The Guardian

The best of this week’s wildlife pictures, including a newborn fallow deer fawn and an elephant in the room

Researchers say temperatures, already the highest in the past 20,000 years, could increase by up to 10F by 2100

Yellowstone, established in 1872, is famous around the globe for good reason: it’s the oldest national park in the United States and one of the most popular.

But a new report issued this week shows how Yellowstone’s near pristine environment, with attractions like the Old Faithful geyser and herds of bison, is under threat from global heating.

Parliamentary probe follows Guardian Australia investigation that revealed serious concerns about the system

New South Wales’ use of environmental offsets to compensate for habitat destruction caused by major developments will be examined by a parliamentary inquiry.

The state upper house probe follows a Guardian Australia investigation that revealed serious concerns about the system, including instances where promised offsets never eventuated.

Activists seeking to halt cutting of ancient trees have chained themselves to trunks in remote woodland

Police in western Canada have arrested more than 270 people as a conflict over old growth logging in British Columbia’s ancient rainforests continues to grow.

At the protest blockades in the remote woodland, hundreds of activists have been chaining themselves to giant tripods made from the trunks of felled trees, suspending themselves in trees for days or more at a time, and even securing their arms inside devices called “sleeping dragons” cemented into the roadway.

Letter sent to director general over what Scott Morrison calls ‘absolutely appalling’ process of recommending reef for in-danger list

Twelve international ambassadors to Unesco, including Australia’s, have written to the UN body to “share collective concerns” about its decision making, ahead of a crucial meeting that could see the Great Barrier Reef placed on a “world heritage in danger” list.

A former Australian government world heritage official said the letter, sent to Unesco’s director general, Audrey Azoulay, on Wednesday, should be seen as part of the country’s promised lobbying effort as it desperately tries to avoid the reef being included on the list.

Scientists are trying to find the cause of an affliction that leaves victims with crusty eyes, swollen faces and the inability to fly

A mysterious illness is killing birds across several states in the south and midwestern US, and wildlife scientists are rushing to try to find the cause, with many victims suffering from crusty eyes, swollen faces and the inability to fly.

Wildlife managers in Washington DC, Virginia, Maryland and West Virginia first began receiving reports of sick and dying birds with eye swelling and crusty discharge, as well as neurological signs in late May, according to a statement from the US Geological Survey, which added: “No definitive cause of death is identified at this time.”

Climate Change Committee says government needs to ‘step up very rapidly’ to meet ‘historic’ targets

Boris Johnson’s government has set “historic” targets on the climate crisis but has failed so far to come up with the policies needed to reach them, the government’s independent advisers on the climate have warned.

The Climate Change Committee published two progress reports on Thursday, showing the UK lagging behind on its key goal of 78% cuts to greenhouse gases by 2035 and making recommendations on how to get back on track.

Evidence the reef is in trouble has been building for years, federal opposition environment spokesperson Terri Butler says

Labor has called on the government to justify its claim a UN body bowed to political pressure in recommending the Great Barrier Reef be placed on a world heritage “in danger” list, saying there had been warning signs the site had been in trouble for years.

Guardian Australia revealed on Wednesday that Dr Fanny Douvere, of Unesco’s World Heritage Centre in Paris, had rejected a suggestion by the environment minister, Sussan Ley, that the body told the Australian government a week ago it would not be recommending the reef be moved to the “in danger” list.

MPs warned of £40m budget cut hindering effort to monitor sewage discharges and farming activity

The head of the Environment Agency has called for the government to reinstate a £120m grant to help increase surveillance of water companies and cut pollution in rivers.

Sir James Bevan, chief executive of the agency, told MPs that water companies and the farming industry, the two main polluters of rivers, were not doing enough to protect the environment.

Species extinction, more widespread disease, unliveable heat, ecosystem collapse, and other climate impacts are accelerating

Climate change will fundamentally reshape life on Earth in the coming decades, even if humans can tame planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions, according to a landmark draft report from the UN’s climate science advisers obtained by AFP.

Species extinction, more widespread disease, unliveable heat, ecosystem collapse, cities menaced by rising seas – these and other devastating climate impacts are accelerating and bound to become painfully obvious before a child born today turns 30.

FuelEU Maritime would ‘lock in’ use of fossil fuels for decades, says NGO

A leaked draft of a flagship EU policy designed to cut carbon emissions in shipping, one of the world’s biggest polluters, has been described as an environmental disaster for “promoting” liquified natural gas, a fossil fuel, as an alternative to heavy oil.

The decision, says an NGO that has analysed the plans, will ‘lock in the use of fossil fuels for decades to come and make the EU’s target of net emissions neutrality by 2050 unreachable.

Almost two-thirds of renewable energy schemes built globally last year expected to undercut coal costs

Almost two-thirds of wind and solar projects built globally last year will be able to generate cheaper electricity than even the world’s cheapest new coal plants, according to a report from the International Renewable Energy Agency (Irena).

The agency found that the falling cost of new windfarms and solar panels meant 62% of new renewable energy projects could undercut the cost of up to 800 gigawatts (GW) worth of coal plants, or almost enough to supply the UK’s electricity needs 10 times over.

We are not angry, we are disappointed. And angry

• Sign up here to get an email whenever First Dog cartoons are published
• Get all your needs met at the First Dog shop if what you need is First Dog merchandise and prints

Country looks to export excess manure from intensive pig and poultry farms to combat rising pollution and emissions

A surge in pig and poultry farming in Northern Ireland has built a multimillion-pound industry, feeding British consumers chicken and pork. But it is creating a climate and pollution headache for politicians.

After a decade of growth, the country has a poultry population of 25 million and pig production has risen to almost 1.5 million, with most of the meat exported to Great Britain.

Cool Walks aims to help pedestrians avoid dangerous heat and find public drinking fountains

A new app promises to help Barcelona residents find the shadiest route between two places to avoid extreme heat.

Cool Walks, a routing tool for pedestrians first developed at a data visualisation contest, aims to show users a variety of walking routes to take for their intended destinations.

Scientists were surprised by results of painting eyeliner on shells of jumping spiders to change their appearance

Researchers have come up with an ingenious way to test the theory that male jumping spiders have evolved colourful stripes to ward off predators – they have put makeup on them.

Unlike the females of the species, the male Habronattus pyrrithrix come in vivid hues to attract mates. But scientists writing in the journal Royal Society Open Science wanted to establish whether their bright, striped backs help protect them from predators.

Exclusive: Unesco’s Fanny Douvere denies any political interference, noting the reef’s outlook has gone from ‘poor to very poor’

A senior Unesco official has rejected the Australian government’s claims it bowed to political pressure when deciding to recommend the Great Barrier Reef be placed on the world heritage “in danger” list.

Dr Fanny Douvere, of Unesco’s World Heritage Centre in Paris, also rejected a suggestion from the Australian environment minister, Sussan Ley, that the UN body had told the government a week ago it would not be recommending the listing.

Large-scale environmental destruction affects the future of all life on our planet. Criminalising it would finally hold decision-makers to account

An international team of lawyers co-chaired by Philippe Sands QC and Dior Fall Sow has presented the outcome of its work announced in November last year to develop a legal definition of ecocide. This is a crucial step towards adding ecocide to the list of other major offences recognised by the international criminal court (ICC), including crimes against humanity, war crimes and genocide.

Making large-scale destruction of nature and its associated loss of biodiversity an international crime means that individuals, not legal entities, can be personally held accountable and prosecuted if found guilty. This implies that responsibility for damage cannot be dealt with by budgeting for potential fines. Corporations very rarely intend to cause mass damage and destruction; rather, it is a consequence of their activities. The proposed definition of ecocide describes the crime as one of recklessness; the perpetrator acted in the knowledge that there was “substantial likelihood” of serious harm arising from their conduct, but they acted anyway.

Draft law is intended to prosecute offences against the environment

Legal experts from across the globe have drawn up a “historic” definition of ecocide, intended to be adopted by the international criminal court to prosecute the most egregious offences against the environment.

The draft law, unveiled on Tuesday, defines ecocide as “unlawful or wanton acts committed with knowledge that there is a substantial likelihood of severe and widespread or long-term damage to the environment being caused by those acts”.

How a series of mass coral bleaching events linked to rising sea temperatures prompted calls for action ahead of world heritage committee meeting

• Great Barrier Reef should be listed as ‘in danger’, Unesco recommends
• Comment: The Australian government wants to avoid the Great Barrier Reef being listed as ‘in danger’ at all costs

The Great Barrier Reef has been under pressure for decades due to rising greenhouse gas emissions and other human activity, notably agriculture along the Queensland coast.

There were mass coral bleaching events linked to rising sea temperatures in 1998 and 2002.