The Guardian Climate Change

Ceremonial welcome for China’s premier, Li Qiang, takes place at Parliament House in Canberra. Follow today’s news headlines live

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Ex-Liberal staffer Bruce Lehrmann arrives at a Toowoomba court

Bruce Lehrmann arrives at a Toowoomba court for a committal hearing into allegations he raped a woman in 2021.

Britain may be chilly, but from Greece to India, people are dying due to record temperatures. The death toll will grow without urgent action

While Britons don jumpers and complain about the unseasonable cold, much of the world has been reeling due to excessive temperatures. India has been in the grip of its longest heatwave in recorded history, with thermometers hitting 50C in some places. Greece closed the Acropolis in the afternoon last week as temperatures hit 43C; never has it seen a heatwave so early in the year. Soaring temperatures in the Sahel and western Africa saw mortuaries in Mali reportedly running short of space this spring, while swathes of Asia suffered in May.

Mexico and the south-west of the US have also endured blistering conditions; it was particularly shocking to hear Donald Trump pledge again to “drill, baby, drill” at a rally that saw supporters taken to hospital with heat exhaustion. These bouts of extreme weather are increasing as the climate crisis worsens. Although the El Niño weather pattern contributed to heatwaves over the last 12 months, they are becoming more frequent, extreme and prolonged thanks to global heating. By 2040, almost half the world’s inhabitants are likely to experience major heatwaves, 12 times more than the historic average.

Exclusive: After months of speculation the fundraising giant has identified more electorates where independent campaigns meet its criteria for support

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Climate 200, the fundraising giant that bankrolled the teal independent wave at the last election, has thrown its support behind independent campaigns in nine more Coalition-held seats.

After months of speculation, the group said it would support independent campaigns in the Queensland electorates of McPherson, Moncrief, Fisher and Fairfax as well as the New South Wales electorates Cowper and Bradfield, and Casey, Monash and Wannon in Victoria.

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China's state broadcaster reported on mudlsides in the Fujian province, disrupting traffic and forcing rescuers to evacuate residents after heavy rainfall in the region. Across other parts of China, the government issued an alert for high temperatures while the south faced severe flood warnings. China has been experiencing extreme weather in recent months. In one instance, severe flooding caused four deaths in Guangdong in April

From Peter Garrett to Prof Lesley Hughes there is frustration, despair and ‘a towering sense of anger’ over the opposition leader’s shift on the 2030 target

Any sense of a ceasefire in Australia’s fractious climate wars was blown away this week after the Coalition said it would not back the country’s 2030 emissions reduction target at the next election.

Peter Dutton’s declaration would mean that, if elected, a Coalition government will seek to breach a central tenet of the global Paris climate accord that countries should not “backslide” on their climate ambition.

War in Gaza, protests in Buenos Aires, a thunderstorm in Omaha and high temperatures in Athens: the last seven days as captured by the world’s leading photojournalists

Representative from Europe’s biggest economy and key player in global climate talks says deep emissions cuts by 2030 ‘essential’ to limit climate heating to 1.5C

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Germany’s climate envoy has dismissed claims the Paris agreement is only about reaching net zero emissions by 2050, warning that deep cuts by 2030 are “essential” and scientific evidence shows “this is the critical decade” to act on global heating.

Australia’s opposition leader, Peter Dutton, has refused to commit to a 2030 emissions reduction target prior to the next national election, prompting claims from Labor, the Greens and independents that the Coalition isn’t serious about acting on the climate crisis.

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The Coalition leader wants to portray action on emissions and the cost of living as incompatible, and thinks he has the focus group evidence that it will work

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When politicians talk about staying in Paris, some people think of climate change and the international pact to save the planet from a diabolical temperature rise.

Many, though, likely imagine the Eiffel Tower or the upcoming Olympics, expensive hotels, fancy food or fashion – maybe even pollies’ snouts in the trough.

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The Australian climate wars appear to be back, with Peter Dutton leading the charge. The opposition leader told News Corp he would not support the nationally legislated 2030 emissions reduction target, triggering accusations he would put Australia in breach of the landmark Paris climate agreement. So what's the play? According to political reporter Amy Remeikis, it has a lot do with 'distraction' and an upcoming election

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• Dutton’s surprise climate policy proves he ‘can’t be taken seriously’, Albanese says

• Newsroom edition: the consequences of Peter Dutton’s climate war – Full Story podcast

Reaching net zero emissions across the economy is a technological and social challenge we must approach head-on

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At their core, our climate actions are about improving the lives of people in Australia and around the world. Acting decisively now will allow us to modernise our economy, help our international partners, and avoid the worst effects of climate change.

Every year we delay rapidly reducing our emissions creates a more dangerous and less prosperous world. Last year, the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering called for a stronger national ambition, to reach net zero emissions by 2035 rather than 2050, while making deep cuts to high-emitting sectors by 2030. The science is unequivocal and demands we decarbonise our entire economy to limit global heating to 1.5C. This level of warming may already be baked in, according to recent reports.

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• Two NSW police officers charged with assaulting 92-year-old man in Sydney
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Chalmers asked about findings that jobseekers unable to afford ‘basics of life’

The treasurer Jim Chalmers was up on ABC News Breakfast just earlier, asked about new Anglicare data showing Australians on income support are “structurally unable to afford the basics of life”.

This is the primary motivation for the substantial cost of living relief that we’re providing in the budget. Whether it is the tax cuts for every Australian taxpayer, energy bill relief for every household, help with student debt and cheaper medicines, plus the increases to jobseeker – which were in the budget before last – all of these are important ways that we can not just understand and acknowledge the pressures that people are under, but actually respond to them.

Most comprehensive analysis ever of conflict-driven climate impacts shows emissions greater than those generated by 175 countries in a year

The climate cost of the first two years of Russia’s war on Ukraine was greater than the annual greenhouse gas emissions generated individually by 175 countries, exacerbating the global climate emergency in addition to the mounting death toll and widespread destruction, research reveals.

Russia’s invasion has generated at least 175m tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO2e), amid a surge in emissions from direct warfare, landscape fires, rerouted flights, forced migration and leaks caused by military attacks on fossil fuel infrastructure – as well as the future carbon cost of reconstruction, according to the most comprehensive analysis ever of conflict-driven climate impacts.

The burden of transition on economically insecure voters must be eased via a more ambitious fiscal approach by governments

Following the European parliament elections of 2019, the newly elected president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, told MEPs: “If there is one area where the world needs our leadership, it is on protecting our climate … We do not have a moment to waste. The faster Europe moves, the greater the advantage will be for our citizens, our competitiveness and our prosperity.”

Five years on, all that remains true, and the urgency of taking decisive action is even greater. Last week, the United Nations general secretary, António Guterres, warned that the world faced “climate crunch time”, referring to new data revealing that the crucial 1.5C threshold for global heating was breached over the past year. But the politics of climate action in Europe is lurching in the wrong direction at alarming speed.

Co-president of the KlimaSeniorinnen says declaration is betrayal of older women

Swiss politicians have rejected a landmark climate ruling from the European court of human rights, raising fears that other polluting countries may follow suit.

A panel of Strasbourg judges ruled in April that Switzerland had violated the human rights of older women through weak climate policies that leave them more vulnerable to heatwaves. Activists hailed the judgment as a breakthrough because it leaves all members of the Council of Europe exposed to legal challenges for sluggish efforts to clean up carbon-intensive economies.

Miami, Fort Lauderdale and Tampa Bay experienced one-in-a-millennium record rainfall and flash flooding

Florida was hit with record-breaking rain last night, with the entire southern part of the state under a flood watch through Thursday evening.

Cities like Miami and Fort Lauderdale experienced the heaviest downpour of the year yesterday between 5pm and 8pm, and almost 4in of rain fell in Sarasota in a single hour.

PM says opposition leader’s refusal to name a short-term emissions reduction target in line with Paris agreement is calculated to reignite climate wars

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Anthony Albanese says Peter Dutton has forfeited his claim to the prime ministership because refusing to name a short-term emissions reduction target shows he is not serious about addressing climate change.

Some Liberal MPs were taken by surprise when Dutton confirmed the opposition would not name a 2030 climate target until after the next election. Moderate Liberals have sought to downplay the significance of the announcement, stressing the party remains committed to net zero by 2050 amid concerns it may hurt the Coalition in seats held by, or under threat from, climate-focused “teal” independents.

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Temperatures expected to reach 43C in Athens and across country, prompting school closures and health warnings

The Acropolis, Greece’s most visited tourist site, was closed to the public during the hottest hours of Wednesday as the season’s earliest-ever heatwave swept the country, prompting school closures and health warnings.

The culture ministry had said the Unesco-listed archaeological site in Athens would close from midday to 5pm (09.00 to 14.00 GMT), with temperatures expected to reach 43C (109F) on Wednesday and Thursday.

Pennon Group annual report lists dangers to water quality posed by higher temperatures

The owner of South West Water has warned that global heating will increase the risk of outbreaks of the parasite that caused diarrhoea and vomiting in south Devon.

Pennon Group said that “gradual and significant increasing average and high temperatures” could pose “risks to water quality and water treatment” – including the cryptosporidium parasite – in its annual report, published this week.

State reportedly arrested at least 25 journalists and activists in last year as it prepares for September climate summit

Azerbaijan’s government has been accused of cracking down on media and civil society activism before the country’s hosting of crucial UN climate talks later this year.

Human Rights Watch has found at least 25 instances of the arrest or sentencing of journalists and activists in the past year, almost all of whom remain in custody.