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EUAs surged late on Wednesday to claw back above €29 following earlier losses, staying within reach of their last year's high in continued volatile trade that participants said was fuelled by speculation and short-covering.

Sector excluded in transport emissions figures but policy change unlikely until 2023

International aviation and shipping emissions are likely to be included in the UK government’s net zero target, it has emerged – but not until after 2023.

The intention to review carbon accounting emerged after ministers and advisers, including climate activists, held the first meeting of the Department for Transport’s net zero board.

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The German government has launched a tender to buy 431,300 CERs to offset the emissions from a series of activities including those associated with its EU Council presidency.

A veteran carbon market journalist has sued Bloomberg over his dismissal, alleging it was based on him ‘whistle-blowing’ over the news agency’s “biased” coverage of climate change and the Paris Agreement.

California regulator ARB sought confirmation earlier this year from Wisconsin officials about whether compliance issues at a dairy farm were waste related, leading the agency to launch an offset investigation in June, according to emails obtained by Carbon Pulse.

Summer statement’s focus on energy efficiency welcomed but disappointment that no boost for renewables

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There was no lack of advice for the chancellor on measures to green the economic recovery from the coronavirus crisis from top economists and the government’s own climate advisers.

But the Rishi Sunak seems to have focused on just one – home insulation – to a mixed reception from green experts and industry figures.

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New evidence has been found for epic prehistoric voyages between the Americas and eastern Polynesia.

We environmentally minded Conservatives know there’s no contradiction between being blue and green

As a green Conservative, I warmly welcome the environmental steps announced by the chancellor in his summer economic update on Wednesday. The government has made a decisive commitment to the green agenda which places the environment at the heart of policymaking for decades to come.

The launch of the “kickstart” jobs scheme and the unveiling of the new apprenticeships scheme provide incentives to our existing green companies to train up young people and, in doing so, greatly boost the UK’s green workforce. However, the chancellor recognises that we must greatly expand the green sector in order for it to become a mainstay of our economy and for us to reap the abundant environmental benefits.

That is exactly why I praise the £2bn green homes grant; the £1bn to improve the energy efficiency of public sector buildings; and the £50m million to pilot the decarbonisation of social housing. This very considerable £3bn package will support 140,000 green jobs, save households up to £300 a year on their bills, and make more than 650,000 homes more energy efficient. It will cut carbon emissions by more than half a megatonne per year, equivalent to taking 270,000 cars off the road.

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Recent alterations to the emission reduction goals and publication schedule of the Canadian Clean Fuel Standard (CFS) will not threaten its environmental performance, but numerous programme design elements warrant further attention and analysis before the policy’s 2022 launch, stakeholders and researchers told Carbon Pulse.

It may be best near-term way to remove CO2, say scientists, but cutting fossil fuel use remains critical

Spreading rock dust on farmland could suck billions of tonnes of carbon dioxide from the air every year, according to the first detailed global analysis of the technique.

The chemical reactions that degrade the rock particles lock the greenhouse gas into carbonates within months, and some scientists say this approach may be the best near-term way of removing CO2 from the atmosphere.

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Horseshoe crab blood is used to help develop medicine, but some people want the practice stopped.

California regulator ARB will classify offsets projects that automatically qualify as providing direct environmental benefits to the state (DEBs) at Wednesday’s issuance and will tag credits in the WCI Compliance Instrument Tracking Service System (CITSS) later this month, officials confirmed.

Scientists claim widespread conservation can bring rewards if right policies are followed

Nearly a third of the world’s oceans and land area could be placed under environmental protections without harming the global economy, and even produce bumper economic benefits if the right policies were followed, according to a global assessment.

Ecosystems around the world are collapsing or hovering on the brink of disaster, with a million species threatened with extinction. But if at least 30% of the planet’s land and oceans were subject to conservation efforts, that mass extinction could be avoided and vital habitats restored, scientists estimate.

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A BBC investigation found vast quantities of protected rosewood were being trafficked from The Gambia.

The European Commission wants to expand EU clean hydrogen capacity sixfold to 6 GW by 2024 and 40 GW by the end of the decade, according to its hydrogen strategy presented on Wednesday.

• Research shows lead exposure worse for poor and black children
• Highlights risk from contaminants in unregulated private wells

American children whose homes rely on private wells for drinking water are 25% more likely to have high lead levels in their blood than those with access to regulated community water services, according to new research.

The lead exposure is worse for poor and black children due to historic discriminatory public policies.

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South Korea failed to sell out its monthly KAU auction for a third time in a row on Wednesday, while secondary market carbon prices fell to their lowest levels since June last year.

Japan’s environment ministry has picked 10 more projects it will co-fund under its Joint Crediting Mechanism (JCM), to help meet its emissions target under the Paris Agreement.

The WHO has acknowledged there is evidence that Covid-19 can be spread by airborne particles.

Wildlife Trusts report also calls for expansion of projects such as flower-rich road verges and butterfly reintroductions

The use of pesticides in the UK must be at least halved to reverse steep losses in insect abundance and boost the natural world that depends on them, according to a report.

It warns that insects are the “canaries in the coal mine” of the natural world and that everyone, including the government, local authorities, community groups and individuals, needs to become insect champions.

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