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A conference marked by squabbling and deferral yielded little progress despite protests
Governments at the UN climate talks in Madrid responded to the growing urgency of the crisis with a partial admission that carbon-cutting targets are too weak, but few concrete plans to strengthen them in line with the Paris agreement.
Two weeks of talks ended on Sunday afternoon with a formal recognition of the need to bridge the gap between greenhouse gas targets set in 2015 in Paris and scientific advice that says much deeper cuts are needed. Current targets would put the world on track for 3C of warming, which scientists say would ravage coastal cities and destroy agriculture over swathes of the globe.
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Unsavoury flavour may explain why certain species do not flee from predators, scientist says
It might seem like they are being lazy but some moths do not bother to flee from predators because they make themselves taste disgusting.
That is the case for a certain species of tiger moth, which researchers have found displays a nonchalant approach when faced with potential predators, on account of its disgusting flavour.
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The spread of electrical lighting is blocking out the stars and threatens the health of many species … including humans. Now our national parks plan to take back the night
NOAA-20 probably has the best view of the North York Moors, even though it’s 512 miles away. In one sweep – on a clear night – the weather satellite can see the whole national park, from the forests in the south near Scarborough to the heather-covered moorland just south-east of Middlesbrough.
When Richard Darn walks these hills – on a clear night – he can’t quite make out NOAA-20 as it scurries from pole to pole because the skyglow from Middlesbrough pollutes the darkness. Yet down in the southern forests, the night sky is pristine and ideal for satellite spotting. Places with truly dark skies like this are shrinking. In the areas where you can see why the ancients decided that a group of stars looked like a great bear, or scorpion, or Orion the hunter, the faintest dots of the constellations are being drowned in skyglow, or winked out by a brash neon sign or stray security light.
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Charity finds one in five won’t re-wear new outfits, despite spending average of £73.90 each
Britons are poised to spend £2.4bn on new outfits for the Christmasparty season this year – yet many items may be worn fewer than three times – a survey shows.
After shelling out an average of £73.90 per person on partywear for the festive period, one in five people admit they won’t wear the same outfit to more than one party or event, according to the study from environmental charity Hubbub.
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Martijn Wilder says more companies are talking about the climate crisis but not moving quickly enough – and his new firm Pollination aims to improve that
A growing number of governments, including of every Australian state, Britain and the European Union, have set targets of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. Few have mapped how to get there.
It is a similar story in the corporate sector. Businesses are under increasing pressure from investors and shareholders to back up claims they are committed to the goals of the Paris agreement. Take BHP, one of the world’s 20 big emitters: it has set a mid-century net-zero emissions target but is yet explain how it will reach it, and plans to invest more in oil and gas than climate solutions.
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Tougher limits on pollutants could cut dangers of heart disease, cancers and poor brain development in children
The UK’s failure to meet World Health Organisation standards limiting the amount of ultra-fine particles in the air represents a major danger to health that is only now being recognised, experts claim.
Studies published this year link the particles to cancers, lung and heart disease, adverse effects on foetal development, and poor lung and brain development in children. They are considered a key threat to health because they go deep into the lungs and then reach other organs, including the brain. But European standards allow the levels of particles in the air to be 2.5 times higher than those stipulated by the WHO.
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Brazil, India and China singled out in UN talks as acting to block agreement on article 6 of Paris agreement
Poor countries have accused a handful of richer nations of holding up progress on tackling the climate crisis at UN talks in Madrid, as demonstrators and activists vented their frustration in the final hours of two weeks of negotiations.
The talks, which had been due to end on Friday, dragged on with negotiators still battling on Saturday to salvage a result, as governments wrangled over the details of a seemingly arcane issue: carbon markets, governed by a provision of the 2015 Paris agreement known as article 6.
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Helped by volunteers, Trees for Life planted nearly 2m native trees on its Scottish projects. It wants to plant millions more
The bracken-clad hills are marked “Dundreggan forest” on the map but this Scottish glen is mostly stark Highland scenery: open, beautiful, and almost totally devoid of trees.
On a steep-sided little gully, 40 years ago, a few baby silver birches escaped relentless browsing by red deer and grew tall. Now, the nearby path through the bracken is dusted with thousands of brown specks: birch seeds.
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Destruction of the world’s largest tropical rainforest in November more than doubled the same period last year
Deforestation in Brazil’s Amazon jumped to the highest level for the month of November since record-keeping began in 2015, according to preliminary government data published.
Destruction of the world’s largest tropical rainforest totalled 563 square kms in November, which is more than double the area in the same month last year, according to the country’s space research agency INPE on Friday.
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The pick of the best flora and fauna photos from around the world, from an illuminated giraffe to an elusive southern elephant seal
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