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Plan to transform 130 hectares of Allestree Park could see reintroduction of species such as red kite and harvest mouse

“I’m excited about the potential for large wildflower-rich grassland areas mixed with naturally regenerating scrub,” said Prof Alastair Driver, director at Rewilding Britain. “It won’t be long before these areas are ringing with warbler song and sizzling with grasshoppers and crickets.”

The source of Driver’s excitement is Allestree Park, the largest open space in Derby, to which Derby city council has given the green light this week to become what Rewilding Britain believes to be the UK’s largest urban rewilding project.

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All the latest news from the UN climate change conference in Glasgow

• Cop26 draft text annotated: what it says and what it means
• US-China deal on emissions welcomed by climate experts

The UN’s António Guterres is underwhelmed by the pledges so far.

Bit of a theme here in the final push of the summit to make Cop26 a world-saver, rather than a historical disappointment. Lots of voices calling for more “ambition”.

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Without fungi we don’t have bread, chocolate, cheese, soy sauce, beer or wine. They are also crucial to protecting our climate

Let’s picture a dinner with family or friends that began by enjoying beer, wine, fruit juice or maybe a fizzy kombucha beverage. You’re contemplating a glorious basket of bread, wrapped in awe of its perfect crumb and fantasizing about the moment you slather it in butter or olive oil. Then come the fresh vegetables sauteed with soy sauce, maybe tofu or free-range beef with potatoes or rice, followed by cheese, or a chocolate dessert – and to top it off, a lovely cup of coffee or tea with some chocolates or maybe some sake? We need to stop for a moment and thank fungi for all of this. Honestly, none of it would be possible without them, and your dinner would certainly not be so tasty!

Fungi are responsible for almost all our food production, and most of our processed materials. They are also to be thanked for many of the important medical breakthroughs in human history that treat both physical and mental ailments, for naturally sequestering and slowly releasing carbon, for optimizing industrial processes, and so much more.

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Countries do not have to include armed forces’ emissions in their targets despite estimates sector creates 6% of greenhouse gases

• Cop26 latest – live

Armed forces are among the biggest polluters on the planet but are avoiding scrutiny because countries do not have to include their emissions in their targets, scientists say.

The world’s militaries combined, and the industries that provide their equipment, are estimated to create 6% of all global emissions, according to Scientists for Global Responsibility (SGR).

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Five things you need to know about COP26 - the United Nations climate change conference - on Thursday.

A doctor in the south of the country says people are eating cactus leaves and ashes as the rains become more erratic

There’s nothing to harvest any more, nothing that can be taken from the land, that’s why people are starving in Madagascar.

The rainy season was always special, an important time when everyone planted food – key crops such as cassava. But for the past three years we’ve had very little rain. The climate has changed in Madagascar, maybe because of the global climate crisis. We used to have distinct seasons but no more, it has been a bit troubled. The landscape looks really dry, the trees have no more leaves. It is hard to find green areas, most have turned arid and grey.

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The climate crisis could cause mass displacement as land is left uninhabitable – nations have to work together to plan for this

As scientists wrestle to predict the true impact and legacy of Cop26, one speech, given at a rally organised by Global Justice Now, insisted upon a perspective not data-driven but moral. Lumumba Di-Aping, a South Sudanese diplomat and former chief negotiator for the G77, said: “The first resolution that should be agreed in Glasgow is for annex I polluters to grant the citizens of small island developing states the right to immigration.”

It was a tactful way of putting it: annex I nations are those with special financial responsibilities in tackling the climate crisis. They have these special responsibilities because their early industrialisation created so much of the carbon burden. A more pugilistic diplomat might have said “the people who created this disaster have to offer sanctuary to those displaced by it”, but then, he wouldn’t be a diplomat.

Zoe Williams is a Guardian columnist

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Climate talks in Glasgow carry on, with negotiators having just two more full days to agree on texts before entering the more or less obligatory overtime. Check in here for the latest news and updates throughout the day.

Fortescue Future Industries (FFI), the green energy subsidiary of Australian iron ore giant Fortescue Metals Group, has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with US-based Universal Hydrogen to promote green hydrogen use in the aviation sector.

Major new benchmark reached for rooftop solar, as “negative demand” reached in South Australia.

The post Solar Insiders Podcast: Three million and counting appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Australia’s largest parrot has just been listed as an endangered species. Here’s why they’re in trouble – but it’s not too late to save them. Christina N. Zdenek, Lab Manager/Post-doc at the Venom Evolution Lab, The University of Queensland Rob Heinsohn, Professor of Evolutionary and Conservation Biology, Australian National University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

UN and EU say the agreement could help pave the way to wider breakthrough, though concerns remain over ‘patchy details’

An unexpected agreement between the US and China to work together on cutting emissions has been broadly welcomed by leaders and climate experts.

The world’s two biggest emitters appeared to put aside their differences at the Cop26 climate summit and on Wednesday unveiled a joint declaration that would see close cooperation on emissions cuts that scientists say are needed in the next 10 years to stay within 1.5C.

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One policy unites the left, from Joe Biden to John McDonnell. Trouble is, it’s foggy, technocratic and top-down

Q: What binds together such disparate souls as Noam Chomsky and Keir Starmer, Yanis Varoufakis and Joe Biden, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Caroline Lucas?

A: They all want a green new deal.

Aditya Chakrabortty is a Guardian columnist

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Chevron Australia will buy 5.23 million carbon offsets to compensate for failing to capture and store the required amount of CO2 emissions from its Gorgon LNG CCS project in Western Australia.

The world's two biggest CO2 emitters pledge to boost climate co-operation in an unexpected declaration.

The Australian arm of Saudi-owned Fotowatio Renewable Ventures has been tapped to help roll out up to half a gigawatt of solar farms in New Zealand.

The post FRV to build 500MW of solar in New Zealand to replace thermal capacity appeared first on RenewEconomy.

IRENA and World Economic Forum publish “toolbox for policy makers” aimed at accelerating deployment and cutting costs of renewable hydrogen in Europe and Japan.

The post Green hydrogen roadmap targets supply chain in Europe and Japan appeared first on RenewEconomy.

The world's eighth largest emitter says it will ratify the Paris climate pact if restrictions are lifted.

A daily summary of our news plus bite-sized updates from around the world.

A large "hybrid" floating solar arrays has been switched on at a hydropower dam in Thailand's east, with plans for 15 more to come.

The post Thailand switches on 45MW floating solar plant, plans for 15 more appeared first on RenewEconomy.