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With its plumped-up red breast and sweet song, this tiny garden visitor is a British festive favourite

Of all Britain’s birds, none is more closely associated with winter and Christmas, than the robin. But how did this come about?

The species’ association with the festive season can partly be traced to the 19th century when the newly created postal service dressed its workers in red uniforms. The Victorians nicknamed the delivery staff “robins” and the birds eventually cornered the Christmas market, appearing on greeting cards and wrapping paper.

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Silk, bacteria and sugar coating could solve growing global problem of saline soil

Coating seeds in silk, bacteria and sugar could help plants to grow in salty soils, researchers have revealed.

Saline soil is a growing problem around the world, particularly in regions with poor quality water for irrigation, and is a serious cause for concern as many important food crops do not grow well in such conditions.

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A Japanese consortium led by Mitsubishi Corp has agreed to buy Dutch energy company Eneco for €4.1 billion, beating rival offers from oil major Shell and private equity firm KKR.

The US EPA will likely not finalise its plan to introduce a supplementary proposal to next year's biofuel quotas under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) until after the programme’s Nov. 30 deadline, as the agency reviews public comments on the strategy released this fall, according to a media report.

The director of the Moorland Association, Amanda Anderson, disputes the claim that heather burning on grouse shooting estates increases the risk of flooding

Ed Douglas is correct to observe that the impact that burning has on how quickly water runs off the moors is contested (Country diary, 22 November).

Anti-shooting activists claim, without merit, that grouse moors are responsible for flooding. Flooding expert Prof Jeremy Purseglove is on record saying there is “no direct evidence that grouse moor management causes flooding” and that “overgrazing and a lack of trees in the catchments are a much greater problem”.

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Environmentalists say a Victorian government plan to preserve old growth forest may instead open up currently protected areas

Environment groups have raised doubts about the Victorian government’s promise to protect 90,000 hectares of old growth forest, just weeks after the Andrews government announced a major transition plan for Victoria’s timber industry.

Six organisations, including The Wilderness Society, Friends of the Earth and Environment Victoria, have expressed fears that the government will open up some areas currently mapped as old growth to logging.

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Footage appears to show corpses floating around the capsized vessel, which is likely to have been bound for Libya

Attempts to save some of the 14,000 sheep trapped in a half-sunken boat in the Romanian port of Midia have been resumed, say activists at the scene, after sounds emerged from the ship indicating that some were still alive.

Campaigners are calling again for a ban on live exports from Europe to non-EU countries, after the Queen Hind capsized on Sunday, shortly after sailing out of port. It appears the ship was bound for Libya.

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EUAs hit a two-week high early on Monday, but almost immediately retreated back towards negative territory and kept falling after a weak auction.

Global coal consumption is on track for a record drop of 3% year-on-year in 2019 amid lower electricity demand and a rapid increase in renewables and nuclear power, a report said Monday, with even numbers in China falling.

The EU’s southeastern neighbours have agreed to study imposing carbon taxes on their power sector to move towards EU ETS prices as a path to market linkage, though a poor clean energy record and stalled integration efforts cast doubt on the process.

Revealed: records show law enforcement has called demonstrators possible ‘domestic terrorism’ threats

US law enforcement officials preparing for fresh Keystone XL pipeline protests have privately discussed tactics to stop activists “by any means” and have labeled demonstrators potential “domestic terrorism” threats, records reveal.

Internal government documents seen by the Guardian show that police and local authorities in Montana and the surrounding region have been preparing a coordinated response in the event of a new wave of protests opposing the controversial Keystone XL tar sands pipeline, which would carry crude oil from Canada to Montana, South Dakota and Nebraska.

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As a Senior Sourcing Manager for Swiss Projects you will identify, negotiate and contract new emission reduction projects for the Swiss carbon market.

South Pole is looking for an ambitious and high performing analyst to join its carbon markets team. This role is entirely focused on carbon market development and growth, including compliance and voluntary carbon markets.

As a Land Use and Adaptation Consultant, you will be responsible for the overall management of proposals and projects including initiation, planning, design, execution, monitoring, controlling, assessing impact and closure of projects.

The World Meteorological Organisations says the levels of warming gases continue to reach new highs.

Head of World Meteorological Organization says ‘no sign of a slowdown, let alone a decline’

The concentration of climate-heating greenhouse gases has hit a record high, according to a report from the UN’s World Meteorological Organization.

The jumps in the key gases measured in 2018 were all above the average for the last decade, showing action on the climate emergency to date is having no effect in the atmosphere. The WMO said the gap between targets and reality were both “glaring and growing”.

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New report from Shell-funded Energy Transitions Commission concludes China can achieve net-zero emissions by 2050, and still emerge as a rich developed economy.

The post How China can reach net-zero emissions by 2050 appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Elon Musk says 200,000 orders have been taken since unveiling of the polarising Cybertruck late last week

The post Musk says Tesla takes 200,000 orders for polarising Cybertruck appeared first on RenewEconomy.

A comprehensive book catalogues the myriad types of jellyfish around the world

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British-backed plantation firm vows to address claims that underpaid palm oil workers have been exposed to toxic chemicals

The UK development bank has been accused of failing to protect workers from exposure to dangerous pesticides and paying “extreme poverty” wages on palm oil plantations in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Human Rights Watch said the CDC group, along with three other European development banks, had failed to properly oversee its investments in Feronia, one of Africa’s largest palm oil companies.

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