The Guardian

The controversial and politically divisive Carmichael mine has been locked in a battle with an uncompromising two-word slogan

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In 2010, an Indian mining company bought some tenements over a giant and untapped coal basin in the west of Queensland.

That purchase, by the conglomerate Adani Group, kickstarted one of the most controversial and politically divisive resource projects in Australia’s history – the Carmichael coalmine and rail project.

The loss of any species is a tragedy, but the rapid disappearance of bogong moths has much wider effects

It’s conventional wisdom among wildlife lovers that the more charismatic an animal is, the higher its profile. Cute and cuddly species – fuzzy mammals and colourful birds – grab the public’s attention, while less obviously appealing animals struggle in obscurity. In eastern Australia one famous insect is an exception to this rule.

In appearance, the bogong moth is perfectly average: it doesn’t stand out from all the other anonymous moths of the night in size or colour. It’s small, but not remarkably small, and brown, but a drab mousy brown. You wouldn’t look twice at it, but for one thing: the sheer numbers in which it congregates.

Rise in temperatures and humidity linked to forest loss has reduced safe hours for working in the tropics

Deforestation has made outdoor work unsafe for millions of people in the tropics over the past 15 years, a study has found.

The rise in temperatures and humidity caused by tree loss has reduced the number of safe hours in the day for people to work, especially for those performing heavy labour.

Search for Lost Birds project is asking birdwatchers everywhere to help track down species sometimes not seen for centuries

Birdwatchers around the world are being called on to turn detective and help in a search for some of the rarest birds on Earth.

The global Search for Lost Birds, launched today, presents researchers, conservationists and the global birdwatching community with a Top 10 Most Wanted list of birds that have been lost to science, including the Siau scops owl, which was last seen in 1866.

The best of this week’s wildlife pictures, including a rescued horse, a baby monkey and a rare leopard

As the climate crisis causes drastic food and water shortages in the north-east, pastoralists and their livestock are being pushed to the brink
Images contain graphic content

Photographs by Ed Ram for Getty

Warmer winters are happening across the globe, and can be drivers of catastrophic weather events and profound changes

As climate scientist Kai Kornhuber walks around New York City this winter, an eerie feeling creeps into his body. It’s warm enough for a T-shirt in December, and the birds are chirping loudly.

The temperatures tell birds and trees that it’s time for action, but the systems are out of sync for December, says Kornhuber, a postdoctoral researcher at Columbia University’s Earth Institute.

Exclusive: Wood smoke is a more important carcinogen than vehicle fumes, finds Athens analysis

Wood burning stoves in urban areas are responsible for almost half of people’s exposure to cancer-causing chemicals found in air pollution particles, new research has shown.

The polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in tiny pollution particles are produced by burning fuels and have long been known to have carcinogenic effects. The new study examined the sources of the PAHs and found wood burning produced more than the diesel fuel or petrol used in vehicles.

It’s that time of year when snowy animals grace Christmas cards and advertising campaigns, but in reality many of them are facing an uncertain future owing to climate change and nature loss.

The WWF has highlighted eight species suffering the effects of climate change, such as the polar bear and walrus of the Arctic to the mountain hare of Scotland and the snow leopard of the Himalayas

Permits for UK and EU vessels will hinder efforts to protect marine life and may break habitats directive, conservation group warns

The British government’s granting of fishing licences to more than 1,000 UK and EU vessels for 2022, which will permit bottom-trawling and dredging in marine protected areas, could be unlawful unless conditions to safeguard ocean habitats are imposed, the conservation group Oceana says.

In a letter to George Eustice, secretary of state for the environment, parts of which have been seen by the Guardian, the group warned that licences expected to be granted this month could contravene UK law. This includes the habitats directive, aimed at protecting vital marine ecosystems.

Need some rest and some time with people you love or even better spend a quiet moment hiding alone in a tree

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The unusual discovery in New Zealand waters is based on the remains of scat and scars on seal’s bodies

In a world first, New Zealand leopard seals have been found to feed on sharks, making them part of a tiny and exclusive club of marine predators that do so.

The study, led by Krista van der Linde of leopardseals.org, found shark remains in the scat of leopard seals, and visible signs of struggle with sharks on seals’ bodies, indicating the marine mammals predate on sharks, rather than scavenge their remains.

Newly published building policy said to be a ‘missed opportunity’ to help the UK reach net zero by 2030

The government’s new building regulations were supposed to be the blueprint for carbon-neutral homes, helping the country reach net zero by 2030, but instead are a step backwards, industry experts have said.

The government policy, published on Wednesday and due to be introduced by 2025, has mandated a 30% carbon cut in all new buildings and a 27% cut in others. The new rules will come into force in June in England, with a transition period to allow for planning applications that are in progress at the time.

Carcasses found in four provinces, including one pregnant female, with nine arrests made

Poachers have killed 24 rhinos in South Africa during the first two weeks of December after a lull in killings during the Covid pandemic.

On Tuesday, the South African environment ministry said carcasses had been discovered in four provinces across the country since the beginning of the month, with seven rhinos found dead in Kruger national park, six in KwaZulu-Natal and seven in Mpumalanga. Four, including a pregnant female, were shot dead by poachers at a game reserve in the Western Cape last week while a fifth is being treated for gunshot wounds.

Sainsbury’s is one of six European supermarkets to stop selling some or all beef products from South American country

Sainsbury’s and five other European supermarkets have announced they will stop selling some or all beef products originating in Brazil because of concerns over links to deforestation in the Amazon rainforest and other ecologically important areas.

Sainsbury’s, along with Lidl Netherlands and others, took action after research into “cattle laundering” involving the meat conglomerate JBS. According to the news organisation Repórter Brasil, the company allegedly indirectly sourced cattle from illegally deforested areas.

Young Friends of the Earth group in flood-hit Pontypridd accuse borough council of ‘sitting in the flames’

Most youngsters chosen to receive a good citizen award would probably have welcomed the recognition and dutifully attended the ceremony and photocall with the local mayor.

But members of Young Friends of the Earth in the south Wales town of Pontypridd, who have been campaigning for changes to address the climate emergency, weren’t having any of it.

Latest edition of one of world’s largest and longest nature surveys counts 95,306 birds, third lowest tally in almost four decades of tracking

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Consecutive wet years have boosted breeding colonies of waterbirds in eastern Australia but not enough yet to increase total bird numbers, according to the latest edition of one of the world’s largest and longest nature surveys.

Researchers on the annual survey, now in its 39th year, flew 38,360km – or almost enough to circumnavigate the globe – to track the abundance in more than 2,000 wetlands of about 50 bird species, from Queensland down to Victoria.

Proposals published on Defra website would change way ‘substances of very high concern’ are dealt with

The government is planning to water down the regulatory requirements on key chemicals, in what experts fear could be the first move to a weaker post-Brexit safety regime for potentially toxic substances.

Proposals published last week without fanfare on a government website set out some of the intended new rules for the new post-Brexit national chemicals regulator. The proposals would change the way “substances of very high concern” – which include potential toxins and carcinogens, and chemicals that persist for a long time in the environment – are dealt with.

Environment groups claim decision will allow power station on Central Coast to continue to contribute to respiratory illnesses in children

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The New South Wales environmental regulator has granted the Vales Point power station on the Central Coast another five-year exemption from state air-quality regulations.

Environment groups claim the decision will see the power station continue to contribute to respiratory illnesses in children.

The scheme that the Nationals senator says will leave Queensland ‘marooned’ was actually designed and introduced by the Coalition

• Temperature Check is a weekly column examining claims about climate change made by governments, politicians, business and in the media. See the latest column and follow the series here

Australia’s climate wars may not be over but, as key targets and policies from the two main parties are now out, there does appear to be a quietening of the political gunfire.

But Queensland coalition senator Matt Canavan was still looking to fire shots, with a front page claim that Labor’s new climate policy constituted “revenge” on his home state.