Environment news

• World leaders reject Trump's claim Paris climate deal can be renegotiated

  01-06-2017 23:56
  
  Joint statement by France, Germany and Italy says deal cannot be redrafted, and calls on allies to speed up efforts to combat climate changeEuropean leaders dismissed Donald Trump’s claim that the Paris climate accord can be renegotiated after the US president announced he will pull out of the deal struck in 2015 to seek better terms. Shortly after Trump’s announcement the leaders of France, Germany and Italy released a joint statement rejecting Trump’s assertion that the clima
  
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• Paris climate agreement: world reacts as Trump pulls out of global accord – live

  01-06-2017 23:45
  
  US president ditches current agreement: ‘We’re getting out, but we’ll start to negotiate and we’ll see if we can make a deal that’s fair’Full story: Donald Trump confirms US will quit Paris climate dealAnalysis: US pullout is more damaging to the US than the climate 10.45pm BSTThe Turnbull government has recommitted to Australia’s emissions targets in the Paris Agreement after Donald Trump’s withdrawal but faces internal division as conservative MP
  
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• Trump’s speech on the Paris climate agreement, in full – video

  01-06-2017 23:40
  
  Donald Trump made a speech at the White House on Thursday in which he confirmed the US would be withdrawing from the Paris climate agreement. Over nearly 25 minutes, Trump argued that the agreement was bad for America, but said he’d be open to renegotiating a deal which was ‘fair to the United States’Donald Trump confirms US will quit Paris climate agreementContinue reading...
  
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• Obama condemns Trump for 'rejecting the future' by exiting Paris deal

  01-06-2017 23:10
  
  Former president had spent years negotiating for landmark climate accord Mitch McConnell: ‘Trump has put families and jobs ahead of leftwing ideology’Barack Obama led condemnation of his successor’s decision to withdraw from the landmark Paris climate accord, which the former president’s administration painstakingly negotiated over the course of several years.In a statement released just before Donald Trump officially announced that the US would remove itself from the dea
  
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• US will withdraw from Paris agreement, Trump announces – video

  01-06-2017 22:32
  
  Donald Trump announces US will be withdrawing from the Paris climate accord ‘to protect America and its citizens’ and seek a new deal ‘on terms that are fair to the United States... but if we can’t, that’s fine’Donald Trump confirms US will quit Paris climate agreementParis climate agreement: Trump withdraws US from global accord – liveContinue reading...
  
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• Donald Trump: US will withdraw from Paris agreement – video

  01-06-2017 22:32
  
  Donald Trump announces US will be withdrawing from the Paris climate accord ‘to protect America and its citizens’ and seek a new deal ‘on terms that are fair to the United States... but if we can’t, that’s fine’Donald Trump confirms US will quit Paris climate agreementParis climate agreement: Trump withdraws US from global accord – liveContinue reading...
  
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• Interesting times for lepidopterists

  01-06-2017 22:30
  
  Conditions over the past few years are putting stress on butterfly populations as food sources are diminished, but certain species are thrivingA beautiful creature has fluttered into my path. Well, actually, it landed on the doormat with a resounding thud. The Butterflies of Sussex might sound of limited geographical interest but it’s the best new butterfly guidebook in the country.Newcomers will enjoy the fascinating anecdotes and beautiful photos by lepidopterist Neil Hulme. Obsessives s
  
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• Anglican church in Carmichael mine heartland to divest from fossil fuels

  01-06-2017 22:12
  
  Diocese of Rockhampton, which covers Queensland gas and mining towns, votes to sell coal seam gas and thermal coal assetsThe Anglican church in Australia’s largest coalmining region, including the site of Adani’s proposed Carmichael mine, has vowed to renounce interests in fossil fuels.The Anglican diocese of Rockhampton, which includes central Queensland mining and gas towns across 20 parishes – the largest of which is bigger than Victoria – voted to divest from the like
  
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• The Paris deal pullout is more damaging to the US than the climate

  01-06-2017 21:48
  
  The US abandoning the global climate deal brings risks, but the unity of the rest of the world and plummeting green energy costs are reasons for hope Live coverage: Trump pulls US out of Paris climate agreementWill Donald Trump’s decision to pull the US out of the Paris climate change agreement tip the world into fiery catastrophe? The extraordinary unity of the rest of the world’s nations in tackling global warming, allied with the booming green economy, driven by plummeting renewab
  
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• Air pollution doesn’t just harm humans – it is destroying nature too | Michael McCarthy

  01-06-2017 21:45
  
  The poisonous residue from car exhausts is causing a public health crisis – and could be the death of sparrows tooYou may never have heard of cow parsley syndrome, yet it’s been visible over much of Britain for the past month – the spectacle of country roads fringed with a dense throng of tall white feathery flowers, three- to four-feet high, which many people now think of as an attractive addition to the landscape. It’s a pity they do, for the point about the syndrome is
  
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• Trump just cemented his legacy as America’s worst-ever president | Dana Nuccitelli

  01-06-2017 21:42
  
  Trump is doing his best to ruin the world for our children and grandchildrenLive coverage: Trump announces US will withdraw from Paris climate dealIn an inexplicable abdication of any semblance of responsibility or leadership, Donald Trump has announced that he will begin the process to withdraw the United States from the Paris climate treaty, joining Nicaragua and Syria as the only world countries rejecting the agreement. It now seems inevitable that the history books will view Trump as America
  
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• Donald Trump confirms US will quit Paris climate agreement

  01-06-2017 21:38
  
  World’s second largest greenhouse gas emitter will remove itself from global treaty as Trump claims accord ‘will harm’ American jobsLive coverage: Trump announces US will withdraw from Paris climate dealDonald Trump has confirmed that he will withdraw the US from the Paris climate agreement, in effect ensuring the world’s second largest emitter of greenhouse gases will quit the international effort to address dangerous global warming.The US will remove itself from the dea
  
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• The US tried to derail climate action before – and it ended in humiliating defeat | Fiona Harvey

  01-06-2017 17:50
  
  George W Bush failed in his attempt to block global action on climate change. His mistake – about to be repeated by Trump – was to imagine the UN process was weakA smell of burning coal fills the chilly air as delegates pile into the conference chamber. Outside, protestors shiver in polar bear suits under threatening skies and forbidding grey concrete; inside, smiles, colourful costumes and a warm glow. Negotiators, politicians, activists who have spent their lives fighting climate c
  
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• Gravitational waves: Third detection of deep space warping

  01-06-2017 17:00 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Scientists pick up once again the distortions in space-time resulting from a huge black hole merger.
  
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• Climate change isn't just a concern for the 1% – but it often seems so | Kate Aronoff

  01-06-2017 16:43
  
  Bankers and celebrities are often on the forefront of climate change discussions. Does that harm, rather than help, the cause?All signs now point to Donald Trump withdrawing the US from the Paris agreement, the closest thing the international community has to a plan for dealing with climate change. In the lead-up to this week’s expected decision, the nationalist, Steve Bannon-led wing of the White House has tried to paint climate change – and the agreement, by extension – as a
  
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• New species discovered behind a pub – then saved from extinction

  01-06-2017 15:47
  
  In 2007, conservationists discovered a new species inhabiting a beach just behind a pub in Granity, New Zealand. But could they save it before erosion and rising waters wiped it off the face of the planet?Who says village life has to be boring? Granity, New Zealand may be home to less than 300 people, but this lovely seaside village on the western coast of South Island was also – until last year – home to a species found no-where else on Earth. And today, the town has quite the tale
  
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• Wildlife on your doorstep: share your June photos

  01-06-2017 15:29
  
  The summer months are officially here for the northern hemisphere, while winter beckons for the south. We’d like to see your wildlife photosThe temperature is up and the sun is out (for now) as June introduces the summer months to the northern hemisphere. For the southern hemisphere all the preparations for winter will now come in handy for the months ahead. So what sort of wildlife will we all discover on our doorsteps? We’d love to see your photos of the June wildlife near you.You
  
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• Paris climate deal: what was agreed and does it matter if US withdraws?

  01-06-2017 15:01
  
  If it pulls out, the US would be the only country to argue that the accord demands too much of signatory nationsThe Paris climate pact agreed at the end of 2015 was a historic achievement after more than two decades of failed efforts to reach a global consensus on climate change. It became legally binding about a year later, after countries responsible for 55% of global greenhouse gas emissions had ratified it.Only two countries have not joined: Syria, which was crippled by war at the time of ne
  
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• The five worst things Donald Trump has done on climate change – so far

  01-06-2017 14:38
  
  As the US president weighs up whether or not to withdraw from the Paris climate agreement, we look at his most frightening actions on global warming Related: Donald Trump will make 'final decision' on Paris climate deal next weekContinue reading...
  
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• China and EU strengthen promise to Paris deal with US poised to step away

  01-06-2017 14:11
  
  Beijing and Brussels to set up new alliance to reduce global carbon emissions as Donald Trump says he will announce decision later on ThursdayChina and the EU will forge an alliance to take a leading role in tackling climate change in response to Donald Trump’s expected decision to pull the US out of the historic Paris agreement.
  Trump tweeted on Wednesday night that he would announce his decision at 3pm ET (8pm BST) on Thursday. There are fears that will he confirm reports that the US wil
  
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• Trump ready to withdraw US from Paris climate agreement, reports say

  01-06-2017 14:08
  
  Trump tweets that he will announce decision at 3pm ET on ThursdayWithdrawal would sorely weaken landmark deal by nearly 200 countriesFrustrated world leaders prepare to move on without the USDonald Trump is poised to withdraw from the Paris climate accord, according to multiple reports, in a move that would profoundly undermine the landmark agreement by nearly 200 countries to curtail global warming.Trump tweeted late on Wednesday that he would announce his final decision at 3pm ET on Thursday i
  
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• Paris climate deal: frustrated world leaders prepare to move on without US

  01-06-2017 14:07
  
  Trump is reportedly poised to pull out of Paris – prompting murmurings that the world would be better off without American involvementDonald Trump’s Twitter pledge to make a decision on whether to remain in the Paris climate agreement this week promises resolution to months of fevered lobbying over US involvement in the global accord.But while America’s traditional allies and environmental groups continue to urge Trump to stay within the Paris deal – in which nearly 200 n
  
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• World urges Donald Trump not to dump Paris climate agreement

  01-06-2017 13:27
  
  World leaders, businesses, scientists and charities join in urging the US president not to abandon the global accordWorld leaders, businesses, investors, scientists and development charities have joined in urging Donald Trump not to withdraw the US from the Paris climate change agreement.
  The US president is due to announce his decision at 3pm ET on Thursday and is expected to pull the world’s largest economy, and second greatest polluter, from the global accord agreed unanimously by almos
  
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• US would join only Syria and Nicaragua on climate accord 'no' list

  01-06-2017 12:25
  
  Only other UN members not party to Paris agreement never signed up, but for reasons of war and principle, not disbelief
  Assuming the US does, as expected, pull out of the historic Paris agreement on climate change, it will join a very small list of countries with which it has little else in common in terms of emissions.
  The only other UN members not signed up are Nicaragua and Syria, which both chose not to enter into the climate accord in the first place.Continue reading...
  
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• US joins only Syria and Nicaragua on climate accord 'no' list

  01-06-2017 12:25
  
  Only other UN members not party to Paris agreement never signed up, but for reasons of war and principle, not disbelief
  Donald Trump’s decision to pull out of the Paris agreement on climate change means the US joins only two other countries not signed up to the historic accord.
  The only other UN members not signed up are Nicaragua and Syria, which both chose not to enter into the climate accord in the first place.Continue reading...
  
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• 'Faceless' fish, last seen in 1873, found off Australia

  01-06-2017 10:46 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The unique deep-sea fish was last spotted back in 1873.
  
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• The Last Animals - fighting to save animals from extinction

  01-06-2017 10:38 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Kate Brooks' documentary focuses on individuals trying to save animals from extinction.
  
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• 'Trump can't stop progress on climate change' – Behind the Lines podcast

  01-06-2017 08:58
  
  With action in countries around the world and on the ground at a state level in the US, is Donald Trump’s position on climate change irrelevant? Martijn Wilder, from Baker & McKenzie and Greg Bourne previously the regional president for BP Australia and the CEO of WWF Australia join Guardian Australia editor Lenore Taylor to discuss the future of the energy market. Has the market already leapfrogged political debate? Subscribe & Review: iTunes, Audioboom, Acast, Soundcloud & Mi
  
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• Lobbying Act 'stifling environment debate' in election campaign

  01-06-2017 08:00
  
  Law restricting NGOs in run up to polling day have pushed climate and pollution issues off the election agenda, say opposition parties and green groupsDebate on environmental issues has been stifled in the run-up the general election leaving voters in the dark , opposition parties have claimed, as a result of the Lobbying Act and government determination to avoid criticism over problems such as air pollution.Green groups have privately raised concern, along with other charities, over the impact
  
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• Fluffy chicks make for anxious parents

  01-06-2017 06:30
  
  Pikestone Fell, Weardale An oystercatcher, a gaudy pied clown with crimson beak and eyes, flew straight towards us, piping hystericallyIn winter this part of the Weardale Way can be a morass, but the rain-leached soil drains quickly in spring. After weeks of dry, windy, weather, the mud had turned to sand and our boots were soon covered in yellow dust. In some sheltered hollows heather, at last showing a green tint of new shoots, shimmered in a heat haze.Our route followed the wall that divides
  
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• Great Barrier Reef sharply declines in north but signs coral recovering elsewhere

  01-06-2017 06:14
  
  Australian Institute of Marine Science says reef’s capacity to recover under threat from climate change and pollutionParts of the Great Barrier Reef not regularly affected by problems such as cyclones have demonstrated the reef still has the ability to regenerate, with a survey showing sharp declines in coral cover in the north but increases elsewhere.However, the latest results from the Australian Institute of Marine Science (Aims), collected by divers visiting 243 individual reefs, do no
  
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• Barnaby Joyce refuses to say if Australia should support Paris climate deal if US quits

  01-06-2017 04:27
  
  Deputy PM departs from official Coalition line, saying ‘to speculate on what Donald Trump might do is insanity’ and I’m going to ‘see what happens’Barnaby Joyce has declined to say whether Australia should remain within the Paris climate accord if the United States pulls out, in a departure from the official government line that Australia will stay the course.
  While Australia’s energy and employment ministers have said this week Australia will honour its Paris
  
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• Nine tenths of England's floodplains not fit for purpose, study finds

  01-06-2017 01:01
  
  Intensive farming cited as main reason for destroying natural barriers to deluge and making low lying areas more vulnerable to floodsOnly a tenth of England’s extensive floodplains are now fit for purpose – 90% no longer function properly – with the shortfall putting an increasing number of homes and businesses at risk of flooding, according to a new report. Floods are more likely due to climate change and will claim higher economic costs unless action is taken to halt the dama
  
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