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Industry is delaying the phaseout of new oil and gas boiler sales across the EU, risking the derailment of the 27-nation bloc’s climate targets, a brand audit released Thursday said, while the European Commission is considering options to curb emissions from heating and cooling.

The UN's COP26 climate summit will go ahead as planned in Glasgow later this year, the Scottish Government’s lead for the summit has reportedly said.

While Australia has spent US$2bn, France pledged $57bn, the UK $42bn and Japan $24bn, Oxford University study finds

Australia is the worst performer on a list of the world’s 50 largest economies for “green recovery” spending to kickstart economic growth after the Covid pandemic, according to research conducted for the United Nations environment program.

The research suggests Australia spent US$2bn on green initiatives during the coronavirus recovery, compared with US$57bn in France, US$54bn in South Korea, US$47bn in Germany, US$42bn in the United Kingdom, US$41bn in China and US$24bn in Japan. Germany spent $9bn on hydrogen alone.

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US biofuel credit (RIN) values declined from near all-time highs this week, as traders said a gasoline arbitrage window shut and Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) market participants looked to divert product.

Today’s targets are nowhere near enough, we must speed up change and halve global emissions in the next decade

• Alok Sharma is president designate of Cop26 and the Conservative MP for Reading West
• Report: UK’s Cop26 president calls for world to get on track to hit net zero by 2050

The climate crisis represents a clear and present danger to people and our planet. Its real-world consequences are now all too visible.

In Nepal last month, I met communities displaced by melting glaciers. In Ethiopia, I saw how floods, droughts and locusts have decimated crops. Around the world, oceans are warming, and storms, floods and wildfires are intensifying, while here at home, our coastal towns face serious long-term threats from rising seas. Unless we act now, we will be out of time to hold back the worst impacts.

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Alok Sharma sets out UK’s aims as host of climate talks, including new emissions targets for 2030

• Time is running short – but we can get a grip on the climate crisis

The world must be put on a path to reaching net zero by 2050 if the goal of holding global temperature rises below 1.5C is to be kept within reach, the UK host of this year’s climate talks has said.

Alok Sharma, the president of the UN Cop26 climate summit, said that for the talks in Glasgow in November to be judged a success, governments must urgently set out their targets to cut greenhouse gas emissions over the next decade including announcing an end to new coal power plants and commitments to phase out existing ones. Sharma is also urging countries to end the sale of new petrol and diesel vehicles.

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Nanoparticles found in foetal brains and hearts, but impact on human health is as yet unknown

Tiny plastic particles in the lungs of pregnant rats pass rapidly into the hearts, brains and other organs of their foetuses, research shows. It is the first study in a live mammal to show that the placenta does not block such particles.

The experiments also showed that the rat foetuses exposed to the particles put on significantly less weight towards the end of gestation. The research follows the revelation in December of small plastic particles in human placentas, which scientists described as “a matter of great concern”. Earlier laboratory research on human placentas donated by mothers after birth has also shown polystyrene beads can cross the placental barrier.

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EUAs surged to a new record high early Thursday as markets lifted in response to a dovish US Fed, with a strong auction showing despite sky-high prices above €43.

WallStreetBets members spend gains on donations for endangered animals also including elephants and turtles

Gorillas, elephants, pangolins and sea turtles have been handed a lifeline by amateur investors who played the stock market at its own game.

Hundreds of thousands of dollars have been spent helping endangered animals by users of a Reddit trading tips community, giving conservation organisations across the world a much-needed financial boost during a difficult year.

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China’s Industrial Bank on Thursday unveiled a deal involving upfront funding and forward purchase of carbon credits from a forestry project in Fujian province, a first of its kind in China that observers say can help overcome financing challenges for voluntary forestry schemes.

Car industry dismayed as green car subsidy cap also lowered with immediate effect

The UK government has cut grants for electric car buyers, to the horror of the automotive industry as it tries to rapidly shift away from fossil fuels.

The maximum grant for electric cars has been reduced to £2,500 with immediate effect on Thursday, from £3,000. The government has also lowered the price cap for cars eligible for the subsidy from £50,000 to £35,000.

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Victoria to introduce EV road tax legislation on Wednesday, but the bill is likely to face opposition in the upper house.

The post “Tax on clean air:” Victoria wants EV road tax in place by July appeared first on RenewEconomy.

The chemicals to blame for our reproductive crisis are found everywhere and in everything

The end of humankind? It may be coming sooner than we think, thanks to hormone-disrupting chemicals that are decimating fertility at an alarming rate around the globe. A new book called Countdown, by Shanna Swan, an environmental and reproductive epidemiologist at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York, finds that sperm counts have dropped almost 60% since 1973. Following the trajectory we are on, Swan’s research suggests sperm counts could reach zero by 2045. Zero. Let that sink in. That would mean no babies. No reproduction. No more humans. Forgive me for asking: why isn’t the UN calling an emergency meeting on this right now?

Related: US urged to cut 50% of emissions by 2030 to spur other countries to action

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Report reveals feasibility study of Collinsvale coal-fired power plant did not meet two of the eligibility requirements

Advice underpinning the decision to spend $4m on a feasibility study into a coal-fired power station at Collinsville in north Queensland was only “partially appropriate”, the auditor general has said.

On Thursday the Australian National Audit Office released its report into the controversial decision to assist Shine Energy with an ad-hoc grant it was invited to apply for after its selection was publicly announced.

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Western Australia sets a new record for wind and solar share in its stand-alone grid, while the growth in rooftop solar pushes grid demand to a record low the following day.

The post Western Australia sets new record for wind and solar share, and minimum demand appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Exclusive: documents seen by Guardian show companies fought clean-air rules despite being aware of harm caused by air pollution

The oil industry knew at least 50 years ago that air pollution from burning fossil fuels posed serious risks to human health, only to spend decades aggressively lobbying against clean air regulations, a trove of internal documents seen by the Guardian reveal.

The documents, which include internal memos and reports, show the industry was long aware that it created large amounts of air pollution, that pollutants could lodge deep in the lungs and be “real villains in health effects”, and even that its own workers may be experiencing birth defects among their children.

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A Spanish company is testing the viability of small-scale oscillating wind columns to act as distributed energy generators alongside rooftop solar.

The post Bladeless, wobbling wind turbines to begin tests in Europe appeared first on RenewEconomy.

National Trust aims to build on success of last year’s campaign and help lift lockdown gloom

The valley garden of Glendurgan on the banks of the Helford River in Cornwall is already bright with spring blossom – vivid pinks, deep purples, the purest of whites. “It’s an extraordinary sight after the tough winter we’ve had,” said the head gardener, John Lanyon. “It feels inspiring, blissful.”

The blossom comes early in this sheltered spot in the far south-west of England, and over the coming days, weeks and months the spectacular colours will steadily spread east and north.

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Boris Johnson set the goal, but the developers of the Beha had to get private investment for their unique craft

In the shadows of the old Spitfires and Hurricanes that helped win the Battle of Britain, Faradair, a UK startup operating from the historic Duxford airfield, is hoping to help Britain fight the new war against climate change by developing a revolutionary 18-seat bioelectric hybrid plane which will eventually, hopes its designer, be carbon neutral.

The plane, currently in development, will use electric motors to power take-off and landing, the part of any flight with the highest noise and carbon emissions. Once cruising, at a speed of about 230mph, the plane will switch to its turbogenerator, powered by biofuel, which will also recharge the motors with assistance from solar panels, ready for the aircraft’s descent.

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Researchers found cows belched out 82% less methane after putting small amount of seaweed in their feed for five months

Feeding seaweed to cows is a viable long-term method to reduce the emission of planet-heating gases from their burps and flatulence, scientists have found.

Researchers who put a small amount of seaweed into the feed of cattle over the course of five months found that the new diet caused the bovines to belch out 82% less methane, a potent greenhouse gas, into the atmosphere.

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