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Plant set to boost local jobs and supply growing global demand for lithium, which is used in renewable energy storage

Earthworks for a new lithium hydroxide factory in Western Australia are expected to begin this month after the $1bn project received federal environmental approval.

The plant owned by the world’s largest lithium producer, the US chemical company Albemarle, was approved by the WA government in October and is estimated to create up to 500 jobs in construction, with another 100 to 500 operational jobs once it is operational.

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New Zealand’s whale whisperers worry that manmade changes in the ocean are behind the spike in beachings

Whale whisperer Hori Parata was just seven years old when he attended his first mass stranding, a beaching of porpoises in New Zealand’s Northland, their cries screeching through the air on the deserted stretch of sand.

Seven decades later, Parata, 75, has now overseen more than 500 strandings and is renowned in New Zealand as the leading Māori whale expert, called on by tribes around the country for cultural guidance as marine strandings become increasingly complex and fatal.

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Guardian environment correspondent Sandra Laville explains why we can’t recycle our way out of the plastics problem, and suggests ways to reduce your footprint

Plastic has become perhaps the most demonised material of the last 12 months, as the scale of pollution in the oceans becomes increasingly apparent.

With dire predictions that if nothing is done there will be more plastic in the seas by weight than fish by 2050, it has become evident that we cannot recycle our way out of the plastic problem.

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

New images of Anak Krakatau, which erupted last month and caused a deadly tsunami, are revealed.

Energy efficiency is more important in the battle against climate change than wind and solar power, research shows

Energy efficiency and changing economy cut generation by 1% in 20018 as renewables supplied record 33% of electricity

The output of British power stations fell this year to levels last seen almost a quarter of a century ago, while renewables achieved a record share of the UK electricity supply.

Electricity generation in 2018 was the lowest since 1994, when Tony Blair became the leader of the Labour party.

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The Washington Department of Ecology (ECY) will ask the state Supreme Court this spring to overturn a lower court’s block of Governor Jay Inslee’s (D) market-based regulation for large emitters, potentially offering the state a fresh chance to put a price on carbon after multiple failed attempts in recent years.

California regulator ARB is considering changes to its forestry offset protocol and potentially adding a grassland methodology as it looks to increase the supply of credits with a direct environmental benefit to the state, a registry source said.

County of San Diego housing projects relying on out-of-jurisdiction carbon offsets to nullify the impacts of urban sprawl may not proceed because the plan violates prior guidance and lacks environmental integrity, a California Superior Court judge ruled last week.

Pattern Energy is looking for an natural resources environmental associate for their Houston-based office.

Natural Resources Defense Council is seeking a Climate Advisor to work with Washington, DC as part of the American Cities Climate Challenge (ACCC).

European carbon allowances closed higher following a choppy session on Wednesday, flirting with last September’s 10-year high during the first trading day of 2019.

Evolution Markets has lost its US Carbon Americas Director and experienced broker from its New York City office, several sources confirmed to Carbon Pulse.

The first detailed picture from Tuesday's historic flyby in the outer Solar System is released.

Increased sightings of bluefin tuna off the UK are linked to the warming effect of a long term ocean current.

Human reactions to shark attacks have fascinated Fiona Adolph for more than a decade. Here she examines a global hotspot, Western Australia

On a whisper-still January dawn, the most terrifying day of Allan Oppert’s life began unremarkably and with a feeling of deep calm.

Like most Sundays, he woke to a knock on the door from his friends Dan and Dave. At Allan’s neat house in the small seaside town of Binningup, in the south-west corner of Western Australia, the three men drank strong coffee before towing Allan’s boat to a nearby ramp where three friends were launching another vessel. The two groups were heading out on the ocean together, a familiar arrangement aimed at ensuring safety.

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The Netherlands faces a turbulent year in agreeing to plans to meet its 2030 domestic emission target, as green groups have withdrawn their support for a draft because it failed to include a carbon tax for heavy industries while setting a lower carbon price floor for the power sector.

‘Reverse vending machines’ receive 311,500 bottles to date, says supermarket Iceland

Shoppers have received the equivalent of more than £30,000 in total for recycling plastic bottles in the first supermarket trial using “reverse vending machines” installed to reduce littering.

The machines, introduced last year by the Iceland chain at five UK sites, reward consumers with a voucher worth 10p for every deposit of a bottle purchased at the shops.

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It is the first attempt to land robotic craft on the side of the Moon which never faces Earth.