Diplomats mobilised for unprecedented PR push, with Paris summit seen as last chance to reach agreementFrance has launched an unprecedented diplomatic drive to shepherd nations big and small towards a major climate change deal, ahead of a Paris summit next month that is the next major make-or-break moment for the movement against global warming.Every one of France’s ambassadors, in embassies and consulates around the globe, has been educated on the demands of climate change, and instructed in how to communicate the messages to the governments they deal with, ahead of the summit, which starts on 30 November. Continue reading...

Trade body says scheme would add just £1 to bills by 2019 and comes in response to government plans to cut subsidies for rooftop solar panels by 87%The solar power industry has proposed an emergency plan to rescue renewables, which it says would add just £1 to consumer bills by 2019, on top of the £9 a year that clean technology subsidies cost bill payers.The scheme is a response to government plans to cut subsidies for rooftop solar panel installations by 87% from 1 January. The Solar Trade Association (STA) has warned the move could cost up to 27,000 jobs and waste public money already spent on supporting the technology. Continue reading...

Originally published in the Manchester Guardian on 21 October 1915Oxfordshire

Prime minister says state visit of Xi Jinping and ‘golden era’ between two nations will not harm transatlantic special relationship

A long weekend in the western Highlands of Scotland gave me the opportunity to catch up with several species I rarely get the chance to see. This was enhanced by our host’s desire to show us as much of this beautiful landscape as possible, which entailed going on very long walks, often involving dauntingly steep climbs. As I pointed out – in vain – I come from the lowlands of England, and “don’t do up”.En route, in the wilds of Perthshire, we took an eight-mile hike around a valley. Even though autumn can sometimes be rather quiet, the place was thronged with birds. Meadow pipits sprang up constantly; bouncing through the air as if hanging on invisible strings of elastic, while uttering their distinctive “sip” call. They were joined by tight little flocks of siskins and redpolls, which I rarely see at home on the Somerset Levels. Continue reading...

Storm leaves at least two people dead and causes massive disruption and power cuts in nine provinces before slowing downTyphoon Koppu has weakened after blowing ashore in the north-eastern Philippines, but not before it left at least two people dead, displaced 16,000 villagers and knocked out power in entire provinces, officials said.Troops and police officers were deployed to rescue residents trapped in flooded villages in the provinces of Aurora, where the typhoon made landfall early on Sunday, and Nueva Ecija, where floodwaters swamped rice farmlands during harvest. Continue reading...

One solar executive says the 87% cut in state subsidy is ‘obscene’, and will lead to thousands of job lossesSome of Britain’s most powerful solar executives have accused the government of mounting an ideologically driven campaign against their industry which has driven it into crisis.Their criticism comes as a solar power company backed by the billionaire inventor Elon Musk has pulled out of the UK, becoming the fourth such firm to close in two weeks. Continue reading...

Separate attacks off Oahu see one man injured on his lower legs and another bitten on the foot with both hospitalized in serious conditionTwo men were seriously injured Saturday in separate shark attacks off the Hawaiian island of Oahu, authorities said.

Two events this week will throw the government’s contradictory attitudes to spending on green and atomic power into sharp reliefA glaring anomaly of British energy policy will be on display this week: the government will loudly trumpet a nuclear deal with China, and then will come a no-fanfare end to a controversial solar subsidy consultation.President Xi Jinping will probably sign a heads of agreement with David Cameron that will allow the government to say that a new plant at Hinkley Point in Somerset is on its way. Continue reading...

As Canada’s election approaches, First Nations join environmental groups in an effort to prevent the building of the country’s largest proposed pipeline – poised to travel 700 miles through some of North America’s wildest landscapesChief Na’Moks stood in the dark of a small smokehouse nestled in the Coast range of British Columbia. Hanging above him were nearly a thousand fish which glinted over the fire below.

My company was left untenable by cuts to subsidies, so I had to close it. The ‘greenest government ever’ needs to act fast before it destroys the sectorIt was with great sadness last week that I announced the closure of Southern Solar – a firm I set up in 2002, which I grew for the first 10 years, doubling it every year.Related: Leading solar entrepreneur to put business into liquidation Continue reading...

A decade-long battle over a proposed pipeline is helping shape the Canadian national election even as a historic legal case may make or break the development. First Nations are playing a central role. First proposed in 2004, the Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipeline was planned for a 731-mile (1,177km) stretch from the center of Alberta to the coast of British Columbia. The environmental battle has united a wide variety of citizens groups against the billions of dollars of investment by oil companies and millions in secret funding from the government Continue reading...

There’s local food, recycling, composting … but at a restaurant staffed by inmates, it’s the sustainability of people that’s most important

Sustainable, environmentally friendly and charitable: readers’ choices from across Britain

Some restaurants pay lip service to environmental issues. It’s up to us to seek out those that put their ethics firstIn a restaurant, ethical instincts can go out the window. In a recent survey, 80-90% of respondents said they bought free-range eggs and seasonal fruit and veg at home. But more than 30% said they didn’t give two hoots if a meal out was an eco disaster.Diners, we must up our game, starting with the battle to stop restaurant chains snaffling tips (sign the petition at 38degrees.org.uk). We must also stand up to the 920,000 tonnes of food wasted by restaurants each year, 75% of which is edible. Doggy bags are just the beginning. Continue reading...

Energy minister says Australia’s coal exports to India can stop millions dying from burning toxic fuels, citing WHO figures that include deaths from coal stovesThere is a “strong moral case” for Australia to export coal to countries such as India in order to help prevent millions of deaths, Josh Frydenberg, the federal resources and energy minister, has claimed.

Hundreds of illegal hunters of the rhinoceros in South Africa’s Kruger national park have been shot dead by rangers in the past five years, but the temptation of a rich reward to end an impoverished life in Mozambique keeps them comingThe well-heeled tourists filing through the modest airport at Hoedspruit – Afrikaans for Hat Creek – look carefree and expectant. Guides are standing by to transport them to luxurious bush lodges offering spa treatments, campfire dinners and dawn and dusk game drives offering a potential glimpse of Africa’s “big five”.But something is different from the safaris enjoyed by the privileged generations of the past. At the 36,000-acre Moditlo private game reserve near Kruger national park, for example, the rhinos do not have horns – they have been removed for their own safety. And during night safaris on dirt tracks under the majesty of a star-studded sky visitors are warned not to use torches, lest they be confused with poachers. When guests – usually affluent and white – gaze from air-conditioned bedrooms into the perfect darkness of the bush, few are likely to consider the murderous chase taking place there between poacher, ranger and rhino. For the poachers – usually poor and black – the risks are immense, but so are the rewards. Continue reading...

US to host summit of polar nations as fears grow that the Earth’s frozen wastes are losing their ability to deflect harmful raysScientists in Alaska will raise the vexed issue of methane and “black carbon” pollution as they discuss tipping-point dangers posed by global warming in the Arctic.A crucial meeting of the Arctic Council, in Anchorage, comes amid evidence that the polar region is warming faster than any other place on Earth and that sea ice coverage there has shrunk by nearly a third since 1979. Researchers now fear that new threats to climate stability are about to be unleashed in the Arctic. Warming in high latitudes is causing permafrost in Siberia and northern Canada to thaw and release plumes of methane stored there, they say. Methane is a powerful greenhouse gas and these releases threaten to trigger secondary rises in global temperatures. Continue reading...

Wait for the light to be right and then snap stunning scenes of fall colors. Share your best photographs via GuardianWitness – we’ll feature our favoritesBeautiful fall leaves have started to paint hills and valleys across the United States and Canada. Whether you’re enjoying the warm autumn hues in the park, the forest or your own backyard, we’d love to see the colors of the season wherever you are. Share your best photo with us. Continue reading...

Proliferation of thick brown algae is affecting fishing, tourism and marine life on both sides of the Atlantic, say scientistsThe pristine white beaches may not be as famous as those of the Caribbean, but their unspoilt beauty makes them a haven for locals and tourists alike.

Oceanic warming event could wreak havoc in western Pacific but provide respite from US firesBack in March, following months of speculation, the US Climate Prediction Service declared the official start of El Niño. The first such event since 2009 and currently building across the Pacific, El Niño refers to a period of oceanic temperature changes coupled with atmospheric effects that can be a blessing or a curse for those on the receiving end. Continue reading...

The continuing violence in Jerusalem and the West Bank, Europe’s refugee crisis, the anniversary celebrations in Pyongyang, Rugby World Cup 2015 – the best photography in news, culture and sport from around the world this week Continue reading...

You can’t be entirely sure where your cash will go, but funds that have steered clear of controversial sectors such as gas and oil are prosperingThey have been ridiculed by some and overlooked by others, but ethical investment funds – and the people who have put money into them – are having the last laugh.The funds appear to have benefited from their low or non-existent exposure to sectors such as mining and oil, where share prices have collapsed in recent months. Continue reading...

New Forest The older pigs are intent on the job but the younger ones are behaving more like a bunch of playful children, bumping and chasing each other all over the placeFour-legged vacuum cleaners are out. It’s been an excellent fruiting year. Hollies are heavily berried. Hawthorn hedges have a magenta sheen where the ripened fruits are increasingly hidden in colouring foliage. The strippings of cobnuts lie under many hazel bushes. Wild apples have produced an abundant crop, their fallers a magnet for foraging cows. The woodland floor is already white-speckled with the star-shaped shucks of the prickly cases of sweet chestnuts, occupied now by only the two outer nuts in the case, poor apologies for a fruit, their juicy swollen companions already stored away to be winter-life sustaining for squirrel – and jay.Three ponies block the lane but on this grey day they are not in summer mood, motionless apart from a constant flick of the tail, enjoying the slightest breeze that keeps the flies at bay. Head down, side by side, rumps towards me, they are oblivious that they are blocking my way as they gorge on the acorns the wind has scattered across the tarmac. As I wait to get past them, more acorns bounce off the roof of the car. I sense that once the ponies have cleared the road in front, they will turn to feast on those already dropping behind. Continue reading...

Horizontal Falls – described as one of the wonders of the natural world – would be included in marine parks, but critics say plan should ban commercial fishingThe Western Australian government has released a proposal for two new marine parks which will protect a pristine stretch of Australia’s north-west coast. However, environmental groups say the decision to allow prawn trawling and fishing within the marine parks could affect their conservation value.The draft management plan, released on Friday, includes long-awaited protection for Horizontal Falls, a tidal lagoon encircled by cliffs and described by David Attenborough as “one of the greatest natural wonders of the world” for the rapids that form at the two narrow entries to the lagoon as the tide comes rushing in and out each day. Continue reading...

Members of Congress claim that oil company’s ‘sustained deception campaign’ could be prosecuted through truth in advertising and racketeering lawsMembers of Congress have asked for a federal investigation into whether ExxonMobil broke the law by intentionally obscuring the truth about climate change.

Interior Department cancels two future offshore leases in Chukchi and Beaufort seas and will refuse requests from oil companies to renew existing leasesBarack Obama blocked off the prospects for future oil drilling in the Arctic on Friday, imposing new lease conditions that make it practically impossible for companies to hunt for oil in the world’s last great wilderness.The Department of Interior said it was canceling two future auctions of Arctic offshore oil leases in the Chukchi and Beaufort seas, and turned down requests from Shell and other oil companies for more time on their existing leases. Continue reading...

Former executive testifies Massey Energy was more concerned about having to pay fines than actually keeping mines safe under Don BlankenshipA former coal executive who was dealt a prison sentence for mine violations testified on Friday that his company sometimes took shortcuts to produce coal under his top boss, ex-Massey Energy CEO Don Blankenship.Taking the stand in Blankenship’s criminal trial, former Massey subsidiary president David Hughart said that under Blankenship and former COO Chris Adkins, the company was more concerned about having to pay fines than actually keeping mines safe. He said his mines would sometimes be short-handed and still producing coal. Continue reading...

The party doesn’t enjoy the same high profile in Canada as in Europe, but the tenacious May could very well wind up a power broker in a minority government

Parent company says government does not support solar development, as Zep Solar UK becomes fourth UK solar business to close in a fortnightzA solar power company backed by the billionaire inventor Elon Musk has pulled out of the UK, blaming the government for not supporting the technology.Zep Solar UK, which is owned by SolarCity where the Tesla boss is chairman, becomes the fourth UK solar business to close in a fortnight. SolarCity laid the blame squarely on cuts to solar subsidies announced by the Department of Energy and Climate Change in the summer. Continue reading...

A new report reveals that the Rajasthani sandstone sector relies on child labour and urges businesses and the government to take actionBest known for its gemstones and jewellery trade, Rajasthan is also home to a far less glittering industry. The Indian state’s sandstone sector employs millions of people , thousands of whom are child workers, some as young as five.Related: Child labour in the fashion supply chain - where, why and what can business do? Continue reading...

Any dissent was kept well off stage in Aberdeen, with anti-fracking and land reform hardliners quickly voted downThere was genuine excitement on the conference platform. At last a vote that was close enough to require a count rather than a unanimous show of hands. A vote to challenge the SNP’s anti-fracking commitment on the grounds that it wasn’t hardline enough. It was also something of a surprise, as there didn’t appear to have been any arrangements put in place for such an eventuality.“Can we have some stewards please?” asked an astonished Susan Aitken, the session chair. Five minutes later some stewards appeared, and it was eventually agreed that the official anti-fracking position had been adopted. The extreme anti-frackers had been defeated. Continue reading...

With less than one week to go before the government consultation on major cuts to solar subsidies closes, now is the time to have your sayThe public has less than one week to influence planned government policy changes that are expected to dramatically scale back the solar industry.The government is proposing to cut the solar feed-in tariff by 87%. The subsidy supports householders, small businesses and community groups to invest in solar energy. The changes are currently scheduled to come into force next year, but the public can still contribute to the consultation and potentially influence the outcome. Continue reading...

This has been a bumper year for solar energy in the UK, and polls show it has become our favourite kind of power. But with drastic cuts threatened, is the industry racing off the edge of a cliff?“The biggest challenge was the grid connection,” says Donna Clarke with satisfaction. Clarke has worked in renewables for 15 years, and developed the UK’s only biodiesel plant before moving into solar energy. When the company she now works for, Scottow Moor Solar, arrived at RAF Coltishall in May last year, there was no means to plug the 50MW (megawatts) of power they thought could be generated on the former airfield – enough to run 15,000 homes – into the electricity supply. Continue reading...

Commitment to setting a carbon price dropped and green groups remain critical that the statement amounts to little more than hot airThe heads of 10 major oil and gas companies have denied they are paying lip service to climate change initiatives while conducting business as usual.Eight of the 10 companies’ CEOs met in Paris on Friday and issued a joint statement saying they would “play their part” in battling climate change, ahead of the United Nations climate summit which opens in November. Continue reading...

Voters on Monday shouldn’t be pulled in by ‘wedge issues’. Canada simply can’t afford to continue with the Conservatives’ commitment to carbon pollutionAsk Canadians about the most pressing issues facing their country and, alongside concerns about the economy and healthcare, they will inevitably raise the need for action on climate change. And no wonder: British Columbia and the Prairies were in the grips of a serious drought this summer and, only weeks after our election, world leaders will head to Paris to try to come up with a serious plan to stop global warming.Yet, encouraged by Conservative leader Stephen Harper, much of the election debate has been narrowed to focus on “wedge issues” such as cultural differences. But Canadians cannot afford to be pulled in by the politics of diversion and division. Continue reading...

Healthy forests protect our climate and moderate our weather. As the ‘Godzilla’ El Niño builds in the weeks ahead of Paris talks, it is a timely warning that deforestation is partly to blame for its impactsIndonesia is smouldering and Godzilla is to blame. But even though this is reality, not a monster movie, there is still a hero: the tropical rainforest.

Conservation group will track down and vilify hunter who allegedly paid £40,000 to kill one of Zimabwe’s largest elephantsA Zimbabwean conservation group has vowed to identify a German hunter who shot one of the largest elephants seen in the country, so the man can be publicly vilified like the killer of Cecil the lion.Johnny Rodrigues, chairman of the Zimbabwe conservation taskforce, confirmed that the man, as yet unnamed, had a permit when he shot the male elephant last week. The animal was unknown to Zimbabwean experts and is believed to have wandered across the border from South Africa, he said. Continue reading...

Rescued orangutan babies, a feeding whale and coral reefs are among this week’s pick of images from the natural world Continue reading...

The 90,000 tonnes of rubber, 400 metres from a housing development south of Madrid, pose a fire and environmental riskSpanish authorities are struggling to dispose of five million tyres dumped on a site close to a housing development north of Toledo.The 90,000 tonnes of tyres that have been dumped there since 2002 cover 117,000 square metres straddling the Madrid and Castilla-La Mancha regional boundaries. Continue reading...

The Conservative prime minister pledged to make the country an ‘energy superpower’, but with the election ahead and many Alberta residents struggling to make ends meet, a promise has become a liability for HarperIt’s 11.30am in the pumping heart of Canada’s tar sands industry, on a day when local crude is trading at a rock-bottom $29 a barrel. For the down-and-out men and women heading down to the free lunch in the basement of a Fort McMurray church, it’s hard to see a way back up.“It’s depressing not having work. I used to make $3,400 a week. Now look at me. I’m eating in a soup kitchen,” said Brian Earl, a construction worker. Continue reading...

Pledges from 149 countries to reduce their emissions already take us half way to the target. Four key agreements in Paris could close the gap to a 2C worldThere are still seven weeks to go before the crunch UN climate change conference in Paris, at which a new international legal agreement is due to be negotiated. Yet it can already chalk up a remarkable success.

From noise and pollution to street harassment and anonymous crowds, readers share their experiences and thoughts on what makes cities stressful – and which places are the biggest offenders. Is it time to relocate?Are some cities more stressful than others? Places such as Cairo and Mumbai are often cited as exceptionally noisy, busy, overwhelming metropolises. But many city dwellers across the world will make a case for why their own urban environment causes so much stress – from transport nightmares and lack of greenery to high costs and social anonymity.You shared your thoughts, stories and experiences of what makes cities stressful, which places are most stressful and which succeed in being anxiety-free. Here’s a selection of what you said. Continue reading...

CEOs of top oil and gas firm unite in call to limit emissions but stop short of outlining any clear goals towards thisOil and gas industry leaders on Friday launched a final charm offensive to highlight the sector’s relevance in the global fight against climate change before a key summit in Paris later this year.

The Liberals and Nationals are busy tussling over water but they’re not the only ones. Irrigators, environmentalists and communities all want their share. And as Bill Heffernan points out, you can’t possibly please everyoneSometimes, just occasionally, a politician deviates from their speaking notes or the carefully-calibrated party line and calls bullshit on something important.This week that’s what Liberal senator Bill Heffernan did on water policy. Heffernan is often described as “colourful” or “maverick” or other euphemisms for a bloke who made a point about federal parliament’s security by brandishing a fake pipe bomb in a committee hearing and about New South Wales state parliament security by walking in (undetected) with a knife with which he had personally castrated several hundred calves. Continue reading...

In November, nearly 200 countries meet in Paris for United Nations talks to agree a new climate deal. Find out below how their pledges - known as Intended Nationally Determined Contributions or INDCs - compare in our in-depth analysis of 14 key countries and blocs

Species scooped more than 40% of the votes, easily beating closest contenders the seven spot ladybird and emperor dragonflyIt’s official: the buff-tailed bumblebee is the nation’s favourite creepy crawlie, according to a nationwide poll.In the end, the winner came in head and wings above the rest, with 40.5% of the vote. The seven spot ladybird was in second place with 15% of the vote, with the emperor dragonfly a close third with a 14.5% share. Continue reading...