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As we emerge from coronavirus lockdown with more questions to ask, we can’t let the news vacuum in Australia be filled by shrill voices

No one was ready for 2020. None of us was really prepared for the bushfires, or coronavirus, or the fear and uncertainty about what these crises mean for our families and our lives.

At Guardian Australia, we weren’t either. Along with the ongoing climate emergency, these have been the biggest stories and the greatest reporting responsibilities of our generation. They hit as we were already under pressure, from the digital platforms eating away at our advertising revenue, and from the populist forces – all the way up to the president of the United States – who want to undermine facts and truthfulness as the parameters of a civic conversation, eroding the very foundations of what we do.

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Blue warehou, eastern gemfish and scalloped hammerhead categorised as ‘conservation dependent’ and commercially fished

Endangered fish species are being routinely sold to Australian and international consumers thanks to a little-known feature of environmental laws that allows for the species to be commercially fished.

Under Australian environmental laws, marine species that are listed as vulnerable, endangered or critically endangered are classified as “no take” species, meaning they cannot be sold or exported.

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EU leaders urged their Chinese counterparts at an online summit on Monday to outline a path towards net zero emissions, though the talks ended without major progress on climate diplomacy.

Denmark’s political groups have agreed a climate deal that will include an increased carbon tax, the government said on Monday, defying concerns about the impact of the coronavirus on the country’s economy.

Temperatures are believed to have hit 38C (100F) in one Siberian town after a persistent heatwave.

Governments can effectively stabilise their carbon prices using auction reserve prices and supplementary taxes, according to a paper published by OECD advisors on Monday.

Large-scale tree planting to fight climate change may backfire, two new studies have found.

A judge approved Pacific Gas & Electric’s (PG&E) bankruptcy plan on Saturday ahead of a deadline for the California utility to participate in a fund to ease future wildfire liabilities.

Report will look at suspected lack of welfare regulation enforcement, as growth in exports sees livestock journeys increase

The European Parliament has voted to establish an inquiry committee to investigate the transport of live animals across and out of the European Union.

The committee will address whether the European Commission has failed to act upon evidence of “serious and systematic” infringements of EU regulations for the protection of exported live animals.

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EUAs bounced back from a brief dip below €24 early on Monday to remain near their four-month high even as wider markets faltered on some signs of a resurgence in COVID-19 infections in Germany.

Highland councillors will vote on Friday on the Space Hub proposals, after receiving 457 objections.

EnergyAustralia and AGL - who both operate big batteries - come out against proposed delays to five-minute settlement period, highlighting a schism over major reform.

The post Big utilities split over delays to key reform that backs battery storage appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Sector faces calls for action after report reveals scale of infections among workers

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The coronavirus outbreaks that have struck workers in meat plants around the world are due to poor working conditions and living quarters in a sector that is in a “disastrous race to the bottom” in the quest for cheap meat, trade union representatives have said.

Meat plants have persistently been centres for outbreaks, with some of the biggest clusters in the US and Canada focused on slaughterhouses. According to the Food and Environment Reporting Network (Fern), which has been tracking the outbreaks, nearly 30,000 meat plant workers across the US and Europe have been infected with the virus and more than 100 have died.

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Push is inadvertently causing long-term environmental damage to the traditional hunting grounds on Inuit public lands

In a subarctic fjard estuary just a few miles from frozen tundra, Inuit hunter Karl Michelin says he owes his life to the thousands of barking ringed seals that congregate year-round in local waters.

The seals’ jet-black, heavily fatted meat is a staple for Michelin, his wife, and their toddler. With food insecurity rampant among the region’s Inuit, neighbors are similarly dependent on seals and other wild-caught food. The town’s isolation makes regular employment opportunities scarce, and food prohibitively expensive to import.

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One of China’s biggest oil companies has agreed to buy carbon credits along with two shipments of LNG from Shell, seeking to offset all the life cycle emissions associated with the shipment in the first such deal for mainland China.

The Shanghai government has released the 2019 allocation for its emissions trading scheme, keeping the number of allowances in play at the same level as before despite including more companies, while also tripling the amount of offsets emitters can use for compliance.

Climate groups’ reaction to mining body’s climate change plan ranges from qualified acceptance to ‘greenwashing’

Australia’s peak mining body representing the coal industry has released a plan to tackle climate change across the industry, endorsing a goal of reaching net-zero emissions “as fast as possible” but without setting a target date.

The Minerals Council of Australia’s chief executive, Tania Constable, claimed it was “possible and plausible for the coal industry to achieve near zero or net-zero emissions” by using carbon offsets and carbon capture and storage technologies.

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A fifth PowerBank battery installed by W.A. to help balance the state's grid, allow more customers to install solar, and offer a "community" storage option to local solar homes.

The post Tesla community battery installed in Busselton, Western Australia appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Scientists seek to reassure public as campaigners fear battle to reduce single-use plastic waste is losing ground

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More than 100 scientists will publish a signed statement on Monday to reassure the public that reusable containers are safe during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Amid fears that the environmental battle to reduce single-use plastic waste is losing ground over fears of virus contamination, the 119 scientists from 18 countries say reuseable containers do not increase the chance of virus transmission.

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Exclusive: Coalition asks chancellor to fund nationwide environmental projects

The chancellor, Rishi Sunak, must “seize the day” and create a national nature service to restore wildlife and habitats in England, say a coalition of the country’s biggest green groups. It said the move would create thousands of jobs, a more resilient country and tackle the wildlife and climate crises.

The coalition has drawn up a list of 330 projects that are ready to go, including flower meadows, “tiny forests” in cities and hillside schemes to cut flooding. It said a service to fund the projects and train workers would create 10,000 jobs and be part of a green recovery from the coronavirus pandemic.

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