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Quebec bans new sales of gas-powered vehicles by 2035, issues industrials free carbon allowances

Carbon Pulse - Tue, 2020-11-17 07:26
The Quebec government on Monday announced that it will phase out the sale of gasoline-powered new vehicles on the same timeline as WCI partner California, as the province’s environment ministry handed out more than 4 mln additional V19 permits.
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WCI participants see November carbon auction selling out under secondary market level

Carbon Pulse - Tue, 2020-11-17 07:11
Traders anticipate the California-Quebec cap-and-trade auction on Tuesday will sell out after the last two consecutive sales went undersubscribed, with the current vintage price expected to settle at a discount to the secondary market.
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The Guardian view on low-traffic neighbourhoods: streets ahead | Editorial

The Guardian - Tue, 2020-11-17 05:04

Cleaner, safer cities are one good thing that could come out of the pandemic – if politicians hold their nerve

Some good can come of even the worst disaster. Amid all the suffering and difficulty of the pandemic, environmentally minded people spied a chance. Could the enforced immobility of life under Covid-19, the rediscovery of neighbourhood shops, parks and walks brought about by the closure of workplaces and schools, lead to a longer-term adjustment – a new car/life balance?

For decades, green thinkers and politicians have advocated for a less automobile-centric culture. Transport policy unites two big themes of environmental politics: the idea that many people need to be reconnected with local geographies, both physical and human; and opposition to pollution. This means greenhouse gases, of course, but also particulate matter and noise. An altered transport hierarchy, it has long been argued, is beneficial to health, since more walking and cycling means less obesity, respiratory illness and heart disease; reduced road traffic also means fewer injuries and deaths caused by collisions.

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Ships moved more than 11 billion tonnes of our stuff around the globe last year, and it’s killing the climate. This week is a chance to change

The Conversation - Tue, 2020-11-17 04:55
It's high time the international shipping industry radically curbed its emissions. The industry must set a net-zero target and adopt a realistic plan to meet it. Christiaan De Beukelaer, Senior Lecturer, University of Melbourne Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
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Forest and Climate Campaigner, Fern – Brussels

Carbon Pulse - Tue, 2020-11-17 03:59
Fern is looking for a Brussels-based Forest and climate campaigner to lead the NGO's work on forest biomass for energy.
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Pacific Islands pin hopes on carbon pricing as ‘weak’ shipping emissions deal looms

Carbon Pulse - Tue, 2020-11-17 03:57
Two Pacific Island nations urged the UN to advance carbon pricing plans for shipping on Monday, as nations were poised to endorse a global maritime deal that would allow the sector’s emissions to rise for another decade.
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RFS Market: RIN prices dive amid EPA chief comments, quota uncertainty

Carbon Pulse - Tue, 2020-11-17 02:47
US biofuel credit (RIN) prices fell to a one-week low on Monday after EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler suggested credit values were “out of control” and as market participants wait for details on next year’s Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) biofuel quotas and pending compliance waiver applications.
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Global net zero commitments may render EU carbon border levy “less” necessary -Commission climate chief

Carbon Pulse - Tue, 2020-11-17 02:34
Recent carbon neutrality and net zero pledges by some of the world’s most industrialised nations could render the EU’s proposed carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM) "less" necessary, the European Commission’s climate chief said Monday.
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EU plans to increase offshore windfarm capacity by 250%

The Guardian - Tue, 2020-11-17 02:10

Proposal would create 62,000 jobs and help towards carbon neutrality, says commission

The capacity of the EU’s offshore windfarms in the North Sea, the Baltic, the Atlantic, the Mediterranean and the Black Sea will be increased by 250%, under a draft plan drawn up by the European commission.

The move follows Boris Johnson’s announcement this year of his intention to generate enough electricity to power every home in the UK within a decade from the country’s offshore sites.

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EU Market: EUAs leap to 6-wk high on second batch of positive COVID jab results

Carbon Pulse - Tue, 2020-11-17 01:22
EU carbon prices spiked to a six-week high on Monday on the second major announcement of positive COVID-19 vaccine results in the past week.
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Launching the search for the Gretas of the future

BBC - Tue, 2020-11-17 01:20
Can young people help solve the biggest problems facing the planet, given support and opportunity?
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Covid: Will there be more than one coronavirus vaccine?

BBC - Tue, 2020-11-17 01:06
Hopes are rising that an effective vaccine against Covid-19 will be available soon.
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Swiss emissions trading registry, market to close for the holidays

Carbon Pulse - Mon, 2020-11-16 23:41
Switzerland’s emissions trading registry will close for the holidays, effectively shutting down the country’s carbon market for almost a fortnight.
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Summit aims for clean-up of shipping industry

BBC - Mon, 2020-11-16 22:18
Governments from around the world try to reach agreement on a deal to clean up shipping.
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Moderna: Covid vaccine shows nearly 95% protection

BBC - Mon, 2020-11-16 22:14
The results add to growing confidence that vaccination can end the pandemic.
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Shocking footage of ‘severely injured’ pigs on Spanish farms released

The Guardian - Mon, 2020-11-16 21:31

Calls for EU animal welfare rules to be enforced as country set to overtake Germany as Europe’s biggest pork producer

Footage that appears to show newborn piglets lying in faeces, pigs with pus-covered wounds and pig carcasses in varying states of decomposition has been published by animal welfare campaigners in Spain.

Spain is expected to overtake Germany this year as the EU’s biggest pork producer. In 2019, a record 53 million pigs were slaughtered across the country, fuelling demand for products such as chorizo, tenderloin and lard across the EU and around the world.

The photos and videos, recorded during undercover visits in 2019 and 2020 to more than 30 pigs farms across Spain, were published by Tras los Muros, which translates as Behind the Walls, a personal project launched by Spanish photojournalist Aitor Garmendia. Tras los Muros said the farms were in the Spanish regions of Aragón, Castilla-La Mancha and Castilla y León, home to around 17% of the country’s more than 86,000 pig farms.

Some of the pigs they found appeared to be “severely injured”, said Garmendia, who led the undercover team, and were thought to be showing signs of issues such as “hernias, abscesses, prolapses, arthritis or necrotic tissue”.

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WE DECLARE!... Now What?

Recorded on 04.11.2020

Climate scientists have been warning us for decades that we face a climate emergency, and that we are traveling toward catastrophic tipping points. In the past couple of years, more and more local, state and national governments across the globe made climate emergency declarations to acknowledge the action which is required to be taken. This momentum has carried over into built environment industries, with Architects, Engineers, Planners, and Builders Declare programs formalising a collective commitment and pledge working practices which drives positive impact through the buildings, infrastructure and cities we create.

Many have now ‘DECLARED’, but now what? What actions and approaches must organisations execute to ensure they meet this commitment toward climate action? How can these organisations keep themselves and their fellow signatories accountable to ensure this is not an empty promise?

Please join the ASBN and South Australians committed to address our climate emergency in a discussion to progress the built environment Declare movements in our state.

Our distinguished panel includes:

// Cary Duffield - Director Troppo Architects – Australian Architects Declare SA Representative
// Cathy Chesson - Technical Lead Sustainability at Mott MacDonald – Australian Engineers Declare signatory
// Michael McKeown - Director at JensenPLUS
// Jackson Digney - Director of Enduro Builders - Australian Builders Declare signatory
// Amanda Balmer - Director at WAX Design

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NZ Market: NZUs extend record highs amid bullish momentum, supply dearth

Carbon Pulse - Mon, 2020-11-16 20:30
New Zealand carbon allowances notched their second consecutive session of all-time highs on Monday, as a lack of available supply and expectations that the market will move higher keep pushing prices up.
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Low-traffic schemes benefit everyone, not just better-off, finds study

The Guardian - Mon, 2020-11-16 17:00

Exclusive: authors find ‘no clear social equity problem related to low-traffic neighbourhoods’ after studying slew of projects sparked by Covid restrictions

There is no evidence schemes that try to limit “rat-running” traffic along residential streets disproportionately benefit better-off households, research has concluded, contradicting a common view cited by objectors.

A study of low-traffic neighbourhoods (LTNs), which have mushroomed as part of efforts to boost walking and cycling amid coronavirus, found that the vast majority of people lived on streets that could be part of such schemes.

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Increase in burning of plastic 'driving up emissions from waste disposal'

The Guardian - Mon, 2020-11-16 17:00

Expansion of energy-from-waste incineration could stop UK hitting its net zero carbon target, campaigners warn

Carbon emissions from waste disposal are increasing because of the expansion of energy-from-waste incineration plants, a coalition of campaigners has warned.

By 2030 the government’s push to increase incineration of waste will increase CO2 emissions by 10m tonnes a year, mostly from the burning of plastics, the groups said. They argue that the growth in energy-from-waste incineration means the UK will not be able to meet its commitment to net zero carbon emissions by 2050.

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