The Guardian

UN appeals for another country to step in for biodiversity summit – due to take place in 2024 – as Ankara cites ‘force majeure’ for move

Turkey has withdrawn from hosting the United Nations’ Cop16 biodiversity summit in 2024, citing three large earthquakes in February that devastated parts of the country.

The nature summit, which will be the first since governments agreed this decade’s biodiversity targets at Cop15 in Montreal last December, had been scheduled to take place in Turkey in October next year to discuss progress on the agreement.

Greenpeace protesters climbed on to the roof of the prime minister's mansion in North Yorkshire and draped it in oil-black fabric to 'drive home the dangerous consequences of a new drilling frenzy'. The climbers managed to get on top of Sunak's constituency home in Kirby Sigston as the PM flew to California on holiday. After reaching the top of the building using ladders and climbing ropes, they unfolded 200 sq metres of fabric to cover one side of the property. Last week, Sunak pledged to 'max out' the UK's oil and gas reserves as he announced 100 new licences for North Sea drilling, which experts say could be catastrophic for the climate

• Greenpeace protesters drape giant oil-black fabric over Sunak’s mansion

At least 400 attendees require treatment for heat-related symptoms on first day of the World Scout Jamboree in South Korea. The event, which started earlier this week, has drawn 43,000 young Scouts from 158 countries this year

• Heatwave sees hundreds fall ill at World Scout Jamboree in South Korea

Group chaired by former chief scientist Ian Chubb writes to Tanya Plibersek, saying ‘business as usual’ on the reef is not an option

• Follow our Australia news live blog for the latest updates
• Get our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcast

Leading national experts on the Great Barrier Reef have called for an urgent reassessment of the way the world’s biggest reef system is managed, saying current approaches are too inflexible in the face of “unremitting global warming.”

An established independent expert panel, chaired by the former chief scientist Ian Chubb, wrote to the environment minister, Tanya Plibersek, saying “business as usual” is no longer an option.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Sightings rise to 170,000 so far this year as climate breakdown changes behaviour of species

Red admiral butterflies are enjoying a 400% boom in British gardens this year, data reveals, as the migrant insect favours the warmer climes brought by climate breakdown.

Butterfly Conservation has reported 170,000 sightings of the majestic red and black insect so far this year in its annual Big Butterfly Count.

The independent member for Kooyong Monique Ryan has accused the federal government of encouraging more gas projects by introducing legislation that would allow carbon dioxide to be pumped into international waters. 'The bill will be a key enabler of gas expansion, granting social licence for new and highly polluting greenwashed fossil fuel projects,' she says. The government says the bill is intended to bring Australia's laws into line with changes to an international treaty on the prevention of marine pollution, known as the London Protocol

• Teal MPs slam CO2 sea dumping bill as ‘greenwashing’ fossil fuel industry

Temperature records only go back to the 19th century, but they tell a very clear story: it’s getting hotter – and we’re causing it

• Get our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcast

With the planet seeing record-breaking temperatures, and after more than 100 million people in the US were placed under heat warnings, now seems the perfect time for climate change contrarians to tell their readers that it’s all overblown hype.

Heatwaves? Not as bad as they used to be. Wildfires? They’re on the decline.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

The south-western Japanese islands of Okinawa were hit by Typhoon Khanun on Wednesday, grounding flights and forcing local authorities to issue evacuation orders across the area. Khanun is the third typhoon to hit the east Asia region in recent weeks, following Talim and Doksuri, and registered wind speeds above 110mph, according to Japan's meteorological agency. A third of homes in Okinawa are believed to have had their power cut off because of the storm

Covid-19 restrictions ushered in worldwide avian enthusiasm, with potential wellbeing benefits

Interest in wild bird feeding surged over the pandemic, a study has found.

Researchers used data from Google Trends to assess the weekly frequency of searches for terms including “bird feeder”, “bird food” and “bird bath” from January 2019 to May 2020. After two weeks of lockdown, there was a dramatic increase in bird-related searches.

Marina Silva welcomes progress but says climate crisis means upcoming regional summit needs to produce real action

Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon fell by at least 60% in July compared to the same month last year, the environment minister, Marina Silva, has told the Guardian.

The good news comes ahead of a regional summit that aims to prevent South America’s largest biome from hitting a calamitous tipping point.

Rising ocean temperatures caused by climate crisis are also said to be causing China’s extreme weather

Summers in China are often wet, sometimes very wet, but nothing like the drenching that has engulfed Beijing and its neighbouring provinces this week.

As Beijing authorities lifted the flood alert on Wednesday morning, after the city’s heaviest rainfall for 140 years, 21 people across the region were confirmed dead. Dozens more were missing.

Failed states, a rise in authoritarian politics and heightened risks of conflict among potential threats outlined in thinktank’s assessment

Australia must prepare for “devastating” climate-fueled disruption in the Asia-Pacific, including failed states, forced migration and regional conflicts over water shortages, a stark briefing for federal politicians warns.

The Breakthrough National Centre for Climate Restoration thinktank has summarised the potential threats and impacts of the climate crisis in a note targeted at MPs.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Team forced to practice in indoor pool ahead of competition in Spain amid high sewage levels off coast of Lancashire

British triathletes preparing for next month’s world championships have been forced to abandon open water swim training because of sewage in the sea off the coast of Lancashire.

Adam Diver, along with his teammates Richard Addison and Paul Bamber, will represent Great Britain at the World Triathlon Championship finals in Pontevedra, Spain, on 22-24 September.

From the hills of Rio de Janeiro to Greece's Temple of Poseidon, stargazers across the world witnessed this month's supermoon. Called the sturgeon moon, it became visible at dusk on 1 August. Supermoons are full moons that come closest to Earth’s orbit, making them seem larger and brighter. The August full moon is named after the abundant sturgeon found in the lakes of North America in that month. It will be followed by a second full moon on 30 August, which will be called a blue moon as it appears in the same calendar month

• Starwatch: First of August’s two supermoons this week

Patrick Vallance and Laura Sandys believed to be candidates for one of most senior climate policy jobs

At least 60 people have applied to be the next chair of the Committee on Climate Change, with the government planning to appoint a new head in November, the Guardian has learned.

Several of the most likely candidates for the role – one of the most senior jobs in the field of UK climate policy – have been ruled out or ruled themselves out.

Heavy rain has hit China after Typhoon Doksuri, which has caused flooding that has destroyed roads, uprooted trees and knocked out power. Torrential rain in areas around Beijing has killed at least 20 people and left 27 missing. Thousands of people were evacuated to shelters in schools and other public buildings in suburban Beijing and in the nearby cities of Tianjin and Zhuozhou

• Beijing reports heaviest rain in 140 years

Australia has the wealth, technology and resources to sharply reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Until this happens, it is not doing all it can to protect the reef

• Get our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcast

The latest update from Unesco on the Great Barrier Reef world heritage area has been widely misreported as a decision to not place the reef on the world heritage “in danger” list. In reality, Unesco has simply postponed the next consideration of an in-danger listing until the 2024 meeting of the world heritage committee.

Unesco has acknowledged some recent improvements reported to them by the commonwealth and Queensland governments, such as a promised ban on gill nets as well as some additional investments in culling starfish and small-scale reef restoration. But buried deep within the diplomatic language of Unesco’s latest assessment is an acknowledgment of the slow speed of progress being made on meeting targets for reducing coastal pollution, and of Australia’s inadequate responses to the escalating impacts of climate change.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Rule that manufacturers must make increasing amount of zero emissions vehicles could be weakened, business secretary hints

Kemi Badenoch has raised concerns that electric vehicle targets could hamper investment in Britain and lead to job losses, in a sign that another of the government’s green pledges could face an uncertain future.

The business and trade secretary was discussing the vehicle industry’s concerns with colleagues regarding a rule to be introduced in January, which requires manufacturers to ensure that at least 22% of new sales in the UK are of emissions-free models, rising each year to reach 80% by 2030.

Australian mining entrepreneur Andrew Forrest criticises ‘clickbait’ fossil fuel plans as others say Britain has lost credibility

A billionaire global investor has led international condemnation of the UK’s new oil rush, saying he would pull his major investment from the country if the prime minister pursued “clickbait” fossil fuel policies.

The Australian iron ore entrepreneur Andrew Forrest, who also runs the Minderoo Foundation philanthropic organisation, threatened to move his investments out of the UK over Rishi Sunak’s swivel towards new oil and gas drilling.