environment
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UK opposition could doom EU efforts to curb plastic bag useUK is leading opposition to a proposal for an 80% cut to the 100bn single-use plastic bags used each year in Europe -
Fracking no 'silver bullet' for emissions cuts or energy securityThere are no scientific reasons to ban fracking in Europe but questions remain over its potential, European science academies have said -
New study shows warm waters are melting Antarctica from belowJohn Abraham: The penetration of warm water to Antarctic ice shelves appears to be responsible for their dramatic decline
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Boris Johnson admits London's Oxford Street is one of world's most pollutedLondon mayor makes u-turn over Oxford Street’s pollution levels in a letter to the EAC about research funding for King’s College, that made the original claim on air quality -
US-China deal makes international carbon emissions pact 'very likely', says David KingLandmark deal between world’s two biggest emitters makes an international agreement on climate change next year much more likely, says Foreign Office climate adviser
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Spineless: extraordinary portraits of marine invertebrates - in picturesCrabs, starfish, jellyfish – if they don’t have a backbone, they’ve probably been shot by wildlife photographer Susan Middleton
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Congress to vote on Keystone pipeline in high-stakes challenge to ObamaSenate and House of Representatives schedule votes to support controversial pipeline, hours after president announced historic emissions deal with China
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Fukushima £11bn cleanup progresses, but there is no cause for optimismWith 500,000 tonnes of contaminated water onsite and reactor 1 off limits until 2025, decommissioning will take 40 years
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G20: Australians bury heads in sand to mock government climate stanceBondi Beach protest highlights Abbott administration’s perceived failure to put climate change on G20 summit agenda
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G20: Reality bites for coal and climate changeGraham Readfearn: Climate change almost forgotten in the cocoon of a coal sponsored energy forum in Brisbane
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More than a third of natural world heritage sites face 'significant threats'Guardian Australia: Report says invasive species, tourism, poaching, dams and logging most pressing threats but climate change may eclipse all
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Doomsday pessimism won’t help us to tackle the climate-change threatLetters: This is no time for our creative elites to be opting for despairing nihilism
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Guns advance on the spinney, sending partridges into free-fallCountry Diary Sandy, Bedfordshire: A bird fell out of the sky, its tumbling body cartwheeling
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What lies beneath: Google goes below surface to show Sydney marine sitesGlobal partnership to launch public access to the underwater version of Street View in Sydney
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Emissions reduction: Tony Abbott says Australia is acting, not talking‘I’m focusing not on what might happen in 16 years’ time,’ says PM as pressure mounts to match targets set by China and US
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Great Barrier Reef: Greg Hunt vows to ban sediment dumping in marine parkBan will apply to new dredging projects but not the larger world heritage area which includes inshore waters where ports are located
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Dirty streets linked to deprivation and higher crimeKeep Britain Tidy survey for Defra finds crime higher in streets with rubbish, graffiti and fly-posting
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Secret talks and a personal letter: how the US-China climate deal was doneA visit to Beijing by Kerry and a missive from Obama were key moments in a nine-month negotiation between the world’s biggest polluters
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Republicans vow to use expanded powers to thwart US-China climate dealObama’s opponents looking for ways to undermine bold climate change strategy that could bring about drastic reduction in carbon emissions
news
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Congress to vote on Keystone pipeline in high-stakes challenge to ObamaSenate and House of Representatives schedule votes to support controversial pipeline, hours after president announced historic emissions deal with China
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Fukushima £11bn cleanup progresses, but there is no cause for optimismWith 500,000 tonnes of contaminated water onsite and reactor 1 off limits until 2025, decommissioning will take 40 years
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What lies beneath: Google goes below surface to show Sydney marine sitesGlobal partnership to launch public access to the underwater version of Street View in Sydney
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Emissions reduction: Tony Abbott says Australia is acting, not talking‘I’m focusing not on what might happen in 16 years’ time,’ says PM as pressure mounts to match targets set by China and US
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Great Barrier Reef: Greg Hunt vows to ban sediment dumping in marine parkBan will apply to new dredging projects but not the larger world heritage area which includes inshore waters where ports are located
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Dirty streets linked to deprivation and higher crimeKeep Britain Tidy survey for Defra finds crime higher in streets with rubbish, graffiti and fly-posting
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Secret talks and a personal letter: how the US-China climate deal was doneA visit to Beijing by Kerry and a missive from Obama were key moments in a nine-month negotiation between the world’s biggest polluters
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Republicans vow to use expanded powers to thwart US-China climate dealObama’s opponents looking for ways to undermine bold climate change strategy that could bring about drastic reduction in carbon emissions
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US-China climate deal boosts global talks but Republicans vow to resistUS to double pace of emissions cuts, China to cap carbon pollution by 2030 but new Senate leader says deal means ‘higher utility rates and far fewer jobs’
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US and China strike deal on carbon cuts in push for global climate change pactBarack Obama aims for reduction of a quarter or more by 2025, while Xi Jinping sets goal for emissions to fall after 2030
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United States and China reach landmark carbon emissions deal - as it happenedThe world’s two largest economies strike historic, ambitious deal to cap carbon emissions and increase use of renewable energy
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US-China emissions deal puts extreme pressure on Australia to do moreTo match the scale of cuts announced by US, Australia would have to reduce emissions by about 30% on 2000 levels by 2025
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Paper from illegally logged rainforest 'could be on sale in Australia'World Parks Congress gathers to discuss way to reach goal of formal protection for 17% of land and 10% of oceans by 2020
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Largest international study into safety of GM food launched by Russian NGOThousands of rats will be fed Monsanto maize diets in a $23m, three-year ‘Factor GMO’ study into long-term health effects of GM food and associated pesticides
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Rich countries subsidising oil, gas and coal companies by $88bn a yearUS, UK, Australia giving tax breaks to explore new reserves despite climate advice that fossil fuels should be left in the ground
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Climate change 'will see more UK forces deployed in conflicts around world'Rear Admiral Neil Morisetti, one of the UK’s most senior military figures, says global warming is a risk to geopolitical security
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Governments agree on new protections for polar bearsConvention on Migratory Species meeting in Ecuador adds listings for Cuvier’s beaked-whale, and 21 shark, ray and sawfish
in pictures
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Owlets of Essex airfield – in picturesThe little owls hatched in the summer and since then have been learning the lay of the land.
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Woodland Trust photography competition – in picturesA selection of some of the best wildlife and nature images including the winning image for the Wild Summer theme picked from over 6,000 entries
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The week in wildlife – in picturesA new species of lizard, errant bear cubs and orphaned sea otters feature in this week’s best images from the natural world
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Starling murmurations – in picturesPhotographer Owen Humphreys captures thousands of starlings starting their murmuration near Gretna Green
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Hungry horses, healthy vixens and pacy squirrels: your October wildlife picturesWe asked you to share your October pictures of the wildlife around the world with which we share our outdoor spaces. Here’s our pick of the best of themJoin in this month’s Wildlife on your doorstep via GuardianWitness
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Weather view: your October picturesWe asked you to share your most striking images of the weather in October. Here are the best of them. Thanks to everyone who contributed. You can send in your November weather pictures via the latest GuardianWitness Weather view assignment
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The week in wildlife – in picturesThis week’s best images from the natural world include a death’s head hawk moth and a grizzly bear scrumping apples
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GDT European Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2014 – in picturesHunting owl, galloping blesbok and millions of flying fruit bats are among the winning images picked by the Society of German Nature Photographers
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The week in wildlife – in picturesGermany’s theatre fox, a dozing pride of lions and leaping salmon are among this week’s best images from the natural world
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2014 Wildlife photographer of the YearThe results of the wildlife photographer of the year 2014 competition have been announced at London’s Natural History Museum.
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EEA photography competition 2014 shortlist – in picturesA golden eagle in flight, a tiny frog sitting in a flower and an icy stream in a beech forest are among the 48 pictures shortlisted from 34 countries on a wide range of environmental topics
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The week in wildlife – in picturesA newborn seal pup, a lake turned pink with flamingos and tortoises hitching a ride feature in this week’s pick of images from the natural world
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Guardian readers' pictures of starling murmurationsAs scientists launch a citizen science project to find out why starlings form their stunning displays, we take a look at your best images of the birds in action
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The week in wildlife – in picturesHungry bears, muddy hippos and glorious autumnal scenes feature in this week’s pick of images from the natural world
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Africa's wildlife, from big cats to rare lemurs – in picturesFrom an intimate shot of lions at a Kruger waterhole to a herd of elephants shaking off dust in Botswana, South African photographer, Heinrich van den Berg captures the continent’s wildlife to stunning effect in a new book, Reflection, published this month
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Oceana explores the water world of Canary Islands, Spain – in picturesFrom spookfish to vampire squid, and alive deep-sea white coral, the ocean conservation organisation’s ranger expedition documents the rich biodiversity of the Atlantic seamounts
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The week in wildlife – in picturesBlue-tailed bee-eaters, beavers and fighting squirrels are among the pick of this week’s images from the natural world
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Walrus mass on Alaska beach - in picturesPacific walrus unable to find sea ice on which to rest in Arctic waters are coming ashore in record numbers on a beach in north-west Alaska
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Brave tortoises, baby hares and synchronised swans: your September wildlife picturesWe asked you to share your September pictures of the wildlife around the world with which we share our outdoor spaces. Here’s our pick of the best of them
talking points
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G20: Reality bites for coal and climate changeGraham Readfearn: Climate change almost forgotten in the cocoon of a coal sponsored energy forum in Brisbane
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Vestas to create 800 jobs with Isle of Wight wind turbine plantBusinessGreen: Danish giant announces plan to manufacture 8MW turbine blades on Isle of Wight
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Greenhouse gas emissions Pressure on Australia to slash emissions – but no cost-effective policy to get us there
We have been shouting so loudly about how we had to avoid getting ‘ahead of the world’ that we seemed not to notice we were being left behindPressure on Australia to slash emissions – but no cost-effective policy to get us there -
The film teaching driving instructors to understand cyclistsPeter Walker: New film aims to explain why cyclists ride as they do, in the hope the message is passed to learner drivers
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We must manage global warming risks by cutting carbon pollution, top scientists conclude
Climate Consensus - the 97% We must manage global warming risks by cutting carbon pollution, top scientists conclude
Dana Nuccitelli: The latest IPCC report details the immense risks posed by failing to mitigate global warming
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Bird decline poses loss not just for environment, but human soulEsther Addley hears from an RSPB expert about the potential impact of the sharp decline of common species in Europe
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New study questions the accuracy of satellite atmospheric temperature estimates
Climate Consensus - the 97% New study questions the accuracy of satellite atmospheric temperature estimates
John Abraham: A new study finds that satellites may be underestimating the warming of the lower atmosphere -
Patrick Kingsley: Chaotic traffic, no cycle lanes, smog, potholes ... Cairo’s not known for its cycling for good reason, but the owners of the city’s first custom bike shop think it’s time for that to changeCairo's hipster bike shop hoping to lead the city's cycling revolution
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Playing whack-a-mole with Australian adviser's climate change mythsGraham Readfearn: Maurice Newman, business adviser to Australia’s prime minister, pops up with a litany of climate change myths and misrepresentations
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U-turn over forests in the infrastructure bill is a victory for the environmentAmy Lockwood: The 38 degrees campaign, that succeeded in protecting UK forests from being sold-off by the government, is not just a victory for people power but a symbolic victory in our battle to protect the environment
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Defra admits it cannot say how much farmland solar power is affectingMinisters have cut subsidies for farms installing solar panels arguing they drive food production overseas – but they do not know how much land is out of production, reports BusinessGreen
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Small fish in a big pond: the plight of the lemon damsel fishResearch by marine scientists into Great Barrier Reef fish populations remind us of the need to protect the small creatures in an ocean as small as it is vast
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Will the UK's pollinator strategy be enough to stop bee decline?Can a strategy that fails to address the issue of pesticides and lacks targets on habitat restoration prove effective? Karl Mathiesen investigates
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Save pollinators with attractive subsidies and more bee-friendly treesIf Defra was really serious about saving pollinators, it would be greening its Smith Square roof for abundant forage
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Weather Channel co-founder John Coleman prefers conspiracies to climate science
Climate Consensus - the 97% Weather Channel co-founder John Coleman prefers conspiracies to climate science
Dana Nuccitelli: John Coleman hasn’t been affiliated with The Weather Channel for over 30 years, rejects climate science, and advances conspiracy theories
analysis
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US eyes buffet option in global climate talksDeal would allow US to join other countries in cutting carbon dioxide emissions but avoid having to obtain Senate ratification
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UK wind power bests nuclear power – for a few symbolic minutesCarbon Commentary: Stormy weather and dip in nuclear marks new record for electricity generation from wind
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Despite the UN climate summit, fossil fuel firms are still in for the long-termFiona Harvey: Either the world is gearing up to tackle climate change, or there are long-term profits to be had from exploiting our remaining fossil fuel reserves. Both propositions can’t be true
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Nelson Mandela's widow calls for urgent climate action at UNNelson Mandela’s widow Graça Machel speaks of global leaders’ failure to rise to environmental challenge after day of impassioned speeches
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The truth about the peer-reviewed science produced by Japan's whalingJapan claims southern ocean whaling had led to 666 peer-reviewed papers, but international court says there are just two
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Climate change report by Lord Stern shows there's still time – justStudy says halting rise of carbon emissions is achievable at modest cost, but this is nothing new. What's stopping us?
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Environment minister Greg Hunt admits Great Barrier Reef is in troubleAustralia’s environment minister says the reef’s health has ‘some real negatives’ following the release of a new report
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Reshuffle risks smashing left-right green consensus
Several prominent green Tories have been forced out of their jobs in recent months, and green businesses are worried
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Whaling rears its head briefly to unsettle Tony Abbott and Shinzo AbeAbbott says Australia’s friendship with Japan is 'far, far bigger than our disagreement on one particular subject'
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EU energy and climate talks – not Juncker – are the real show in BrusselsFiona Harvey: Debate by heads of government on Europe's plan on emissions, renewables, energy efficiency and energy security is more relevant to citizens' lives, say green groups
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Barack Obama's carbon cuts plan is a big step in the right directionFiona Harvey: US move brings it closer to Europe and improves chances of getting a global agreement at Paris climate talks in 2015
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Mining: fire, flood, poor health – all part of the jobA truly global profession, there are around 10 million miners around the world – with many working in dangerous conditions
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US meteorologists question Obama on climate change – and Boko HaramInterviews with eight anchors were scheduled as part of a carefully co-ordinated rollout of national climate change report
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IPCC climate report: a route map for civilisation's greatest journeyDamian Carrington: The landmark UN report shows the affordable paths to averting a global climate catastrophe: now politicians must decide the route and who pays the fare
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Climate change is good for you, says ultra-conservative Heartland InstituteNew study by thinktank funded by Koch brothers aims to debunk authoritative UN climate change report
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Badger cull climbdown is a stunning and unexpected game-changerPatrick Barkham: Owen Paterson should be congratulated by scientists, activists and farmers for choosing an alternative to controversial culling
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Diesel, not just dust, has helped create this smogAnalysis: Saharan winds may account for the dirt on cars, but the real problem is soaring levels of particulates in European air
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What is causing the UK's high levels of air pollution?Pollution originating in the UK and Europe has combined with dust from the Sahara to create particularly unhealthy conditions
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Restricting onshore windfarms would be a costly policy decision
David Cameron's reported desire to cap number of onshore wind turbines would mean resorting to more expensive alternatives
video
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Is Barack Obama's climate change policy working? Not in coal country – video
Obama has said he's done more than any other president to fight climate change, but America still gets 40% of its electricity from coal. Suzanne Goldenberg gained rare access to the North Antelope Rochelle Mine in Wyoming, one of the largest coal mines in the world, to see how the industry is fairing in an increasingly carbon constrained world
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Chimpanzees in Uganda forced to steal from maize plantations to survive - video
Footage shows chimpanzees returning from their raids with a bounty of maize
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SeaWorld San Diego celebrates 80th successful dolphin birth - video
Sadie the bottlenose dolphin gives birth to her second calf at SeaWorld San Diego. It is the 80th successful dolphin birth at the water park
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Shark attack victim recovers in hospital in Australia - video
A 13-year-old Australian girl is in hospital in Gosford, New South Wales, after being bitten three times by a shark
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Tropical spider 'burrowed under man's skin through scar' - video report
An Australian man claims he had a tropical spider surgically removed from his body after discovering it had burrowed into his stomach
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Tornado crosses M53 motorway in Merseyside – video
A tornado is filmed crossing over the M53 in Bromborough, Merseyside, on Wednesday
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Pollution haze envelops parts of China – video
A heavy pollution haze covers parts of northern and central China, disrupting traffic and making residents sick
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Underwater classroom: professors to spend 73 days below sea surface – video
Bruce Cantrell, 63, and Jessica Fain, 25, are attempting to break the world record for time spent underwater by living in an ocean laboratory for 73 days
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The hidden suffering of animal tourism – video
Footage of the hidden suffering behind animal tourism is released as part of a new campaign to curb abuse
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Shark v shark: great white shark duel caught on camera – video
Rare footage of two great white sharks attacking each other in waters off the Neptune Islands in south Australia
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Leonardo DiCaprio speaks at UN climate change summit - video
Actor and environmental activist Leonardo DiCaprio addresses the UN summit meeting on climate change on Tuesday
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John Kerry opens NYC Climate Week - video
US secretary of state John Kerry opens the NYC Climate Week with a speech at the Morgan Library in New York City on Monday
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'I care about the future, and it's wrong to wreck the planet' – Flood Wall Street climate change protesters in New York – video
Hundreds of climate change protesters demonstrated in Manhattan, New York on Monday. Organisers said a 'flood' of demonstrators – all clad in blue – would besiege Wall Street and the financial district.
The protest came a day after a huge day of protests on Sunday which saw 300,000 people march in New York, demanding action on the environment. World leaders are gathering in the city on Tuesday for a UN summit on climate change.
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Emma Thompson: climate change deniers are 'bonkers' – video
Actor Emma Thompson says climate change deniers are 'bonkers'. She speaks as she joins thousands of protesters on Sunday to demand action to halt climate change
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Climate change protesters march in New York – video
More than 300,000 people join a climate change march in New York city on Sunday as part of a day of global action
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Sir Paul McCartney raps for Meat Free Monday - video
Musician calls on politicians and the British public to commit to a weekly meat-free day to raise awareness on the environmental impacts of eating meat, ahead of the UN climate summit on Tuesday
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Mass of seaweed coats Colombian coastline - video
A thick layer of seaweed coats Colombia's San Andres island coastline on Friday, preventing tourists and locals from swimming in the area
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Gray whale swims near boats in Californian harbour - video
A gray whale is spotted in California's Marina Del Rey Harbour on Tuesday evening
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Emma Thompson in the Arctic with Greenpeace: 'There are more good-looking men on this boat than any place I have ever been' – video
Actor Emma Thompson has gone on an expedition with Greenpeace to raise awareness of the dangers of drilling for oil. She doesn't want to tweet, but Stephen Fry has told her to 'get a grip'
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Great white shark evacuates Massachusetts beach for several hours - video
A great white shark evacuated hundreds of bathers along Duxbury's coast in Massachusetts for several hours on Monday
key issues
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G20: Australians bury heads in sand to mock government climate stanceBondi Beach protest highlights Abbott administration’s perceived failure to put climate change on G20 summit agenda
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More than a third of natural world heritage sites face 'significant threats'Guardian Australia: Report says invasive species, tourism, poaching, dams and logging most pressing threats but climate change may eclipse all
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Doomsday pessimism won’t help us to tackle the climate-change threatLetters: This is no time for our creative elites to be opting for despairing nihilism
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Guns advance on the spinney, sending partridges into free-fallCountry Diary Sandy, Bedfordshire: A bird fell out of the sky, its tumbling body cartwheeling
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Secret talks and a personal letter: how the US-China climate deal was doneA visit to Beijing by Kerry and a missive from Obama were key moments in a nine-month negotiation between the world’s biggest polluters
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Republicans vow to use expanded powers to thwart US-China climate dealObama’s opponents looking for ways to undermine bold climate change strategy that could bring about drastic reduction in carbon emissions
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What does China need to do to meet its carbon pledge?Karl Mathiesen: China says it will make emissions peak by 2030 – but doing so will require building enough clean energy to power the whole of the US
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US-China climate deal boosts global talks but Republicans vow to resistUS to double pace of emissions cuts, China to cap carbon pollution by 2030 but new Senate leader says deal means ‘higher utility rates and far fewer jobs’
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US and China strike deal on carbon cuts in push for global climate change pact
Greenhouse gas emissions US and China strike deal on carbon cuts in push for global climate change pact
Barack Obama aims for reduction of a quarter or more by 2025, while Xi Jinping sets goal for emissions to fall after 2030 -
Peru's forests store more CO2 than US emits in a year, research showsCarbon mapping by the Carnegie Institute for Science reveals nearly seven billion tonnes of carbon stored in Peru’s rainforests, in a technique that could help preserve such stores to reduce carbon emissions
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Europe's cycling economy has created 650,000 jobsCycling industry employs more people than mining and quarrying with potential for a million jobs by 2020, says new study
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United States and China reach landmark carbon emissions deal - as it happened
Greenhouse gas emissions United States and China reach landmark carbon emissions deal - as it happened
The world’s two largest economies strike historic, ambitious deal to cap carbon emissions and increase use of renewable energy -
US-China emissions deal puts extreme pressure on Australia to do moreTo match the scale of cuts announced by US, Australia would have to reduce emissions by about 30% on 2000 levels by 2025
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Shale gas unlikely to make the UK energy self-sufficient, says reportFracking’s potential has been ‘overhyped’ by politicians and shale gas will not reduce energy prices or reliance on gas imports, says UK Energy Research Centre
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Largest international study into safety of GM food launched by Russian NGOThousands of rats will be fed Monsanto maize diets in a $23m, three-year ‘Factor GMO’ study into long-term health effects of GM food and associated pesticides
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MEPs vote to firm up national bans on GM crops in EuropeEuropean Commission proposal to prevent national bans on environmental or health grounds looks likely to be amended
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From the archive, 11 November 1958: Glasgow police appeal for return of radioactive capsule
Nuclear power From the archive, 11 November 1958: Glasgow police appeal for return of radioactive capsule
Originally published in the Guardian on 11 November 1958: The ‘highly dangerous’ Cobalt 60 alloy capsule was removed from a stand at an energy exhibition in Kelvin Hall, Glasgow -
How the G20 subsidises exploration for fossil fuel – interactiveGovernments from G20 countries are spending $88bn to find new oil, gas and coal reserves – we have mapped where 10 of them are directing their funds
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Rich countries subsidising oil, gas and coal companies by $88bn a yearUS, UK, Australia giving tax breaks to explore new reserves despite climate advice that fossil fuels should be left in the ground
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Climate change 'will see more UK forces deployed in conflicts around world'Rear Admiral Neil Morisetti, one of the UK’s most senior military figures, says global warming is a risk to geopolitical security
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Governments agree on new protections for polar bearsConvention on Migratory Species meeting in Ecuador adds listings for Cuvier’s beaked-whale, and 21 shark, ray and sawfish
Damian Carrington's blog China-US carbon deal: A historic milestone in the global fight against climate change