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Labor has ditched its reliance on a single economy-wide climate policy, in favour of a range of different measures that will all help drive down emissions. But some crucial issues remain unaddressed. Nicky Ison, Research Associate, Institute for Sustainable Futures, University of Technology Sydney Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Australia’s global leadership on whale conservation will be tested as Japanese hunters move to a different hemisphere

Japan’s whaling fleet arrived back at the port of Shimonoseki on the weekend with a barbaric tally of 333 dead whales that are no longer swimming freely in the Southern Ocean.

If the work of the Japanese whalers is anything like last year, more than 100 pregnant females and 50 or so juveniles will have been killed. But from now on, things are different.

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Tony Burke says the ailing health of Australia’s greatest river system would be a priority for any federal ALP government

The ALP is preparing to use federal powers under the Water Act and its influence with the two Labor-controlled basin states to drive better environmental outcomes if it wins government in May.

The opposition spokesman on the environment and water, Tony Burke, told Guardian Australia he would immediately convene the ministerial council and outline what he wants to achieve.

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EU member states have handed out a further 37.7 million free carbon allowances over the past fortnight, with Spain and Finland finally commencing their 2019 allocations.

Official complaint lodged with EU says rules breached on hunting and trapping

Bird protection campaigners are to lodge an official complaint with the European Union accusing France of breaking rules on hunting and trapping and failing to protect endangered species.

The Ligue pour la Protection des Oiseaux (LPO) is using the 40th anniversairy of the EU’s “bird directive”, which outlaws the “massive or non-selective” killing of birds to highlight what it deems cruel and illegal methods.

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Analysis of 50 years of UK data shows woodlands are not havens, while changing emergence times damage nature and farming

Insects have “no place to hide” from climate change, scientists have said after analysing 50 years’ worth of UK data.

The study found that woodlands, whose shade was expected to protect species from warming temperatures, are just as affected by climate change as open grasslands.

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People watching Blue Planet Live on Sunday were left in shock after a seagull snatched a baby turtle as it was released on the beach.

No breach of annual limits so far in 2019, after 2017’s first breach within five days

Two million people in London are living with illegal air pollution, according to the most recent data. However, nitrogen dioxide levels are falling and could reach legal levels within six years.

In 2017, London saw its first breach of annual pollution limits just five days into the new year and in 2018 it occurred within a month. However, three months into 2019, no such breaches have taken place. In 2016, the last year in which Boris Johnson was mayor of London, there had been 43 breaches by this time.

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We drive the fully electric Hyundai Kona for a week and deliver our verdict.

The post Hyundai Kona test drive: Finally, a long-range EV at half the price appeared first on RenewEconomy.

European insect populations shrink as farming leaves ‘hardly any room for nature’

Butterflies have declined by at least 84% in the Netherlands over the last 130 years, according to a study, confirming the crisis affecting insect populations in western Europe.

Researchers analysed 120,000 butterflies caught by collectors between 1890 and 1980 as well as more recent scientific data from more than 2 million sightings to identify dramatic declines in the country’s 71 native butterfly species, 15 of which have become extinct over the last century.

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EU ETS emissions fell by 4% in 2018 to resume their annual downtrend, according to preliminary like-for-like data released by the European Commission on Monday.

From financial struggles to arguing with vegans, Sally Urwin’s new book lifts the lid on farming

Spring in the countryside near Hadrian’s Wall is a scenic season for visitors, all grassy meadows and lambs gambolling in the sunshine. But it’s hard labour for Sally Urwin. The small, cheerful Northumbrian farmer is lambing from 6am to 9pm every day (her husband, Steve, takes the night shift). Her first book, a diary of a year on their 80-hectare (200-acre) farm, has been published, meaning Urwin must also take a bottle-fed lamb to various “scary” literary festivals. Then, looming over every family farm like a particularly black rain cloud, is Brexit.

Farmers have a reputation for looking on the gloomy side of life, but Urwin, 44, is a naturally upbeat person. A Farmer’s Diary combines humour and the stark reality of modern farming, often in the same anecdote, such as the moment the “knacker van”, filled with a pungent pile of dead ewes, drives into their yard just as guests assemble for a wedding party.

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Labor's ambitious plans to reduce transport emissions will be dead in the water without regulatory CO2 emission standards and real financial and non-financial incentives for buyers. Anna Mortimore, Lecturer, Griffith Business School, Griffith University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Romeo, known as the world's loneliest frog, had spent 10 years living in isolation at an aquarium.

New Zealand carbon allowances moved higher again in Monday trade amid healthy demand from emitters looking to hedge against the risk of the NZ$25 fixed price option changes.

Party says allowing heavy polluters to use international permits to meet emissions reduction targets allows companies to ‘keep polluting at home’

The Greens are positioning to torpedo a key element of Labor’s new climate policy in the event Bill Shorten wins the federal election in May, telegraphing strong opposition to heavy polluters using international permits to meet their emissions reduction targets.

The thumbs-down from the Greens, who will likely be the critical Senate bloc post-election in the event of a Labor victory, comes as the politically influential motoring lobby has also signalled it will push back on Labor’s proposal to introduce vehicle efficiency standards for light vehicles that would bring Australia broadly into line with carbon pollutions standards for cars in the US.

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Will any of these policies have a real impact on the bigger project of reducing the effects of climate change?

The plan includes a cap on emissions for the nation's 250 biggest polluters, emissions standards for the transport industry and an electric car target.

Scientists found the song Scary Monsters And Nice Sprites led to mosquitoes attacking hosts less often.

Japan’s sakura (cherry blossom) season has officially begun, with crowds flocking to parks to photograph the early blooms

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