Around The Web

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued a stay on Thursday of its contested climate disclosure rules to avoid potential regulatory uncertainty, but vowed to defend the validity of the measures in ongoing litigation.

A joint venture under the Indian government has for the first time issued a tender to sell voluntary carbon credits issued by Verra (VCUs), but only to domestic buyers.

Argentina’s new government is pursuing voluntary and compliance carbon markets by any means possible, but other Latin American countries are struggling to operationalise adequate legal and technical infrastructure, according to regional experts on a webinar.

The trade of voluntary carbon credits and financial products linked to the current phase of the CORSIA international aviation offsetting scheme is expected to remain low in volume due to perceptions that the market is not yet ready to scale, according to a panel of industry experts.

Millions of North Americans will be treated to the view of a lifetime on Monday when the Moon blocks the Sun.

Regulator faces accusation of acting unlawfully in its investigation of Global Warming Policy Foundation

The Charity Commission is facing a legal challenge by MPs over its failure to investigate campaigning by a thinktank that questions climate science.

Liberal Democrat MP Layla Moran, Labour’s Clive Lewis and Green MP Caroline Lucas, supported by the Good Law Project, have sent a legal letter to the regulator over an unresolved complaint they made in October 2022.

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Testing of 40 types of bandages found 65% had alarming levels of ‘forever chemicals’ in adhesive flaps and pads that touch wounds

Many popular US bandage brands contain alarming levels of toxic PFAS “forever chemicals”, new research suggests, raising questions about the products’ safety.

Testing of 40 types of bandages made by companies such as Band-Aid, Curad, Walmart and CVS found 26 products, or 65%, contain alarming levels of a marker of PFAS. The chemicals were detected in the adhesive flaps and in absorbent pads that press against wounds.

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A supermarket is using eye-tracking technology to find what messaging encourages take-up of unpackaged fruit and veg

With thick black frames and hidden cameras, the glasses look designed for espionage or the metaverse but instead the eye-tracking headgear is being deployed to get inside shoppers’ heads as part of the drive to cut plastic packaging from the weekly food shop.

It is an unlikely scene. Hooked up with the glasses a shopper is being tailed around a Waitrose produce department by a researcher carrying a large tablet that displays live footage of them picking up banal things such as potatoes, apples and bananas.

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The effective participation of Indigenous Peoples in nature markets could mean introducing initiatives other than biodiversity credits for boosting finance, a specialist on the topic said Thursday.

French and German companies are gearing up for the possible inclusion of carbon dioxide removal (CDR) units within the EU Emission Trading System (EU ETS).

European carbon allowances traded in a very narrow range with modest volume on Friday as the market continued to digest inconclusive Commitment of Traders data that showed a marginal decline in speculative short positions, as well as the Commission's announcement this week of a larger-than-expected drop in emissions in 2023, while energy prices were little changed.

The European Commission “really needs to step up its game” when it comes to putting together a supportive policy framework for carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology, according to an industry association.

California, Vermont and Colorado push for ban after slow federal response to research finding forever chemicals in period products

State lawmakers in California, Vermont and Colorado are working to ban the sale of period products containing highly toxic “forever chemicals”, or PFAS, nearly a year after a report revealed the chemicals were found in everything from tampon applicators to period underwear.

Despite a growing awareness of the dangers and ubiquity of PFAS, federal regulators have been slow to respond to the bombshell 2023 report from the University of Notre Dame, in which researchers found forever chemicals in various menstrual products including those mentioned above and more. Federal bills designed to address PFAS in everyday consumer items – including period products – stalled last year in large part due to chemical industry lobbyists.

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The forestry department of the People’s Democratic Republic of Lao has put a temporary halt on all current and upcoming applications for REDD+ carbon projects, according to documents seen by Carbon Pulse.

If you are not lucky enough to live along the route in North America, you can still follow its journey here.

Singapore-based carbon exchange Climate Impact X (CIX) has launched two standardised contracts for nature-based removal credits in the afforestation, reforestation, and revegetation (ARR) market, it announced Friday.

Sydney expected to be badly affected as further downpours and strong winds forecast to lash New South Wales coast

South-eastern Australia has been experiencing heavy rain since Thursday night, which will continue until Saturday morning local time. New South Wales will be particularly badly affected, with cumulative rainfall totals of 150-200m along coastal stretches.

Hourly totals are expected to reach 10-20mm at times, with the worst-affected areas potentially receiving 50mm within three hours. Strong winds are expected to accompany the heaviest downpours, with gusts of about 45mph (72km/h) at times.

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From wearing eclipse glasses to using your hands as a projector, here are ways to avoid an eye injury.

The best of this week’s wildlife photographs from around the world

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A CCS joint venture has partnered with a fertiliser producer to consider CO2 capture in a major industrial region in Australia, using a depleted gas field for storage.