The United States says it will not send diplomats to the 2022 Winter Olympics which are set to be in Beijing. 

The United Kingdom and Canada have also joined the boycott, in solidarity with protest over the treatment of the Uyghers in Xinjiang as well as the harsh crackdowns in Hong Kong. 

Prime Minister Scott Morrison says Australia’s participation in the boycott should come as “no surprise” to China with Defence Minister Peter Dutton saying that Chinese Tennis player Peng Shui’s plight has heralded new concerns over athlete safety. 

In a world first, the University of Queensland, with support from Google, are developing Artificial Intelligence to detect and warn of bushfires. 

The project, managed by the School of Earth and Environmental Services, will use AI to trace the movement of embers and deliver real-time updates on extreme bushfire hazards. 

Consultation is underway on the development of an Independent Queensland Environmental regulator. 

The Minister for the Environment and the Great Barrier Reef and Minister for Science and Youth Affairs, The Honourable Meaghan Scanlon describes the mission the regulator as “to protect our environment, provide greater investment certainty, and support economic recovery”. 

A survey to support the consultation is open to all Queenslanders who have a view on environmental protection. 

The bogong moth population has now been declared endangered, it joins 124 Australian species now added to the the International Union for Conservation of Nature's (IUCN) "Red List of Threatened Species". 

Jess Abrahams from the Australian Conservation Foundation says “we need serious action on climate change” citing many habitats of the animals have drastically changed due to flooding and droughts.

Ms Abrahams says the list should be a wake-up call for the government that more action is needed.

Trees have been planted and a sprinkler system installed in Western Sydney to help flying foxes survive heatwaves. 

Greater Sydney Parklands and wildlife rescue service WIRES installed 36 sprinkler systems and 1,860 metres of piping along the Parramatta River.

The project is in response to a mass death of fly foxes in the area in the summer of 2019. 

The New Zealand Government has announced plans to introduce legislation to ban smoking. 

The legislation implements the Smokefree by 2025 goal, which hopes to see smoking reduced to five percent of the population. 

To be introduced next year, it is anticipated the legislation will make it an offence to sell tobacco to anyone born after 2011 and place greater limits on nicotine content.

Hundreds of Queensland have flocked to the NSW-QLD borders ahead of its opening after being stranded for months. 

Residents like Vicki Hutchins have been stuck in NSW after making a trip to help her son who suffers with schizophrenia, one of many Queenslanders stuck after her border reentry was denied. 

50,000 vehicles are expected to enter the state along with dozens of quarantine free flights. 

Recent research has found that babies are more likely to be born prematurely on hotter days. 

According to a study from the Kolling Institute, spontaneous preterm labour is more likely to occur when the temperature is greater than thirty three degrees than when on a twenty degree day. 

Experts have highlighted the implications the research findings have on housing and climate change policy.