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Australia is pioneering a revolution in home renewables and battery use, proving what is possible with the right policies
The timing was rich with symbolism. As intense heatwaves pummelled Europe and Asia, and oil markets around the world leapt and sputtered, the two big chimneys of one of Australia’s largest power stations were being demolished. Meanwhile, the Australian energy minister was holding a media conference to hail a fall of up to 10% in the benchmark electricity price in parts of the country.
Quietly, and with surprisingly little fanfare from the rest of the world, Australia is pioneering a revolution in home renewables and battery use, proving what is possible with the right policies. The country was already one of the global leaders in domestic solar power, with panels on one in three homes. It also remains, however, a major contributor to the climate crisis through its vast fossil fuel exports.But it is batteries that are giving Australia a new burst of speed.
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Many of those who love spending time in Britain’s green places say it is awe-inspiring, calming and therapeutic
As a recent study revealed almost half of UK adults now spend less than three hours a week in natural settings such as gardens, parks, fields or woods, we asked readers to tell us about what being outside means to them.
The replies – heartfelt and passionate – came flooding in, with some admitting they just did not have the words to say how important it is.
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Exclusive: Local authority asked what steps it is taking after hordes of splashing revellers seen disturbing nesting birds
Ministers have written to the City of London demanding it stop people from swimming in a protected pond on Hampstead Heath, after disturbing scenes of cygnets and eggs being disrupted went viral on social media.
Swans and their 12-day-old cygnets were disturbed by hordes of splashing revellers in the north London park on Monday as temperatures reached a record 35C in the capital. In one video, a swan was seen poking an unhatched egg with its beak after it fell into the water during the chaos.
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Hour by hour, Shahida and her baby are exposed to the full force of the deadly temperatures affecting India’s capital – without reliable access to food, water or healthcare. Here is a day in their lives
Delhi is sweltering through another summer of extreme heat, with top daytime readings consistently reaching 43C and even minimum temperatures hovering around 32.4C (90.3F).
Last week the city endured its warmest May night in 14 years. As government heat alerts follow one after another and people retreat indoors, more than 300,000 individuals living on the city’s streets remain out in the punishing heat.
Shahida dreads the arrival of summer, and this year, she has the additional worry of keeping nine-month-old Jannat safe from the heat
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Despite government pledges, more than 20 authorities will not allow gullies, citing safety, legal and parking concerns
The energy secretary, Ed Miliband, has said charger gullies to connect electric cars parked on streets will help cut costs for drivers, yet millions of UK households may be unable to use the simple technology because their local councils will still not allow charging cables to cross the pavement.
Despite government promises to “slash red tape” and make it easier to put in gullies, more than 20 local authorities appear to be holding out against them.
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The births, fledgling flights and even first dates on Robert Fuller’s site are about to hit a million global subscribers
Having enjoyed setting up bird boxes with his father as a child, the wildlife artist Robert Fuller wanted to go one step further. While he happily spent hours making the boxes and dotting them around the Yorkshire Wolds, he found it tantalising that he was unable to see exactly what the nesting owls, kestrels and kingfishers were up to.
It transpires Fuller was not alone in his curiosity. His YouTube channel, which livestreams footage from his artificial habitats and documents his love of British nature, is about to hit a million global subscribers. His channel now generates on average 2.8m monthly views.
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Survey shows 44% increase on RSPB reserves of bird that almost became extinct in England in the 60s
More than half a century after the Dartford warbler almost vanished from the English countryside, the charismatic heathland bird appears to be staging a comeback.
A survey has revealed the highest number of Dartford warblers ever recorded on reserves run by the bird conservation charity RSPB, with 264 pairs counted in 2025, a 44% increase in five years.
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Rather than dreaming of restoring past glory, some are advocating for a future with a lighter footprint. And there are signs of renewal
Kerry Outerbridge motored his powerboat through coral reef ringing the lush, tropical island and alighted upon white sand.
Catamarans and jetskis lay strewn about the beach. Nothing but quiet emerged to greet him from the bungalows scattered among a grove of coconut trees. A plate of food sat on a kitchen table, mouldering.
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Ian Hughes is boosting one of the continent’s most at-risk species with science, his sons and some homemade T-shirts
Ian Hughes and his son, Ben, are driving through the hills of north Wales with an array of homemade animal artefacts rattling around their car: diagrams, plaster casts, hand-printed T-shirts. They finally reach Llyn Tegid – Bala Lake in English – where, knee-deep in the water, Ian brandishes two glutinous snails.
It is a mollusc the size of a fingertip. It is also one of Europe’s most endangered species, which Ian has dedicated himself to protecting. “It’s beyond passion,” he says. “It’s an obsession.”
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In this week’s newsletter: We began writing Down to Earth in 2021, but the global political, economic and environmental landscape has changed drastically in the past five years
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The Cop26 UN climate summit in Glasgow in 2021 represented a high-water mark in climate diplomacy, and in hope for global unity. Two weeks in Scotland that year resulted in all countries affirming they would strive to limit global heating to 1.5C, with most setting net zero goals and national plans to cut greenhouse gas emissions, halt deforestation, protect nature and boost renewable energy.
It wasn’t perfect: the plans would still result in about 2.8C of heating, though they agreed to work on strengthening them, and a commitment to phase out coal was weakened at the last minute to a phase down instead. But the direction of travel was clear: the whole world agreed on how to fight the climate crisis. The Paris agreement of 2015 bound countries to keep temperatures “well below” 2C above preindustrial levels, with 1.5C as an aspiration, but at Glasgow the 1.5C limit – in line with scientific advice, which warns of dire consequences beyond that threshold – was adopted as the clear goal.
‘It’s getting hotter and it’s not stopping’: dealing with the heat in five of Europe’s capitals
‘My head spins with the heat’: India’s gig workers battle exhaustion amid soaring temperatures
Climate crisis is accelerating antibiotic resistance across world, study says
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