The Guardian

Slowdown this year in rising greenhouse gases does not negate long-term trend, finds carbon budget analysis

Carbon dioxide emissions rose weakly this year as the use of coal declined but natural gas took up the slack, a comprehensive study of the global “carbon budget” has found.

The rise in emissions was much smaller than in the last two years, but the continued increase means the world is still far from being on track to meet the goals of the Paris agreement on climate change, which would require emissions to peak then fall rapidly to reach net-zero by mid-century.

Footage of a polar bear spray-painted with graffiti has sparked outrage in Russia. The bear was daubed with the letters ‘T-34’, the name of a Soviet-era tank sometimes painted on cars during celebrations marking the end of the second world war. Scientists have expressed concern that the black lettering on its flank could reduce its camouflage and ability to hunt

• Sight of polar bear daubed with graffiti sparks outrage

The unprecedented bushfires afflicting Australia’s east coast have left rescuers working frantically to heal and house the countless creatures caught in the blaze

It encapsulated the horror engulfing New South Wales: the footage of a koala mewing in pain as its habitat burned around it. The rescue of that animal, saved from the Long Flat blaze by a woman using her shirt as a shield, went viral.

But the bushfires have injured and displaced vast numbers of other creatures, many of which no longer have homes. Who rescues them – and what does that involve?

Climate activist heading to COP25 in Madrid after crossing Atlantic on family’s yacht

The climate activist Greta Thunberg has arrived in Lisbon after a three-week catamaran voyage across the Atlantic Ocean from the US.

The Swedish teenager now plans to head to Spain to attend the UN climate conference in Madrid.

In the heart of the Amazon rainforest, an alternative climate conference is taking place that brings together youth activists, indigenous leaders, scientists and forest dwellers. In a region known as Middle Earth, they are building a new alliance and demonstrating that the rainforest is central to life on Earth, even though Brazil backed out of hosting this year's official UN climate talks after the election of Jair Bolsonaro as president

World Meteorological Organization says 2019 is likely to be second or third warmest year ever

The last decade has been one of “exceptional” heat around the world, and was almost certainly the hottest on record, while the oceans have also warmed to record levels and grown markedly more acidic, the World Meteorological Organization has said.

Temperatures for the years from 2010 to 2019 were about 1.1C above the average for the pre-industrial period, showing how close the world is coming to the 1.5C of warming that scientists say will cause dramatic impacts, extreme weather and the loss of vital ecosystems.

Tesco and Asda are among 67 firms and investors who have written to President Bolsonaro

Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda and the UK’s largest asset manager are among 67 major companies and investors who have written to Brazil’s far-right president, Jair Bolsonaro, urging his government to stop further deforestation of the Amazon for soy production.

The preservation of the Amazon rainforest, a vital sink for carbon dioxide, is widely considered by scientists and activists to be a priority in responding to the climate crisis. However, the Brazilian soy farmers’ association Aprosoja has mounted a campaign to end a voluntary ban on trading crops harvested from newly cleared land.

More than 10% of forest in NSW national parks destroyed by fire this season, with the damage to Gondwana rainforest a ‘global tragedy’
• ‘Absolutely suffocating’: how are you affected by smoke haze from Australia’s bushfires?

More than 10% of the area covered by New South Wales national parks has been burned in this season’s bushfires, including 20% of the Blue Mountains world heritage area, state government data obtained by Guardian Australia has revealed.

The amount of bushland destroyed within NSW national parks dwarfs that of the entire previous fire season, when 80,000 hectares were lost.

More than 370 species were gathered during a six-year mission to widen the gene pool and ensure future food security

The seeds of more than 370 wild crop species have been collected as part of a six-year Indiana Jones-style mission to widen the gene pool of staple crops and ensure future global food security in increasingly unpredictable growing conditions.

A hundred scientists from 25 countries travelled by horse, canoe and even elephant to reach remote corners of the world in search of wild species of common agricultural crops such as rice, barley, beans and potatoes that billions of people rely on for basic nutrition.

People will be wondering why there’s so much it wants to hide about fracking – Greenpeace

The government has heavily redacted a secret report into the fracking industry after it was forced to comply with a court order for its release.

A Whitehall report on the UK shale gas sector emerged on Monday after a years-long battle to uncover the hidden documents – but with more than half of its pages blacked out. The 48-page report, seen by the Guardian, includes 37 pages that are entirely blacked out and only one – the front cover – that was left uncensored.

Nancy Pelosi tells UN conference in Madrid that commitment is ‘iron-clad’

The US will take action on greenhouse gases and engage with other countries on the climate emergency despite Donald Trump’s rejection of international cooperation, a delegation from the US Congress has told the UN climate conference in Madrid.

Nancy Pelosi, the speaker of the House, struck a defiant stance on Monday, declaring: “Congress’s commitment to action on the climate crisis is iron-clad. This is a matter of public health, of clean air, of clean water, of our children, of the survival of our economies, of the prosperity of the world, of national security, justice and equality. We now must deliver deeper cuts in emissions.”

Melanie Harwood is an education entrepreneur and self-styled 'disruptor', who has partnered with the United Nations to educate teachers about climate change. The Guardian's Richard Sprenger joined her on a trip to Dubai, to witness her unorthodox approach first hand

In Hungary and elsewhere, activists are demanding climate action but politicians say biggest threat comes from migration

The crowd that gathered outside Hungary’s neo-gothic parliament building on Friday was loud, young and passionate. The latest round of global school climate strikes drew several thousand people in Budapest, including the city’s newly elected liberal mayor. They sang, chanted and shouted demands to the country’s politicians to take the climate emergency seriously.

But there was little sign that inside parliament, dominated by the Fidesz party of the far-right prime minister, Viktor Orbán, the politicians were listening. It was an illustration of a key new political divide in Europe, between rightwing forces who preach that the greatest danger to life as we know it is migration, and those who say instead that the biggest threat comes from the climate emergency.

350 experts call on PM to address president’s ‘dangerous’ and ‘irresponsible’ claims

Boris Johnson is being urged by 350 leading climate researchers to robustly challenge Donald Trump on his “dangerous” and “irresponsible” denial of the risks of climate change during the US president’s visit to the UK this week.

Putting the prime minister under more pressure over his stance on global heating, leading academics involved in climate research said he must try to persuade Trump to take strong domestic and international action.

US insurers join retreat from European insurers meaning coal projects cannot be built or operated

The number of insurers withdrawing cover for coal projects more than doubled this year and for the first time US companies have taken action, leaving Lloyd’s of London and Asian insurers as the “last resort” for fossil fuels, according to a new report.

The report, which rates the world’s 35 biggest insurers on their actions on fossil fuels, declares that coal – the biggest single contributor to climate change – “is on the way to becoming uninsurable” as most coal projects cannot be financed, built or operated without insurance.

Report to Unesco by the federal and Queensland governments says key features have deteriorated since reef was listed in 1981

Australia has conceded in an official report that the Great Barrier Reef’s unique values as a world heritage site have been adversely affected by climate change.

In the report to Unesco’s world heritage committee, the Queensland and federal governments say the reef is “an icon under pressure with a deteriorating long-term outlook”.

Volunteers from the Port Macquarie Koala Hospital work alongside NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service crew to treat koalas rescued from devastating bushfires. An estimated million hectares of land has been burned across Australia following catastrophic fire conditions in recent weeks, killing an estimated 1,000 koalas along with other wildlife

• Factcheck: have the bushfires put the survival of koalas at stake?

Energy industry in particularly fights back against planned new rules on green labelling

Fossil fuel lobbyists are trying to water down planned EU rules to stop “investment greenwashing’ by setting science-based criteria for any investment which lays claim to being environmentally sustainable.

A report from lobbyist watchdog InfluenceMap has found that although some investors support the “green labelling” rules, 98% of Europe’s 50 largest investors are members of lobby groups trying to weaken the proposals.

Formula for climate emergency shows if ‘reaction time is longer than intervention time left’ then ‘we have lost control’

When is an emergency really an emergency?

If you’re the captain of the Titanic, approaching a giant iceberg with the potential to sink your ship becomes an emergency only when you realise you might not have enough time to steer a safe course.

As the climate emergency brings rising seas and cliff erosion, seaside towns are mounting a losing battle to save homes

Retired trawlerman Armand Toms runs his finger along a knee-high mark on the diesel tanks used to refill the 50 or so fishing and tripping boats moored in Looe’s harbour in south-east Cornwall.

“The sea got up to here in 2014,” says the 65-year-old, before raising his hand towards the top of the tanks. “If we get a metre more by the end of the century – is anything going to survive here?” Toms, an independent councillor, who represents Looe East on Cornwall council, has seen the town flood throughout his life.