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Despite the hype around hazard reduction burning this week, evidence shows the measure does not necessarily reduce the bushfire risk. Trent Penman, Associate professor, University of Melbourne Kate Parkins, Bushfire Risk Analyst, University of Melbourne Sarah McColl-Gausden, PhD student, University of Melbourne Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Almost 10,000 new homes are planned for some of the most flood-prone areas of England.

A daily summary of our news plus bite-sized updates from around the world.

Riksbank says Queensland and Western Australia, as well as Canada’s Alberta, ‘not known for good climate work’

Sweden’s central bank said on Wednesday it had sold off bonds from Western Australia and Queensland, and the oil-rich Canadian province of Alberta, because it felt that greenhouse gas emissions in both countries were too high.

The Riksbank deputy governor, Martin Floden, said the bank would no longer invest in assets from issuers with a large climate footprint, even if the yields were high.

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Regulated entities under the Northeast US RGGI ETS increased their holdings slightly in the third quarter, as trading between unaffiliated parties also edged up, according to a report released Thursday.

California Carbon Allowance (CCA) prices stagnated on the secondary market this week as traders shifted their focus towards next week's WCI auction, while RGGI allowance (RGA) values receded after two consecutive weekly gains.

Sir Ed Davey will promise to "jump-start" efforts to tackle the "climate emergency" in a speech on Friday.

The EU member state-owned European Investment Bank (EIB) will stop lending money to unabated fossil fuel projects at the end of 2021, it said late on Thursday, as green groups welcomed the move despite a loophole that gives limited potential to sidestep the measure.

The world's biggest lithium ion battery at Hornsdale in South Australia is about to get bigger with hundreds of Tesla batteries delivered to the site this week.

The post Tesla big battery in South Australia is about to get bigger appeared first on RenewEconomy.

A group of Mayors from fire-stricken communities in NSW and QLD have issued a statement this morning, urging the Government to acknowledge the link between climate change and bushfires.

Highly endangered finch, which is under threat from the Adani Carmichael coalmine, harnessed support of conservationists

• Follow live reaction to the black-throated finch’s 2019 Bird of the Year triump

The black-throated finch has been voted Australian bird of the year for 2019, beating the tawny frogmouth in a landslide.

The highly endangered finch, which is under threat from the expansion of the Adani Carmichael coalmine, was backed by a highly organised online campaign linking it to deforestation, the climate emergency and opposition to the mine.

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Australia's 40-year search for a site for a national radioactive waste storage facility could be coming to an end.

The final votes in the Guardian / Bird Life Australia poll have been counted and the results are in. Follow the latest updates and reaction as the result is announced

7.31pm GMT

Those top 10 of course, were winnowed down from an initial 50. A lot of beloved, big name birds did not make it through.

The preference flows from those excluded birds could decide today. There are tens of thousands of votes looking for a home. It’s enough to overhaul any frontrunner.

7.25pm GMT

Ben Raue is on hand to provide some psephological analysis of the first round of voting:

“Over 54,000 votes were cast in the first round, with the black-throated finch, a bird threatened by the proposed Adani coal mine, way out in front with 7,234 votes, over 13% of the total vote. The reigning champion magpie came in second with 3,569 votes, or 6.5%.

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Politicians in northern England warn of lasting damage, after 1,758 properties badly hit

Leaders of councils across northern England have called for “massive” increases in funding to deal with major incidents, as the Guardian learned that around 1,800 homes and businesses have been badly flooded in the region.

Dozens of weather warnings remain in place around the country, from Oxfordshire to Yorkshire and across the West Midlands, where more than 100 schools were forced to close on Thursday.

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Recent debates about the future of nuclear power in Australia make much of the potential of the next generation of reactors. Heiko Timmers, Associate Professor of Physics, School of Science, UNSW Canberra, UNSW Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

The Climate Markets Associate plays a key role in our work to scale carbon market finance in natural climate solutions (NCS) through affecting public and corporate policy and practices. They will provide support in driving both corporate and government ambition and action to scale NCS through carbon markets, and thus can expect to engage with country, sub-national, local agencies, multilateral institutions, business and/or private groups.

Emergency Leaders for Climate Action have a simple message: we're in “a new age of unprecedented bushfire danger” due to climate change. But Morrison refuses to acknowledge it as a central issue. Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Forest gardens | Insect conservation | Mumsnet slang | Left-behind tuba | The Peace museum

Our charity, The Garden Classroom, has responded to London teachers’ concerns about pupils’ mental health by offering urban forest schools in Islington parks (Letters, 11 November). Pupils in schools just north of King’s Cross station spend half a day a week in Caledonian Park exploring the wooded areas. Islington has the least open access green space of anywhere in the country. If we can do it, anyone can!
Rosey Lyall
Founder trustee, The Garden Classroom

• I am doing my best (Insect apocalypse’ poses risk to all life on Earth, conservationists warn, 13 November). On my allotment I provide brassicas for caterpillars and white flies, broad beans for aphids, carrots for carrot flies, and borage for bees. I also have homes for other invertebrates including slugs and snails. What else should I try?
Elizabeth Pearson
New Barnet, London

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David Walker argues that reinstating the speed restrictions introduced in 1973 would go a long way in curbing greenhouse gas emissions

In December 1973, when the Opec countries cut back supplies of oil to the west, the UK and the US introduced a maximum national speed limit of 50mph on all roads in order to reduce petrol consumption (Netherlands lowers speed limit to comply with pollution court ruling, 14 November). This remained in force until March to May 1974. Maximum speed restrictions, aimed at reducing energy consumption, were again introduced from December 1974 through to May 1977.

When the speed of a petrol-engined car is reduced from 70mph to its optimal speed of 55mph to 60mph, its petrol consumption falls by some 17%. Given that demand for road transport fuels is around 44m litres of petrol and a little over 81m litres of diesel per day, that brings petrol consumption down by 7.5m litres and diesel by 13.75m litres per day. The 1970s restrictions were introduced to save energy. But they also brought down pollution and carbon emissions: every litre of petrol consumed produces 2.3kg of carbon dioxide (diesel produces 2.68kg).

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The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) will partner with green group The Nature Conservancy (TNC) to help Appalachian landowners develop forestry offset projects for the voluntary market, the entities announced Wednesday.