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Besides record heat, the world saw many other unwanted records tumble in 2015, providing ever more evidence for the effect humans are having on climate.

There are synergies between EVs and solar, so the basic concept of merging Tesla and SolarCity seems sound. The biggest risk is that somebody else might execute it better.

As the Senate shapes up to be heavy on Hansonites and climate skepticism, and light on support for renewable energy, retaining a fully-funded ARENA could be the best the industry can hope for.

Activist Debi Goenka says Indian coal market, which has swung dramatically against the viability of imported coal for power, will seal Carmichael mine’s fate

Continued attempts by Australian politicians to link Adani’s Carmichael coalmine to the social uplift of the poor in India are “completely ridiculous”, a veteran Indian conservationist says.

Debi Goenka, the Mumbai activist who challenged Adani’s environmental licence for its mine in the Queensland land court in 2014, said Australian government figures continued to rely on arguments about imported coal lifting Indians out of poverty, which were “all bunkum”.

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For the first time in its history, Suncorp has listed climate change as a specific business risk. But it's still not convinced by the science.

New research suggests that badgers do not transmit TB to cattle by direct contact.

Queen Mary University of London tracked four bumblebees for whole life, and found disparities in how they found food

A study has revealed that bumblebees have distinct personalities.

Some bees play it safe by returning to the same flowers again and again while others search for new sources of nectar, scientists found.

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What if humans could invent a leaf-like solar cell that could turn carbon dioxide pollution from the atmosphere into fuel for electric power plants? Researchers led by University of Illinois-Chicago might have developed just that.

Net zero energy buildings have been gaining momentum around the world. However, there still remains an industry-wide perception that net zero energy is too expensive, or comes at a much higher incremental cost over business as usual.

Patrick Barkham on how a colony of rare butterflies living in a healthy elm has become a key element for citizens resisting Sheffield council tree felling

We tend to picture butterflies feeding on flowers, but five British species spend most of their lives in the tops of trees. These insects are often overlooked during their unobtrusive lives. But the white-letter hairstreak finds itself in the spotlight this month as local people fight to save a fine mature elm in Sheffield.

Related: Rare UK butterfly under threat as elms disappear

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Geologists have found evidence for an ancient megaflood which they say could be the mythical flood at the dawn of the first Chinese dynasty.

An analysis of sports events suggests men may be better at reconciliation after conflicts which could give them advantages in the workplace.

After boundaries were re-drawn on 1 August, we asked you to share your best pictures of the Yorkshire Dales and Lake District national parks – including the newly incorporated areas now on many walkers’ bucket lists

• See more images and add yours using the blue GuardianWitness button below
  

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A hidden portrait by the French Impressionist painter Edgar Degas has been revealed using powerful x-rays, scientists report.

Analysis by the car manufacturer marks end of the decade as a potential tipping point for the mass take up of electric vehicles, reports Business Green

Public electric vehicle (EV) charge points will outnumber petrol stations in the UK by the end of the decade, marking a potential tipping point in the adoption of zero emission vehicles.

That is the conclusion of a new analysis by auto giant and EV manufacturer Nissan, which argues that based on current trends EV charge points will overtake traditional petrol stations by August 2020.

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In drought-prone Chad, 4.3 million people – more than a third of the population – are food insecure, and 176,000 children have severe acute malnutrition, after erratic rains led to ruined crops

Photographs: Peter Caton/Tearfund

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Lord Gardiner, who will be involved in reforming EU farming support post-Brexit, receives £49,000 a year in payments, it has been revealed

One of Theresa May’s new environment ministers has been accused by campaigners of a conflict of interest over tens of thousands of pounds he receives annually in EU farming subsidies.

Lord Gardiner is parliamentary under secretary of state and the House of Lords spokesperson for the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), which will be heavily involved in plans for replacing EU farming support.

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Like the annual music concert at your child’s primary school, the English Premier League’s offseason can seem endless. But despair not, it does end, and its end is nigh. As Jurgen Klopp would say: “Boom!” So how will you take in the coming Premier League season? Whether you’re a solo spectator, in a group, or out on the town, what steps should you consider taking in order to appreciate all that the world’s most exciting football league has to offer? We’re glad you asked!

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China's Jade Rabbit says a final goodbye and shuts down forever, after 31 months exploring the Moon, far outliving its predicted lifespan.

The State of the Climate in 2015 report, led by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, was released yesterday. Unfortunately, it paints a grim picture of the world’s climate last year.

For a second consecutive year the globe experienced its hottest year on record, beating the 2014 record by more than 0.1℃. From May 2015 onwards, each month set a temperature record for that particular month, a pattern that has yet to end.

The record-breaking temperature anomaly in 2015 (around 1℃ higher, on average, than what would be expected in a world without humans) was in large part due to human-caused climate change. A small fraction of the heat was because of a major El Niño event, which developed midway through 2015 and ran into this year.

During El Niño events we see warmer sea surface temperatures in the central and eastern Pacific Ocean. A resulting transfer of heat from the ocean into the lower atmosphere causes a temporary warming effect. In La Niña seasons, the opposite happens.

Overall, about 0.05-0.1℃ of the global temperature anomaly for 2015 was due to El Niño. The bulk of the remainder was due to climate change. So even if we hadn’t had an El Niño last year, 2015 would still have been one of the hottest years on record.

Of the 16 hottest years ever recorded, 15 have happened this century.

Extreme events around the world…

At regional scales we also saw many extreme events last year. The downward trend in Arctic sea ice continued, with the lowest annual maximum extent on record. Alaska’s winter was almost non-existent, with many Arctic mammals and fish being forced to change their behaviour and shift their habitats.

Many extreme heatwaves occurred in 2015. These included a deadly hot spell in India and Pakistan and severe heat events in Europe and North America. Combined, these events killed thousands of people.

In Europe, various summer heat records were set in Spain, the Netherlands, France and Britain, while Germany posted an all-time record temperature.

Seasonal-scale extreme heat occurred over many parts of the globe. There were many more warm days and nights than normal over much of Europe in summer, and in Russia and North America in spring.

Extreme events occurred around the world in 2015. NOAA NCEI

Across the world there were more tropical cyclones than normal, mainly due to increased cyclone activity across the Pacific basin, and many significant flood events. On the other hand, large areas suffered severe drought (14% of the land surface, up from 8% in 2014).

The Ethiopian drought devastated crops and affected millions of people. Parts of South America experienced the worst drought in 80 years. The western US drought continued, despite the fact that El Niño events usually bring this region some reprieve.

…including in Australia

In Australia, probably the most significant climate extreme we had was the record heat in October.

The country experienced its biggest monthly temperature anomaly on record – almost 3℃ above the historical national average. The frequency of very warm days was also well above average. This unusual early heat triggered bushfires across the southeast.

Even given the El Niño event (which normally warms up Australia in spring and summer), the maximum temperature records that were set were, for example, at least six times more likely in Melbourne than they would have been in the absence of human-caused climate change.

For 2015 as a whole, Australia experienced its fifth-warmest year on record. Nine out of 12 months were warmer than average.

A continuation of climate change trends

Besides the record heat, the world saw many other unwanted records tumble in 2015, providing ever more extensive evidence for the effect that humans are having on the climate. Greenhouse gas concentrations (the primary cause of our changing climate) rose to record high levels, with carbon dioxide concentrations passing the 400 parts per million mark at many sites. The year’s margin of increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations was also the largest on record.

Our influence on the climate can also be seen through record high globally-averaged sea levels and the highest globally-averaged sea surface and upper ocean temperatures on record.

The trend towards more heat extremes and fewer cold ones also continued. In fact, 2015 had about three times as many very warm days as very cold ones globally compared with the historical average.

A plethora of records was broken, with a human fingerprint being clear in many cases.

What’s next?

We already know that 2016 is very likely to overtake 2015 globally as the hottest year on record. As the El Niño peaked earlier this year we saw many extreme events around the world and in Australia. This included the devastating coral bleaching on the Great Barrier Reef, which would have been virtually impossible without human-caused climate change.

Unfortunately, in many ways, the climate of 2015 is not likely to stand out as especially unusual in a few years’ time. More record hot years are likely, with associated extreme weather events, as greenhouse gas concentrations continue to climb.

Only with rapid and substantial cuts to these emissions will it be possible to limit global warming to well below 2℃, a key aim of the Paris climate agreement, and reduce the likelihood of yet more climate records tumbling.

Andrew King receives funding from the ARC Centre of Excellence for Climate System Science.

Sarah Perkins-Kirkpatrick receives funding from the Australian Research Council