Buoyant confidence in the electricity sector has seen power prices retreat but remains fickle and hinges on further progress on the government's energy plan.

The last of a long list of government-backed "clean coal" projects has fallen over, with the Treasurer reluctantly confirming the end of a $90 million program.

• OPINION

I spent Sunday fighting a big fire right up against the edge of our biggest city. But the real point of the story is that it happened in mid April. We don't plan for major fires halfway through autumn.

Record-breaking heat more akin to summer than autumn is exacerbating the dry spell in Sydney and Australia's south-east.

A necropsy revealed that the mammal had trash bags, polypropylene sacks, ropes, net segments and a drum, among other things, in its stomach and intestines.

Scientists say they have engineered a plastic-eating enzyme that could in future help in the fight against pollution.

• OPINION

It is past time the state of the climate actually got a look-in when it comes to debating what path our energy system should take.

The Turnbull government could face pushback from states and territory governments to its signature energy policy after new details of the plan emerge.

Queensland government environment inspectors are investigating a spill from an explosives storage plant beside a controversial proposed super dump at Ipswich.

An Australian father and son have written about their life in Indian slums and the importance of a low carbon footprint

Companies exploring for energy off the NSW coast should be subject to the same "fit and proper person test" as those on land, the Berejiklian government says

Wetlands, ponds and rain gardens are under construction across Canberra to help improve the water quality of our lakes and rivers.

The bird as a hunter is not a dumb meteorite screaming from the skies but a skilled navigator that makes split-second adjustments.

Queensland's rare Mary River turtles are reaching pension age with very few teenagers to rejuvenate the species in a critical 'Night of the Living Dead' scene.

South-eastern Australia's big autumn heatwave has again pushed temperatures to record levels.

A team of scientists has released a study suggesting one of the most feared consequences of climate change is already coming to pass.

The divide between the Turnbull government and its Victorian counterpart over energy futures will be writ large.

Gillnets trap 20,000 sharks, turtles and dugongs each year. WWF wants donations to buy the last gillnet licence and halt gillnetting in far north Queensland.

The heatwave that has seared south-eastern Australia for days will nudge the mercury in Sydney back towards the record April temperature set just days ago.

A wonderland of extinct volcano craters, ancient river beds and rocky reefs teeming with life has been found just off the NSW coast.

Marine heatwaves are increasing in their frequency and duration at an accelerating rate in many parts of the world, especially around Australia.

The huge warm air mass that broke national records in recent days will edge eastwards, setting up Sydney for three days in a row above 30 degrees.

Parts of Sydney set record temperatures for this far into autumn as much of south-eastern Australia basks in unseasonable warmth.

Three Japanese whaling ships return to their home port with 333 minke whales following a hunting trip to Antarctica that attracted international condemnation.

The Berejiklian government has shifted some regulatory oversight for native forestry on private land away from the EPA, a move opponents say further undermine biodiversity safeguards in the state.

Sydney is expected to have a taste of summer-like weather in the week ahead.

'Sealvester' delighted local residents for two weeks, but a health condition caught up with him and he passed away.

A burst of heat from inland Australia will sweep across the south-east in coming days, challenging records for this late in the year, meteorologists said.

Prince Charles is calling for the Great Barrier Reef to be at the heart of plans for a new "blue economy" that seeks to harness the world's oceans for economic growth.