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Much like Albanese’s own style, the 62% to 70% target range reflects a calculated approach designed to offend as few people as possible
Buried in the small library of documents released alongside the Albanese government’s new 2035 emissions reduction target on Thursday was a stark illustration of the challenge ahead.
As part of its advice recommending a target of 62% to 70% reductions from 2005 levels, the Climate Change Authority gave a speedometer of progress on decarbonisation to date. It showed in the five years to 2023-24, Australia reduced emissions by an average of 9 megatonnes (Mt). Last financial year, emissions reduced by 7Mt.
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On a tiny Italian island, scientists conducted a radical experiment to see if the bees were causing their wild cousins to decline
Off the coast of Tuscany is a tiny island in the shape of a crescent moon. An hour from mainland Italy, Giannutri has just two beaches for boats to dock. In summer, hundreds of tourists flock there, hiking to the red and white lighthouse on its southern tip before diving into the clear waters. In winter, its population dwindles to 10. The island’s rocky ridges are coated with thickets of rosemary and juniper, and in warmer months the air is sweetened by flowers and the gentle hum of bees.
“Residents are people who like fishing, or being alone, or who have retired. Everyone has their story,” says Leonardo Dapporto, associate professor at the University of Florence.
Giannutri island’s remote location made it a perfect open-air laboratory for the bee experiments. Photographs: Giuseppe Nucci
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The people of Johnshaven have watched the sea edge closer and closer. Preserving the path is key to protecting their community
When Charis Duthie moved to Johnshaven with her husband in 1984, she could cycle along the coastal path out of the village. Now, she meets a dead end where the sea has snatched the land and is instead greeted with a big red warning sign of what is to come: Danger Coastal Erosion.
“You can see gardens that were there and now they’re gone,” she says.
Johnshaven, on Scotland’s North Sea coast, will attract more visitors if it has a well maintained coastal path
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Increasingly erratic water cycle is creating food scarcity, rising prices, conflict and migration, says UN agency
Only a third of the world’s river basins experienced normal conditions last year as the climate crisis drove extremes of drought and flood, sometimes both in the same region.
The increasingly erratic water cycle is creating big problems for societies and governments and causing billions of dollars in damage, scientists warned.
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St Dominic, Tamar Valley: So far in early autumn, an abundance of ash keys and plump acorns – and the apple and pear trees are heavily laden
At last, Atlantic weather has set in, bringing much-needed rain to green the hard-grazed turf and fields of cut hay and silage. A few late swallows swoop between hedgerows along sky-reflecting Summers Lane, and dart beneath the gate of the adjoining pony-trodden field. Before the rain, a battalion of 50 swallows gathered on wires by Corneale farm, perhaps in anticipation of the journey home.
After the unusually early harvest of cereals (completed by mid-August), the earth beneath the stubble is softened; maize puts on yet more growth and should provide lots of fodder when gathered next month. Livestock farms are self-sufficient in winter feed, but some straw for bedding has been bought from upcountry, costing up to £120 per tonne.
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Researchers from Imperial College London say 16,500 deaths caused by hot weather brought on by greenhouse gases
Human-made global heating caused two in every three heat deaths in Europe during this year’s scorching summer, an early analysis of mortality in 854 big cities has found.
Epidemiologists and climate scientists attributed 16,500 out of 24,400 heat deaths from June to August to the extra hot weather brought on by greenhouse gases.
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Since our 2024 climate pledge, there has been a global pushback against green progress. This update reflects the urgent and growing challenges facing our planet – and how the Guardian is more focused than ever on exposing the causes of the climate crisis
In the past three weeks, more than 50,000 Guardian readers have supported our annual environment support campaign. If you believe in the power of independent journalism, please consider joining them today
The Guardian has long been at the forefront of agenda-setting climate journalism, and in a news cycle dominated by autocrats and war, we refuse to let the health of the planet slip out of sight.
2024 was the hottest year on record, driving the annual global temperature above the internationally agreed 1.5C target for the first time
Winter temperatures at the north polereached more than 20C above the 1991-2020 average in early 2025, crossing the threshold for ice to melt
The planet’s remaining carbon budget to meet the international target of 1.5C has just two years left at the current rate of emissions
Humans are driving biodiversity loss among all species across the planet, according to the largest syntheses of the human impacts on biodiversity ever conducted worldwide
Tipping points – in the Amazon, Antarctic, coral reefs and more – could cause fundamental parts of the Earth’s system to change dramatically, irreversibly and with devastating effects. We asked the experts about the latest science – and how it makes them feel
Published our annual company emissions data, explaining what drives our emissions and where they have risen and fallen
Created a digital course, as part of an initiative by the Sustainable Journalism Partnership, sharing examples from experts across the Guardian of how to embed sustainability into journalism and media commercial operations
Contributed our time and knowledge to working groups in the advertising industry that are working on better ways to measure the emissions impact of advertising
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Global metastudy finds long-term exposure to pollutants is linked to shorter or lower-quality rest
Air pollution is affecting how well we sleep, according to the findings of an international evidence review. Dr Junxin Li, of the Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing, who led the review, said: “For years our team has been studying sleep in older adults living in the Baltimore area. Outdoor air quality may change block-by-block and, in some residences, we noticed exhaust fumes from nearby traffic. This led us to a simple but critical question: could the air older adults breathe indoors – as well as just outside their front door – be influencing how well they sleep?”
Li’s team searched for studies from around the globe. Focusing on people over 45 years old, they found 25 high quality studies since 2015. These looked at 1.2 million people in six countries including China, India, the US and Germany.
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With sea levels rising, much of the nation’s population is confronting the prospect that their home may soon cease to exist. Where are they going to go?
By Atul Dev. Read by Mikhail Sen
Check out Between Moon Tides documentary at theguardian.com
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I put myself forward as a human guinea pig to study the effects of long-term sub-aquatic living. Not everyone can say they have befriended a lobster and a shark
My stay in Jules’ Undersea Lodge started in March 2023. The habitat, secured to the bed of a 30ft-deep lagoon in Key Largo, Florida, wasn’t the most comfortable hotel I’ve spent time in, but then I wasn’t there for a holiday. I’m a biomedical researcher and I was there as part of a scientific mission called Project Neptune 100.
The main aim was to research the mental and physical impact on the human body of living in increased atmospheric pressure – 70% higher than at the surface. It was also to study what happens when you leave someone alone in a confined environment for 100 days. The data might have all manner of applications – for future missions to Mars, for example.
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