Samoa’s PM pleads for climate action to save people of Pacific

Samoa’s prime minister has issued a desperate plea for action, calling for the world to save the people of the Pacific from climate disaster. The plea comes on the eve of a landmark report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which is expected to deliver a scientific “final warning” on the climate emergency.

An emergency response centre has been put into action in New South Wales’ far west to coordinate the clean-up of the worst mass fish kill ever to hit the region. Millions of dead fish have been washing up on the Darling River in Menindee.

And Sydneysiders have been sweltering through a record-breaking March, after temperatures soared above 30 degrees for four consecutive days - the first time in 165 years.

Samoa PM urges world to save Pacific people from climate crisis obliteration
The world must step back from the brink of climate disaster to save the people of the Pacific from obliteration, the prime minister of Samoa has urged.

'Significant planning' underway to clean up massive fish kill in NSW's far west
Millions of dead fish continue to flow down the Darling River, with fears it could cause an ecological disaster that will take years for the river to recover from. State authorities are monitoring water quality.

Sydney breaks 165yo milestone after hottest four consecutive days in March on record
Sydney has set a new weather record after temperatures soared above 30 degrees for four consecutive days in March – the first time such an event has occurred in 165 years.

Labor won’t buckle on Greens’ demand to ban new coal and gas projects
Labor and the Greens are still some way from reaching an agreement on the climate bill and Energy Minister Chris Bowen has declared that the Greens’ demand to ban new coal and gas projects would be “irresponsible”. Meantime, business groups are pushing for a deal to be finalised.

Solar, battery retailers see spike in demand after price surge
Retailers offering solar and battery bundles have seen a surge in demand as households seek to mitigate the impact of energy price rises.

Mountain forests disappearing at alarming rate: study
Logging, wildfires and farming are causing mountain forests to vanish at an alarming rate, according to a study published on Friday. These forests are habitat to 85 percent of the world's birds, mammals and amphibians, and Australia’s are being hit hard.

Dozens of new illegal 4WD, bike tracks go over sacred Aboriginal sites in Tasmania every year, map shows
Aboriginal rangers are using drone mapping technology to map heritage sites, revealing recreational drivers are still illegally driving over protected cultural areas.

Home, business buyers should be advised of climate risk: Productivity Commission
Australians seeking to buy a home or business should be given information about the climate risks relating to their new property. That's one of the ideas in a landmark 1000-page Productivity Commission report, which has given federal, state and local governments food for thought on policy changes to improve the economy.

Shark nets and fishing hooks risk killing off endangered species
Although protected by law, grey nurse sharks are still injured internally by fishing hooks and drowned in nets such as the one that kills so many large sea animals each year a few hundred metres away, at Bondi Beach.

Breeding birds in captivity may alter their wing shapes and reduce post-release survival chances
Research into critically endangered orange-bellied parrot finds 1mm difference in length of one feather is enough to reduce survival rate by 2.7 times