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faces a turbulent year in agreeing to plans to meet its 2030 domestic emission target, as green groups have withdrawn their support for a draft because it failed to include a carbon tax for heavy industries while setting a lower carbon price floor for the power sector.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

Chugoku Electric Power Co. and JFE Steel have given up on plans to build a 1.07GW coal-fired power plant over concerns the facility might prove unprofitable, the seventh planned coal plant to be scrapped in Japan over the past 18 months.

As we reflect on a year of extreme weather and ominous climate talks, Guardian environment writer Fiona Harvey explains why 2019 could see some much-needed breakthroughs

Extreme weather hit the headlines throughout 2018, from the heatwave across much of the northern hemisphere, which saw unprecedented wild fires in Sweden, drought in the UK and devastating wildfires in the US, to floods in India and typhoons in south-east Asia.

According to the World Meteorological Organisation, last year was the fourth hottest on record and confirms a trend of rising temperatures that is a clear signal that we are having an effect on the climate. Droughts, floods, fiercer storms and heatwaves, as well as sea level rises, are all expected to increase markedly as a result.

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Multiple officers arrive at home to find Perth man with ‘serious fear’ of arachnids ‘trying to kill a spider’

Police in Western Australia have confirmed they sent multiple officers to an emergency call that turned out to be a screaming man with a “serious fear” of spiders.

A concerned passerby was walking outside a house in suburban Perth when they heard a toddler screaming and a man repeatedly shouting “Why don’t you die?”

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The Environmental Protection Authority Victoria says the waste is contained and there's no immediate risk to the community, but it's monitoring the air quality as a precaution.

One in five beachgoers has been injured by litter, with the most common incidents involving cuts and scrapes - but also including fractures, burns, poisonings and even blindness. So be careful out there. Marnie Campbell, Chevron Harry Butler Chair in Biosecurity and Environmental Science, Murdoch University Cameron McMains, PhD Candidate, Harry Butler Institute, Murdoch University Chad Hewitt, Professor and Director, Murdoch Biosecurity Research Centre, Murdoch University Mariana Campos, Lecturer and researcher, Murdoch University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Nasa's probe is in a "healthy" state after its flypast of Ultima Thule, the most distant object ever explored.

Winning images from the year’s national and international wildlife photography competitions

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Human feces, overflowing garbage and damaging behavior reported as staff hampered over busy holiday period

Human feces, overflowing garbage, illegal off-roading and other damaging behavior in fragile areas were beginning to overwhelm some of the American west’s most popular national parks on Monday, as a partial government shutdown left the areas open to visitors but with little staff on duty.

Related: Trump 'ready and willing' to make a deal as shutdown chaos continues

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A year ago China imposed a ban on waste imports, so what's happened to the UK's plastic?

Contrary to dozens of aquariums' warning signs, flash photography does not affect seahorses. Maarten De Brauwer, PhD-candidate in Marine Ecology, Curtin University Benjamin John Saunders, Lecturer / Research fellow in Marine Ecology, Curtin University Tanika Cian Shalders, Marine Scientist, Curtin University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

The International Institute for Sustainable Development, Reporting Services Division (IISD RS), is looking for new writers for its team of freelance consultants (the “ENB Team”) who write and edit the Earth Negotiations Bulletin and IISD’s other conference reporting (ENB+) services.

I reject the suggestion that the capital’s action plan contains nothing new

Two weeks ago, the mayor of London and I spent a morning cycling with the leader of Enfield council looking at their excellent new protected cycleways and secure bike parking hub at Edmonton Green station. Together we unveiled Transport for London’s new cycling action plan, which aims to make London the world’s best big city for cycling and to double the number of cycle journeys in five years.

The launch follows the publication of this year’s TfL business plan, in which Sadiq Khan demonstrated his continuing commitment to cycling by not only protecting the record level of funding for cycling, but increasing it from an average of £169m to £214m a year. This commitment is despite central government’s complete withdrawal of the £700m annual operating grant, which has left TfL in a tough financial position, compounded by the delay and increased cost of Crossrail.

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Organisers had planned to release 130,000 balloons at a Manila nightclub to ring in the new year.

Dr Nancy Grace Roman, the first woman to hold a senior leadership position at Nasa, has died at 93.

Alarming sight greets family as thousands of the invasive pest are flushed out by rising waters in Kununurra

A huge storm in Australia’s north on Sunday flushed out a sight which either fascinated or horrified those who saw it – 10 cane toads riding the back of a 3.5m python.

Paul and Anne Mock were at home with their daughters in the remote West Australian town of Kununurra, when a large storm dumped almost 70mm of rain into their dam.

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Closing prices, ranges and volumes for China's regional pilot carbon markets this week.