The Guardian

The week’s top environment news stories and green events. If you are not already receiving this roundup, sign up here to get the briefing delivered to your inbox

An otter family, a diving kingfisher and the Amazon coral reef are among this week’s pick of images from the natural world

Prime minister Stefan Löfven calls the Trump administration’s approach worrying as he announces new law binding future governments to a goal of carbon neutrality by 2045

Sweden has criticised the Trump administration’s approach to climate policy as it announced legislation binding future governments to a goal of phasing out greenhouse gas emissions by 2045, among the most ambitious by any developed nation.

“The position we hear from the new [US] administration is worrying,” prime minister Stefan Löfven said after announcing an ambitious new climate law promising zero net greenhouse gas emissions by 2045.

Charity calls for tougher legislation to prevent shooting, poisoning and trapping of birds such as peregrine falcons, red kites, buzzards and hen harriers

Almost 200 reports of shooting, trapping and destruction of birds of prey were received by the RSPB in 2015, the charity said.

Some 64 out of the 196 reports were confirmed, including the shooting or attempted shooting of 46 birds of prey, including 16 buzzards, 11 peregrines, three red kites, one red-footed falcon and one hen harrier, a new report from the RSPB said.

Extraordinary readings pile pressure on operator Tepco in its efforts to decommission nuclear power station

Radiation levels inside a damaged reactor at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station are at their highest since the plant suffered a triple meltdown almost six years ago.

The facility’s operator, Tokyo Electric Power (Tepco), said atmospheric readings as high as 530 sieverts an hour had been recorded inside the containment vessel of reactor No 2, one of three reactors that experienced a meltdown when the plant was crippled by a huge tsunami that struck the north-east coast of Japan in March 2011.

Destructive seaweeds found in reefs worldwide will grow more poisonous and eventually take over in the fight for space

The destruction of coral reefs worldwide could accelerate as rising carbon emissions help coral-killing seaweeds grow more poisonous and take over, according to researchers.

A Griffith University study on the Great Barrier Reef has shown how rising CO2 emissions trigger more potency in chemicals from common “weed-like” algae that poison corals as they compete for space.

Crewe Green, Cheshire No wonder the spines of this tiny mammal keep most predators away; it’s like touching surgical needles

Although the air is mild for the time of year, the sky is iron-blue, threatening another downpour. It is wet and muddy under foot, slippery too. Charcoal and murky-brown, dead leaves clot the woodland path. There is the breath of tannin; I can almost taste it. Two grey squirrels chase each other over rotten logs, then dash up a tree strangled by ivy. A blackbird skitters into some bushes. I call my jack russell, Roob, who is loitering behind, sniffing new scents; this isn’t our usual walk. She doesn’t appear.

I retrace my steps, calling again, scanning through perished bracken and withered nettles. I smell ghostly flowers and wizened rosehips. There are tangled brambles, bitter-black berries and bare trees. A gust of wind rattles their branches; they creak and moan in protest. Then I hear her, growling at something near a holly bush.

Minister says he’s not surprised that generators don’t want another big baseload power station to enter the market

Australia’s resources minister, Matt Canavan, has flagged subsidising a “clean” coal baseload power plant from the government’s $5bn northern Australia infrastructure fund, and says the government has already heard from an interested party.

Canavan on Friday suggested a potential investor in a new power station was eyeing off development in the Galilee Basin, the planned site of the Adani coal mine – and he said cheap power had been the key to opening up the Bowen basin in Queensland in the 1960’s.

Spill comes less than 18 months after a fire on the same oil rig and prompts warning from environmentalists over dangers of offshore drilling

An oil spill at an ExxonMobil platform in the Bass Strait is being investigated by the federal regulator, after the discovery of an oily sheen on waters around the rig.

The spill comes less than 18 months after a fire raged on the same platform for nine hours before it could be controlled. And in 2013, Exxon was responsible for a spill from another rig in the Bass Strait.

As the ice melts, the race is on to exploit Arctic resources. And that means more claustrophobic submarine operations

Diminishing ice cover has increased political and economic competition for resources inside the Arctic Circle. This means more submarine operations, which are doubly claustrophobia-inducing, as a sub can only surface where the ice is comparatively thin. In an emergency, finding the nearest hole in the ice is essential, and this has spurred the development of a new type of forecast.

There are two types of hole in the ice, known as leads and polynyas. Leads are long fractures, gigantic cracks caused by ice sheets moving apart. Ultimately, they are due to wind or ocean currents pushing areas of ice in different directions. Leads are generally transient, as the seawater freezes over quickly when exposed to the cold air.

Climate science denier and veteran lobbyist Fred Palmer is proud of getting Australia to adopt the sector’s arguments on climate and poverty

If you’re a lobbyist or an industry advocate, then you know you’re winning when you hear your own talking points coming back at you through the mouths of ministers.

Better still, if it’s the Australian prime minister.

Congressman Jason Chaffetz withdraws House bill 621 as conservationists and outdoorsmen vow to continue fight over similar legislation

In the small hours of Thursday morning, US congressman Jason Chaffetz announced that he would withdraw a bill he introduced last week that would have ordered the incoming secretary of the interior to immediately sell off 3.3m acres of national land.

Chaffetz, a representative from Utah, wrote on Instagram that he had a change of heart in the face of strong opposition from “groups I support and care about” who, he said, “fear it sends the wrong message”.

Citizen scientists are being sought for a project which will see tens of thousands of teabags buried in wetlands to monitor carbon sequestration

Australian scientists have launched a project to bury tens of thousands of teabags in wetlands around the world. They are hoping others will sacrifice a few cups of tea and join in to discover how efficient different wetlands are at capturing and storing carbon dioxide.

Lipton green tea and red tea “rooibos” varieties will be used in the project, which already involves more than 500 scientists in every continent except Antarctica.

The Woodland Trust is calling on tree lovers to vote for their favourite entry in this year’s European contest that includes four British trees. The competition highlights the cultural importance of old trees and the need to protect them

Transport secretary says airport expansion will bolster post-Brexit economy but critics warn over environmental obligations

Proposals for a third runway at Heathrow have been published for public consultation by the government as it declared that expanding the airport would show the world Britain was open for business after Brexit.

Related: Heathrow third runway plans published for public consultation

‘Twenty-eight Climate Change Elevator Pitches’ delivers basic, accurate climate information

We know the climate is changing, the Earth is warming, and humans are the cause. As a scientist who studies this daily, I know the evidence is compelling and mutually reinforcing. In fact, the evidence is so compelling that it’s almost impossible to find scientists who disagree.

We also know that it’s possible to solve this problem using today’s technology. We don’t need to wait for fairy dust or cold fusion. Using energy more wisely, increasing renewable energy, modernizing nuclear power, and other actions are all things we can do right now to make the future better.

A kestrel takes a shine to a Highways England CCTV camera at Junction 11a of the M5 in Gloucestershire. First spotted by traffic officers in October 2016, the kestrel is seen on separate occasions checking its reflection in the camera, struggling against high winds and being assailed by a magpie and a raven

Nomadic herders have killed wildlife and torched buildings but questions remain over the causes of the violence

Thousands of heavily-armed herders are invading conservancies, private properties and smallholdings in Laikipia, one of Kenya’s most important wildlife areas, as they search for pasture for their cattle.

Over the past couple of weeks, about 10,000 nomadic herders, armed with automatic rifles and driving 135,000 cattle, have left a trail of destruction and chaos in the county, just three hours drive from Nairobi. The herders have indiscriminately killed wildlife – from elephants, giraffes, zebras and lions to family dogs. Residents and tourists have been injured, some seriously. At least one person has been killed, according to reports.

Solar power and clean cars are ‘gamechangers’ consistently underestimated by big energy, says Imperial College and Carbon Tracker report

Falling costs of electric vehicles and solar panels could halt worldwide growth in demand for oil and coal by 2020, a new report has suggested.

A scenario that takes into account the latest cost reduction projections for the green technologies, and countries’ pledges to cut emissions, finds that solar power and electric vehicles are “gamechangers” that could leave fossil fuels stranded.

Plans for one million new homes by 2020 risk overwhelming drains, unless the government ends freeze on legal requirements for sustainable drainage

The rush to build one million new homes in England by 2020 is set to increase flooding by overwhelming drains, according to the nation’s building and flooding professionals.

The risk could be avoided, however, if the government ends its seven-year freeze on implementing legal requirements for new developments to include sustainable drainage systems (SuDS), such as ponds, green roofs and permeable paving. These slow the flow of water into drains, cutting the risk of floods.