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The US EPA’s plan to propose the year-round sale of 15% ethanol blends and reforms to the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS) could be delayed if the federal government shut down drags on for a prolonged period, acting agency chief Andrew Wheeler said Wednesday during his confirmation hearing.

California utility Pacific Gas & Electric’s (PG&E) possible bankruptcy is unlikely to dramatically alter power sector emissions or the supply-demand balance in the WCI cap-and-trade programme despite potentially dampening renewable energy growth, two climate researchers told Carbon Pulse.

The former coal lobbyist took over the EPA when his predecessor Scott Pruitt resigned after months of controversy

A former coal lobbyist Donald Trump has nominated to run the Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday touted rolling back pollution standards and declined to identify climate change as a crisis requiring unprecedented action from the US.

Andrew Wheeler, the deputy administrator who took over when his predecessor Scott Pruitt resigned after months of controversy, said in his confirmation hearing that he is carrying out the president’s “regulatory reform agenda”. Wheeler called the US the “gold standard for environmental progress”.

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Infectious disease experts say animals in peri-urban areas are exposed to wild animals that carry diseases, which can spread quickly and be deadly to humans.

Crises in the Darling River have raised questions about cotton and rice farming in the Murray Darling Basin. Jamie Pittock, Professor, Fenner School of Environment & Society, Australian National University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Two Montana state representatives introduced separate CO2 tax proposals this month, with one bill utilising offsets as a compliance option and the other setting GHG targets for the US state.

Kew scientists’ analysis of 124 wild species shows 60% facing possible extinction, risking viability of commercial stock

Wild coffee species are under threat, with 60% of them facing possible extinction, including Arabica, the original of the world’s most popular form of coffee, researchers say.

Most coffee species are found in the forests of Africa and Madagascar. They are threatened by climate change and the loss of natural habitat, as well as by the spread of diseases and pests.

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EUAs climbed to a seven-day high on Wednesday as colder weather prospects and a bullish result in an oversized Polish auction lifted the energy complex amid wider Brexit uncertainty.

Greenpeace sceptical about corporate polluters as alliance launched to reduce waste

The scourge of plastic waste in the world’s oceans is the target of a new global alliance of businesses which says it will try to reduce the amount of plastic waste produced and improve recycling.

The Alliance to End Plastic Waste, launched on Wednesday, includes companies producing consumer goods and plastic, as well as waste management and recycling firms. Among more than 25 companies joining the effort are household names such as Procter & Gamble, Shell, BASF and ExxonMobil.

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Dan Little, a retired forest service worker, took matters into his own hands when the shutdown left his local wilderness a mess

The longest ever government shutdown has left US national parks chronically understaffed, with grim consequences: messy toilets, broken Joshua trees, and unsupervised campers.

Related: Keeping US national parks open during the shutdown is a terrible mistake | Jonathan B Jarvis

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Analysts have trimmed their near-term EU carbon price forecasts following last year’s massive gains and amid Brexit uncertainties and a general lacklustre start to 2019, according to a poll of 12 experts conducted by Carbon Pulse.

Government admits process that allowed Pont Valley site to begin operating was flawed

The government is to review a decision to allow open-cast coal mining in a valley in County Durham.

Lawyers for the government have written to campaigners to say their decision-making was flawed and agreed to look again. The mine in the Pont Valley, known as Bradley, began operating last year after four decades of opposition.

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Global clean energy investments fell 8% in 2018 to $332.1 billion as a solar panel production glut slashed prices and China cut subsidy access, according to researchers BloombergNEF (BNEF).

The approximately 91m (298ft) wide frozen slab formed naturally and has been slowly spinning.

Charities and government officials intervene at Ramsgate port in Kent to prevent animals’ journey time exceeding legal limits

Animal welfare charities have backed calls by the RSPCA to substantially reduce journey times for live exports as the government considers a ban on the practice after Brexit.

The RSPCA has appealed to the EU Commission after a lorry was stopped at a UK port by the charity along with other campaigners and government officials on 10 January.

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Commercially minded yet analytical, the Portfolio Manager will have the responsibility to construct and tailor bespoke voluntary carbon portfolios for new and existing clients, develop wholesale business engaging with clients directly, and participate in buying activities end to end from price negotiation through to delivery.

Working with the wider team you will oversee the generation of new leads and the delivery of sales promotion campaigns to support business development across our Oxford, Nairobi and India offices.

Rising temperatures can be charted back to the late 1950s, and the last five years were the five hottest on record

Last year was the hottest ever measured, continuing an upward trend that is a direct result of manmade greenhouse gas emissions.

The key to the measurements is the oceans. Oceans absorb more than 90% of the heat that results from greenhouse gases, so if you want to measure global warming you really have to measure ocean warming.

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South Korean project developers continue to identify and launch new CDM projects for use in the domestic ETS despite lingering uncertainty over the mechanism’s future and their government being outmanoeuvred at UN climate talks.

After extreme weather-related events, there is ‘need for international cooperation’

Growing tension between the world’s major powers is the most urgent global risk and makes it harder to mobilise collective action to tackle climate change, according to a report prepared for next week’s World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

Related: Deadly weather: the human cost of 2018's climate disasters – visual guide

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