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Australia is already at 19 per cent renewables as at June, and could reach 43 per cent renewables by 2030, just with the state targets in Queensland and Victoria, new data shows.

The robot vehicle would retrieve rocks that could be brought to Earth for detailed study.

A toad named after the character in Lord in the Rings joins a new list of species at risk of extinction.

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

Pruitt seemed indestructible as the administration cycled through resignations, with Trump standing by him even at the end

Towards the end of his 2016 presidential election campaign, Donald Trump discovered a new slogan: “Drain the swamp!” He admitted being surprised at how well it went down with crowds at his rallies and kept repeating it.

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California and RGGI prices were largely static this week as the summer holiday season kicked off in earnest with the July 4 US holiday.

Embattled US EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt resigned as leader of the country’s environmental office on Thursday after a multitude of political and financial scandals, with deputy administrator and former coal industry lobbyist Andrew Wheeler slated to become the acting agency head on Monday.

Pruitt’s actions at the EPA have left a demoralized agency where staff fear their ability to protect public health is diminished

Scott Pruitt, who has finally stepped down as administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency after a long-rumbling corruption scandal, rose to public prominence on the back of a series of increasingly outlandish ethical controversies.

Related: Scott Pruitt resigns: Trump's scandal-ridden EPA chief steps down

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Donald Trump announces Pruitt’s departure on Twitter and praises him for doing an ‘outstanding job’

• The biggest Trump resignations and firings – so far

Scott Pruitt, the hugely controversial administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, has resigned.

Related: A scandal for all seasons: Scott Pruitt's ethics violations in full

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The EPA administrator has been embroiled in allegations of ethics violations for months.

On the golden jubilee of the discovery of Mungo Lady's 40,000-year-old remains, we can reflect on Aboriginal Australia's vast history, which predates the arrival of Homo sapiens in both Europe and America. Richard 'Bert' Roberts, Director, ARC Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage (CABAH), University of Wollongong Lynette Russell, Professor, Indigenous Studies and History, Monash University Michael Bird, ARC Laureate Fellow, JCU Distinguished Professor and Landscapes Theme Leader for the ARC Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage, James Cook University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Remains of two or three people found near pride with an axe – commonly used to remove horn

At least two rhino poachers were eaten by lions on a South African game farm, according to the reserve’s owner.

A ranger taking guests on a safari drive at the Sibuya game reserve in the Eastern Cape on Tuesday afternoon discovered human remains near a pride of lions.

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The number of RGGI allowances held for compliance purposes declined in the first quarter of 2018 as the northeast US carbon market’s latest true-up deadline arrived March, according to a report by market monitor Potomac Economics.

The recycling industry is in crisis, yet for most Australians it’s out of mind beyond the rattle of the recycling bin pickups each week. So what does this crisis really look like? Guardian Australia visited three processing sites to find out what happens to bins once they leave the kerb

The recycling industry has been in crisis mode in Australia since January when China, which previously bought 50% of the recycling we collect, implemented a ban that cut out 99% of what we used to sell.

Recycling companies had relied on this export revenue stream to stay afloat – the amount of waste recycling we create exceeds the demand we have to buy and use within Australia. Without an outlet, some companies began stockpiling recycling or sending it straight to landfill.

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Researchers say sea levels could also rise by six metres or more even if 2 degree target of Paris accord met

Temperature rises as a result of global warming could eventually be double what has been projected by climate models, according to an international team of researchers from 17 countries.

Sea levels could also rise by six metres or more even if the world does meet the 2 degree target of the Paris accord.

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EU carbon prices will retest last month’s seven-year high by the end of the year before hitting €20 in 2020, according to a poll of analysts conducted by Carbon Pulse.

European carbon prices reached their highest level in a month on Thursday as continued rises in power spurred buying in anticipation of increased demand from utilities for the rest of the summer.

Alicia Hull on tidal energy being more efficient than nuclear, Liam O’Keeffe underlines its benefits, and Sue Roaf shines a light on solar

In his letter, Jim Waterton (30 June) protests too much. If tidal energy cannot be allowed without the possibility and costs of storage being certain, how is it that nuclear has been allowed when the costs and feasibility of storing the used fuel for countless lifetimes is equally unknown and likely to be much higher?

He describes tidal energy as intermittent, when it is regular and very suitable as a base power source. In contrast, he describes nuclear power as consistent when this is far from the truth. Quite apart from their hopeless record on delivery dates, rising costs and concern that they will work, they’re also offline from time to time. The station at Sizewell is offline for maintenance for five to six weeks every 18 months. By November last year there had been 16 planned outages. But there had also been unplanned outages when dangerous faults have been identified.

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Colombia will spend at least three years studying ways to impose an ETS in the country, a government official told Carbon Pulse on Thursday, dimming prospects of a rapid launch of emissions trading following lawmaker clearance last week.

The former head of environmental products trading at oil major BP has left to set up a US-based firm specialising in biofuels and forest carbon assets.