Around The Web

A daily summary of our news plus bite-sized updates from around the world.

Poll-leading Canadian Conservative Party leader Andrew Scheer said Wednesday that he would eliminate the ruling Liberals’ ‘backstop’ carbon tax and alter its output-based pricing system (OBPS) if elected as prime minister this fall, while potentially exploring the use of low-carbon exports to claim emission reductions towards the country’s Paris Agreement GHG target.

Female 12-year-old beluga whales Little Grey and Little White arrive at Klettsvik Bay

Two beluga whales from a Shanghai aquarium have arrived in Iceland to live out their days in a unique marine sanctuary that conservationists hope will become a model for rehoming 3,000 of the creatures currently in captivity.

Little Grey and Little White, two 12-year-old female belugas, left behind their previous lives entertaining visitors at the Changfeng Ocean World and were flown across the globe in specially tailored containers.

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With zero emissions and water as a by-product, Tom Burridge was on board one of the test runs.

How our life and work could be affected as Wales aims to reach zero carbon emissions by 2050.

Human activities could be affecting reproduction and even normal social behaviour

Birds are even more disrupted by their noisy neighbours than had been thought previously, researchers have found. And human activities could be preventing birds from reproducing and even developing normal social behaviour and keeping the peace.

A study by Queen’s University Belfast found that when European robins were subjected to human produced noises their behaviour changed. Background noise appeared to mask the communication of crucial information between birds.

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Traditional owners in the Kimberley region are urging the WA Government to take action to stop land clearing on a Chinese-owned cattle station.

ARENA backs ground-breaking fringe-of-grid project using 2.5MW of second-hand wind turbines, with 1MW solar and 2MW/0.5MWh lithium-ion battery.

The post Refurbished wind turbines to help power W.A. garnet mine appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Declassified US spy satellite records from the 1970s have been used to map the Himalayan glaciers, providing insight into their rate of melt.

A remote Western Australia gold mine has won $13.5m in ARENA funding to add 18MW of wind power to a 23MW solar, battery and gas microgrid.

The post Wind, solar and battery microgrid at W.A. gold mine an “Australian first” appeared first on RenewEconomy.

The successful applicant will manage key projects and related teams in CPI’s Climate Finance Tracking workstream, and develop new analytical approaches and products to continue to build CPI’s reputation for impactful analysis on the state of global climate finance and support to key stakeholders.

Oregon’s WCI-modelled cap-and-trade bill is expected to face a Senate vote later this week, despite Republicans threatening to explore various options to halt the proposal.

Europe will launch another probe to an icy dirtball, following the highly successful Rosetta mission.

California’s fuel consumption continued to fall below prior years early in 2019, while greater hydro generation is also reducing ETS-covered emissions from the state’s electric grid, according to government data.

US-based fund Climate Trust Capital (CTC) is beginning to sell California Carbon Offsets (CCOs) generated through its first round of project investments, and it is targeting the launch of a second fund by early next year.

The melting of Himalayan glaciers has doubled over the last 40 years, scientists say.

The US EPA finalised its Affordable Clean Energy (ACE) rule on Wednesday to replace the stayed Obama-era Clean Power Plan (CPP), with trading and biomass co-firing barred as compliance options and Democrat-led states already lining up to sue the agency.

Ice losses indicate ‘devastating’ future for region and 1 billion people who depend on it for water

The melting of Himalayan glaciers has doubled since the turn of the century, with more than a quarter of all ice lost over the last four decades, scientists have revealed. The accelerating losses indicate a “devastating” future for the region, upon which a billion people depend for regular water.

The scientists combined declassified US spy satellite images from the mid-1970s with modern satellite data to create the first detailed, four-decade record of ice along the 2,000km (1,200-mile) mountain chain.

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Study marks worst winter on record for beekeepers, despite intensive push to stem losses

Beekeepers across the US lost four in 10 of their honeybee colonies over the past year, as the worst winter on record for tracked bee populations raised fresh concerns over the plight of the crucial pollinators.

Over the past winter, 37% of honeybee colonies were lost to beekeepers, the worst winter decline recorded in the 13-year history of a nationwide survey aimed at charting bees’ fortunes. Overall, 40% of colonies died off over the entire year to April, which is above the 38% average since the survey began.

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European carbon prices eased in another quiet session on Wednesday but remained within sight of €25, as the Jun-19 options expired to little fanfare.