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Wind turbines generated 48.5% of electricity grid in England, Scotland and Wales on Monday

Great Britain’s windfarms set a new clean energy record on Monday after the blowy bank holiday weather helped onshore and offshore wind turbines make up almost half of the electricity system.

The blustery bank holiday produced a new wind power record as turbines generated just over 17.6GW of electricity for the first time in the middle of Monday afternoon, enough to be able to bring more than 3.5m kettles to the boil.

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Newly minted carbon credits rose to over 660,000 in the Clean Energy Regulator’s latest batch, while offset demand is set to increase after EnergyAustralia on Tuesday promised to offset all emissions from a new gas-fired power plant.

Guardian investigation finds carbon credits generated by forest protection schemes are based on flawed system

• What is carbon offsetting and how does it work?

The forest protection carbon offsetting market used by major airlines for claims of carbon-neutral flying faces a significant credibility problem, with experts warning the system is not fit for purpose, an investigation has found.

Money from carbon offsets can provide vital financial support for projects seeking to protect and restore some of the most beautiful threatened ecosystems around the world. Given that nature-based solutions can make a significant contribution to the climate mitigation needed to stabilise global heating, a functioning finance channel will be important for climate change progress, and particularly for developing countries.

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The new climate pledges announced during April's US-led climate summit are projected to put the world on track for global warming of 2.4C above pre-industrial levels, a report published Tuesday showed, reflecting a drop from 2.6C previously but still far off the Paris Agreement's 1.5-2C goals.

In the runup to Cop26, public knowledge about the crisis is shallow, with few understanding the scale of the threat

One of the key lessons of the Covid-19 pandemic is that strong policies require strong public engagement: people needed to understand the nature of the virus before they would tolerate constraints on their lives or provide the government with a mandate for action.

Yet the world faces another major problem that is already transforming economies, infrastructure and way of life: the climate crisis. And in this case, governments have miserably failed to inform or consult their citizens. Not one of the highest-polluting nations attending Joe Biden’s climate summit last week has a coherent strategy or dedicated national budget for public engagement.

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Rise is a 0.2C improvement on previous forecast but still substantially above goal of Paris climate agreement

New climate targets announced by the US and other rich nations in recent weeks have put the world on track for global heating of about 2.4C by – the end of the century, research has found.

That is a 0.2C improvement on the previous forecast of 2.6C, but still substantially above the Paris goal of holding temperature rises to no more than 2C above pre-industrial levels, with an aspiration to limit heating to 1.5C.

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The number of carbon offsets traded in China in April nearly doubled month-on-month as an increasing number of companies seek to achieve carbon neutrality, while pilot cap-and-trade schemes remained quiet with Chongqing and Guangdong the notable exceptions.

EU carbon prices rose on Tuesday to hit the highly-anticipated €50 mark, reaching this new all-time high amid an unceasing rally that has seen speculators and late compliance buying help push the market up by more than 50% so far in 2021.

South Pole has bought Belgium-based climate consultancy CO2logic, its first acquisition since last month’s €20 million-plus fund investment put it on a major growth track.

Green Alliance says 16,000 jobs could be created in areas facing most severe employment challenges

Some of the areas of Britain worst hit by the jobs crisis brought on by the pandemic are also those with the highest potential for green job creation, a report says.

About 16,000 new jobs could be created in restoring nature and planting trees in areas where unemployment is set to soar when the government’s furlough schemes end, according to the report from the Green Alliance thinktank. These include urban areas where people have little access to green space, as well as coastal areas and “red wall” areas that were Labour strongholds in the north of England.

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Accelerating retreat of glaciers in Lombardy and Trentino Alto-Aldige reveals preserved history of ‘White War’

The soldiers dug the wooden barracks into a cave on the top of Mount Scorluzzo, a 3,095-metre (10154ft) peak overlooking the Stelvio pass. For the next three-and-a-half years, the cramped, humid space was home to about 20 men from the Austro-Hungarian army as they fought against Italian troops in what became known as the White War, a battle waged across treacherous and bitterly cold Alpine terrain during the first world war.

Fought mainly in the Alps of the Lombardy region of Italy and the Dolomites in Trentino Alto-Adige, the White War was a period of history frozen in time until the 1990s, when global warming started to reveal an assortment of perfectly preserved relics – weapons, sledges, letters, diaries and, as the retreat of glaciers hastened, the bodies of soldiers.

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My must-watch show is Sweden’s riveting spring moose migration, a natural drama full of atavistic pleasures

Appointment viewing is a different prospect in Sweden. The nation is not glued to AC-12 interviews with an officer one rank superior. Instead, each spring for the past three years, the state broadcaster Sveriges Television has filmed 24/7 coverage of migrating moose (also known as European elk). The Great Elk Trek is another Nordic slow TV sensation, following on from Norway’s train journey to the Arctic Circle, Knitting and Firewood (12 hours of stacking and burning, watched by more than a million viewers).

The annual spring migration involves the moose herd having to swim across the Ångermanälven river. They are in no hurry – this is slow TV, after all - and will not cross until the last ice on the shore has melted. This means the livestream often offers up an hour or two of a single moose chewing meditatively, warm breath vapour dissipating gradually in the forest chill, or just standing looking at the river. That is a best-case scenario. “I’m watching the monitors right now and there is absolutely nothing happening,” said presenter Anders Lundin, who was interviewed about the trek in its first year. Most of the time you get a delightful, entirely moose-free landscape.

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Australia can expect days of 100 per cent renewables with increasing regularity, as market share of wind and solar grows, ESB chair says.

The post Australia could reach 75 pct renewables before things get tricky, Schott says appeared first on RenewEconomy.

At current rates of emissions cuts, Australia won’t reach net-zero emissions for at least another 200 years.

The post Video: Can Australia meet its climate goals? Not at this rate appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Longstanding mystery solved after solar-powered research drone washed up on a Victorian beach after contact was lost for 18 months.

The post Solar research drone washes ashore on Victorian beach after 18-month voyage appeared first on RenewEconomy.

When Antarctica's land-based ice melts, the land bounces up slightly as the weight of the ice lifts. This affects sea levels across the world, but not enough to offset sea-level rise. Robert McLachlan, Professor in Applied Mathematics, Massey University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

The tiny creatures are the ‘unsung heroes’ that keep soils healthy and underpin all life on land

Pesticides are causing widespread damage to the tiny creatures that keep soils healthy and underpin all life on land, according to the first comprehensive review of the issue.

The researchers found the measured impacts of farm chemicals on earthworms, beetles, springtails and other organisms were overwhelmingly negative. Other scientists said the findings were alarming, given the importance of these “unsung heroes”.

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Other nations have acknowledged the demise of coal, and it’s time Australia caught up.

The post Paying Australia’s coal-fired power stations to stay open longer is bad for consumers and the planet appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Toronto based Amp Energy unveils plans for $2 billion green hydrogen play, snapping up three big solar and battery projects in South Australia.

The post Amp makes massive South Australia solar, battery, green hydrogen play appeared first on RenewEconomy.

The public consultation period for assessment for export accreditation will be open until COB 3 June 2021.