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The UN produced a new draft text on rules covering international emissions trade on Tuesday, after governments broke a deadlock that some observers said raises the prospects for a deal later this year on the Paris Agreement’s divisive Article 6.

Chris Butler-Stroud and Michael Mountain on recent developments in the campaign against cruelty to whales and dolphins

June has been a good month for those of us who have long campaigned against whales and dolphins being held captive in small tanks for human entertainment (Two whales flown from Shanghai aquarium to sanctuary in Iceland, theguardian.com, 20 June). Canada has passed legislation making it an “offence to keep captive, breed, import, or export any whale, dolphin, or porpoise”. Russia has said it will close the loophole used by traffickers capturing cetaceans for “educational and cultural purposes”. President Putin has bowed to pressure to shut the “whale jail” in Russia’s far east and release 10 orcas and more than 80 beluga whales back to the wild.

And in the past week, the Sea Life Trust, working with Whale and Dolphin Conservation, has transported two beluga whales from Shanghai to a sanctuary in Iceland – a world-first project that provides a model for ending this cruel industry. With over 3,000 whales and dolphins still in intolerable conditions there is much work to do. But events this month give us hope.
Chris Butler-Stroud
Chief executive, Whale and Dolphin Conservation

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Biffa Waste Services found guilty of exporting unsorted waste to China it said was paper

One of the UK’s biggest waste firms has been convicted of sending used nappies and other contaminated materials to China illegally.

Biffa Waste Services Ltd was found guilty of exporting unsorted household waste that it said was paper. The company was prosecuted by the Environment Agency after investigators stopped seven 25-tonne containers from leaving Felixstowe over suspicions about the content.

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Results suggest environmental factors could play a role in female reproductive health

Air pollution has been linked to a drop in activity of a woman’s ovaries, researchers have revealed.

Experts say the findings suggest the female reproductive system is affected by environmental factors, although the study does not look specifically at the impact of air pollution on fertility.

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Film taken by the charity Animal Equality earlier this year shows the quality of life endured by birds on three farms of one of the UK’s biggest chicken producers. The farms, in Lincolnshire, were holding birds in cramped conditions, with birds found to be lame, struggling to breathe and surrounded by carcasses

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Secret filming at three Moy Park farms in Lincolnshire shows birds that are lame, struggling to breathe and surrounded by carcasses

One of the UK’s biggest chicken producers has been keeping chickens in cramped conditions on three farms in Lincolnshire, including in enormous “double-decker” multi-storey buildings, where secretly filmed footage shows chickens that are lame, struggling to breathe and surrounded by dead birds.

From across their sites in Northern Ireland and England, Moy Park supplies 30% of the British poultry market, including Tesco, Ocado and Sainsbury’s. The supermarkets have told the Guardian they they are now investigating their supply chains after the footage was sent to them.

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CEFC to tip $100m into joint venture with Ironstone Capital to encourage institutional investors, such as superannuation funds, into the clean energy market.

The post CEFC teams up with Ironstone to super charge clean energy investment appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Engineers succeed in automating science experiments at the UK's Halley research station.

**Following some reader suggestions, we’re trialling a new brief midday EU ETS market report.**

Five zoo-born eastern black rhinos have been transported from Europe to Africa.

The miniaturised timepiece will be used to overhaul deep-space navigation if it proves its worth.

Tuesday's EU Common Auction Platform (CAP) auction was cancelled because the clearing price was significantly below the secondary market, sale host EEX said.

An open letter has been sent to Scott Morrison with 150+ signatures from Australia's faith leaders.

Australian Energy Minister Angus Taylor has warned state governments about setting more ambitious emission reductions than the federal Coalition, arguing this would be inappropriate and likely to push up power prices.

Federal Parliament doesn't return until next week, but this week, those taking their seats for the first time got a first taste of life on The Hill.

New Zealand carbon allowances climbed back up to NZ$23 ($15.28) as some buyers stepped in to take advantage of what they considered attractive levels.

Right to life is likely to be undermined alongside the rule of law, special rapporteur says

The world is increasingly at risk of “climate apartheid”, where the rich pay to escape heat and hunger caused by the escalating climate crisis while the rest of the world suffers, a report from a UN human rights expert has said.

Philip Alston, UN special rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, said the impacts of global heating are likely to undermine not only basic rights to life, water, food, and housing for hundreds of millions of people, but also democracy and the rule of law.

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The giant manta ray is at risk in the Pacific ocean, but the rise of ecotourism is changing attitudes among local fishermen

Fishermen heading out to sea off Peru’s northern coast keep a keen eye on the turquoise waters below them, hoping for a glimpse of the elusive giant manta ray gliding by.

Nowadays the boats are taking tourists rather than nets. The fish they once caught are now in decline, and the fish the visitors want to see now are worth far more alive than dead.

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Contenders for prizes in the competition developed jointly by Forestry England and the Royal Geographical Society. The photographs will be displayed at the RGS, London, from 6 July-22 August

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Five critically endangered rhinos from European zoos are flown to Rwanda to be released into the wild.