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Only lowering our living standards will achieve sustainable growth. That’s the message from Satyajit Das.

We are destroying the world’s biodiversity. Yet debate has erupted over just what this means for the planet – and us.

Just over 250 million years ago, the planet suffered what may be described as its greatest holocaust: ninety-six percent of marine genera (plural of genus) and seventy percent of land vertebrate vanished for good. Even insects suffered a mass extinction – the only time before or since. Entire classes of animals – like trilobites – went out like a match in the wind.

But what’s arguably most fascinating about this event – known as the Permian-Triassic extinction or more poetically, the Great Dying – is the fact that anything survived at all. Life, it seems, is so ridiculously adaptable that not only did thousands of species make it through whatever killed off nearly everything (no one knows for certain though theories abound) but, somehow, after millions of years life even recovered and went on to write new tales.

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When NGO Bikeygees set out to teach female refugees how to ride a bike they were shocked by the demand. Now hundreds have benefitted from the scheme

Emily is a 21-year-old Afghan refugee living in Berlin, and her best experience in Germany so far has been, without a doubt, learning to ride a bike.

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Wolsingham, Weardale: In the fog every surviving thread was spangled with water droplets, sparkling as the sun broke through

Swirling fog plays tricks. As we crossed an open field the silhouette of an oak loomed, with a glimmer of pale yellow light cradled in its branches, before it dissolved back into the clammy miasma.

We had descended from the high fells, from clear blue sky and crystal-clear views into a monochrome lake of valley fog, cold grey vapour trapped by warmer air above. It thickened as we followed the footpath along the riverbank.

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Energy minister Josh Frydenberg has declared Australia's electric vehicle revolution to be "nigh.” But can the Coalition back its proselytising with policies? Or will EVs go the way of renewable energy in the party room?

The unusual sight of a wallaby bounding across the Sydney Harbour Bridge has surprised early-morning motorists.

Peer-to-peer renewable energy marketplace leader recognised for high potential; heads to Necker Island later this year to compete as one of 3 finalists.

Electricity from renewables in Germany grew by a record amount, but one big news item may have been overlooked amidst all the new records.

The heart of China’s coal country has become a global leader in EVs – but is the switch sustainable?

A month into operation, the Tesla lithium-ion battery at Neoen wind farm in Hornsdale, South Australia is already providing essential grid services.

Continuing its strategy of proximity, aiming to offer its customers the high quality service, Imeon Energy opens a Service Center in Melbourne, Australia.

Insects are often portrayed as a sustainable superfood - and many are delicious.

With 99% of green sea turtles in the northern Great Barrier Reef hatching as females due to changing climate, the future for this species now depends largely on effective global conservation measures. Rita Caldas Patricio, Postdoctoral research fellow, University of Exeter Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Corporate energy retailer Flow Power inks 10-year PPA to supply Melbourne-based manufacturer with electricity sourced from Victoria's Ararat wind farm.

Our cultural practices help define us, but when the mood of the world is against us, what do we do? 

With some of Australia's offshore oil and gas structures starting to reach retirement age, there are hopes that decommissioning could signal a new boom for the sector.

Human body lice, rather than rat fleas, spread plague during the Black Death, a study simulating the outbreak suggests.

Last year was a vicious one for climate and energy politics. And with a South Australian election and various other federal decisions in the offing, 2018 looks like being similarly rancorous. Marc Hudson, PhD Candidate, Sustainable Consumption Institute, University of Manchester Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Campaigners say London mayor has fudged a similar manifesto promise to divest the city’s remaining pension funds from fossil fuels

London has been put to shame by New York’s decision to divest city pension funds from fossil fuel companies, according to climate campaigners who accuse the mayor, Sadiq Khan, of fudging a similar promise he made during his election campaign.

Global efforts to drive investment away from oil, gas and coal were given a major boost last week when the biggest city in the US announced plans to sell off its $5bn holdings in fossil fuel assets and sue the world’s most powerful oil companies over their contribution to dangerous global warming.

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Model penguins have appeared in cities around the world as part of a new Greenpeace campaign that is aiming to turn a huge tract of the Antarctic Ocean into the world’s biggest wildlife reserve, protecting marine life and helping to fight climate change

• World’s biggest wildlife reserve planned for Antarctica in global campaign

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