Conservation groups condemn the move along with the government’s decision to extend the life of coal power stations
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Queensland’s target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 75% by 2035 could face the scrap heap, with the state energy minister ordering a review of the ambitious legislation.
The Clean Economy Jobs Bill was passed into law last year, with the backing of both Labor and the Liberal National party.
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Breaking Waves: Ocean News
04/08/2025 - 03:42
04/07/2025 - 23:00
The UK is known for its national parks: areas of outstanding natural beauty with rolling hills and crystal-clear streams and lakes. But research has shown that England’s most protected rivers are full of pharmaceuticals.
In episode one of a two-part series, biodiversity reporter Phoebe Weston tells Madeleine Finlay about the problem of chemical pollution in our waterways, and how it could be contributing to what the World Health Organization has described as ‘the silent pandemic’ – antimicrobial resistance.
‘Rivers you think are pristine are not’: how drug pollution flooded the UK’s waterways – and put human health at risk
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04/07/2025 - 23:00
Harsh weather is normal in Mongolia but the climate crisis has made conditions even more extreme. As millions of animals die and age-old traditions become harder to maintain, nomadic herders are forced into towns, where coal-fired heating has led to a health crisis
‘Everyone is breathing this’: how just trying to stay warm is killing thousands a year in the world’s coldest capital
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04/07/2025 - 18:01
Thinktank says solar has been fastest-growing energy source for last 20 years, but remains dwarfed by hydro power
The world used clean power sources to meet more than 40% of its electricity demand last year for the first time since the 1940s, figures show.
A report by the energy thinktank Ember said the milestone was powered by a boom in solar power capacity, which has doubled in the last three years.
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04/07/2025 - 15:31
A three-yearly environmental update issues stark warning over biodiversity – and reports air pollution has improved in some areas
A major new report on New Zealand’s environment has revealed a worrying outlook for its unique species and highlighted declining water health, while also noting some improvements in air quality.
The ministry of the environment’s three-yearly update, Our Environment 2025, collates statistics, data and research across five domains – air, atmosphere and climate, freshwater, land, and marine – to paint a picture of the state of New Zealand’s environment.
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04/07/2025 - 10:00
Zoos Victoria wildlife detection dogs uncovered the ‘bloody gorgeous’ reptiles in return for treats and cuddles
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Wildlife detection dogs successfully sniffed out 13 critically endangered earless dragons in previously unknown burrows in Melbourne’s west, after a training program launched by Zoos Victoria in 2023.
The Victorian grassland earless dragon – Australia’s most imperilled reptile – had not been seen for 50 years and was thought extinct before its remarkable rediscovery on privately owned grassland in 2023.
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04/07/2025 - 10:00
Nature will reclaim its place as a terrifying quasi-divine force that cannot be mastered. I find this strangely comforting
Explore the series – Last chance: the extinction crisis being ignored this election
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At times my work takes me to the big city and the tall buildings where people with power make decisions that affect the rest of us. While I am there, crossing busy roads, wearing tidy clothes and carrying out my duty, I think of faraway places where life is getting on without me.
Logrunners are turning leaf litter on the rainforest floor, albatross are cruising the wind beyond sight of the coast. Why does thinking about these creatures, who have no idea that I exist, bring me such comfort?
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04/07/2025 - 10:00
The government’s promise to slash the cost of household batteries should be welcomed – it could drive a change that benefits everyone who uses the power grid
Election 2025 live update: Australia’s federal election campaign
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It’s taken years to get here, but Labor’s election pledge to make household batteries cheaper is a significant step forward that should cut climate pollution and limit power price rises. While it has been criticised by some as a subsidy for the wealthy, it could drive a change that benefits everyone who uses the power grid, and not just those who can afford to put an energy storage unit in their garage.
Labor’s promise is that from July it will cut the cost of a typical household battery by about $4,000, or 30%. The discount will be delivered through a long-running small-scale renewable energy scheme that has helped make rooftop solar panels and hot water systems affordable for more people.
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Adam Morton is Guardian Australia’s climate and environment editor
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04/07/2025 - 10:00
Dr Amanda Lilleyman, a shorebird expert and advocate, says a defence housing project and an industrial development plan in Darwin are threatening the habitat of the critically endangered far eastern curlew. The bird relies on undisturbed Australian shorelines to fatten up before making an epic migration to the northern hemisphere. It’s one of more than 2,000 Australian species listed as under threat in what scientists are calling an extinction crisis
A high-flying visitor – the wondrous far eastern curlew – faces fresh threat in NT wetlands haven
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04/07/2025 - 08:00
Charity crowdfunding initial sum to build £750,000 facility on Bodmin Moor to study overlooked but biodiverse natural habitat
Europe’s first research station for the study of Atlantic temperate rainforest is set to be built beside an ancient wood in Cornwall.
The Thousand Year Trust charity is crowdfunding an initial amount to build the £750,000 facility, which will enable students and academics to study this historically overlooked but biodiverse natural habitat.
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