Largest coal mine approved in Queensland

The federal government has approved a massive coal mining project in central Queensland that will be the largest in the country.

Fatal motorcycle crash, bushfires linked to wild weather

HAMISH BOLAND-RUDDER Strong winds fanned a number of bushfires around the region and prompted a police warning about dangerous road conditions after a motorcyclist was killed in a crash on Sunday.

Blustery change brings relief from heat but little respite for fire crews

PETER HANNAM Temperatures are dropping in Sydney but windy conditions are likely to keep fire crews busy.

Carbon targets

Global carbon budget to be blown in 21 years, study finds

The world risks blowing through its carbon budget in 21 years, threatening to cause global warming of more than double the threshold deemed safe by the United Nations, the global accounting firm PwC said today in a study.

Coast protection costs rise with sea levels

Anne Davies Sydney councils and the state government are facing a multibillion-dollar bill to strengthen and maintain sea walls around the harbour and beaches in the face of rising sea levels.

Bushfires make hazy, lazy days of toxic summer

Ben Grubb, Peter Hannam Pollution soared four times higher than levels deemed hazardous and hundreds of fire alarms went off, in one case stranding train passengers, as thick haze from bushfires engulfed the city on Saturday.

'Cruel' insurers add to bushfire trauma

KIRSTY NEEDHAM A distraught 11-year-old boy who lost his home in the bushfires was told by an insurance company to list every toy and treasured belonging in his destroyed bedroom before it would consider a payout.

Climate body fears for food supply

An international panel says climate change will pose great risks to the world's food supply.

Abbott honours a promise with meeting on gas fears

JONATHAN SWAN Queenslander Debbie Orr was sceptical Tony Abbott would live up to his promise to visit within six weeks of becoming Prime Minister and listen to her complaints about coal seam gas making her children sick.

Meet the 'zonkey': a zebra-donkey hybrid

An act of love between Martin the zebra and Giada the donkey in the romantic Italian city of Florence has produced a rare "zonkey" baby that is drawing crowds to an exotic animal shelter.

NSW weather: November to test fire-fighting resources

PETER HANNAM November is shaping up to be another unusually warm month, with the heat, a lack of rain and the prospect of more bouts of windy weather likely to keep NSW's fire-fighting resources stretched.

Sydney blanketed in smoke again

Ben Grubb A smoke haze caused by bushfires and subsequent backburning in the north and west of NSW that blanketed Sydney on Saturday saw air quality deteriorate and pollution levels soar 15 times above normal levels in one Sydney suburb, putting at risk people with health conditions.

No sign of 'carbon leakage' after EU puts a price on emissions

No businesses in Europe relocated production to regions without greenhouse-gas emission curbs between 2005 and 2012, according to a study for the European Commission on a process known as carbon leakage.

Obama orders US communities to prepare for climate change

In another move to address the impact of climate change, President Barack Obama ordered a bipartisan task force on Friday to help U.S. communities brace for longer heat waves, heavier downpours, more severe wildfires and worse droughts.

Poor report card on reef's health

Tom Allard Much of the Great Barrier Reef is continuing to degrade, especially in the inner areas where a slew of new port developments are proposed and waiting approval from the federal government.

Burning rubber: the deadly dumps

PETER HANNAM Huge numbers of discarded tyres pose a major threat, writes Peter Hannam.

Fears for reef over port developments

Tom Allard Much of the Great Barrier Reef is continuing to degrade, especially areas closest to the mainland, where new port developments are awaiting approval from the federal government.

Labor offers ultimatum over carbon tax

MARK KENNY Australian businesses and households face months of uncertainty over energy pricing after the Labor opposition resolved on Friday to stick with the unpopular carbon tax unless the government adopts its policy of an emissions trading scheme.

Solar industry rebound faster than dot-com revival by tech companies

Solar industry manufacturers are rebounding from a two-year slump faster than technology companies recovered from the dot-com bubble of the late 1990s.

Developing nations' emissions close to catching rich world's, study finds

Total greenhouse gas emissions by China and other emerging nations since 1850 will surpass those of rich nations this decade, complicating U.N. talks about who is most to blame for global warming, a study showed.

Climate change: scientists attack David Murray for 'serious slur'

PETER HANNAM David Murray, a senior banking figure, has delivered a “serious slur” on leading Australian scientists in televised comments and he should withdraw them, a leading body representing climate scientists said.

Hot, dry October keeps NSW on fire alert

PETER HANNAM Sydney and most of the rest of NSW posted among their hottest and driest Octobers on record, adding to concerns that the early-season bushfire threat will remain high for coming weeks or longer.

Sea Shepherd's Paul Watson comes ashore

ANDREW DARBY The extraordinary maritime odyssey of Sea Shepherd founder Paul Watson has ended with him coming ashore to join former Australian Greens leader Bob Brown in fighting a US court case.

RSPCA rescues 100 dogs in puppy farm raid

CAROLINE ZIELINSKI More than 100 dogs have been surrendered to the RSPCA after the organisation raided a puppy farm in a small town north-west of Bendigo.

Trick or treat for polar bears

NATALIE BOCHENSKI Special Halloween snacks and over one tonne of ice was delivered to Seaworld’s Polar Bear Shores on Thursday, just so its cutest resident could enjoy a day trick-or-treating.

Global warming likely to 'energise' El Nino effect, research shows

PETER HANNAM Australia may face more intense and frequent bouts of extreme weather in the future as global warming "energises" the El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO), the dominant climate system over the Pacific, according to an Australian-led team of researchers.

Melbourne Cup frost forecast after October weather extremes

HAMISH BOLAND-RUDDER Look out tomato growers - Canberra could be heading for a rare, potentially record-breaking frost on Melbourne Cup Day, after an October of extremes.

Puppy pound photos to make you paws

JILLIAN MCHUGH A sick eight-week-old puppy was the inspiring force behind a project to keep WA animal shelters on their feet.

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Carbon target of 5% 'inadequate'

Tom Allard, Peter Hannam Much deeper reductions in Australia's carbon emissions are not only justified and desirable, but also eminently affordable, a report by the government's independent climate adviser has found.

Hunt orders inquiry over reef business links

JONATHAN SWAN Environment Minister Greg Hunt has ordered an 'immediate' inquiry into the agency charged with protecting the Great Barrier Reef, after revelations that board members held interests in companies that could benefit from expanding coal and gas production near the reef.

Authority seeks deeper cut to emissions

Tom Allard, Peter Hannam Much deeper reductions in Australia's carbon emissions are not only justified and desirable, but also eminently affordable, a report by the government's independent climate adviser has found.

Deeper emission cuts no 'pie in the sky', says former RBA governor Bernie Fraser

PETER HANNAM Bernie Fraser's seven-year stint as former Reserve Bank governor would have left him with precise analytic skills and a thick hide.

Dead birds 'not just a freak event'

DEBORAH GOUGH Muttonbirds are dying in their thousands nearly every year and much more frequently than ever before, washing up on the coast from Coffs Harbour to Tasmania.

Climate change report shows holes in Australian debate

ADAM MORTON When historians have their say on this period in Australian politics, the Climate Change Authority report published on Wednesday could make a handy shorthand - a simple illustration to underline the yawning gap between the rhetoric of the public debate and the underlying facts.

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Emissions target inadequate, says Climate Change Authority

PETER HANNAM Australia's greenhouse gas reduction target of 5 per cent this decade is inadequate and should be increased to at least 15 per cent, according to the agency set up to advise the government on climate change policy.

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SES cleans up after wild winds wreak havoc

MEGAN LEVY NSW is mopping up after another extreme weather event, with roofs torn of homes and one woman struck by lightning as severe thunderstorms and gale-force winds tore across a large part of the state.

Coalition gets new choice on emissions

Tom Allard, Peter Hannam A report by the Climate Change Authority will provide government with a series of options to lift Australia's bipartisan goal of reducing emissions by 5 per cent by 2020 but the government's policy is not to endorse any increase.

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Six injured as storms, wind lash the state

LUCY CARROLL Six people were injured, including a woman hit by lightning, as severe thunderstorms and gale-force winds hit a large part of NSW on Tuesday.

Fish stocks improve, but some species struggle

ANDREW DARBY Australian fishers are edging closer to sustainability, but a handful of wild stocks are still being damaged, according to a federal government report.

Wild weather lashes Sydney, NSW

LUCY CARROLL Six people have been injured, including a woman hit by lightning, as severe thunderstorms and gale-force winds hit a large swathe of NSW on Tuesday.

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Second line of storms hits Brisbane

NATALIE BOCHENSKI Tuesday's storms may have missed most of Brisbane, but they were by no means a fizzer, according to the Bureau of Meteorology.

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Western Australia shark mystery sparks bigger questions over ocean predators

What creature would be able to chase down and devour a 500 kilogram great white shark on the sea floor off Western Australia?

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Brisbane storm warning: city 'in the firing line'

NATALIE BOCHENSKI Severe storms are drawing closer to Brisbane, with three cells in a line towards Logan, the Gold Coast and the New South Wales border.

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Smoke joins fog to make for a turgid Tuesday

PETER HANNAM Sydney's air pollution levels have again soared, this time from a combination of fog and smoke from the on-going bushfires.

The toxic lake that preserves animals' bodies

Max Ehrenfreund Near an unusual volcano in Tanzania is a shallow lake that preserves the bodies of dead animals, encrusting them in salt.

Giant beach ball bounces around London during St Jude's Day storm

Central London is not only being battered by a once-in-a-decade storm. It's also being menaced by a giant, rampaging beach ball.

Whale freed from nets off Gold Coast

MARISSA CALLIGEROS Rescuers free a baby whale from shark nets off the Gold Coast.

European ministers push for tougher EU climate goals

Thirteen European environment ministers urged the European Union on Monday to adopt ambitious energy and climate goals for 2030 or risk falling behind the rest of the world.

The Grounds pets Kevin Bacon and Bradley the lamb found in country Victoria

MEGAN LEVY Three weeks after a pet pig and lamb were stolen from their home at a Sydney cafe during a midnight raid, the animals have turned up more than 500 kilometres away at an animal sanctuary in country Victoria.

WA's bushfire-proof housing project that's designed to be burnt

MICHAEL HOPKIN Ian Weir isn’t the first West Australian ever to buy a plot of bushland and build a cabin or two. But he might be the first who is actively hoping his buildings get hit by the full force of a bushfire.

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Storm death toll rises to 13 in Europe

The death toll from a severe storm that ripped across Britain and onto mainland Europe has risen to 13, with the UK and Germany hit the hardest.

Scientists drill for answers in Antarctica

NICKY PHILLIPS Australia will lead a mission to the heart of Antarctica this summer to drill several ice cores that will be used to fill gaps in scientist's understanding of recent climate records.

Antarctic drilling project to get to core issues of climate change

NICKY PHILLIPS Australia will lead a mission to the heart of Antarctica this summer to drill several ice cores that will be used to fill gaps in scientist's understanding of recent climate records.