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Beaver family will be released in the Forest of Dean to stop a village from flooding, with potential for further such schemes to follow

A valley in the Forest of Dean will echo to the sound of herbivorous munching next spring when a family of beavers are released into a fenced enclosure to stop a village from flooding, in the first ever such scheme funded by the government.

The plan for the village of Lydbrook, Gloucestershire, may soon be joined by other schemes. The environment secretary, Michael Gove, has indicated that the government may support other schemes to restore the beaver four centuries after it was driven to extinction in England and Wales.

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Our magpies are not the same as Europe’s, so why do they share a name? The bird of the year has a complicated back story

The Australian magpie has been crowned bird of the year but how much do we really know about it? Where do magpies fit in the evolutionary scheme of things? Why do we even call them magpies?

DNA sequencing technology has revolutionised biology. Our understanding of the evolutionary tree of bird life – that is how species and groups of birds are related to each other and how their evolution has unfolded on the planet’s changing continents – is no exception. We now have a much better understanding than we did just 30 years ago of where all the species of the world’s birds perch, so to speak, on that tree.

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Axa will also stop insuring US oil pipelines for business and ethical reasons, taking fossil fuel divestment to new level

One of the world’s biggest financial services companies is both dumping investments and ending insurance for controversial US oil pipelines, taking fossil fuel divestment to a new level.

Axa is also quadrupling its divestment from coal businesses and increasing its green investments fivefold by 2020. The moves were announced at the One Planet Summit in Paris, called by the French president, Emmanuel Macron, to accelerate the use of global finance in fighting climate change.

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Michael Gove must deliver on his promise to give ‘the environment a voice’ to ensure short-term politics do not interfere with the natural world

Michael Gove has raised the stakes for those of us determined to see a world-class environment for the UK. The environment secretary has vowed that the government will establish a “new, world-leading body to give the environment a voice and hold the powerful to account, independent of government and able to speak its mind freely”.

MPs will debate this new institution during the next stages of the withdrawal bill in parliament on Tuesday and must ensure Gove’s promises are turned into legally binding commitments.

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City to Sea campaign says we must rethink bad habits and only flush ‘three Ps: pee, paper and poo’ as study finds blockages cost UK £100m a year

Baby wipes are causing hundreds of thousands of blockages in the UK sewer system and costing the country £100m every year, according to a new report.

The study from Water UK, the trade body representing all of the main water and sewerage companies in the country, found that wipes made up about 93% of the material causing the sewer blockages.

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National Audit Office report puts Macquarie deal at low end of valuation with extra tens of millions lost from rejection of phased sale option

Ministers missed out on tens of millions extra on the sale of the Green Investment Bank (GIB) in August, according to the spending watchdog.

The National Audit Office said the £1.6bn paid in cash by the Australian bank Macquarie came in at the low end of the government’s valuation. Macquarie agreed to spend a further £500m to cover the bank’s existing commitments.

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Kittiwakes and gannets are among seabirds that have joined endangered species on IUCN red list as food stocks dwindle, says study

Overfishing and climate change are pushing some of the world’s most iconic seabirds to the brink of extinction, according to a new report.

The study reveals that kittiwakes and gannets are among a number of seabirds that have now joined the red list of under-threat birds drawn up by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

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Australian researchers who unboiled an egg are turning their focus to making a more efficient alternative to lithium-ion batteries.

Malcolm Turnbull now appears perfectly comfortable parroting right wing nonsense about energy policy, branding high renewable policies as "idiocy" and defending the future of coal. That may be because mainstream media won't challenge him.

A post-election cabinet reshuffle has delivered a new energy minister for Queensland. Here's what we know about Dr Anthony Lynham.

The CEFC is helping demonstrate the diverse potential of energy efficiency programs by helping finance clean energy improvements to two Adelaide buildings.

Lucky Bay on WA's south coast has been scientifically declared to have the whitest sand in Australia. But if you think your local beach can take the title, we want to hear from you. Noel Schoknecht, Senior research associate, Murdoch University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Footage from local residents and forestry officials shows the moment an elephant attacks two vehicles in the middle of a road in southwest China’s Yunnan Province

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Adult golden eagles are unable to shift the timing of their migration, a North American study shows

Commercial development of cheap, printable, Australian made perovskite solar cells boosted with $6m ARENA grant to Greatcell Solar.

AEMO relaxes limits on wind generation in South Australia as it continues to review system strength needs of the grid with the highest penetration of wind and solar in the world.

New Australian solar developer, Oriens Energy, announces plans for 80MW solar farm in Tamworth, with more projects in the pipeline.

Critics have argued renewable energies could come with high hidden greenhouse gas emissions that would negate their benefits to the climate. A new study shows the opposite is true.

The recent upsurge in the price of Bitcoin seems to have finally awakened the world to the massively destructive environmental consequences of this bubble.

Seabirds such as the kittiwake are being pushed to the brink of extinction, say conservationists.