A Labour government under Jeremy Corbyn would ban fracking, ditch all coal-fired power stations and massively increase renewable energy, his leadership campaign has announced. The current Labour leader also pledged renewables would account for at least 65% of the power mix by 2030 – even though Carbon Brief analysis reveals there is some confusion over the sourcing of his figures. The Guardian says it is the “clearest signal yet” that the party intends to embrace an “ambitious environmental agenda and break its traditional strong links to mining and fossil fuel extraction”. Owen Smith, the rival leadership candidate, says the plan are not ambitious enough and notes “Corbyn does not even mention Hinkley point and nuclear power”. BusinessGreen says that “experts [note] getting 65% of energy from renewables by 2030 would be enormously ambitious, while sourcing 65% of power from renewables could result in higher emissions than current plans if Corbyn maintains his opposition to new nuclear reactors and carbon capture and storage technologies are not deployed at scale within a decade”. Energy Live News also carries the story. Meanwhile, Corbyn has written an article for the Guardian setting out “why Labour is putting energy reform at the heart of its green agenda”.

In a widely reported finding, the New York Times says scientists have found that climate change has increased the likelihood of torrential downpours along the Gulf Coast like those that led to deadly floods in southern Louisiana last month. “Using historical records of rainfall and computer models that simulate climate, the researchers, including several from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration [NOAA], found that global warming increased the chances of such intense rains in the region by at least 40%.” The work was guided by World Weather Attribution, which involves research organisations worldwide, including Climate Central, which also reports the findings. The group’s work follows established scientific approaches and the findings are published before they are put through peer review. Associated Press, Time magazine, Grist and DeSmog also carry the story, as does Carbon Brief.

Theresa May has assured MPs the Paris climate change deal will be ratified, amid growing calls for the Government to sign off on the agreement as soon as possible. Using its Opposition Day debate to press the matter, Labour’s climate change minister Barry Gardiner accused the government of “backsliding” on its commitments to bring down greenhouse gas emissions. May told the Commons: “I’m happy to give you the assurance that we will indeed be ratifying the Paris agreement.” Later, Nick Hurd, minister for climate change and industry, said all the countries in the EU had to ratify the agreement – hence the delays on the British side. “We signed the agreement as part of the European Union. We negotiated together and…the convention is that we will ratify together.”

In the first of a two-part post, Roberts begins by explaining why climate change is so politically polarising in the US – and why it is such a tough nut to crack: “Most of all, it clarifies the stakes of the 2016 elections (if additional clarity was needed). The continued hyper-polarization around climate change means it matters very, very much for climate policy which party controls Congress and the presidency for the next four years.”

King questions the methods and strategy of the “racist climate crisis” claims used by Black Lives Matter protestors when they blockaded a London airport earlier this week. “While gaining a media splash, what the City Airport protest failed to do was deliver a clear narrative for UK climate action, which is essential under a new Brexit-focused government. Asserting cumulative UK per-capita emissions are the highest in the world and hawking the dubious claim that the country is largely invulnerable to climate impacts is not an agenda for action. Equally, the argument posed yesterday that climate change is “racist” seems needlessly polarising. Does that make car drivers racist? Does it mean heating your beans on the gas hob makes you a racist?…Spectacular stunts come with risks, notably pissing off innocent holidaymakers and alienating the majority of the population. To win on climate you need coalitions.”

A long feature examining the pressure Exxon has been placed under by the #ExxonKnew revelations published by InsideClimateNews and the Los Angeles Times and subsequent subpoenas from various US state attorneys. The author speaks to a variety of sources to asses the risks Exxon now faces.

Pearce critiques the “Great Green Wall”, a line of trees to be planted coast-to-coast across northern Africa to hold back the advancing sands of the Sahara in the name of fighting climate change. “Part of the problem is that many believe the diagnosis is wrong. The science behind an advancing Sahara is hotly contested: many researchers say the whole idea – which has been a given of environmental debate since the 1970s – is a myth…In reality, deserts advance and retreat regularly, often as a result of routine climatic variability…In any case, the idea of seeing deserts as an ecological disease to be fought is foolhardy.”

Climate change is driving the rapid collapse of almost all native bird species on one of Hawaii’s islands, a new study says. Survey data shows populations of six species of “honeycreeper” are declining as warming temperatures spread avian malaria into higher elevations of the forests where they live. If current rates continue, multiple extinctions will occur in the coming decades, the researchers say. The findings “provide a glimpse of what the future holds for species on other Hawaiian islands and beyond”, the authors’ conclude.

A new paper describes how scientists are now able to provide measurements of Arctic sea ice thickness within just three days of the satellite data being recorded. Previously, the measurements were only available around a month after being collected due to the time required to determine precise satellite orbits. Timely observations of sea ice thickness help scientists understand the Arctic climate, the researchers say, and have the potential to support seasonal forecasts and operational activities in polar regions.

Global fisheries could lose around $10bn of their annual revenue by 2050 unless greenhouse gas emissions are curbed, a new study says. Using a collection of climate models, the researchers examine the economic impacts of climate change on fish stocks and fishery revenues under two emission scenarios. Their findings suggest revenues could drop by an average of 10% and 7% for high and low emissions scenarios by 2050, respectively. Developing countries with a high dependency on fisheries are particularly vulnerable, the researchers note.