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Opposition leader assured environmentalist he would commit Labor to revoking the licence for the controversial coal project, but then faltered

The businessman and environmentalist Geoff Cousins is absolutely unequivocal.

He said the federal Labor leader Bill Shorten called him, just before Christmas last year, looking for help in how Labor might strengthen its policy on the controversial Adani coalmine – and then Shorten followed up several times since, asking to be given more time to convince colleagues to support the shift in position.

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Bee viruses have been found in hoverflies for the first time, raising new concerns about disease threats.

Blind people who use sound to navigate their environment adjust their clicks very similarly to bats, research reveals.

Affordable, 300km plus range electric vehicles are about to hit Australian showrooms. But is there an EV available now or coming soon that will meet your needs?

Victoria regulator finalises decision on Australia's first time-varying feed-in tariffs for solar, although acknowledges risks some users could abuse system by charging batteries at night.

University of Newcastle says 2MW of solar being added to its Callaghan campus this year will slash energy costs and serve as a "living laboratory."

AGL will spend more than $200 million and create 90 jobs during work to upgrade and maintain the coal- fired Bayswater Power Station in Muswellbrook, a key part of our NSW Generation Plan.

Barnaby Joyce had a long history of opposing climate action. His successor Michael McCormack seems to think the same way, despite climate being a growing threat to the Nationals' rural voters. Marc Hudson, PhD Candidate, Sustainable Consumption Institute, University of Manchester Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

The pups were separated from their mother during storms at the end of last year.

Vodafone and Nokia lay out plans to put a 4G mobile network on the Moon in 2019.

Scientists investigate the microbes that survive in the South American desert on very little water.

Record warmth in the Arctic this month could yet prove to be a freak occurrence, but experts warn the warming event is unprecedented

An alarming heatwave in the sunless winter Arctic is causing blizzards in Europe and forcing scientists to reconsider even their most pessimistic forecasts of climate change.

Although it could yet prove to be a freak event, the primary concern is that global warming is eroding the polar vortex, the powerful winds that once insulated the frozen north.

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Analysis shows just 20 battery models on sale in Europe against more than 400 conventional ones

The rise of electric cars in Europe is being hampered by a lack of models for consumers to choose from rather than a lack of public recharging points, according to energy companies and carmakers.

Some motoring groups and insurers have warned over the past year that the number of chargers is putting the switch to electric transport at risk. But an analysis by the Platform for Electromobility – whose 31 members include Tesla, Renault-Nissan, Brussels-based campaign group T&E and industrial groups Siemens and Alstom – found there are already enough points in Europe.

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Landmark ruling could cause traffic chaos and dramatically hit the value of diesel vehicles

One of Germany’s top courts has ruled that heavily polluting vehicles can be banned from the urban centres of Stuttgart and Düsseldorf, a landmark ruling that could cause traffic chaos on the country’s roads and dramatically hit the value of diesel cars.

Environmental campaigners had sued dozens of German cities, arguing they have a duty to cut air pollution to protect people’s health.

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Faster melting of ice sheets is speeding up sea level rise

As humans emit heat-trapping gases like carbon dioxide, the planet warms, and over time consequences become more apparent. Some of the consequences we are familiar with – for instance, rising temperatures, melting ice, and rising sea levels. Scientists certainly want to know how much the Earth has changed, but we also want to know how fast the changes will be in the future to know what the next generations will experience.

One of the classic projections into the future is for sea level rise. It is expected that by the year 2100, the ocean levels will rise a few feet by the end of the century. This matters a lot because globally, 150 million people live within three feet of current ocean levels. We have built our modern infrastructure based on current ocean levels. What happens to peoples’ homes and infrastructure when the waters rise?

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This year, in collaboration with Global Witness, the Guardian aims to record the deaths of all people killed while protecting land or natural resources. At the current rate, about four defenders will die this week somewhere on the planet

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Do we need a new frame of reference to truly understand our environmental emergency?

Should Australian businesses be doing more to recycle their electronic waste?

Natural gas is touted as a “bridging fuel” to displace coal while moving to a low-carbon economy. In New Zealand, this is shortsighted and could lead to stranded assets and hold back renewables. Ralph Sims, Professor, School of Engineering and Advanced Technology, Massey University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

A Senate estimates hearing has been told how little auditing takes place on such projects. But no big deal, it’s just the environment, right?

Imagine spending hundreds of millions of dollars on a project and not being able to demonstrate whether or not you’ve achieved what you set out to.

Such is the case for programs aimed at helping Australia’s threatened plants and animals, which the government has boasted it is funding to the tune of $255m.

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