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António Guterres on climate crisis: ‘We are coming to a point of no return’

UN secretary general says he’s concerned that the richest nations have pumped billions more into fossil fuels than clean energy since the pandemic

Wealthy countries risk an “unforgivable lost opportunity” by not emerging from the Covid-19 pandemic with newly green economies to address the climate crisis, the United Nations secretary general has warned.

Before meeting the leaders of the world’s major economic powers at the G7 summit in the UK, António Guterres said he was concerned that the richest nations have pumped billions of dollars more into fossil fuels than clean energy since the pandemic, despite their promises of a green recovery.

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G7 leaders depicted in Mount Recyclemore e-waste sculpture

Cornwall art installation created from 20,000 pieces of discarded tech highlights growing threat it poses to environment

The seven giant faces loom above the dunes, gazing sombrely over swathes of bright sea thrift towards the ocean.

Even before the G7 had sat down to begin their Cornish summit, Mount Recyclemore, a sculpture made of discarded electronic waste depicting the visages of the seven leaders, looked bound to be one of the stars of the show.

Related: The G7 and a crucial moment for the climate

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Prince Charles urges businesses to help lead way on climate

Prince says private-sector innovation and finance is vital, otherwise ‘we just don’t stand a chance’

Prince Charles has said businesses must lead the way alongside governments in tackling the climate emergency.

Before the start of the G7 summit in Cornwall on Friday, he told a gathering of political and business leaders that private-sector cash and knowhow was essential, and businesses needed strong policy signals from government.

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Climate and nature crises: solve both or solve neither, say experts

Restoring nature boosts biodiversity and ecosystems that can rapidly and cheaply absorb carbon emissions

Humanity must solve the climate and nature crises together or solve neither, according to a report from 50 of the world’s leading scientists.

Global heating and the destruction of wildlife is wreaking increasing damage on the natural world, which humanity depends on for food, water and clean air. Many of the human activities causing the crises are the same and the scientists said increased use of nature as a solution was vital.

Related: What is biodiversity and why does it matter to us?

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Polish government faces court action over failure to tackle climate crisis

Five citizens accuse government of failing to protect them from impacts of global heating

Five Polish citizens are taking their government to court over its failure to protect them from the impacts of the climate crisis.

They say the state has breached their rights to life, health and family life by delaying action to cut national carbon emissions and propping up the coal industry.

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Australia to discuss travel bubble with Singapore as leaders meet ahead of G7

Scott Morrison and Lee Hsien Loong also expected to talk about South China Sea and how to handle Beijing’s actions in the region

Scott Morrison will discuss a travel bubble between Australia and Singapore when he visits his counterpart, Lee Hsien Loong, but the high-level talks are expected to produce a political commitment to the idea rather than a firm starting date.

The Australian and Singaporean prime ministers will on Thursday also discuss how to handle China’s actions in the region, with Australia believed to have suggested including language in their joint statement on the importance of maintaining freedom of navigation in the contested South China Sea.

Related: Australian government prepared to walk away from UK free trade deal over agricultural access

Related: Jacinda Ardern warns of ‘consequences’ after three Melburnians caught trying to enter New Zealand

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Leading investors urge governments to end support for fossil fuels

Group controlling $41tn in assets sign joint statement calling on world leaders to bolster net zero targets

Investors controlling $41tn (£29tn) in assets have called for governments around the world to end support for fossil fuels and set targets for rapid reductions in carbon emissions to limit the damage from global heating.

The 457 investors, who hold almost a third of world’s assets under management, signed a joint statement calling for governments to “significantly strengthen” their plans to cut carbon emissions in the next decade and to bring in detailed targets for net zero emissions by 2050 or sooner.

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Author Briohny Doyle: ‘The myth of motherhood is that it’s fantastic even when it’s hard work’

With her second novel Echolalia, Doyle picks up threads about climate crisis and social expectation and weaves them into a portrait of prosperity’s decline

Echolalia is a strange word. “It’s a beautiful word that describes speech patterns of autistic and neurotypical children’s development: they repeat what you say to them,” explains Briohny Doyle.

For this Australian author, it’s also freighted with allegory: Echolalia is the title of Doyle’s latest novel. “The book is structured around the repetitions we unconsciously make, mimicry and learned behaviour, and about echoes in general, across time and generations,” she says.

Related: Echolalia by Briohny Doyle – a dark, deft and gripping read about mania and motherhood

Refusing to acknowledge certain realities – mental health issues or addiction for instance – doesn’t make them go away

Related: ‘You need to be cold, calm and ruthless’: Muay Thai training taught me more than how to fight

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As NSW roads minister, I know we have to incentivise electric cars | Andrew Constance

A road user charge for EVs should be many, many years off. Not before we have a reasonably priced market

In the days since the ‘“black summer” bushfires I have watched my community suffer. That moment in our history was a major climatic event and the largest wildfires our nation has ever seen.

We can’t spend any more time, or expend any more energy, debating climate change. We need to take action now. It doesn’t matter if you think it’s real or not – regardless of your viewpoint, you will be a beneficiary of the innovation.

Related: Cheaper electric vehicles could increase uptake in Australia ‘sooner than expected’

Related: Australia lags the world on electric vehicle choice and it's hurting take-up, industry says

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The G7 and a crucial moment for the climate

The world’s richest democracies will come together in Britain this week with global heating high on the agenda. Can they match big promises with concrete action?

The damage wrought by the coronavirus pandemic has been huge, but it pales in comparison to the potential risks associated with the climate crisis. With the world coalescing around the importance of limiting temperature rises to 1.5C above pre-industrial levels, the next 10 years are the last chance to meet that goal - and with the Cop26 summit in Glasgow later this year, the G7 summit in Cornwall this week is the next staging post in a crucial six months to settle on a way forward.

But even as many countries set out significant pledges to do their part, the reality of their policies is often far behind. Anushka Asthana speaks to the Guardian’s environment correspondent, Fiona Harvey, about what must happen to catch up with those commitments – and what this summit will tell us about the likelihood of making changes that are crucial to averting catastrophe.

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