Lead Story
NSW Parliament passes legislation creating Australia's Great Koala National Park
On October 23, 2026, the New South Wales Parliament passed legislation formally establishing the Great Koala National Park on the state's Mid North Coast, turning years of campaigning into a protected reserve spanning well over 100,000 hectares of forest that is home to one of the largest remaining wild koala populations. The move follows the registration of a carbon credit project covering more than 117,000 hectares within the park, giving the state a funding mechanism to help manage the land, and is being hailed by conservationists as a turning point for a species listed as endangered in NSW after years of habitat loss from logging and bushfires.
Read more →Lead Story
NSW Parliament passes legislation creating Australia's Great Koala National Park
On October 23, 2026, the New South Wales Parliament passed legislation formally establishing the Great Koala National Park on the state's Mid North Coast, turning years of campaigning into a protected reserve spanning well over 100,000 hectares of forest that is home to one of the largest remaining wild koala populations. The move follows the registration of a carbon credit project covering more than 117,000 hectares within the park, giving the state a funding mechanism to help manage the land, and is being hailed by conservationists as a turning point for a species listed as endangered in NSW after years of habitat loss from logging and bushfires.
Netherlands pledges up to $500 million to help protect the world's tropical forests
The Dutch government announced on October 26 that it would contribute up to $500 million over the next decade to the Tropical Forest Forever Facility (TFFF), a new public-private fund designed to pay tropical countries for keeping forests standing rather than clearing them. The pledge, still subject to parliamentary approval and expected to be formalized by the Dutch prime minister at the COP31 climate summit in Antalya, brings total commitments to the fund — which already includes Brazil, Indonesia, Norway, Germany, France, Luxembourg and the UK — to roughly $7.8 billion, moving it closer to a $10 billion year-end target on the way to an eventual $125 billion goal meant to help protect a billion hectares of tropical forest worldwide.
Read more →Netherlands pledges up to $500 million to help protect the world's tropical forests
The Dutch government announced on October 26 that it would contribute up to $500 million over the next decade to the Tropical Forest Forever Facility (TFFF), a new public-private fund designed to pay tropical countries for keeping forests standing rather than clearing them. The pledge, still subject to parliamentary approval and expected to be formalized by the Dutch prime minister at the COP31 climate summit in Antalya, brings total commitments to the fund — which already includes Brazil, Indonesia, Norway, Germany, France, Luxembourg and the UK — to roughly $7.8 billion, moving it closer to a $10 billion year-end target on the way to an eventual $125 billion goal meant to help protect a billion hectares of tropical forest worldwide.
Restoring seabirds and native plants could help low-lying atolls keep pace with rising seas, study finds
A study published in Science Advances in October, led by Lancaster University with researchers from the University of Auckland, the Nature Conservancy and the University of Seychelles, found that coral reefs around rat-free tropical atolls with thriving seabird colonies grew up to 1.8 times faster in lagoons and 2.5 times faster on ocean-facing sides than reefs around rat-infested islands, thanks to nutrient-rich guano fueling faster reef and sediment growth. The authors say lagoon reefs around healthy, bird-rich islands could largely keep pace with sea-level rise projected through the end of the century under a 2°C warming scenario, suggesting that culling invasive rats and restoring native vegetation — already underway on islands such as Seychelles' Aldabra atoll — could be a relatively low-cost way to help some low-lying island communities adapt, alongside continued cuts to greenhouse gas emissions.
Read more →Restoring seabirds and native plants could help low-lying atolls keep pace with rising seas, study finds
A study published in Science Advances in October, led by Lancaster University with researchers from the University of Auckland, the Nature Conservancy and the University of Seychelles, found that coral reefs around rat-free tropical atolls with thriving seabird colonies grew up to 1.8 times faster in lagoons and 2.5 times faster on ocean-facing sides than reefs around rat-infested islands, thanks to nutrient-rich guano fueling faster reef and sediment growth. The authors say lagoon reefs around healthy, bird-rich islands could largely keep pace with sea-level rise projected through the end of the century under a 2°C warming scenario, suggesting that culling invasive rats and restoring native vegetation — already underway on islands such as Seychelles' Aldabra atoll — could be a relatively low-cost way to help some low-lying island communities adapt, alongside continued cuts to greenhouse gas emissions.
Electric and plug-in hybrid cars hit a record 67% of China's new car sales as combustion models slump
New-energy vehicles — battery-electric and plug-in hybrid models combined — reached a record 67% share of China's passenger car sales in September, according to industry data reported in mid-October, as sales of traditional combustion-engine cars fell roughly 49% year-on-year. The milestone marks the first time new-energy vehicles have made up more than two-thirds of a monthly sales total in the world's largest car market, driven in large part by battery-electric models, and underscores how quickly China's auto industry is shifting away from fossil-fuel vehicles even as the mix between battery-electric and plug-in hybrid sales continues to shift from month to month.
Read more →Electric and plug-in hybrid cars hit a record 67% of China's new car sales as combustion models slump
New-energy vehicles — battery-electric and plug-in hybrid models combined — reached a record 67% share of China's passenger car sales in September, according to industry data reported in mid-October, as sales of traditional combustion-engine cars fell roughly 49% year-on-year. The milestone marks the first time new-energy vehicles have made up more than two-thirds of a monthly sales total in the world's largest car market, driven in large part by battery-electric models, and underscores how quickly China's auto industry is shifting away from fossil-fuel vehicles even as the mix between battery-electric and plug-in hybrid sales continues to shift from month to month.
Northumberland's Long Nanny colony posts a record breeding season for England's rare little terns
The National Trust announced in September that its Long Nanny reserve in Northumberland had its best-ever season for little terns, England's smallest and one of its rarest breeding seabirds, with the colony more than doubling its previous site record for breeding pairs. The rebound follows several difficult years for little terns nationally, driven by avian flu outbreaks, coastal flooding of nesting sites and increasing climate pressures, and comes alongside encouraging results at other English colonies, with conservationists crediting years of fencing, warden patrols and predator management for the turnaround.
Read more →Northumberland's Long Nanny colony posts a record breeding season for England's rare little terns
The National Trust announced in September that its Long Nanny reserve in Northumberland had its best-ever season for little terns, England's smallest and one of its rarest breeding seabirds, with the colony more than doubling its previous site record for breeding pairs. The rebound follows several difficult years for little terns nationally, driven by avian flu outbreaks, coastal flooding of nesting sites and increasing climate pressures, and comes alongside encouraging results at other English colonies, with conservationists crediting years of fencing, warden patrols and predator management for the turnaround.