Latest environment news
Labor to beef up climate fight with commitment to steeper emissions cuts
Mark Kenny 7:39 AM Bill Shorten will take significantly steeper emissions cuts to the 2016 election than the Turnbull government, ensuring climate change policy will once again be a key battleground issue for voters.
Pope Francis urges Paris climate change deal to avoid catastrophe
Paul Richardson 9:24 AM Pope Francis urged world leaders preparing to meet at a United Nations conference on climate change to agree an accord that transforms current development models and focuses on the need to adopt low-carbon energy systems.
'Bad news for the planet' as temperatures heat up
Peter Hannam The past five years have been the hottest on record.
Expert questions 'smart' drumlines for sharks
Lucy Cormack GPS buoys will allow sharks to be hooked, tagged and released. But experts have raised concerns.
Paris 2015: Australians back deeper carbon cuts as climate summit looms
Tom Arup Australia will head to the Paris climate summit next week with majority public support for adopting deeper cuts to greenhouse gas emissions if it helps reach a global deal to tackle the problem, according to a new poll by the Lowy Institute.
Energy companies' risky $3 trillion bet
Rakteem Katakey 11:22 AM In Australia alone, more than $140 billion in fossil fuel projects are at risk as producers invest in projects with a doubtful future, non-profit think tank warns.
Make surfers pay for shark protection
Rory Callinan 1:41 AM Surfers should bear the cost of shark protection measures by having to purchase shark repellent devices, a scientist has told a symposium on shark management.
Stalled southerly buster draws out another sweltering day for Sydney
Peter Hannam 7:36 PM A much-anticipated cool change took its time making it to Sydney, dragging out another unseasonably hot day.
Little relief for commuters as Sydney's temperatures soar again
Peter Hannam 4:21 PM Many of Sydney's commuters are in for a sweltering journey to and from work today as temperatures soar towards the high 30s ahead a late afternoon cool change.
'Biggest risk' to Paris climate talks on track to being resolved: Hunt
Nicole Hasham The world has averted a major threat to success at the Paris climate summit because richer countries are on track to meet a goal of spending US$100 billion a year helping poorer countries tackle climate change, Environment Minister Greg Hunt says.
Beaches to offer best place to beat a return of Sydney's heat
Peter Hannam The beaches will be the place to head to as Sydney's last major burst of heat for spring moves through the city, sending temperatures into the high 30s and triggering a total fire ban..
World's largest polluters to meet on first day of Paris climate talks
Justin Sink President Barack Obama will meet with the leaders of China and India on the opening day of talks in Paris to reach an international climate agreement, a symbolic gesture that the White House says underscores the commitment of the world's largest emitters of greenhouse gases to tackle rising global temperatures.
New study adds to debunking of global warming 'pause'
Chris Mooney Scientists fell prey to the 'pause' narrative because of a 'seepage' of arguments by climate change doubters into the scientific literature, new research finds.
El Nino leaves crocodiles high and dry
Lucy Cormack "They're not eating, they've got no fresh water, they've just got to sit it out." Crocodiles in Kakadu National Park have been left high and dry.
'You're the Voice': the message Australian women are taking to Paris climate talks
Deborah Snow An Australian women's climate movement has created an "utterly inspiring" call to action ahead of the Paris climate summit.
Mysterious Siberian craters may have an underwater analogue, scientists say
Chris Mooney The idea that climate change could destabilise methane hydrates, which contain enormous amounts of methane, has been frequently evoked as a kind of doomsday climate scenario. But researchers say their results do not support such alarmism.
Hunt says climate change action at Paris talks a 'deeply personal goal'
Nicole Hasham Clinching a global deal in Paris to keep global warming below two degrees is a "deeply personal goal" and climate change inaction is "not an option", Environment Minister Greg Hunt is expected to say on Wednesday.
Turnbull's climate commitment to be undermined by more CSIRO cuts
Peter Hannam Some of Australia's leading climate research programs are under threat even as Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull prepares to address world leaders at next week's global climate summit in Paris.
These are the last of their kind
There are now just three northern white rhinos left in the world. These three.
Spiderweb hundreds of metres long
The latest viral spider news is horrifying at face value. Residents of North Memphis, Tennessee, were treated to an unexpectedly white Thanksgiving when a spider web at least half a mile long (about 800 metres) appeared on the grass.
Extreme weather tied to 600,000 deaths, $2.6T bill over two decades
Nick Cumming-Bruce Weather-related disasters in the past two decades have killed more than 600,000 people and inflicted economic losses estimated at trillions of dollars, the United Nations said Monday, warning that the frequency and impact of such events was set to rise.
Mild weather for Sydney before the mercury starts to climb again
Peter Hannam Sydney's break from late-spring heat will be short-lived with temperatures set to rise by Thursday.
Prince Charles links climate change to war in Syria, terrorism
Michael Holden Prince Charles has pointed to the world's failure to tackle climate change as a root cause of the civil war in Syria, terrorism and the refugee crisis engulfing Europe.
Rare stick insect to go international to save its species
Bridie Smith Hundreds of precious Lord Howe Island stick insect eggs will be sent overseas as part of a captive breeding program for the critically endangered Australian insect - which until 2001 was thought extinct.
Climate change a risk to retirement savings
John Collett When you consider the range of investments most people have, it's the returns from retirement savings that are likely to feel the heat of climate change the most.
RAAF masters Antarctica
Andrew Darby, Wilkins Runway, Antarctica Plane fills gap in Australian polar capacity, adding heavy-lift capacity and reach.
Plea to reverse Rio Tinto's 'original sin' on coalmine
Peter Hannam Premier Mike Baird has been called on to prevent Rio Tinto from destroying endangered woodland that it promised to conserve.
Deforestation threatens majority of Amazon tree species
Nicholas St Fleur By comparing maps of projected deforestation with data collected in the forest, researchers have determined the status of more than 15,000 Amazonian trees species.
Scientists use taxidermy decoys to catch rare native cranes
Bridie Smith "They just happened to have two dead brolgas in their freezer that had died of natural causes so they were kind enough to provide them."
THE MOTLEY FOOL
Is your portfolio ready for climate change?
Scott Phillips The threat of climate change is also a threat for your portfolio, even if you don't believe in the science.