Rising ocean temperatures caused by climate crisis are also said to be causing China’s extreme weather
Summers in China are often wet, sometimes very wet, but nothing like the drenching that has engulfed Beijing and its neighbouring provinces this week.
As Beijing authorities lifted the flood alert on Wednesday morning, after the city’s heaviest rainfall for 140 years, 21 people across the region were confirmed dead. Dozens more were missing.
Continue reading...Failed states, a rise in authoritarian politics and heightened risks of conflict among potential threats outlined in thinktank’s assessment
Australia must prepare for “devastating” climate-fueled disruption in the Asia-Pacific, including failed states, forced migration and regional conflicts over water shortages, a stark briefing for federal politicians warns.
The Breakthrough National Centre for Climate Restoration thinktank has summarised the potential threats and impacts of the climate crisis in a note targeted at MPs.
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Continue reading...Kyriakos Mitsotakis acknowledges ‘inconvenience for visitors’ after 20,000 people were evacuated
Tourists whose holidays on the Greek island of Rhodes were cut short due to intense wildfires are being offered a one-week free stay next year, the Greek prime minister said.
Holidaymakers and local people were forced to flee homes and hotels as the fires burned for days in July, with about 20,000 tourists rescued from danger in the largest evacuation ever undertaken by the country.
Continue reading...Chris Minns calls meeting of state government agencies after Queensland childcare worker was charged with 1,623 child abuse offences. Follow live news updates today
In a back and forth between Patricia Karvelas and prime minister Anthony Albanese on whether he supports a federal treaty, he says the no voice to parliament campaign is trying to muddy the waters:
What the no campaign want to do is to focus on everything that’s not happening.
What is happening is a vote in the last quarter of this year for a voice to parliament. And what that is about is recognising First Nations people in our constitution and then listening to Indigenous Australians so as to get better results. That’s what the focus is on. And what I find, I think, very enlightening, is … the no campaign want to talk about everything except for the question.
Well, where does it say that? It doesn’t even say that in the Uluru statement. It doesn’t say that, it doesn’t speak about the commonwealth negotiating treaties. It doesn’t say that Patricia. So don’t get sucked into it.
Today, the Greens need to vote for this legislation. You can’t say that you’re supporting housing, supply, public housing and then vote against it.
I’m not prepared to negotiate on Radio National, Patricia. People talk all the time across the parliament all the time.
Continue reading...Mandate for carmakers to sell increasing number of zero-emissions vehicles could be weakened, business secretary hints
Kemi Badenoch has suggested electric vehicle mandates could hamper investment in Britain and lead to job losses, in a sign that another of the government’s green pledges is in doubt.
The business secretary was discussing the automotive industry’s concerns about a rule to be introduced in January that will require manufacturers to ensure at least 22% of new sales in the UK are of emissions-free models, rising each year to reach 80% by 2030.
Continue reading...Proposed 800km VNI West will be costlier than alternatives and won’t solve grid bottlenecks holding back new solar and wind, thinktank says
Victorians face a more than doubling of transmission charges on electricity bills if the state government proceeds with plans for what is likely to be the most costly and longest single power line in Australia’s history, a thinktank says in a new report.
The report by the Victoria Energy Policy Centre (VEPC) argues the proposed 500 kilovolt VNI West transmission line linking Melbourne’s outskirts with Wagga Wagga on an 800km path will be far costlier than alternatives and faces extensive landholder opposition. It also will not solve grid bottlenecks holding back new solar and windfarms in the state.
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Continue reading...Australian mining entrepreneur Andrew Forrest criticises ‘clickbait’ fossil fuel plans as others say Britain has lost credibility
The billionaire Australian mining tycoon and investor Andrew Forrest has led international condemnation of the UK’s new oil rush, saying he would pull his major investment from the country if the prime minister pursued “clickbait” fossil fuel policies.
The iron ore magnate, who also runs the Minderoo Foundation philanthropic organisation, threatened to move his investments out of the UK over Rishi Sunak’s swivel towards new oil and gas drilling.
Continue reading...Taskforce aims to ‘fuel growth in nuclear industry’ as dismay grows over Rishi Sunak’s plans to authorise more licences for North Sea drilling
The average number of migrants crossing the Channel per boat last month was the highest on record, figures show.
Some 3,299 people made the journey in July in 63 boats – an average of about 52 per vessel. This is the highest average since records began in 2018, according to PA news agency analysis of government data.
Bad news for fans of unelected legislatures: Labour is considering abolishing hereditary peers. According to the Sunday Times, Keir Starmer is drawing up plans that could see the immediate removal of hereditary peers if the party is elected, as part of a package of “interim” reforms to modernise and reduce the size of the House of Lords.
Other moves being explored include introducing a mandatory retirement age or stopping hereditary peer byelections (so the current peers can’t be replaced after they leave).
Continue reading...Meg O’Neill says protesters trespassed at her Perth home on Tuesday amid climate backlash over Burrup Hub expansion
Climate activists have targeted the family home of Woodside Energy’s boss in what the company claimed was the escalation of protests over its gas business.
The firm’s chief executive, Meg O’Neill, said “extremist” protesters accompanied by camera crews trespassed on Tuesday morning at her Perth home in the affluent suburb of City Beach.
Continue reading...Fears of new high death toll this year as prolonged heatwave causes spike in hospitalizations from people who work outside
The punishing heatwaves that have scorched much of the US could result in a record number of heat-related deaths this year, experts have warned, amid a spike in hospitalizations from collapsing outdoor workers.
Among those needing hospital treatment are heat-exhausted hikers and even people who have suffered severe burns from touching blistering concrete and asphalt.
Continue reading...Naturalists decry extinction of species as loss of habitat, poaching and illegal hunting take toll
For centuries, wolves have roamed the mountain ranges of Andalucía in southern Spain, but after years of decline the creature has been officially declared extinct in the region.
Since 2003, the regional government has carried out a census of the wolf (Canis lupus signatus) population in an effort to monitor the species and reduce conflict with the local population, farmers in particular.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Long list of ‘sensitive’ topics for petrostate include oil and gas production, emissions and Yemen war crimes
A comprehensive list of “touchy and sensitive issues” for the United Arab Emirates, which is running the next UN climate summit, has been revealed in a document leaked to the Guardian.
The document sets out the government-approved “strategic messages” to be used in response to media requests about the issues, which range from the UAE’s increasing production of oil and gas to people trafficking.
Continue reading...In South Korea, 12 people died from heat-related deaths last weekend, while in Japan, three people died including a 13 year-old on her way back from school
Twelve people have died from heat-related causes in South Korea as it swelters through a heatwave, while in Japan it emerged a 13-year-old girl had died from heatstroke on her way back from a school club.
South Korea’s Yonhap news agency reported that at least five of those who died over the weekend were farmers, and at least seven were over 70, including some in their 90s. Most of the country has been under a heatwave warning – issued when temperatures pass 35C – since Tuesday. Over the previous week, three people are believed to have died from heat-related causes.
Continue reading...Animal, found lounging in a Burbank neighborhood, climbed over a wall and headed back after it was done relaxing
With temperatures soaring across the US, people and animals alike are looking for a place to find relief. In southern California, one bear sought to beat the heat by taking a dip in a hot tub.
On Friday, police in Burbank responded to a report of a bear sighting in a residential neighborhood. The bear was filmed calmly lounging in the hot tub. After a short dip, the bear climbed over a wall and headed to a tree behind the home, police said in a statement.
Continue reading...US tree nurseries do not grow enough trees and lack the plant species diversity to meet ambitious plans, research says
In an effort to slash carbon emissions and provide relief from extreme heat, governments across the nation and globally have pledged to plant trees. But the US is not equipped with the tree seedlings to furnish its own plans, according to a new study.
US tree nurseries do not grow nearly enough trees to bring ambitious planting schemes to fruition, and they also lack the plant species diversity those plans require, according to research published in the journal Bioscience on Monday,
Continue reading...Chris Minns rules out following Victoria in banning new gas connections, saying state has enough serious energy challenges
Homes in New South Wales will continue being built with gas connections after the premier, Chris Minns, ruled out a Victorian-style ban on new connections, saying the state already had enough energy supply issues.
The definitive comments came after the state’s energy minister, Penny Sharpe, on Sunday refused to rule out the possibility of the state following Victoria.
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Continue reading...Visit to Aberdeenshire intended as chance for PM to criticise opposition with reports he could announce 100 new drilling licences
Rishi Sunak is to make a visit to north-east Scotland focused on North Sea energy that is intended to draw a dividing line between the government and Labour’s plan to ban new oil and gas projects.
While No 10 said in advance only that the prime minister would use the trip to Aberdeenshire to commit to policies connected to energy security and net zero, he is expected to announce funding for a planned carbon capture scheme in the region.
Continue reading...Lack of official vehicle efficiency standards blamed for low supplies as demand for electric cars continues to exceed availability
Electric vehicles are becoming increasingly popular among Australians, with sales during the first half of 2023 already eclipsing last year’s annual total, though the industry has warned a federal policy vacuum continues to harm consumer choice.
The Electric Vehicle Council has also singled out the Victorian government as having “the world’s worst” approach to taxing EV ownership in its report on the state of the industry to be released on Monday.
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Continue reading...Whitehall watchdog gives red rating to set of measures aimed to bring net-zero goals, amid backlash over retreat on climate policy
Rishi Sunak has been accused of showing disregard for the climate crisis after Whitehall officials warned that some of his key green pledges were already unachievable.
With the prime minister facing a backlash within his own party after appearing to row back from his commitment to green policies, an internal government audit found that a series of measures designed to help meet Britain’s net-zero goals had been allowed to run off course.
Continue reading...‘No active front’ in Rhodes, Corfu and central Greece blazes as more than 460 firefighters remain on alert
Wildfires that have scorched Greece for more than two weeks are under control, but firefighters remain in key hotspots as strong winds remain a threat, officials have said.
“Scattered fire pockets are being extinguished,” the fire department said on Saturday, adding that there was “no active front” in the three biggest wildfires in Rhodes, Corfu and central Greece that forced thousands of people to flee.
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