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Japanese knotweed is said to cost UK economy £170m a year, but so far only solution is controversial glyphosate-based herbicide

Japanese knotweed is a thug of a plant capable of growing a foot a week at this time of year; it spreads rapidly from underground rhizomes; erodes riverbanks, leading to flooding; smothers other plants; blocks drains and wreaks such havoc on homes and gardens that it blights property prices. It is estimated that controlling Japanese knotweed costs the UK economy about £170m each year. An entire industry has been built on trying to control the plant, using at least 15 different active control methods. There is, however, no impartial study of how effective any of these treatments are.

Scientists at Swansea University recently concluded the world’s largest field trial over five years on tackling Japanese knotweed. Their depressing assessment is that eradicating the plant using weedkillers is useless, and so too are physical methods such as covering up and cutting down knotweed.

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People used to think that boy lions had big shaggy manes to protect their necks from being bitten or scratched during fights. But scientists soon realised this idea didn't make much sense. Nadya Sotnychuk, PhD candidate, University of New England Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Market participants should expect an under-subscribed WCI auction this quarter along with more modest price increases in the medium-to-long term, according to analysts.

The EU’s efforts to decarbonise heavy industry are being undermined by ETS benchmarking rules that systematically block cleaner industrial alternatives from getting a foothold, according to environmental campaigner group Sandbag.

EU carbon prices slumped on Tuesday after extending a recent seven-year high in early trade and following another weak auction.

Whatever the WWF says, peak demand for gas-fired generation will be larger, says Steve Bolter, while Chris Underwood pours cold water on the IMechE’s hydrogen proposal

The WWF has been oversimplistic in its argument that no further gas-fired power stations are needed (Report, 14 May). The forecast increase in annual renewable electricity production is only just sufficient to balance the closure of coal-fired electricity generation and the fall in nuclear generation resulting from the retirement of many of our nuclear power stations (most of which are already working beyond their design lives). However, this does not mean more no more gas generation capacity is needed. Electricity demand varies, and renewables are intermittent. There has to be enough capacity to meet demand at all times.

While pump storage systems and batteries are able to store enough energy to cope with short-term variations in demand and the availability of renewable generation, it would not be environmentally friendly, efficient or cost-effective to use such systems to store energy from summer to winter, or even to store enough to survive a long midwinter period of high pressure over the North Sea.

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European utilities were relatively quiet in the rallying EUA market over Q1, company results suggest, representing potentially bullish news for prices as generators may now need to accelerate their EUA buying.

Almost 265 million EU carbon allowances will be withdrawn from the over-supplied EU ETS in the first eight months of 2019 and inserted into the MSR when it launches early next year, the European Commission announced late on Tuesday.

IBM and Veridium Labs have teamed up to launch a blockchain-based platform to transform carbon offsets into digital tokens for trade on a decentralised exchange, the companies announced on Tuesday.

Almost all single use plastics, including coffee cups, bags and water bottles will be replaced with compostable or reusable versions by 2019

The UK parliament has unveiled a package of measures to “virtually eliminate” single-use plastics from Westminster in the next year.

The move will see a range of items – from coffee cups to straws, plastic bags to water bottles – removed from the parliamentary estate, to be replaced by compostable or reuseable options by 2019.

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City Hall sources say mayor is hoping to introduce separate car-free days in each borough this year, with ‘more ambitious plans’ for 2019

London is considering introducing car-free days in an attempt to tackle the city’s air pollution crisis that experts say is responsible for thousands of early deaths each year.

Officials at City Hall were due to meet on Tuesday to examine how best to roll out a ban across specific areas of the capital on different days this year - with “more ambitious plans” in the pipeline for 2019.

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A former Deutsche Bank sales manager has been jailed by Germany’s federal supreme court for three years for his role in facilitating tax fraud through the EU carbon market.

Situated in the heart of the ‘coral triangle’, this young nation boasts some of the most biodiverse waters in the world. As it emerges from years of unrest, it now faces the challenge of protecting its coasts, and the communities that rely on them, in the face of growing development

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South Korea has pledged to meet a third of its Paris target through buying international carbon credits, and is now considering pushing that responsibility over to companies in its emissions trading scheme rather than spending taxpayer funds.

Coal-fired power generation in China rose 7.3% y/y in April, outpacing overall power output amid an ongoing manufacturing boom threatening to derail efforts to curb carbon emissions.

After last years first test runs, the Bloodhound supersonic car is being rebuilt ready to go faster still.

After last years first test runs, the Bloodhound supersonic car is being rebuilt ready to go faster still.

Tesla Model X tows a Qantas Dreamliner jet some 300 metres across the tarmac. Why? For publicity, of course, and because they could.

Forests are increasing around the world because of rising incomes and national wellbeing say researchers.

Government releases new acreages for offshore exploration as protesters oppose drilling

The government has released a new acreage for offshore oil and gas exploration in the Great Australian Bight that green groups says should have been kept off limits after it was cancelled by BP.

The permit is one of two that BP cancelled after the company abandoned its plans for oil and gas drilling in the bight in 2016. Its remaining two permits were sold to the Norwegian oil and gas multinational Statoil.

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