Calling itself Blockade Australia, the group claims to be concerned not just about climate change but about the “colonial and extractive systems of Australia”.

More than 30 mayors and councillors across Australia say they are “exhausted by the immediate costs and challenges” of recent natural disasters and have written to the government calling for stronger climate action.

Rivers and water catchments across the state’s east coast have not had enough time to dry out since the recent flood emergency, says the weather bureau’s senior meteorologist.

Destruction of more than 200,000 hectares of threatened species habitat has been approved by the federal government in the past decade, a report shows.

Antonio Guterres says the “naive optimism” of the Glasgow talks is colliding with a failure to deal with climate, as scientists grapple with global heat waves.