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Judge says firm’s breach of environmental standards in 2016 amounted to ‘high negligence’

Thames Water, the UK’s largest water company, has been fined £2.3m for a pollution incident in 2016 that resulted in the death of 1,200 fish and damaged the environment.

The incident, involving a leak of untreated sewage with a high ammonia content into the Fawley Court ditch and stream that flows into the River Thames at Henley-on-Thames, happened between 21 and 24 April 2016.

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Without modifying human behaviour we run the risk of violent weather swings and a drastic effect on crops and ocean life

The ocean circulation that keeps our relatively northern corner of Europe warm(ish) is often likened to a gigantic conveyor belt bringing warm equatorial water northwards at the surface, balanced by cold southward flow at great depth. The Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation, or AMOC for short, brings heat energy northward at the equivalent rate of 10 Hiroshima bombs every second and keeps our weather mild, and just a little bit too damp, and is critical to the wider climate.

New research has provided important long-term context for scientists’ observations of these Atlantic currents that bring warmth and climatic stability to our shores, with concerning implications for the coming century. Changes in the AMOC in the geologic past have caused significant local and global impacts, and for several decades now oceanographers have been monitoring its strength.

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The best of the week’s wildlife pictures, including a bat rescue mission and knitted nests for injured birds

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Secretary general António Guterres says first assessment of promises amounts to ‘red alert for our planet’

The first assessment of countries’ pledges to cut their greenhouse gas emissions in the next decade, a vital component of the Paris climate agreement, has found they are only a fraction of the effort needed to avoid climate breakdown.

If all of the national pledges submitted so far were fulfilled, global emissions would be reduced by only 1% by 2030, compared with 2010 levels. Scientists have said a 45% reduction is needed in the next 10 years to keep global heating to no more than 1.5C above pre-industrial levels, in line with the Paris agreement.

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The prospects for allowance holding limits in the EU carbon market seem limited as officials have already passed up several chances to curb investor power, even after lawmakers flagged warnings.

The berg covers 1,270 sq km - nearly 490 square miles - but its break-off was expected.

Two of the EU’s largest cement producers have flagged signs of recovery and output reaching pre-COVID levels in Q4 2020, the ETS-covered firms said in results this week, while expecting a 2021 demand increase from government stimulus packages.

Nations' current carbon-cutting plans will not keep global temperature rise below 1.5C, the UN says.

The first UK ETS allowance auction will be held in mid-May, with a tradable futures contract to be launched the same day, hosts ICE Futures Europe announced Friday, publishing the full calendar for this year’s sales.

Despite some positive developments, nations’ pledges to beef up climate action fall far short of what is needed to limit global warming to 1.5C, a UN report showed on Friday.

*PREMIUM LISTING (viewable by non-subscribers) – CQC is seeking a Head of Sales and Marketing who will lead the downstream activities of the Group and the internal business development, middle and back-office functions of CQCM.  This is a new role, reporting directly to the Group CEO.

By dropping boulders on the bottom of the seabed, Greenpeace is preventing trawlers from ploughing up vital habitat

Our oceans are in crisis. I saw it for myself while I was making my television series Hugh’s Fish Fight for Channel 4 over a decade ago. I saw the most destructive fishing practices first-hand, as I dived over the sea floor within minutes of fishing boats dragging their metal-toothed gear along the bottom and scraping everything in their path. And I witnessed the desert they created.

Related: Global freshwater fish populations at risk of extinction, study finds

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The Director heads and manages the Secretariat and is the legal representative and public face of the Energy Community Secretariat. The Director is accountable to the Ministerial Council of the Energy Community. The successful candidate will provide vision and guidance to the activities of the Secretariat and is expected to assume a leading and inspiring role in the effective planning and implementation of the work programme of the Energy Community.

Four of China’s biggest state-owned energy companies have revealed plans to raise up to 10.5 billion yuan ($1.6 bln) through carbon neutral bonds, though observers question the helpfulness of the initiatives without firm guidelines.

Project aims to inspire UK equivalent of hanami – the Japanese custom of relishing fleeting sight and scent of blossom

The joyful sight of trees bursting into blossom during the first Covid lockdown last spring gave comfort and hope to countless people confined indoors or only allowed to roam very briefly outside.

Almost 12 months on a conservation charity is leading a major project to create “blossom circles” in cities across England, Wales and Northern Ireland to provide spaces for reflection and optimism to aid the emotional recovery from the pandemic.

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The European Roundtable on Climate Change and Sustainable Transition (ERCST) is seeking a policy analyst to join its team in Brussels to work on the EU emissions trading system and related policies under the European Green Deal.

Scheme will issue vouchers to just 49,000 people by end of March at current rate, analysis finds

The government’s flagship green homes grant scheme will help just 8% of its target 600,000 households switch to renewable energy by the end of March, analysis reveals.

The £2bn for the scheme is being withdrawn at the end of next month. Analysis by the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit thinktank reveals that at the current rate it will issue vouchers to just 49,000 members of the public by that time.

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Whistleblower says birds are dying ‘in a pretty rough way’ from heat stress and lack of water on journeys in England and Wales

Chickens are “dying like flies” in their millions while being transported from farms to abattoirs because of poorly ventilated lorries, a whistleblower has told the Guardian.

Around one million chickens are dead on arrival at slaughterhouses in England and Wales every year, according to data collected by the Food Standards Agency (FSA) and analysed by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism and the Guardian.

Although the number of deaths in transit is just a fraction of the one billion birds slaughtered every year in the UK, the government said this week that the figures were “worrying” and reducing deaths was a driving force behind its new proposals to restrict the transport of live animals. A consultation on the issue closed this week.

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Texas blackouts have lessons for Australia. As climate impacts grow, new market reforms are introduced, and more battery storage comes into the grid.

The post Energy Insiders Podcast: What does Texas mean for Australia’s grid reform? appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Donald and Tarnagulla, west of Bendigo, could be the first large communities that are taken off grid and powered by local renewables and storage.

The post Two Victorian towns could go off grid under new network proposal appeared first on RenewEconomy.