rose to 611m. By 2014-15 that had fallen a bit to 565m. But in 2029-30, the latest published projections say we will emit 724m tonnes.Related: Coalition's weird climate rhetoric says one thing, its modelling says another Continue reading...

With more than 2000 events planned all over the world this weekend we’d like to see your pictures, videos and stories

Thousands of people march through Melbourne’s city centre in one of many climate change protests that will take place across the world this weekendThousands of people were marching through Melbourne’s CBD on Friday evening in what is expected to the largest in a series of climate change protests being held throughout Australia over the weekend.They gathered in front of the state library and, as the lawns filled with protesters putting finishing touches on their placards, they took to the surrounding roads just in time for peak hour. Continue reading...

The UN climate chief is confident that the Paris summit can make history and produce a landmark deal to limit future carbon emissions – but any success depends on her pivotal roleThe offices of the UN’s climate change body in Bonn have glorious views over a pretty stretch of the Rhine river, looking out on grasslands and splendid old and new buildings. Just a short distance away is the historic campus most famous for being where the Marshall plan was signed after the second world war.That plan, which channelled billions in American aid to rebuild European economies, was instrumental in creating modern Europe, and redrawing the global economy. Instead of the punitive measures and reparations inflicted on Germany in the Versailles treaty, the Marshall plan offered healing and financial support – a message of hope, not fear. Continue reading...

A mudslide at an iron ore mine in Brazil, in which at least 13 people died, has reignited calls for safer ways to dispose of millions of tonnes of waste as toxic mud leaks into the Atlantic ocean Continue reading...

The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership aims to pave the way for the exploitation of toxic tar sand crude oil – with potentially devastating resultsThe prospects for a meaningful agreement at the UN climate change talks beginning on Monday are bleak. As a result, so too are the prospects for the 100 million more people predicted to be living in poverty by 2030 as a result of global warming.Though framed by record high temperatures and an increasing number of extreme weather events, the Paris talks are already beset by the same problems that repeatedly dog climate change negotiations: the richest countries steadfastly refuse to meet legal commitments and shoulder their share of responsibility, preferring to uphold the desires of all-powerful corporate lobbies. Meanwhile, the poorest countries meet or exceed their responsibilities. Continue reading...

More than 300 musicians, actors and writers including David Bowie and Emma Thompson have signed an open letter ahead of next week’s climate talksBjörk, David Bowie and a host of musicians, actors, artists, novelists and leading figures in the creative industries have called on negotiators at next week’s climate summit in Paris to reach a deal that staves off dangerous global warming.The letter to the French foreign minister and the UN climate chief in charge of the talks is signed by a selection of A-listers from the British cultural scene, including actors Steve Coogan and Emma Thompson, musicians Damon Albarn and Guy Garvey, and writers Ian McEwan and Philip Pullman. Continue reading...

Lower Benefield, Northamptonshire One oak is notably verdant, as if in defiance of the near onset of DecemberThe frost has bitten and winter finally arrived. In Banhaw Wood, after a particularly colourful autumn, the trees have mostly shed their leaves. On the aspen a few hang on, stiff yellow flags rattling delicately in the breeze. The more sheltered hazels are still in leaf, but they are flaccid and defeated. Many oaks are bare, but some still hold rusty brown leaves, and one moderately sized oak is notably verdant, as if in defiance of the near onset of December.The ash trees dropped their leaves a while ago; they stand in naked greyness, adorned with many hanging bunches of dark keys. In one ash, two pairs of bullfinches flit between bunches of seeds. Each grips a twig and leans upside down to pluck a seed, then rights itself and dexterously unsheathes the kernel with its thick bill. This behaviour makes them look more parrots than finches, particularly the males with their gaudy orange-pink fronts and neat black caps. Continue reading...

However, as world leaders head to Paris to discuss carbon emissions, a survey has found most Australians believe coal is an energy source of the pastCoal can help countries meet international climate targets emerging from next week’s Paris conference, the Minerals Council of Australia has said.Greg Evans, an executive director of the council, said the industry had a role to play in reducing climate change. Continue reading...

Consumer goods giant pledges to go ‘carbon positive’ by 2030, generating 100% of its energy needs from renewables with more to spareUnilever, the consumer goods giant, has pledged to eliminate coal from its energy usage within five years, and derive all of its energy worldwide solely from renewable sources by 2030.The company will become “carbon positive” by 2030, through its own use of renewables, and by investing in generating more renewable energy than it needs, selling the surplus on the markets and making it available to local communities in areas where it operates. About 40% of the company’s energy use currently comes from green sources. Continue reading...

Na véspera da cimeira de Copenhaga de 2009, informámos para o facto de que muitas famílias eram ameaçadas pela alteração climática em todo o mundo. Neste momento, à medida que nos aproximamos da cimeira de Paris, muitos dos seus piores receios estão a concretizar-se

Unacceptable levels of pollutants found at several places along Rio Doce following Brazil’s worst ever environmental disasterIllegal levels of arsenic and mercury polluted the Rio Doce river in the days after a dam burst at an iron ore mine in early November in Brazil’s worst ever environmental disaster, according to tests by a state water agency.The Institute for Water Management in Minas Gerais (IGAM) found arsenic levels more than 10 times above the legal limit in one place along the Rio Doce after the dam burst on 5 November, leading to at least 13 deaths and flooding thick mud across two states. Mercury slightly above the permitted level was also found in one area. Continue reading...

Pope meets Muslim and other religious leaders in Nairobi to call for success at the Paris summit and for greater environmental protections in AfricaWorld leaders must reach a historic agreement to fight climate change and poverty at coming talks in Paris, facing the stark choice to either “improve or destroy the environment”, Pope Francis said in Africa on Thursday.

Near the resort of Bahía de Caráquez, a community project has restored mangrove forests – and may help save it from one of the strongest ever El NiñosThe canoe sliced through the water and along a quiet, narrow tunnel enclosed by mangrove trees. As the craft slid past the spindly tree trunks and roots sticking several feet out of the water, tour guides pointed out ibis, herons and small red crabs hidden among the foliage.Related: Camping around South America Continue reading...

Andrew Stoddart and his family, who were told they must leave farm he has tended for 22 years, secure eviction postponement after talks with landlordA tenant farmer facing immediate eviction with minimal compensation has won an 11th-hour reprieve in a case that has galvanised the land rights movement in Scotland.Andrew Stoddart announced on Thursday – the day before his family’s scheduled eviction from Coulston Mains, East Lothian, which he has farmed for 22 years – that the departure date had been postponed until January and a settlement agreed after last-minute mediation with his landlord. Continue reading...

Labor suggests tough 45% cuts to emissions – compared with Coalition’s 26% to 28% pledge – in bid to pressure prime minister at Paris climate talksBill Shorten has suggested he will adopt a far tougher greenhouse target – a 45% cut in emissions by 2030 – compared with the Coalition’s promised cut of 26% to 28%.Related: Malcolm Turnbull: coal export ban ‘would make no difference to emissions’ Continue reading...

Documents and emails obtained by the Guardian reveal ‘collusion’ between Brussels and industry over the fossil fuel push in free trade negotiationsThe EU appears to have given the US oil company ExxonMobil access to confidential negotiating strategies considered too sensitive to be released to the European public during its negotiations with the US on the trade agreement TTIP, documents reveal.Officials also asked one oil refinery association for “concrete input” on the text of an energy chapter for the negotiations, as part of the EU’s bid to write unfettered imports of US crude oil and gas into the trade deal.

Cities in numbers: The densest cities can be the most efficient, lively and sustainable – but only if they boast effective management and design to minimise overcrowding and pollutionCities exist to provide access to people, goods, services and information: the better and more efficient this access, the greater the social and economic benefits of urban living.A defining characteristic of cities is therefore the degree to which accessibility is based on the physical proximity between origins (eg where people live) and destinations (eg where people work) or on transport solutions which can overcome spatial separation, and the degree to which these solutions involve private or public motorised transport. More compact and dense cities are typical examples of providing connections through greater proximity. Continue reading...

The soap opera of global climate talks has been playing for 20 years. As it comes to Paris on Monday, Suzanne Goldenberg reviews the tears, the bloodshed and the unspeakable cateringOn the evening of 18 December 2009, Barack Obama and a trail of White House and State Department officials swept through a cavernous exhibition centre in Copenhagen and barged, uninvited, into a private meeting between the leaders of four powerful developing countries – China, India, Brazil and South Africa.It was about 6pm on the final day of the Copenhagen climate summit, when nearly 200 countries were expected to agree on collective action to fight climate change. For the first time, the United Nations claimed, countries were on the verge of reducing the greenhouse gas emissions. Obama, along with dozens of other presidents and prime ministers, had flown into Copenhagen for the final day of the summit at the request of the UN secretary general, Ban Ki-Moon, who believed their presence would embolden negotiators to make a deal. The UN was so optimistic about the prospects at the start of that year that it signed off on an ad campaign touting “Hopenhagen”. Continue reading...

Hopes are being pinned on backup vaults to rescue the seeds we’re losing, but some simple changes in our diets can make a difference too

La décision du gouvernement français d’interdire les manifestations pendant le sommet sur le climat de Paris est inquiétante

South African game breeders win battle to overturn moratorium on domestic trade in rhino horn, arguing legalised trade would cut poachingA South African judge on Thursday lifted a domestic ban on trade in rhino horns, in a direct challenge to government policy put in place in 2009 to try to stem rocketing poaching numbers.

O Governo prepara-se para conceder um crédito de exportação generoso à gigante do petróleo brasileira envolvida num escândalo de branqueamento de dinheiro e num suborno multibilionário

We are aiming to be one of the world’s first welfare nations to show that living without fossil fuels is not only necessary, but also sought-afterThe world can tackle climate change, but time is short. Sweden aims to be one of the world’s first fossil fuel-free welfare nations. With our initiative Fossil-free Sweden, we now challenge other countries to do likewise.

Police deal with rush-hour airport incident by campaign group Plane Stupid in which activist has locked himself to vehicleEnvironmental activists have caused rush-hour chaos at Heathrow by parking a van across the entrance tunnel to Terminals 1, 2 and 3 and locking themselves to the vehicle so it cannot be moved.The campaign group Plane Stupid says three of its members parked the van across the tunnel at 7.40am and unfurled a banner quoting David Cameron’s election promise: “No ifs, no buts: no third runway”. Continue reading...

Mayor Sir Peter Soulsby is using his strong mandate and the discovery of Richard III’s remains to reverse decades of car-centric planning in this medieval cityLeicester was eviscerated in the 1960s by modernist town planners. They scythed through the medieval core of the city with two inner ring-roads, and multi-lane highways were built to provide fast access to the M1 motorway. The city, like many others, became dominated by cars: congested despite the width of the radial roads and dangerous for anybody not protected by a metal cage. Leicester was once a great English medieval city, like York, Durham or Lincoln. It has many Grade I listed buildings and, with the Jewry Wall, one of the tallest Roman structures still standing in Britain. But with its history smothered in tarmac and blocked off with concrete, Leicester became unremarkable, anodyne, an East Midlands city far from the tourist trail.This changed three years ago thanks to Leicester’s oldest economically active citizen. Dug up from beneath a council car park, King Richard III is now a welcome and valuable tourist attraction, known to locals as KRIII. Leicester is using the remains and the romance of the last Plantagenet king to push for cycleways and more pedestrianisation in the city centre, trimming some of the space previously devoted to cars. Much of the city’s transformation was planned before the timely reappearance of KRIII, but deposing King Car is much easier when you’ve got a real one to put in its place. Continue reading...

Houses not built to high standards of insulation will have to be expensively retrofitted or risk breaching national carbon targets, climate watchdog warns

The fate of 70 million people rests on what happens to the Mekong river. With world leaders meeting in Paris next week for crucial UN climate talks, John Vidal journeys down south-east Asia’s vast waterway – a place that encapsulates some of the dilemmas they must solve. He meets people struggling to deal with the impact of climate change as well as the ecological havoc created by giant dams, deforestation, coastal erosion and fast-growing cities Continue reading...

Measures announced by George Osborne reduce requirement for energy firms to install new boilers and insulation in homes of UK’s poorestGreen groups and charities have reacted with anger after the government announced cuts to the UK’s most important energy-efficiency programme, which was created to help the poorest homeowners.The move by George Osborne significantly reduces a requirement for energy companies to install new boilers and insulation. The chancellor said it would help cut homeowners’ gas and electricity bills by £30 a year. Continue reading...

Your article (Paris attacks cast shadow over climate talks, 23 November) helpfully draws attention to the different responses we have to crises. The shockingly violent events in Paris and their aftermath received almost blanket media coverage for about a week, during which we appear to have become collectively ready to sacrifice billions of pounds and who knows how many lives to a quick response (bombing Isis in Syria) which, by most rational judgments, will do more harm than good for our interests in the long term. Notwithstanding the emotional and psychological imperative to “do something”, would it not be wiser to do nothing until we know what it would be useful to do?Meanwhile, a more dangerous and sinister enemy than terrorism looms on the horizon in the form of climate change. Despite knowing about this menace for over 20 years and having developed the resources and know-how to defeat it, we have simply allowed the situation to worsen. We know the identity of the “evil masterminds” (the leaders of heavy-carbon industries) behind this ongoing atrocity which is in the process of slaughtering many millions of people and could quite conceivably wipe out civilisation. We also know the identities and whereabouts of the “terrorists” – every one of us who carries out the wishes of the masterminds by burning fossil fuel as if there was no tomorrow and neglecting to invest properly in the renewable energies that can save us. Continue reading...

National park outside Warsaw says several of the animals seem to have settled there again after government cull in the 1960sWolves have returned to a large national park on the outskirts of Warsaw, decades after they were wiped out there under a hunt launched by the communist authorities.“We’re really happy,” said Magdalena Kamińska, spokeswoman for the 150sq mile (385sq km) Kampinos national park, Poland’s second largest. “The fact that wolves have returned to our park, from which they completely disappeared in the 1960s, means that nature is in good health and is renewing itself.” Continue reading...

Radiohead frontman and environmental campaigner has spoken out about the difficulties he faced when asking politicians to acknowledge climate changeThom Yorke has claimed that advisers to Tony Blair tried to force him to meet the then prime minister in 2003.The Radiohead singer’s comments, which were made in an interview with him and Guardian columnist George Monbiot on the French online magazine Télérama, referred back to the time when he was the spokesman for the Big Ask, a climate change campaign by Friends of the Earth. Continue reading...

Radiohead frontman and environmental campaigner has spoken out about the difficulties he faced when asking politicians to acknowledge climate changeThom Yorke has claimed that advisers to Tony Blair tried to force him to meet the former prime minister in 2003.The Radiohead singer’s comments, which were made in an interview between him and Guardian columnist George Monbiot on the French online magazine Télérama, referred back to the time when he was the spokesman for the Big Ask, a climate change campaign by Friends of the Earth. Continue reading...

Africa climate business plan, emphasising clean energy, efficient farming and urban protection, will be launched by World Bank chief at Paris climate talksThe World Bank has devised a $16bn (£10.6bn) strategy designed to help Africa adapt to climate change and prevent millions of people from sliding into poverty.By fast-tracking clean energy, efficient farming and urban protection, the measures promise to greatly increase renewable energy across the continent, bolster food production and lead to the planting of billions of trees. It is also hoped that the scheme will improve life in cities and reduce poverty, migration and conflict. Continue reading...

Trials taking place in New South Wales also include hi-tech drum lines that will hook sharks and allow for them to be quickly tagged and relocatedShark-tracking drones are being deployed to protect Australia’s beachgoers following a series of attacks on surfers. Trials will begin next week as part of a strategy by the New South Wales (NSW) government, which will also see hi-tech drum lines installed to allow sharks to be hooked, tagged and released further out to sea.The drones will feed images with GPS coordinates back to operators looking for sharks, with the first field tests being conducted off Coffs Harbour, about 285 miles (380km) south of Brisbane. Continue reading...