there are more catastrophic fire warnings in australia for saturday in three parts of new south wales, with temperatures set to hit the mid—40s celsius. the australian prime minister scott morrison has apologised for going on a family holiday to hawaii while his country was dealing with the bushfire emergency. at least six people have been killed in india, as police tried to contain a further day of protests about a new citizenship law. police used tear gas and batons but denied firing on demonstrators. the law allows fast—track citizenship for religious refugees from neighbouring countries but excludes muslims. the british prime minister boris johnson has won the support of the house of commons for a second reading of his brexit bill. the vote brings britain nearer to departing from the eu at the end of january. parliament, now dominated by the conservatives, passed the bill with a large majority. a funeral and a memorial service have taken place for the two victims

of last month's terror attack near london bridge. jack merritt and saskia jones, were stabbed to death by convicted terrorist usman khan, while attending a conference in a building next to the bridge. our home affairs correspondent, daniel sandford has more. at the cambridge university church of st mary the great, jack merritt‘s mother and father and girlfriend, leanne o'brien. his body in a wicker coffin, in keeping with the ethical life he'd tried to lead. jack merritt was 25 years old and had a masters in criminology from cambridge. in the service, his friends and family recalled a compassionate young man who felt compelled to help people, and whose politics was love, not hate. it is a tragedy, jack's death, but his life, as his father said in the service, his life

was a triumph, and we have to hold onto that and jack's legacy of commitment to those on whom society is all too happy to turn its back. jack passionately believed in others, and so should we. in stratford—upon—avon, at the holy trinity church, where william shakespeare is buried, the family and friends of saskia jones were gathering to remember her. she died in the same attack as jack merritt, and also had a masters in criminology from cambridge. she'd planned tojoin the police to work with victims of crime. she was with jack merritt at a prisoner education conference near london bridge three weeks ago when one of the participants, who had recently been released from a long sentence for terrorism offences, stabbed them both to death. the cambridge university vice—chancellor said that the way they died should not eclipse their lives and the way they had helped others. daniel sandford, bbc news.

now on bbc news, it's climate defenders. we meet the people looking for solutions to climate change, and follow the work of those striving to tackle this global threat. i'mjuston roald i'm juston roald dahl, i'mjuston roald dahl, in the northern ethiopian city of michaela a. just take a look at it. it is absolutely stunning. it is up on the high plains of the country. as you can see, it is hot and it is dry and according to the un this whole region is among the most vulnerable to climate change in the world. but the people here have been building defences against the risks of a changing climate for years. and that is what this programme is about. some of the inspiring stories of amazing people around the world who have been successfully battling climate change. meet the climate

defenders. we will meet the environmental lawyer who may have saved the world half a degree of warming by banishing a dangerous greenhouse gas. the boss of an indian company cleaning up one of the world's most climate hostile industries. here in ethiopia we will meet a woman who nurtures tree seedlings who has now held regrading 1.5 million hectares of barren, degraded land. and a man who has turned his design brilliance into clea n turned his design brilliance into clean power that's starting to undercut fossil fuels. the market here in mek‘ele is full of that fresh, local produce. just look at these tomatoes. absolutely delicious. but i'm not here to shop. i'm here to pose you a riddle. how

can something designed to cool us down be warming us up? i would be amazed if you've got the answer, because it lies deep within these, within air—conditioning units. air—conditioning is everywhere in hot countries these days. but air—conditioning units contain chemicals called hfc ‘s, which are thousands of times more potent greenhouse gases than carbon dioxide. so what if we could persuade the people who make air—conditioning units to use something safer and, in the process, reduce temperature rise by half a degree centigrade? that would be, well, pretty cool, wouldn't it? hannah lloyd higgins in the united states has been to meet a man who has donejust states has been to meet a man who has done just that. for this states has been to meet a man who has donejust that. for this man, solving the problem of climate change isn't a matter ofjust tackling one issue. if we don't

solve this problem we won't be able to solve the other problems of poverty, of peace. this is going to overwhelm everything. but what will it take to move the planet away from the brink was yellow so we have to prioritise what will give us the fastest way to avoid warning. this has to become a new metric, the metric of speed. and his idea for speeding things up, your air—conditioning unit. speeding things up, your air-conditioning unit. we are able to avoid up to half a degree celsius of future warming and we can double that by making cooling equipment superefficient. they grew up in the ‘605. superefficient. they grew up in the ‘60s. why was that berkely as an undergraduate, protesting, and they learnt that students and people have power. at my age i can continue to contribute. but i want to help the

next generation. it is astounding how we have things and throw them away. two of his granddaughters work with him. and hannah very much sees herself as the next one up to the task. you guys have been working on this for 30 years. it's time for us to take over. it's time for new people, new perspective of, and change. the amendment and decisions are adopted. three years ago he was instrumental in getting 197 parties to adopt a climate treating in kigali, rwanda. the so—called kigali amendment intends to face down powerful greenhouse gases called hydrofluorocarbons, or hfcs. the hfc refrigerant scan, alone, give us a voided warming of about half a degree celsius —— refrigerants can.

that may not sound like much. but room we have on the planet one celsius so far, with pretty bad consequences. this half a degree of warming saved became a big rallying cry among world leaders. but let's get back to the start, when we said your air—conditioning unit was important. as the world warms, we need more air—conditioners and refrigeration and other cooling equipment to keep the world safe. but when you do that you have to have more electricity to power the air—conditioners. have more electricity to power the air-conditioners. in the next ten yea rs 1 air-conditioners. in the next ten years1 billion more ac air-conditioners. in the next ten years 1 billion more ac units will be installed globally. the other piece is the refrigerant themselves. and right now the main refrigerant is something called and hfc, hydrofluorocarbons. we can squeeze out a tremendous amount of climate mitigation. that is where the kigali amendment is key. it means that on

factory floors, like this when here in wisconsin, a newly developed an environmentally friendly refrigerant will be placed into air—conditioning units. honeywell is one of the companies designing these new refrigerants. global adoption of our products today has reduced the amount of c02 products today has reduced the amount of co2 emissions in the buy 141 amount of co2 emissions in the buy 1m million metric tons. that is the equivalent of removing 30 million ca i’s equivalent of removing 30 million cars from the road today. and this is happening without support from the white house. the kigali amendment has not been ratified by the trump administration. back in washington, dc, dellwood is working on more solutions that can stop this runaway train as fast as possible. if we don't speed up we will find it harder and harder to protect the planet. so really it is how to get the message across that speed is essential. that was how not long

higgins reporting from the us. i have taken a sneaky break to have a traditional ethiopian drink. look at this. different types of fruit juices all laid up. let me try stop oh. that is delicious. but this fruit bar, like so much else in all oui’ fruit bar, like so much else in all our lives could not exist without... electricity. and most electricity is still produced from coal. it accou nts still produced from coal. it accounts for 40% of world carbon dioxide emissions and its why coal mining is still such a huge industry around the world. it employs about 6 million people and is the lifeblood of many communities. so if we want to cut coal use we have to find alternative livelihoods for those miners, which is exactly what one woman has been trying to do through

a process she calls just transition. maryam moshiri has been to meet her in northern spain. cheers. the sun is setting on spain's coal mining industry. for years the industry has been economically unviable and now the demands of climate change are finishing it off altogether. but as one door closes, could more open? sharon burrow is the head of the international trade union confederation. a union boss with a difference. 0ne union confederation. a union boss with a difference. one who wants to defend the climate as well as workers. we want to see this region live. at the end of last year, spain reached an agreement with unions and the companies involved to shut down all its remaining coal mines. the fourth generation. a deal was voiced which promised 20a enduros to help miners like these retire early or

retrain —— euros. they call it a just transition and believe it is a model for the rest of the world. sharon is here to tell miners there is help for them, but the spanish coal mining industry is done. what we need to do is say to them we won't leave you behind and we will fight to see governments don't leave you behind all that corporations. but some of the miners remain unconvinced. she is visiting me recently shut down mine in bastille. 0ne she is visiting me recently shut down mine in bastille. one of many she has visited around the world to reassure workers about their future. coal burning is responsible for around one third of the rise in global temperatures. the biggest

single source. it looks very rich, guys. globally around 6 million people are employed in coal mining and in some parts of the world, mostly in asia, coal—fired power stations are still being built. round here, though, things are very different. mines like this one is to be the lifeblood of this area, but over the past decade over 30,000 jobs have been lost in the coal mining industry in this region alone. in the nearby city of leon, sharan‘s visit is generating a lot of interest. just transition was under way in several countries and industry sectors and her message is blunt. we recognise there are no jobs on a dead planet. but there is a sharp reminder of the scale of the challenges she faces. the money these men were promised to help them retrain hasn't filtered through, because of continued political uncertainty in spain. we need to

build living jobs on a sustainable planet. and if the planet is to live we need dramatic ambition. the transition to a zero carbon society is essential, but it goes hand—in—hand with helping those whose jobs will be displaced. 43 it's very much a work in progress. she is well aware that some cases the reality does not yet match the aspiration —— sharan. let's turn our attention to something you may not even associate with climate change. no, not the vehicles down the street, or even the energy used by the buildings here in downtown mek‘ele. what we're talking about is the stuff the buildings are actually talking about. we are talking about cement stop as countries develop they start to build and builds and builds. all this building uses millions and millions of tons of,

yes, cement. and cement produces huge amounts of carbon dioxide. 8% of the world total. so here's the question— can we make cement less damaging? well the boss of one indian cement company says yes, we can. the claims we have already cut emissions from his factories by 40% of the world average and he says he is going to make his factories carbon neutral by 2014. virginia jeannesson has been to see him in tamil nadu. as india grows, so too does it use of cement, now only second to china. concrete buildings are changing the landscape here that emissions involved in cement production are also pushing up global temperatures. the small town in india's south is nicknamed cement city because it is home to some of the industry's big players. and it is also here that one company leading the world with a bold vision. to make cement carbon

negative by 2040. but is that really credible? mahendra, the ceo of the delamere company think so. he is at the forefront of using climate friendly ways to make cement. the challenge which we took was is it possible to bring down c02 challenge which we took was is it possible to bring down co2 emissions from cement and to create an example that cement can be greener also. today, we have the lowest carbon footprint in the world. it has not been easy. emissions from the cement industry contribute to global warming three orfour industry contribute to global warming three or four times industry contribute to global warming three orfour times more than aviation does. and becoming carbon negative requires a huge investment in cutting—edge technology to remove the may remaining carbon dioxide. so why is cement so dangerous for the planet? it is all in the way it is produced. limestone and other materials are heated to temperatures of 1400dc in

that process in itself emits carbon dioxide. as does the burning of the fuel to heat the kiln. dalmia aims to reduce those levels first by using renewable fuels to heat the furnaces. here, bamboo is being used asa furnaces. here, bamboo is being used as a replacement for coal. bamboo grows rapidly on wasteland that can't be used for much else. different types of waste are also being used as fuel and waste material from power stations being used as fuel and waste materialfrom power stations is added to the mix of ingredients, reducing the need for limestone. for mrsingh, the reducing the need for limestone. for mr singh, the mission is personal. first we had to convince ourselves and our pete pulled that it is good for them that make people that it is good for them. good for society, good for them. good for society, good for the future. that may be so, but why not just useless good for the future. that may be so, but why notjust useless cement? the question —— problem is that it is difficult to replace. in the years to come, india will rely more on

cements but the notion has to change. i don't think it is practical but in the long run we can do it. we cannot eliminate the cement completely, but we can find many more alternate materials. cement has now become one of the most consumer materials. but many people are still unaware of the damage it does to the climate. it is still a big polluter. this plant in a small corner of india may be showing the way to reduce and one day eliminate its damage. now come with me because i'm going somewhere rather special. up to the top of this hill on the outskirts of the city. i want to be out in the wind because if you want to feel optimistic about our climate future, just look at the price of electricity generated by offshore wind. it has fallen by one third in

the last few years and is now so cheapit the last few years and is now so cheap it could put fossil fuels out of this mess. and that is thanks, in part, to the work of a danish inventor. he has been called the father of the wind industry and freya has been to see him. wind. the invisible source of energy which now has the potential to change the world. the question used to be we like it but can we afford it? now the question is how can we afford not to? from a young from a young age he knew that a lot more could be done to use this natural and free source of electricity. henrik created his first wind turbine at the age of 16, in 1991 he opened the world's first offshore wind farm and his design for the modern wind turbine earned the title of the danish concept and that concept has shaped the wind industry for what it is today. and

its efficiency, which is henrik‘s ‘s motivation. 0ne its efficiency, which is henrik‘s ‘s motivation. one of the biggest blades that he has help design is 94 metres long, the blade is one sea mless metres long, the blade is one seamless piece of fibreglass with no joins. while the blades have grown in size, the costs are shrinking. according to a new study by the paris—based international energy agency, the cost to a further 60% by 2040. every time these blades make a full rotation this turbine generates enough powerfor the full rotation this turbine generates enough power for the average european household for a day. so there is no denying the strength in wind energy. but for this energy to make a meaningful impact worldwide, there are still challenges to overcome. around the world, the untapped potential of offshore wind is fast, especially when you move

further from shore into deeper water. the answer is floating wind turbines, according to the international energy agency, pleading turbines could unlock enough potential to meet the world's total electricity demand 11 times over by 2040. henrik is inventing a floating wind turbine which he says could be mass produced at a factory. he says it is a key to driving down costs to make it cheaper than fossil fuel competitors. so with a real trick of this is getting our products industrialised. next hurdle for the industry is to capture all of the electricity so it does not go to waste when wind drops and to work out the best way to feed it back to the grid. i am putting in a lot of effort on developing storage systems both for day—to—day storage and also for seasonal storage so we can store energy made when we have a lot of wind in the wintertime to be used in the summertime. henrik is optimistic. he has watched the

industry develop from the impossible to the possible, to a future reaching even greater heights. freya cole reporting and now we come to the story of how the people here in northern ethiopian have been working for yea rs northern ethiopian have been working for years to make their country more resilient to the effect of our changing climate. this whole semiarid region south of the sahara is expected to suffer some of the worst effect of climate change and, look around me. virtually all the trees have been cut down leaving just this rough scrub. that makes the soil much more vulnerable to erosion and the land much less fertile. it ethiopian has been fighting to take that vicious cycle. it has restored one and a half million hectares. 0ne it has restored one and a half million hectares. one half million hectares of graded land. so how has ethiopian done this and what can the rest of the world learn from its example? 100 years ago, trees

covered one third of ethiopian. now it is less than 5%. and without trees, there is nothing to protect the soilfrom trees, there is nothing to protect the soil from drought, trees, there is nothing to protect the soilfrom drought, wind and burst of rain which all become more intense with climate change. when the soil goes, very little grows. but people are breaking this vicious circle. this one is the african olive. does it bear fruit? yes, it does grow olives. sarah is an expert at restoring degraded land. this is her tree nursery at mek‘ele university in northern ethiopian. some 30 or 40 years ago data shows that droughts were occurring every ten years. now they are every five yea rs. ten years. now they are every five years. so we need to prepare, as a community, as a society to be able to function in drought years and one of the best ways to do that is to restore the environments and restore

the environments we can capture every little drop of rain that comes. here is how it works. people and animals are kept out to allow natural regrowth. the trees help keep moisture in the soil, recharging rivers and springs. keep moisture in the soil, recharging rivers and springsm may seem trivial to people who live in wet environments that spring has come back. but for people who live ina dry come back. but for people who live in a dry environment, a spring that was around 100 years ago or 200 yea rs was around 100 years ago or 200 years ago is now coming back and giving water. it is highly significant. and this re- greening is happening on a vast scale. in this one province in northern ethiopian, they have reforested 15,000 square kilometres. trees are also a source of cash. local people get paid for every unit of carbon stored here. last year, the community was paid 33,000 euros from

an international carbon offset scheme. that money goes on community projects like water conservation and a new school. worldwide, we are still losing an area of forest the size of the uk every single year. but the re— greening effort here in ethiopian is a lesson in what can be done. evidence that, when people work together, we can build resilience to our changing climate. my resilience to our changing climate. my time in ethiopian has come to an end. we are all packed up and ready to go. that have been so impressed by all the work that people on this programme have been doing to combat climate change. it is so reassuring to know that an army of climate defenders already exist. but it is also clear that we have a long and difficult journey ahead and also clear that we have a long and difficultjourney ahead and we all need to be on board. and i hope that you have been inspired tojoin the climate defenders. time to go.

good morning. what a miserable week of weather it has been for many of us, with some relentless rain, and that has brought localised flooding. in fact, friday afternoon, these were fairly typical weather watcher pictures across parts of central and southern england in particular. in fact, by close of play on friday, there were over 90 flood warnings in force, and with more rain to come through the weekend, well, do go to the bbc weather website for the latest updates on the flood warnings and also any met office warnings as well. over the next few hours we've got this miniature weather front which will enhance some showers, some of them heavy, with hail and thunder. windy conditions following on behind, before another weather front makes its presence felt by the end of the day on saturday. saturday morning, we start off with a few sharp

showers still remaining. but they are easing away. the best of the sunshine perhaps on saturday, likely to be for the far north of scotland. slowly brightening up as well across parts of england and wales for a brief time, before yet more wet weather starts to push into the south—west by the end of the day. a cooler feeling in scotland, five or six degrees. double digits quite widely further south. that rain will continue to drift its way steadily east, but it is going to clear off into the near continent through the early hours of saturday night into sunday morning. then behind, with some clearer skies, it will be a chilly start in sheltered eastern areas of scotland, maybe a touch of light frost. too much cloud further south and too much of a breeze for any issue. and still some bits and pieces of rain first thing on sunday morning. sunday will be quieter for many. a case of sunny spells and a few isolated showers. still quite windy across the exposed coasts of the south. 40—50 mile an hour gusts of wind not

out of the question. cooler again in scotland, five or six, higher values of nine or ten further south. it looks as though that quieter theme is set to continue for a time. showers will ease away on monday and by tuesday, christmas eve, it will be drier and quieter. what on earth is happening, you may ask? it looks as though father christmas might be granting us our wish and giving us a brief lull in the weather story at the moment, with high pressure building on christmas eve into christmas day, which will quieten things down quite nicely. it means the chance of a white christmas is very remote indeed. but it does mean a good deal of dry weather in the forecast. so our christmas week looks like this. a showery start, drying up nicely on christmas eve and christmas day. the potentialfor more rain arriving late in the week. take care.

welcome to bbc news. i'm maryam moshiri. our top stories: there are more catastrophic fire warnings in australia for saturday in three parts of new south wales, with temperatures set to hit the mid—40s celsius. at least six people die in northern india — during another day of big protests against the country's new citizenship law. the un warns millions of syrians are at risk of dying of hunger or disease as russia and china veto humanitarian aid into northern syria. and stuck in orbit. why boeing's mission to the international space station didn't quite go as planned.