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Readers respond to articles about schoolchildren on climate strikes and the hottest February day ever

When I see young people all over the world standing up for what they believe in, for the future of the planet and for themselves, it moves me deeply (School pupils call for radical climate action in UK-wide strike, 15 February). The empowerment of young people, particularly in regard to climate change and civic engagement, is at the heart of the YMCA’s raison d’etre. So while it’s a grave topic, the only consoling factor for me is the clear demonstration of these young people’s passion, courage and tenacity. The greatest hope for a better future lies in this kind of attitude from our youth – when they fully engage in civic issues that affect them and their communities we will start to see real change.

I hope the success they have already achieved in gaining the world’s attention will motivate them to stick with these issues and work towards their goals. I feel uplifted because they are realising their power and potential to make a difference. This is how the leaders of tomorrow will be shaped, and they will do better than the leaders of today.

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Staff are pulled out once again amid ongoing uncertainty surrounding the stability of nearby ice.

French utility Engie scaled back on its near-term power hedging for 2018, it said in financial results on Thursday, in a move that could be bullish for EUAs if the company attempts to catch up to its historic levels this year.

Green finance experts say Australia is out of step with World Bank, Europe and the US, which are using funding to combat global warming

Australia is the only developed country that allows climate change funding to be used to upgrade coal-fired power plants, green finance experts say.

Experts say allowing Vales Point coal-fired power station to register with the Morrison government’s emissions reduction fund, rebadged this week as a “climate solutions” policy, puts Australia out of step with the World Bank, Europe and the US, which have all rejected using climate financing for coal power retrofits.

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Opponents say noise and pollution will be disastrous for wildlife and local residents

For hundreds of years, Richmond Park has been known for its rich wildlife and tranquil landscape. But the controversial expansion of Heathrow airport will see hundreds of aircraft flying at low altitude over the royal park, according to consultation documents issued by the airport.

Maps of the new flight paths released as part of the consultation process for a third runway reveal the alarming extent of proposed air traffic over the parkland. Aircraft, some at 1,000ft, will be flying over for the first time. Current flight paths to Heathrow do not fly directly over the park.

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EU nations are rightly awarding free carbon allowances to power plants linked to industrial sites, a legal advisor to EU’s highest court said Thursday, going against the European Commission’s view and potentially preventing higher ETS compliance costs for hundreds of installations across the bloc.

Japan’s Nippon Paper Industries on Thursday became the latest firm in the country to drop plans for constructing a new coal-fired plant amid profitability concerns.

South Korea will shut down four units at two ageing coal-fired power plants in the March-June to reduce air pollution levels, a move that will also reduce CO2 output regulated by the country’s emissions trading scheme.

You thought cane toads were bad. Well a new pest is infesting our tropical north – and this one’s 4 metres tall.

The New Zealand government could opt to rush through ETS changes in its budget on May 30 depending on how many companies pay the NZ$25 fixed price option ahead of the 2018 compliance deadline a day later, according to brokers OM Financial.

Increasing oil, gas, and coal production is pushing up greenhouse gas emissions from Australia’s biggest-emitting companies despite sizeable emission cuts from the power sector, government data showed Thursday.

China’s energy consumption rose 3.3% last year, the government announced Thursday, in what analysts said likely meant a 3% increase in CO2 emissions fuelled by surging power demand from sectors linked to the nation’s construction boom.

Windlab says connection delays, floods and EPC problems causes "force majeure" on world-first wind, solar, battery park, and warns new connection rules are pushing up costs of renewables.

The post Windlab declares “force majeure” on Kennedy wind, solar battery project appeared first on RenewEconomy.

US President Donald Trump says the talks were positive but "sometimes you have to walk".

Our selection of winning and shortlisted photographs from the 2018 competition

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In his new series Metamorphosis, photographer Jake Mosher composes artworks using hundreds of exposures of highly magnified butterflies’ and moths’ wings

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Emissions for the year to September 2018 up 0.9% as Morrison government attempts a policy pivot on climate

Emissions in Australia are continuing to rise, with the latest increases driven predominantly by an increase in liquefied natural gas production in Western Australia.

Emissions for the year to September 2018 went up 0.9% on the previous year, according to the latest inventory, primarily due to a 19.7% increase in LNG exports, but there were also increases in stationary energy, transport, fugitives, industrial processes and waste sectors.

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60% of the world's meteorites have been found in Antarctica. But what's it like for those who have to look for them?

Biologist Rob Dunn is the David Attenborough of the domestic sphere, uncovering everything from microbes in the shower to spiders in the basement. He goes on safari in the satisfyingly dusty corners of one Copenhagen home

The good news is that I will never be home alone again. The bad news – well, it’s not in fact bad news, but it is slightly unsettling – is that I share my home with at least 5,000 other species: wasps, flies, spiders, silverfish and an exotic bunch of wild bacteria.

All that information is apparently contained in a patch of grey dust I have just swabbed with my right index finger from a door frame in my living room. It’s like a DNA test of my house, says Rob Dunn, a 43-year-old American biologist who has come to my house in Copenhagen to hunt microbial life. He carries no lab gear and his blue crewneck jumper and striped Oxford shirt are hardly the combat suit of an exterminator. But with every discovery we make, with every spider we find lurking in the corner or each swab of dust, he displays an almost childlike sense of excitement. He swears and smiles, even whoops with delight: “This dust sample contains bacteria, your body microbes, your wife’s body microbes, your child’s body microbes. If you smoke weed we would find marijuana DNA in there. Everything is visible, but it’s also present in every breath. Every time you inhale, you inhale that story of your home.”

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Victoria regulator ups solar tariffs for minimum "single rate", but slashes the peak rate for solar exports by more than half.

The post Victoria regulator lifts fixed rooftop solar export tariffs, slashes peak rate appeared first on RenewEconomy.