Photographer Pierre Gonnord on how he captured the last gasps of a dying industryFor the last five years, Pierre Gonnord has been photographing Spain’s last coal miners. At seven pits in Asturias and Castilla y León, he captured an industrial tribe on the brink of extinction. “They told me, ‘Mining is the worst of the worst, we don’t want our children to do this,’” he says. “But we don’t want it to end either because then we will disappear.”Related: Coal faces: portraits of the last miners in Spain – in pictures Continue reading...

Investigation found 1,280 hectares of natural forest illegally razed, endangering homes of more than 30% of world’s pandasIllegal loggers are ransacking sanctuaries in southwest China that are home to more than 30% of the world’s pandas, according to a Greenpeace investigation.The two-year study found that more than 1,800 football pitches of natural forest in a Unesco world natural heritage site had been illegally razed. Continue reading...

Callington, Cornwall At the Honey Fair talk is of autumnal warmth, of bees making up for lost time on ivy and balsam flowersCallington Honey Fair draws many visitors to the town. By 10am there are rows of cars in the recreation field, overlooked by the relic mine stack on top of Kit Hill and in sight of sunlit tors on the edge of Bodmin Moor.The local Lions Club has run this annual event since its revival in 1978. Streets are closed to traffic and spaces let to stall-holders including sellers of fresh produce, mead, snacks, jewellery, dog beds and Christmas cards, as well as to a fortune teller and various local groups. Continue reading...

The prime minister-designate, Justin Trudeau, says he spoke with the US president, Barack Obama, on Tuesday and confirmed his election commitment to withdraw Canadian fighter jets from the coalition campaign against Isis. Trudeau also says he will be making a break from the environmental policies of his predecessor, Stephen HarperPhotograph: Nicholas Kamm/AFP/Getty

Endless energy from the sun looked like a long-term solution for running our homes. But now the state has pulled the plug on the subsidies that made panels affordable for many. What happens now?Sit back, relax, and read this story with an untroubled conscience: it has been created on a laptop and mobile phone powered entirely by the rays of the sun. This feat would surely astound the most idealistic Greek philosopher or Victorian entrepreneur. It would confirm their wildest hopes for humanity’s progress. Perhaps they would be even more amazed that it was possible via a coalition of Chinese companies, British roofers and local councils. Oh, and government support, which is set to be abruptly withdrawn.The power comes from 16 black Ja solar panels that were fitted to the roof of my home in August. Together, these panels, each the size of a coffee tabletop, have a capacity of 4kW, enough to meet the energy needs of an average family home. Today, a gloomy autumnal moment, they have generated 4.403kWh. It hardly sounds impressive – it’s enough power for a couple of loads of washing – but collectively it represents a revolution. Solar hasn’t changed my life, but it has shifted my perceptions. A little monitor on my desk tells me how much electricity I am generating. I’m acutely aware of the scarcity of energy, the rarity of unbroken sunshine and changing path of the sun. In August, rays hit my panels at 8.30am and an image of a green finger materialised on my monitor, urging me to switch on appliances. Now it doesn’t appear until 10.30am and so we delay putting on the washing machine. We have toddlers around the house all day, so solar suits us: we time the dishwasher for daylight hours and the TV tends to be on more during the day than at night. If I’m working from home, I charge laptops and phones around midday, too. Solar’s drawback is that most power is generated in daylight hours, when people tend to be at work, and there’s currently no affordable battery technology to store the energy you generate. But that energy is not wasted: it goes into the national grid, and solar owners are paid for what they produce. Continue reading...

Built-up areas around the UK coast have increased by more than 40%, but conservationists have saved the ‘most pristine’ areas, Patrick Barkham reports Continue reading...

We’ve managed perfectly well for centuries calling it ‘that bloody rain’. But now weather forecasters want to start personifying the weatherThe naming of storms is a difficult matter, as TS Eliot might have said, if he hadn’t been so distracted by cats. Only last year scientists discovered that Americans failed to take storms seriously when the weather system was given a female name. The most lethal female-named hurricanes have notched up almost twice the death tolls of their male-named counterparts because, one presumes, too many Americans have assumed that lady-storms are just making a fuss about nothing and can safely be ignored until they go off in a huff.Related: ID of the storm: Met Office invites public to name severe weather systems Continue reading...

Andrea Leadsom tells a committee of MPs that she remains open to the findings of a consultation into proposed cuts to renewable energy subsidiesEnergy minister Andrea Leadsom has told MPs she remains “open-minded” about plans to slash subsidies for solar power in order to protect consumer bills, but told MPs on Tuesday that “very expensive” nuclear power stations were nonetheless “affordable for customers”.

Diagnosis of man who worked on reactor buildings damaged in 2011 tsunami could hamper efforts to encourage people to return to the areaA 41-year old man has become the first worker at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant to be diagnosed with cancer that officials recognise as being linked to his work there after the March 2011 disaster.

Member states report a 23% drop since 1990, but the pace is slowing and several countries have missed renewable and energy efficiency targetsGreenhouse gas emissions in Europe have plunged to the lowest level ever recorded after the EU’s member states reported an estimated 23% drop in emissions between 1990 and 2014.The bloc has now overshot its target for 2020 of cutting emissions by one-fifth – at the same time that its economy grew by 46%, according to the EU’s climate chief, Miguel Arias Canete . Continue reading...

Polls shows 65% of respondents think the scandal has been exaggerated, and 63% expect it to be forgotten in a yearTwo-thirds of Germans say they still trust Volkswagen despite the emissions rigging scandal that has engulfed the carmaker, according to a survey.Sixty-five percent of respondents in a poll conducted earlier this month thought the scandal had been exaggerated and that VW still built excellent cars, according to the management consultancy Prophet, which carried out the research. Continue reading...

Our addiction to consuming things is a vicious cycle, and buying a bigger house to store it all isn’t the answer. Here’s how to get started on downsizingThe personal storage industry rakes in $22bn each year, and it’s only getting bigger. Why?I’ll give you a hint: it’s not because vast nations of hoarders have finally decided to get their acts together and clean out the hall closet. Continue reading...

Greenwich Park, London

Those hoping the new PM will be a climate champion willing to fix the damage done by his predecessor Stephen Harper could be in for a reality checkWell before his stunning victory in Canada’s elections, Justin Trudeau, the Liberal party leader, telephoned David Suzuki, the country’s best-known science broadcaster, environmentalist – and a national treasure – to ask for his endorsement.

Details unveiled of deal signed between state-owned companies from China and France to build world’s most expensive plant on UK soilChina will take a one-third stake in a French-led project to build a new £24bn nuclear power station in the UK at Hinkley Point in Somerset, expected to be the most expensive ever built.The deal was signed between state-owned companies from China and France just hours before the Chinese president, Xi Jinping , arrived in London for a state visit, and is due to be announced on Wednesday. Continue reading...

The mayor of Kasese’s ambitious plan for his region’s renewables programme aims to improve living standards and public healthMy desire to set a 100% renewable by 2020 goal was strongly motivated by the alarming climate-induced degradation of the snowcapped Rwenzori mountains, from which the communities here derive their livelihood, water supply and identity. The people of the Rwenzori get their name from the snow. Without the snow, our name will be no more. Also, I want to boost energy access in the region to improve living standards, increase public health and bolster the local economy.

Tibetan Buddhist spiritual leader says humans causeed global warming so must now take action to protect fragile environments including Himalayan glaciersThe Dalai Lama on Tuesday urged strong global action to limit global warming and to protect fragile environments, including the Himalayan glaciers and Tibetan plateau.Calling climate change a “problem which human beings created,” the 80-year-old Tibetan Buddhist spiritual leader said all of humanity was now responsible for taking action. But instead, he said, “we are relying on praying to God or to Buddha. Sometimes I feel this is very illogical.” Continue reading...

Figures show there were nearly 900,000 incidents of illegally dumped rubbish on roadsides, alleyways and footpathsThe flytipping of rubbish on England’s roadsides, alleyways and footpaths rose for the second year running, official figures published on Tuesday show.There were nearly 900,000 incidents recorded across the country, up from 852,000 the year before, when incidents jumped 20% for the first time in several years. Continue reading...

Robots to pick, drones to survey crops and satellites to drive tractors - experts predict a fully automated farm in five years. But is this what farmers want?The big, blue 18-tonne New Holland T8.435 tractor is not the heaviest or the tallest in the world but its £3,000 tyres and tank-style tracks stand two metres high, it bristles with antenna and at, about £250,000, it must be one of the most expensive.

Vegetarianism, reusable tote bags and Prius cars are not ‘manly’ enough for some. The answer is not imprinting veggie burgers with grill marks

David Attenborough: ‘Polar bears actually like to eat humans. We had to learn how to shoot rifles’David Attenborough, presenterEven though I was 84, being at the poles wasn’t too hard. It’s not as if I ever had to walk far or pull a sledge. If you wear the right clothes, you can tolerate low temperatures – though if something goes wrong and you lose a glove, you might equally lose a hand. Continue reading...

What do we get for flogging our nuclear to China and France? £17bn of risk and not much benefitSteel yourself, for an unlikely source is about to spout a highly unfashionable idea. This week, George Osborne will come out for renationalisation.You won’t hear the N-word from his lips, of course. Nor shall the chancellor go full Corbyn and seize some of the FTSE’s crown jewels. Instead, you can expect something far more in keeping with the spirit of 21st-century Britain. The government will indeed put some of our most vital infrastructure under state control – but the states in question will be France and China. Continue reading...

Volunteering in the local community, setting energy saving targets and offering wellbeing initiatives are a few ways you can make a difference

Made up of long subterranean tubes with holes drilled on top at regular intervals, the ancient system of qanat allowed life to flourish on the Iranian plateau. On a road trip through the country, photographer Bijan Roghanchi visited a small village near Bam where one was still in use Continue reading...

First year of Scotland’s 5p bag charge sees huge reduction in use and £6.7m raised for good causes in bid to cut waste and litterThe number of plastic carrier bags handed out in stores was slashed by at least 650 million in the first year of Scotland’s 5p charge.

Claxton, Norfolk As we observed one another I wondered what its compound eyes made of its admirerAs I sat in the garden I could hear what seemed like the rustle of some mysterious animal right behind me. That puzzle continued for a while until the penny dropped: the noise was not in the hedge but on top of my head. So I painstakingly lowered my cap until, sure enough, there was a common darter dragonfly blithely sunning itself still in my cradled hands.I could appreciate how the faint rubbing of those plasticised wings was the source of the intermittent message. And as we observed one another I wondered what its compound eyes, inheritance from the Carboniferous, made of its admirer. Continue reading...

Bite by an eel would be the first recorded in waters of the surfing haven, say authoritiesA surfer may have been bitten by an eel, rather than a shark, in an encounter off Hawaii’s popular Waikiki Beach, according to officials.The surfer was hurt on Saturday within hours of a shark attack on a man off Oahu’s Lanikai Beach. Both men were taken to hospital. Continue reading...

Heritage at Risk review also adds a pub, a lighthouse and a tomb to list of UK sites facing threats to their existenceA pub, a lighthouse, a former poison gas factory and a 1960s concrete church are among the sites that have been added to the national register of historic sites that are at risk.The Historic England register covers houses, places of worship, shipwrecks, parks and gardens, archaeological sites and battlefields. Continue reading...

US vice-president Joe Biden calls climate change ‘the most consequential issue of our time’ during a White House summit on Monday. Speaking to a group of chief executives, Biden said it was ‘a deadly serious issue’ that needed the country’s immediate attention. Earlier on Monday, Barack Obama argued that his push for an international climate deal next month in Paris was good for US businesses Continue reading...

Prince William gives a speech due to be televised on Chinese state TV, in which he urges Chinese consumers to stop buying illegally traded wildlife products. Coinciding with the Chinese president’s visit to the UK on Monday, William tells an audience of students and guests at King’s College in London that China’s influence in the world means they can change the face of global conservation

Some years are memorable for their multiple bad weather events. In the UK, 2007 stands out, for the devastating storm Kyrill in January, followed by torrential summer rain which brought widespread flooding.The winter of 2013 to 2014 also left its mark, with storm after storm pummelling UK shores, bringing record breaking rainfall and damaging gusts of wind. Hundreds of thousands of homes were left without power over Christmas, and large parts of Somerset were submerged for much of the winter. Continue reading...

The president met with executives at the White House on Monday in an effort to get corporate America’s support ahead of climate agreement negotiations in ParisPresident Obama met with executives at a roundtable at the White House on Monday, as part of his efforts to enlist corporate America in the push for an international climate change agreement.White House officials said 81 companies have signed on to the American Business Act on Climate pledge, an addition of 68 since the White House unveiled the pledge in June. Continue reading...

Duke of Cambridge uses speech hours before Chinese president Xi Jinping’s UK state visit to campaign against trade in illegal wildlife productsPrince William has told Chinese citizens to stop buying illegally traded wildlife products such as ivory and horn to save Africa’s rhino and elephants, hours before a state visit to the UK by China’s president.He said: “We have to accept the truth: that consumers are driving the demand for animal body parts, for art, for trinkets, or for medicine. Only we as consumers can put the wildlife traffickers out of business.” Continue reading...

The Temple of Quechula was built in 1564 but later abandoned and ultimately submerged by a dam. Now drought conditions in Chiapas have seen it rise againRelated: Conquistadors sacrificed and eaten by Aztec-era people, archaeologists sayThe ruins of a 16th century church have emerged from the waters of a reservoir in Mexico.

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Addressing waste management in China, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam can make a real impact on the health of world’s oceans

Pro-nuclear environmentalists have finally admitted Hinkley C is a white elephant that must be scrapped, but with a Chinese deal now imminent the damage to the UK’s low-carbon future has already been done, argues Jonathon Porritt on the EcologistI wonder what our pro-nuclear greenies will be thinking this week as they listen to President Xi Jinping and George Osborne bombastically declaring ‘a new nuclear dawn for the UK’.I hope they’ll be feeling as ashamed as they should be. Continue reading...

Acclaimed Italian novelist Erri De Luca cleared of inciting environmental activists to sabotage controversial Alpine rail projectAn acclaimed Italian writer and activist was acquitted of incitement to damage property by a court in Turin on Monday, in what is considered a major victory for free speech advocates and critics of a controversial multibillion-euro high-speed rail line at the centre of the case.Supporters of Erri De Luca broke into applause after judge Immacolata Iadeluca ruled that the 65-year-old Neapolitan writer was not guilty of incitement, bringing to an end a case that began in 2013, when De Luca said in two separate interviews that it was legitimate to sabotage the rail line between Italy and France known as the TAV. Continue reading...

Proposed ban on private vehicles is part of a plan to slash greenhouse gas emissions 50% by 2020 compared to 1990 levelsOslo’s new leftist city government said Monday it wants to ban private cars from the city centre by 2019 as part of a plan to slash greenhouse gas emissions.

Pension fund will divest 90% of coal assets and 50% of oil and gas stocks by 2020 to help limit global warming and protect the fund from climate riskThe £2.9bn UK’s Environment Agency pension fund (EAFP) has become the first in the world to change its investment choices to help meet the internationally-agreed target of limiting global warming to 2C.The move will include divestment of 90% of its coal assets and 50% of its oil and gas stocks by 2020.