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Food discarded in homes is 74kg per person each year, with problem affecting rich and poor countries

People waste almost a billion tonnes of food a year, a UN report has revealed. It is the most comprehensive assessment to date and found waste was about double the previous best estimate.

The food discarded in homes alone was 74kg per person each year on average around the world, the UN found. In the UK, which has some of the best data, the edible waste represents about eight meals per household each week.

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European carbon prices sank to an eight-day low on Thursday, pulled lower by wider risk-off sentiment in energy and financial markets.

Academics write to Robert Jenrick predicting dire consequences for climate crisis if plans go ahead

Leading international climate scientists are among more than 200 academics who have written to the government calling on it to halt what they say would be an ecologically destructive expansion of Leeds Bradford airport.

Almost 250 professors, academics and researchers from Leeds University, including two of the lead authors of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reports, have written to Robert Jenrick, the minister for housing, communities and local government, predicting dire consequences for the climate crisis if the plans go ahead.

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Introducing position limits into the EU’s carbon market will not be “as simple nor as effective as it sounds” and could take years to negotiate before being introduced, two former top European Commission officials said in a report released Thursday.

Levels of nitrogen dioxide, mostly from diesel vehicles, remain illegally high in 75% of urban areas

The UK has “systematically and persistently” broken legal limits on toxic air pollution for a decade, the court of justice of the EU (CJEU) has ruled.

Levels of nitrogen dioxide, mostly from diesel vehicles, remain illegally high in 75% of urban areas and on Thursday the court said the UK had failed to tackle the problem in the shortest possible time, as required by law.

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China should set an absolute cap on CO2 emissions in its national ETS, expand beyond spot trade, and phase out the pilot trading schemes to improve the effectiveness of its carbon market, the Shanghai director of the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) has said.

Japan is likely to opt for a combination of emissions trading, a carbon tax, and subsidies, according to analysts that view the mix as the most effective way of driving GHG cuts, meeting international climate expectations, and overcoming industry opposition.

The biggest swarms of the insects in a generation have devastated crops and grazing across Africa but are now being turned into sustainable, high-protein animal fodder and fertiliser

• Photographs by Baz Ratner

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A new five-year plan may signal a switch from fossil fuels, but economic worries could limit change.

China National Coal Association expects the government to cap yearly coal consumption at 4.2 billion tonnes by the end of the 2021-25 five-year plan, it said this week, a move that could potentially generate additional CO2 emissions roughly equal to France’s total GHG output.

Scientists say restoring the lush habitats would boost wildlife, protect coasts and store carbon

The UK has lost more than 90% of the lush seagrass meadows that once surrounded the nation, research has found.

Scientists described the decline as catastrophic, but the latest analysis also shows where the flowering plants could be restored. A resurgence of seagrass meadows would rapidly absorb the carbon dioxide that drives the climate crisis and provide habitats for hundreds of millions of fish, from seahorses to juvenile cod.

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The RBA has revealed it is purchasing just 20% GreenPower under a $10.9m electricity contract with Delta Electricity, having flagged sourcing all its power from renewables.

The post Reserve Bank to buy just 20pct GreenPower in deal with Delta Electricity appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Victorian electricity distributor to spend $3m upgrading network in "solar hotspots" in four-month blitz to allow more rooftop solar power back onto the grid.

The post Victoria network plans upgrade to allow for more rooftop solar exports appeared first on RenewEconomy.

The UK government has told the Bank of England it must prioritise transitioning to a net zero economy when setting monetary policy.

The post Bank of England told to put zero emissions target at centre of monetary policy appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Market rule maker looks beyond coal, and even gas, to batteries and a flexible two-way grid in review of grid reliability standards.

The post AEMC looks beyond coal and gas to batteries and flexible grid to manage reliability appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Greg Hunt's "fact checking" for vaccine misinformation should be copied by the energy department. But they'd be flat out checking their minister's own declarations.

The post How Taylor and Murdoch media distort problems with renewables and gas appeared first on RenewEconomy.

A new resources roadmap could position Australia as a leading supplier of green materials, as long as Morrison can resist the urge to make it all about gas.

The post Morrison’s ‘resources roadmap’ could be good, if he goes easy on the gas appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Australia must transition to net zero as fast as possible to ensure economic growth. But investment giant AXA says there is a risk of green bubbles forming.

The post Switch to 100 pct renewables will drive economic growth, but watch for green bubbles: AXA appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Experts reviewed the literature on climate change and gender in developing countries, and found many unhelpful, outdated assumptions are still kicking around. Jacqueline Lau, Research fellow, James Cook University Pip Cohen, Research Leader of Small-scale Fisheries at WorldFish, CGIAR, and Adjunct Research Fellow at ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University Sarah Lawless, PhD Candidate, James Cook University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Global carbon prices need to rise to about $160/tCO2e over the next decade to support the economic transition necessary to limit global warming to 1.5C, according to consultants Woodmac.