The Guardian

The best of this week’s wildlife photographs, including hungry puffins, arctic rabbits and curious bears

NSW, Queensland and Tasmania experienced hottest winters with spring likely to deliver hotter than average temperatures too

Australia’s winter of 2023 was the warmest since official records began in 1910, with average daily temperatures 1.53C above the long-term average.

According to data from the Bureau of Meteorology released on Friday, the 2023 winter beat the previous record of 1.46C above the average set in 1996. Every winter since 2012 has been warmer than the 30-year average calculated from 1961 to 1990.

There has been a lot of commentary about how to measure the cost of renewables – but much of it misses the point

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If you’ve been reading or watching any rightwing media of late, you will have heard some extraordinary claims being made about the cost of renewable energy and the transition away from fossil fuels.

The opposition’s energy spokesperson, Ted O’Brien, suggested the Labor government could be “wilfully lying” about the “true cost” of the energy transition, while others have questioned the evidence that solar and wind are the cheapest forms of power.

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Chief executive says pumped hydro project remains ‘critical’ to energy transition away from fossil fuels

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Snowy Hydro’s bogged tunnel boring machine could resume work within weeks – a key step to getting the “critical” pumped hydro project now expected to cost $12bn back on track.

Dennis Barnes, Snowy’s chief executive, says the revised contract with the builders of the 2.0 project – Italy-based WeBuild – is still in its “final stages” but he expects it to be signed off soon.

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Activists say that whales will still suffer agonising deaths despite new regulations and monitoring

Animal rights groups and environmentalists have described as “hugely disappointing” the news that Iceland has given the green light for commercial whaling to resume, after a temporary ban introduced this year came to an end.

The Icelandic government said there will be tougher regulations in place – including better equipment, training and increased monitoring – but campaigners said these were “pointless and irrelevant” because whales will still suffer agonising deaths. The hunted whales are shot with grenade-tipped harpoons.

Voters won a huge battle with the oil industry – proving that we can’t save the planet without robust democracy

Days ago, voters in Ecuador approved a total ban on oil drilling in protected land in the Amazon, a 2.5m-acre tract in the Yasuní national park that might be the world’s most important biodiversity hotspot. The area is a Unesco-designated biosphere reserve and home to two non-contacted Indigenous groups. This could be a major step forward for the entire global climate justice movement in ways that are not yet apparent.

This vote is important not only for Ecuador and for the Indigenous peoples in the Yasuní, who now have hope of living in peace in perpetuity. It is also a potential model for how we can use the democratic process around the world to help slow or even stop the expansion of fossil fuels to the benefit of billions of people.

Investigating protest and criminal damage is apparently now a waste of police time. Funny that Conservatives didn’t say that about Just Stop Oil protests

This was “crime week” on the Tory grid, but the party of law and order is no more. Tories now do like dictators, passing draconian laws against the freedom to protest but flouting them for protesters of their own political ilk.

Self-styled “blade runners” claim to have so far destroyed 600 cameras of the 3,000 needed to enforce the new Ulez – ultra-low emission zone – now covering all of Greater London. The Mail, Telegraph and Sun have been whooping up the actions of “Captain Gatso” and his balaclavaed vandals as they tear down cameras and cut cables. The Sun reports anti-Ulez exploits along with its “Give Us A Brake campaign to slow down the government’s ruinous race to net zero”. The Telegraph quotes a vigilante describing his night-time vandalism as “unpaid voluntary work for the community”.

Polly Toynbee is a Guardian columnist

Researchers used genetic analysis to identify species that cannot be distinguished by appearance alone

Seven new leaf insect species, known as “walking leaves”, have been discovered.

The insects exhibit a sophisticated “twigs and leaf-like” camouflage allowing them to blend into their surroundings without detection, posing a challenge to both predators and researchers.

Discovery that most canids in Australia are not hybrids with wild dogs leads researchers to push to change policy and terminology

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Scientists are calling on governments to end baiting programs targeting dingoes in national parks, to ditch the “inappropriate and misleading” term “wild dog”, and to proactively engage with Indigenous Australians regarding dingo management.

Dozens of scientists have written to the New South Wales, Victorian and South Australian environment and agriculture ministers to push for changes to dingo policies in light of new scientific research.

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Do the charity’s accusations that the government has reneged on a range of environmental pledges stand up to scrutiny?

If the RSPB hoped to raise awareness about the perplexing concept of “nutrient neutrality” their post calling Rishi Sunak, Michael Gove and Thérèse Coffey “LIARS!” worked: it has, to date, been viewed by five million people.

“You lie, and you lie, and you lie again,” the conservation charity declared on X, formerly Twitter, listing a number of environmental statements from the trio over recent years.

Plant Heritage is asking volunteers to grow rare pollinator-friendly plants in their homes or gardens

Keep rare plants in your living room or garden, a horticultural charity has urged people in Britain, because creating a “national collection” can save pollinator-friendly plants from becoming extinct.

Plant Heritage, which works to keep rare garden flowers growing even when they are out of fashion, has started a campaign to protect pollinator-friendly plants and is asking for volunteers to set up a collection.

Astrophytum: With large yellow flowers in late spring and summer, these North American cacti will survive in a cool glasshouse if kept dry. International plant breeders have created many highly ornamental hybrids and cultivars, too.

Campanula: Also known as bellflowers, these distinctive open, bell-shaped flowers can be blue, pink, purple or white. There are about 80 species and 232 cultivars available.

Colocasia: These dramatic foliage plants can be grown outside in a warm, sheltered spot, or in greenhouses or conservatories. There are 19 cultivars available.

Echinacea: Known for attracting bees, birds and other pollinators, these hardy, herbaceous perennials have about 200 cultivars listed on the RHS Plantfinder.

Elaeagnus: There are 45 species and cultivars available in the UK, which either flower in spring and early summer or in the autumn. Some have edible berries.

Erigeron: Related to daisies, Erigeron can be annuals, biennials or perennials. They thrive in sunny spots with some happily growing through the cracks in paving.

Gaura (Oenothera (G)): Known for attracting bees, these drought tolerant, deciduous perennials flower for a long period at the end of summer and into autumn. They are mostly in shades of pink and white.

Knautia: A magnet for bees and butterflies, this plant group can be found growing wild in meadows across the UK and is also a cottage garden favourite.

Lysimachia: From creeping, ground cover plants to stately perennials, this genus can survive in a variety of settings. The UK native species have yellow flowers, but the garden types include whites and deep maroons too.

Osmanthus: These hardy evergreen shrubs with attractive foliage are easy to grow, and thrive in either sun or shade. There are 17 cultivars and 10 species available in the UK.

Phygelius: These are low growing evergreen shrubs but are often treated as perennials. The tubular flowers are held on long stems and come in tones of pink, red and occasionally yellow, and will last from mid-summer into the autumn.

Silene: These wildflowers are also known as campion and catchfly, with many other species found in the UK, from alpines to border perennials. With shades of pink, lilac, white and red, they bloom from late spring through to early summer.

June hunt in Alaska that killed 99 bears and five wolves prompts activists to renew their call for crackdown on ‘rogue states’

The US federal government has been accused of simultaneously paying to protect endangered species while funding state-organized hunts of large, endangered predators, like gray wolves and grizzly bears, that increase the likelihood of their extinction.

A coalition of more than 35 animal welfare and Indigenous groups in late 2021 formally petitioned the US Department of the Interior to develop rules to withhold money from state agencies that fund the “slaughters”. But the department has not responded to the petition, the groups allege.

Beccy Speight says frustration at ‘weaker protections’ prompted criticism of Sunak, Gove and Coffey

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The head of the RSPB has apologised after the wildlife charity called Rishi Sunak and other ministers “liars” in a social media post.

Beccy Speight, the chief executive of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, said she did not approve the post on X, formerly known as Twitter, that said the UK prime minister, the levelling-up secretary, Michael Gove, and the environment secretary, Thérèse Coffey, were liars.

Sites cover less than 1% of planet and although protected are at risk from climate breakdown and human consumption, say experts

A fifth of known life on Earth can be found in Unesco world heritage sites, according to the first survey of the planet’s most important cultural and historical landmarks.

From the Great Barrier Reef to the Kazakh steppe, nearly three-quarters of all recorded bird species, two-thirds of all mammals and more than half of all hard corals have been recorded at world heritage sites even though they cover less than 1% of the planet, according to the new analysis produced by Unesco and the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

Most people want cleaner air and a better NHS, but partisan politics gets in the way. To bridge the gap, we need citizens’ assemblies

The surprise Conservative victory over Labour in July’s Uxbridge and South Ruislip byelection did not shift the national opinion polls. But Uxbridge was a pivotal event nevertheless. It delivered an enduring warning about the way modern politicians approach environmental change. It highlighted some of the very real political hazards facing those – in this case the London mayor, Sadiq Khan – committed to otherwise popular policies for which, it now turns out, the ground has not been adequately prepared.

In some respects, Khan was simply unlucky. Without the byelection in Boris Johnson’s former seat, Khan’s plan to extend his ultra-low emission zone to outer London might have come into force this week with relatively little fuss. Yes, there would have been some grumbles and protests but, at most, the Ulez expansion would have led the regional bulletins, not the national news.

A forest rodeo, a hidden stargazer and a mason bee at work are just a few of the awe-inspiring images featured in the 59th wildlife photographer of the year competition.

The Natural History Museum in London will unveil the latest wildlife photographer of the year exhibition showcasing 100 extraordinary photographs from around the world on 13 October 2023.

This year’s competition attracted an astounding 49,957 entries from photographers of all ages and experience levels from 95 countries. Entries were judged on their creativity, originality, and technical excellence by an international panel of industry experts.

The winners of each category, and the prestigious grand title and young grand title awards, will be announced on 10 October 2023 at a ceremony hosted by wildlife television presenters and conservationists Chris Packham and Megan McCubbin

Office for Environmental Protection chair tells ministers plan will degrade England’s rivers and demands that they explain it to MPs

Plans to rip up pollution rules for housebuilders are a “regression” which will degrade England’s rivers, the government’s environment watchdog has said.

An amendment tabled by the government to the levelling up bill orders local authorities to ignore nutrient pollution from new developments in ecologically sensitive areas in England, including the Norfolk Broads and the Lake District. These nutrients, when untreated, cause algal blooms that choke the life from rivers.

World’s largest offshore wind company may have to write down its US portfolio by £1.8bn

Shares in the world’s largest offshore wind company tumbled by nearly a quarter on Wednesday, after it said it may have to write down the value of its US portfolio by nearly £2bn.

Ørsted said it had been hit by a flurry of setbacks in its American business, triggering a rapid sell-off in its shares, listed in Copenhagen.

The quarterly emissions data reinforces how much of a joke our 2030 emissions target is

Every three months two all-encompassing surveys are released that track how Australia is going. One we know exactly when it will be released (next Wednesday at 11.30am), the other we know vaguely when but often it comes out on a Friday afternoon with little fanfare and no warning. One – on GDP – gets reported widely, the other – on greenhouse gas emissions – is mostly ignored.

Coming after the intergenerational report announced last week that rising temperatures driven by greenhouse gas emissions would likely cost the economy between $135bn and $423bn in today’s dollars, you might hope that the quarterly emissions data might get as much attention as GDP.

Greens leader says Albanese government is ‘hellbent on opening more coal and gas mines’ and people must ‘fight back’

The Australian Greens leader, Adam Bandt, has called on people to join disruptive climate protests to pressure the Albanese government to stop opening new fossil fuel mines, saying he plans to help blockade the country’s largest coal port.

He has also written to the leaders of 16 Pacific Island nations suggesting they should make any support for an Australia bid to host a UN climate summit conditional on the government “taking stronger climate action”.