Latest environment news
Santander quits Australian wind farm on policy uncertainty
Angela Macdonald-Smith 2:04 PM Banco Santander will sell its only Australian wind farm because of the policy uncertainty that has dragged the renewable energy industry into crisis.
March among Sydney's warmest as city dries off
Peter Hannam 3:50 PM It may not have felt it but Sydney has just had one of its warmest March months on record with the city also clearly on the dry side.
Emissions 'step up' after carbon price ends
Peter Hannam 3:37 PM Australia’s greenhouse emissions from the electricity sector jumped in the September quarter, reversing the industry’s declines during the two carbon tax years preceding it, the latest government data shows.
Emails show Big Oil pressured US scientists over fracking's link to quakes
Benjamin Elgin and Matthew Philips 8:16 AM In November 2013, Oklahoma's state seismologist, Austin Holland, got a request that made him nervous. It was from David Boren, president of the University of Oklahoma, which houses the Oklahoma Geological Survey where Holland works.
Rich nations' fossil fuel export funding dwarfs green spend, data shows
8:33 AM Rich nations provided far more in export subsidies for fossil-fuel technology as for renewable energy over a decade, according to OECD data seen by Reuters.
No let up likely in NSW CSG battles
Peter Hannam If the re-elected Baird government is hoping for a post-poll lull in the coal seam gas debate, it is likely to be disappointed.
Australia not among rich nations releasing post-2020 emission goals on time
Peter Hannam 6:19 PM The UN wants nations to release their longer-term targets well in advance of the Paris summit late this year that will aim to thrash out a new worldwide climate treaty.
Keepers hope it will be giraffe love at first sight for Shaba and Mzungu
Georgina Connery 4:07 PM Shaba has just arrived at the National Zoo and Aquarium and there are high hopes this strapping male Giraffe will be a fitting new boyfriend for the zoo's four-year-old female Mzungu.
Sydney weather: Thunderstorm the start of a soggy Easter week
Megan Levy Sydney's skyline darkened dramatically as a thunderstorm swept over the city on Monday morning - and it's a sign of what we can expect this Easter long weekend.
Australia accused of 'cooking books' on emissions cuts
Adam Morton and Lisa Cox The Australian government is changing how it expresses climate change targets in way that could make it appear to the public as though it is cutting greenhouse gas emissions more rapidly than it is.
Mexico pledges 25% cut in greenhouse gas emissions
Alex Nussbaum and Eric Martin Mexico became the first developing nation to formally promise to cut its global-warming pollution, a potential milestone in efforts to reach a worldwide agreement on tackling climate change.
Australia 'at risk of failing' biggest climate test in a decade say climate groups
Lisa Cox The Abbott government says it will be a constructive player in global climate talks but environment groups have warned it is laying out a path that puts Australia at risk of failing the most important climate test in a decade.
Bigwigs won't be held to account in tax avoidance inquiry
Michael West The Senate Economics References Committee this week kicks off its hearings into corporate tax avoidance in a fortnight, but has confirmed that corporations can select their own witnesses.
Australian war hero dog Sarbi dies, aged 12
Patrick Hatch Australia's most decorated canine war hero, who went missing in war-torn Afghanistan for over a year, has died after a short battle with brain cancer.
Federal government commits to global accord on climate
Peter Hartcher and Lisa Cox The Abbott government has committed Australia to joining the next big global climate pact.
CSG doubts fan fears in Barwon
Peter Hannam Santos Energy is seeking approval for a new waste treatment plant at its controversial pilot coal seam gas field in northern NSW without identifying how it will dispose of the briny and potentially toxic end product.
A real fixer has won the climate debate
Peter Hartcher As Direct Action swings into gear, Australia is ahead in its task to combat carbon emissions under a prime minister who once thought climate change was absolute crap.
Chile desert rains sign of climate change, chief weather scientist says
The heavy rainfall that battered Chile's usually arid north this week happened because of climate change, a senior meteorologist said, as the region gradually returns to normal after rivers broke banks and villages were cut off.
Macfarlane confident he can secure crossbench deal on renewable energy target
Lisa Cox Industry Minister Ian Macfarlane believes he does not need Labor to pass major reductions to Australia's renewable energy target and can secure a deal with the crossbench.
Power sector to get special treatment under Direct Action
Peter Hannam and Lisa Cox The Abbott government has proposed a major concession to the heavy-polluting electricity industry in its Direct Action climate change policy by exempting individual companies from caps on emissions.
Melbourne's blast from Antarctica? If only
Peter Hannam To call this week’s wintry chill across southern Australia a “burst from Antarctica” would be doing a disservice to parts of the frigid continent.
Britain's greenhouse gas emissions fell 8.4 per cent in 2014
Britain's greenhouse gas emissions fell 8.4 per cent in 2014 due to a decline in fossil-fuel power generation, preliminary government data showed on Thursday.
Study shows acceleration in melting of Antarctic ice shelves
Satellite data from 1994 to 2012 reveals an accelerating decline in Antarctica's massive floating ice shelves, with some shrinking 18 per cent, in a development that could hasten the rise in global sea levels, scientists say.
Swift parrot flying into crisis
Andrew Darby The swift parrot, Australia's fastest nectar-eater, is rapidly heading for extinction.
Australia's most-polluting power stations proving risky for investors
Lucy Cormack Report author says Australia has "by far the most carbon intensive power stations globally, the least efficient of all the major economies."
Storm warning issued for south-east
Cameron Atfield A storm warning has been issued for Queensland's south-east after cells began forming west of Brisbane on Thursday afternoon.
Abbott government resists US moves against coal power
Lisa Cox, Mark Kenny The Abbott government has again put itself on a collision course with US President Barack Obama, this time over government funding for coal-fired power plants.
WikiLeaks reveals local health and environment rules under threat
Philip Dorling Australian health, environment and public welfare regulation, including plain tobacco packaging legislation will be open for challenge from largely US-based corporation, if a new deal that is part of the Trans Pacific Partnership goes through.
Clean energy industry offers to break deadlock on renewable energy target
Lisa Cox The peak body for the clean energy industry says it is prepared to accept a significant compromise on Australia's renewable energy target if the government agrees to preserve two agencies it planned to abolish.
Tree-clearing law cops a blast from the Blue Mountains
Peter Hannam The Blue Mountains City Council has joined resident groups in Sydney to renew calls for the tightening of land-clearing laws that have enabled many home owners to clear nearby bushland without a permit.
