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Energy sector companies and trade associations from eight mostly Eastern EU nations warn that adopting a tougher 2030 bloc-wide emissions target could triple carbon prices, and as a result are seeking more compensation to help them cope as Europe’s top polluting plant heads for closure.

California electricity sector emissions collapsed to a new monthly low in April as a result of the statewide ‘shelter-in-place’ order that caused businesses, industrial sites, and schools to close to stem the spread of the coronavirus, data from the state's main power grid showed.

Lack of flexibility of nuclear plants is biggest cause of wind constraints in UK, at a cost of more than $180 million a year.

The post Inflexible nuclear blamed for big cuts in wind power in UK appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Imagine being able to detect a smell from more than a kilometre away. Dogs can sniff out things from a greater distance than that. Susan Hazel, Senior Lecturer, School of Animal and Veterinary Science, University of Adelaide Eduardo J Fernandez, Visiting Assistant Professor, Florida Institute of Technology Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

The European Central Bank (ECB) will continue to purchase green bonds and maintain the euro as the main currency for sustainable assets, but bank President Christine Lagarde requested on Monday for EU nations to scale up their ambitions for a more robust green finance regulation.

WRI’s Carbon Management Team is an interdisciplinary and cross-programmatic team that works to scale up U.S. investment in carbon removal—including terrestrial carbon capture (e.g., tree restoration and agricultural soil carbon management), technological carbon removal (e.g., direct air capture and carbon mineralization), and emerging ocean-based carbon removal approaches.

RGGI allowance (RGA) prices rose Monday after the June auction settled at a discount to the secondary market, with traders seeing near-term fundamentals and the entrance of a Virginia-based utility in the quarterly sale as bullish drivers for the Northeast US power sector ETS.

US biofuel credits under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) over the past week receded from highs not seen since Mar. 2018 on heightened activity in the physical biofuels market, but prices appeared to stabilise on Monday.

A glut of discarded single-use masks and gloves is washing up on shorelines and littering the seabed

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Conservationists have warned that the coronavirus pandemic could spark a surge in ocean pollution – adding to a glut of plastic waste that already threatens marine life – after finding disposable masks floating like jellyfish and waterlogged latex gloves scattered across seabeds.

The French non-profit Opération Mer Propre, whose activities include regularly picking up litter along the Côte d’Azur, began sounding the alarm late last month.

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EUAs slipped back below €23 early on Monday, retreating soon after extending last week's three-month high as weak economy data and this week's higher auction supply weighed.

“We are witnessing the decline and fall of the fossil fuel system" as impact of Covid-19 pandemic to accelerate losses, write-offs and bankruptcies in coal, gas and oil.

The post Oil, gas and coal facing terminal decline and massive plunge in value appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Research shows how supply chains around world have been disrupted by pandemic

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Small fishing boats, fish markets and female workers are among the categories worst affected by the economic impact of the coronavirus crisis on the world’s fisheries, research has found.

Supply chains around the world have been disrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic, and artisanal fishing – small boats – has borne the brunt, according to the annual report on fisheries by the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO). While industrial fishing fell only by about 6.5% in April, a large proportion of small vessels around the world have been in effect confined to port, and their markets are uncertain.

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The massive economic upheaval of the coronavirus pandemic has paused the surge in voluntary carbon trade, but companies' vastly differing fortunes and supply cut-offs are likely to prevent carbon credit prices plunging this year.

Terrible conditions witnessed onboard livestock ship travelling from Colombia to Egypt suspected of being a cover for trafficking

When the Neameh sailed out of Colombia on 4 May, it should have been a routine shipment: just over 4,000 cows, on their way to Egypt, an important hub for the global trade in live animal exports.

But accusations of cocaine smuggling and a police raid of the ship lengthened the journey.

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Latest data puts Britain near bottom of Europe’s league table for bathing water quality

Swimmers itching to take advantage of the easing of lockdown to have their first sea bathes or wild swims of the summer should pick their spot wisely: only two-thirds of the UK’s bathing waters are of excellent quality, according to the latest data, putting Britain near the bottom of Europe’s league table for bathing water quality.

Most of the rest of the UK’s beaches were of good or sufficient quality last year, with fewer than one in 20 judged to be poor, in the annual survey by the European Environment Agency.

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Project proponents have delivered another 635,000 carbon offsets to Australia’s Emissions Reduction Fund (ERF), taking the fund total past 55 million, while the Clean Energy Regulator issued another 270,000 units last week.

Countries to use high-resolution images to monitor health of marine resources

Commonwealth countries are to gain free access to satellite technology that will help them monitor and protect their endangered coral reefs from threats such as climate breakdown, overfishing and pollution.

Commonwealth countries hold nearly half of the world’s remaining tropical coral reefs, with 47 out of the 54 member countries having a coastline. Nearly half of them are islands or groups of islands, which face particular threats from the climate crisis, and for whom coral reefs are often vital protections against storms as well as fish nurseries and tourist attractions.

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Bright plumage linked to aggression when squabbling with rivals

The pinkest flamingos are also the most aggressive when it comes to squabbling over food, scientists have found.

Research from the University of Exeter also suggests bright pink plumage to be an indicator of good health in lesser flamingos.

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As climate change increases the frequency and scale of bushfires, our models suggest the habitats in Victoria's Central Highlands may be hard to come by. Craig Nitschke, Associate Professor - Forest and Landscape Dynamics, University of Melbourne Andrew Robinson, Managing Director for Biosecurity Risk Research, University of Melbourne Melissa Fedrigo, Remote Sensing Scientist and Ecological Modeller, University of Melbourne Patrick Baker, ARC Future Fellow and Professor of Silviculture and Forest Ecology, University of Melbourne Raphael Trouve, Post-Doctoral Research Fellow Ecosystem And Forest Sciences, University of Melbourne Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Researchers say aerial photographs taken during a heatwave identify Roman forts and roads in Wales.