The Guardian Climate Change

Experts predict major electricity price hikes if opposition proposal to slow rollout of large-scale renewable projects goes ahead

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Australians could face an increase in annual household power bills of up to $1,000 under a Coalition plan to slow the rollout of large-scale renewable energy and use more gas-fired electricity before nuclear plants are ready, analysts say.

As Peter Dutton faced cross-party resistance to his announcement that he would go to the next election promising to eventually build seven nuclear plants, energy market analysts warned the Coalition’s proposal would probably lead to a significant rise in prices over the next decade, before a nuclear industry came online.

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In his new book, Tad DeLay suggests there is no rosy roadmap to go forward – but there are things we can do

You are in denial about the climate crisis. We all are, argues the American scholar Tad DeLay. Right-wing climate deniers are not the only ones with a problem, he says when we speak in early June after the release of his book, Future of Denial. For denial doesn’t only amount to rejecting the evidence, he argues – it also consists of denying our role in the climate crisis; absolving ourselves through “carbon offsets, hybrid cars, local purchases, recycling”. And in this, far more of us are implicated.

In some ways, this argument might not seem all that new. Multiple authors have pointed out that green capitalism, not rightwing deniers of the crisis, is our greatest obstacle to properly confronting the problem. DeLay agrees. The difference is the lens he brings to it – using psychoanalysis to explain the mechanisms behind denial.

Landmark judgment says planning bodies must account for burning of extracted fuel when considering site proposals

The climate impact of burning coal, oil and gas must be taken into account when deciding whether to approve projects, the supreme court in London has ruled.

The landmark judgment, handed down on Thursday, sets an important precedent on whether the “inevitable” future greenhouse gas emissions of a fossil fuel project should be considered.

Just Stop Oil activists have sprayed two jets with orange paint at a private airfield in Stansted where they say Taylor Swift's plane landed before her shows at Wembley stadium. The group said on X: 'Private jet users are responsible for up to 40x as much carbon emissions compared with a commercial flight'. The previous day, Just Stop Oil protesters sprayed Stonehenge with orange powder paint before the summer solstice

• Stonehenge sprayed with orange powder paint by Just Stop Oil activists

Researchers find extreme heat four times more likely than at turn of millennium and urge reduction in fossil fuels

The deadly heatwave that scorched large swaths of Mexico, Central America and the southern US in recent weeks was made 35 times more likely due to human-induced global heating, according to research by leading climate scientists from World Weather Attribution (WWA).

Tens of millions of people have endured dangerous day – and nighttime temperatures as a heat dome engulfed Mexico – a large and lingering zone of high pressure that stretched north to Texas, Arizona and Nevada, and south over Belize, Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador.

Unpredictable weather affecting bird’s lifecycle, with breeding populations down by almost a quarter

The proverb “one swallow doesn’t make a summer”, first attributed to Aristotle, sums up our love of this elegant bird. Swallows visit us for roughly half the year, between April and September, before travelling almost 6,000 miles (10,000 km) to South Africa, where they enjoy a second spring and summer.

But unpredictable weather patterns are now affecting swallows throughout their lifecycle: in Africa, on their journeys south in autumn and north in spring, and during the breeding season here in the UK.

Largest ever climate survey also finds majority want countries to set aside differences to fight global heating

Most people in the world’s biggest fossil fuel producing countries want their countries to transition quickly to clean energy to fight the climate crisis, according to the largest ever climate opinion poll, conducted by the UN.

Many of these states have profited heavily from fossil fuel exploitation, but the 77-nation poll shows their citizens are deeply concerned about the impacts of global heating on their lives. In China and India, the biggest coal producers, 80% and 76% respectively want a quick green transition.

Commission recommends 33-point plan to ensure oil giant complies with state climate commitments

The French government should intervene in TotalEnergies and spur faster climate action, a senate inquiry commission has concluded.

The commission, set up to explore ways the state could guarantee that the oil conglomerate complies with French climate commitments, recommended 33 steps the government should take to “encourage a rapid, orderly and effective transition”.

Tony Wood of the Grattan Institute rejects Coalition’s claim electricity prices are high due to Labor’s renewables policy

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Peter Dutton’s claim that nuclear energy would lead to cheaper power bills has been rejected by energy experts, with one saying there was “no credible reason” to think adding “the most expensive form of bulk electricity” would cut prices.

They said a range of evidence, including a recent CSIRO analysis, suggested nuclear power would be more expensive than other options, and that solar and wind system under construction – supported by firming technology – was the cheapest option.

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At least one killed as residents of Ruidoso escape blazes which are 0% contained

Two fast-moving fires killed at least one person in New Mexico, claimed 1,400 structures and forced the evacuations of thousands of residents as firefighters hope cooler temperatures and the chance of rain could bring some relief as they struggle to bring the “out of control” blazes to heel .

A state of emergency has been declared by New Mexico’s governor, Michelle Lujan Grisham, and by the Mescalero Apache Tribal Council, to speed recovery and response funding into the region.

Tropical storm due to form in Gulf of Mexico, adding to extreme weather as north-east and midwest bake

Potential Tropical Cyclone One – a slow churning system of low atmospheric pressure in the Gulf of Mexico – was badgering the Texas coast but had not fully developed, meteorologists said on Wednesday.

The storm, which will be named Tropical Storm Alberto when it forms fully, is set to unleash powerful winds, heavy rain and flood threats across the entire southern US, Mexico and Central America. Storm-force winds, which stretch more than 400 miles (640km) from the storm’s center, are already affecting southern Texas.

State’s existing coal-fired power plant sites being considered, along with NSW’s Hunter Valley and South Australia’s Port Augusta

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Queensland is emerging as the nuclear capital under the Coalition, with speculation it could be home to up to two reactors in the opposition’s energy plan.

Such a move would pit the federal Coalition against the state LNP just months out from the Queensland election. David Crisafulli, the LNP state leader, said on Tuesday he would not repeal the state’s nuclear ban if elected and nuclear was “not on our plan, not on our agenda”.

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Increasing use of fans, air coolers and air conditioners is placing ‘serious’ strain on grid in north of country

Engineers in India have warned of the possibility of prolonged power outages in the north, where a heatwave has brought misery for millions of people.

Demand for electricity has soared due to fans, air coolers and air conditioners being run constantly, placing a strain on the grid in Delhi and elsewhere in the north. Manufacturers of air conditioners and air coolers report sales rising by 40-50% compared with last summer.

The University of Nairobi’s new chancellor says the continent has vast potential – but to realise the promise of AI and green jobs, rich countries must honour their commitments

Africa has all the potential to meet pressing climate challenges with innovative solutions, according to one of the world’s renowned environmentalists. With its vast natural capital and youthful population, “this is Africa’s century,” according to Prof Patrick Verkooijen, chief executive of the Global Center on Adaptation (GCA), and the new chancellor of the University of Nairobi.

But Verkooijen emphasises that support and investment from the global north is essential, highlighting that 65% of the world’s uncultivated land is in Africa, a continent with immense promise in its population, set to make up one in four people globally by 2050.

Last week more than 400 scientists signed an open letter to political parties urging ambitious action on the environment to prevent making Britain and the world ‘more dangerous and insecure’.

Now that the main parties’ manifestos have all been released, Ian Sample is joined by the global environment editor, Jon Watts, and the biodiversity reporter, Phoebe Weston, to find out what the manifestos have to say about nature and climate, and whether anyone is promising the level of action scientists are asking for

Find more analysis of how the UK parties rate on their environmental manifesto pledges

Mining magnate says investors need certainty as opposition’s climate policy comes under increasing scrutiny

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The mining magnate Andrew Forrest has warned that the federal Coalition’s proposed abandonment of the 2030 emissions reduction target would hit Australian exports with penalty carbon taxes.

On Tuesday the Fortescue boss warned that relying on the introduction of nuclear power in at least 15 years’ time while opposing large-scale renewables and abandoning interim targets would cripple investment certainty.

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• Annual Paris temperatures warmed by 1.8°C since 1924
• New report cites risks posed by extreme heat

The Paris Olympics could be the hottest Games on record, with leading athletes warning that the intense heat forecast for competition could lead to athletes collapsing or – in a worst-case scenario – dying in competition.

A new report, Rings of Fire: Heat Risks at the 2024 Paris Olympics, argues the 2021 games held in Tokyo “offered a window into an alarming, escalating norm for Summer Olympics”.

Almost half of those surveyed said target was ‘unachievable and hurting the economy’ and Australia should instead focus on 2050

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Voters are split on Peter Dutton’s controversial proposal to abandon Australia’s 2030 emissions reduction target, despite rejecting his plan to wait at least 15 years for nuclear power to help achieve net zero by 2050.

The latest Guardian Essential poll of 1,181 respondents suggests Labor’s efforts to boost renewable energy are popular, but the Albanese government is vulnerable to a Coalition campaign focusing on the scale of Australia’s ambition to fight global heating.

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With tickets doubling as public transport passes and recycled props, Hans Otto Theater is embracing a €3m federal project to make culture climate neutral

A handful of Spanish conquistadors fight through thick undergrowth to emerge in the ivy-clad ruins of a fallen civilisation during a rehearsal of Austrian playwright Thomas Köck’s Your Palaces Are Empty.

Premiered last month at the Hans Otto Theater in Potsdam, south-west of Berlin, the bleak and unforgiving drama probes the wounds of a shattered capitalist world that has exploited its people and the planet’s resources.

Here’s how Australia can build new homes that not only keep us warm but cut emissions and avoid climate catastrophe

The federal government has set a target of building 1.2m new homes in Australia by 2029.

If we construct these homes the same way as we do today, their materials will contribute to millions of tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions, while our poorly performing existing homes will remain freezing in the winter. We need to change the way we design, build and retrofit housing to avoid a climate catastrophe.