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Makers of the €250,000 Lightyear 0 hope to convince drivers it can be a viable climate-friendly alternative

Winding past the ochre-coloured plateaux of the Bardenas Reales natural park in northern Spain, Roel Grooten nudged me to take my foot off the accelerator.

The car continued to barrel down the open stretch of road, its speed dipping only slightly. “It keeps on going,” said Grooten, the lead engineer for the Dutch car company Lightyear, as we whizzed through the lunar-like landscape. “What you feel is nothing holding you back. You feel the aerodynamics, you feel the low-rolling resistance of the tyres, of the bearings and the motor.”

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We must work with local communities to restore key species on a global scale if we are to tackle the climate and biodiversity crises gripping the world

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There are few places in the world as majestic and full of wonder as Ecuador’s Galápagos Islands. From the rosy-hued pink iguanas on the northern rim of Wolf Volcano to the iconic Pinzón giant tortoise on Pinzón Island to the black-tipped reef sharks feeding off Floreana Island, we have both found boundless inspiration in exploring the islands that led Charles Darwin to develop his groundbreaking theory of evolution nearly two centuries ago.

We have both also witnessed a more recent rapidly evolving process in the Galápagos based on a shared vision of restoring the profusion of life that the archipelago is renowned for. This process is rewilding, a positive reframing for nature conservation. There is an idea that rewilding involves restoring nature at the expense of people, but we believe it is all about effectively integrating ourselves within the ecosystems that sustain us – to work with, rather than against, nature to create thriving and resilient ecosystems for the benefit of all.

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I remember chilly trips to the beach in Fife, and my first visit to the Mediterranean. The association of heat with pleasure is hard to shake

I never saw my mother in a swimsuit, and I only once remember my father in one. In Fife in the 1920s, when both of them were young, sun-worshipping had yet to catch on. When my father swam, he swam in rivers, and then warmed himself up with a brisk towelling. My mother, who never learned to swim, would enjoy a day on the sands with tea brewed over a fire and sometimes a dance or two, if anyone had a squeezebox and the rain held off.

My parents remembered these things fondly during my childhood, when we might spend a summer afternoon on the local beach – it was only a 15-minute walk away – sometimes with relatives: cousins, a grandfather, uncles and aunts. Meteorology was less reliable then, and there seemed to be little question of adults “dressing for the weather” other than carrying a tightly folded plastic mac, which removed the precautionary need for a proper raincoat neatly arranged over the forearm.

Ian Jack is a Guardian columnist

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A daily summary of our news plus bite-sized updates from around the world.

The European Parliament this week approved a raft of measures to reform the EU ETS and advance the European Commission's monumental Fit for 55 climate policy package. Now that the dust has settled somewhat after hundreds of amendments were adopted by the full legislature, and with the file now set to move to trilogue negotiations between the Parliament, Commission, and EU member states, Carbon Pulse had a dozen analysts weigh in on the main aspects of what was agreed by MEPs.

Switzerland on Friday approved a bilateral agreement with Thailand, enabling the Southeast Asian nation to sell it carbon credits to help meet its Paris Agreement emissions pledge.

Compliance entities continued to raise their California Carbon Allowance (CCA) net length, while speculators reversed course and added length, taking advantage of CCA price weakness amidst declines across financial markets, according to US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) data published Friday.

A member of California's Air Resources Board (ARB) spoke up for more stringent targets for the state's LCFS during the second day of the board's 2022 Scoping Plan meeting Friday, while others said they were concerned about the plan's heavily reliance on carbon capture.

Dutton’s choice to continue a policy of wrecking in energy highlights the challenge Albanese has in seeking to end the destructive decade

Every time I think my job is too hard and I need to retrain as a florist, I think of the poor officials who have served during the climate and energy policy wars – smart people held hostage by a public policy atrocity.

Back in July 2018 – when Malcolm Turnbull and Josh Frydenberg were attempting to land the national energy guarantee (Neg), wedged uncomfortably between post-truth rightwingers and state governments increasingly annoyed about being conscripted to an omnishambles – the Energy Security Board (ESB) ran out of patience.

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We need synthetic fertilisers to produce enough food for the world’s population – there are no other alternatives yet

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If water is the source of life, fertiliser is the source of scaleable food production.

The increasing cost of fertiliser is one of the largest contributors to a “cost-price” squeeze affecting the farmers of major agricultural products in Australia and globally.

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Australian fisheries management says there are regional differences and new data only applies to population in New Zealand

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Ocean campaigners say that a New Zealand fishing fleet that trawls for orange roughy in waters off Tasmania should be “sent back” in light of new data about the vulnerable species.

Orange roughy is an endangered deep-sea species which, under Australia’s environmental laws, can still be fished in approved fisheries.

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Danish EU ETS-covered companies will face a carbon fee of DKK 75/t (around €10) in 2025, rising annually to DKK 375/t (€50/t) by 2030, the government said on Friday.

The reptile's 2,000-year-old remains are discovered by archaeologists buried in volcanic ash and rock.

Tests have "ruled out" foot and mouth disease, a government spokesman said.

The 54 nations signed up to the Energy Charter Treaty struck a provisional agreement on Friday that would enable European nations to limit protections for fossil fuel projects as they strive to cut emissions, though green groups said the deal was riddled with loopholes.

Campaigners call to prioritise grain for human consumption over its use as a fuel

The US will press ahead with biofuels production, the deputy secretary for agriculture has said, despite increasing concerns over a global food crisis, and calls from campaigners to prioritise grain for human consumption over its use as a fuel.

Jewel Bronaugh, the deputy secretary of agriculture, said US farmers could continue to produce biofuels without harming food production. “We are keeping food security top of mind, but at the same time we also want to remain steadfast in the support and promotion of biofuel,” she told journalists in London, where she met the UK government to discuss a possible trade deal and cooperation on food issues.

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1994 agreement allows investors to sue governments for changes in energy policy that harm their profits

Climate activists have said that a deal to update a “dangerous” energy treaty has failed to make the agreement compatible with the urgency of the climate crisis.

After more than four years of talks, 52 countries and the EU on Friday struck a deal to “modernise” the energy charter treaty, a 1994 agreement that allows investors to sue governments for changes in energy policy that harm their profits.

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The US Navy ship sank off the Philippines during a ferocious WWII battle with the Japanese fleet.

Government generosity meant industry could pollute for free, and airlines were left with 900,000 excess permits they could keep or sell

The UK government gave airlines nearly a quarter of a billion pounds in free pollution permits in a single year, enough for the entire industry to dodge a carbon emissions cap and trade scheme entirely, according to research.

In 2021 the UK Emissions Trading Scheme (UK ETS), which charges polluters per tonne of carbon emitted, handed airlines 4.4m free allowances and the industry only surrendered 3.4m back. In effect, UK taxpayers covered the entire cost of aviation industry emissions, plus some to spare.

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EUAs eased slightly on Friday morning, trading in a narrow range as traders awaited clarity on Germany's plans to ease its gas supply concerns.