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EU carbon prices nudged back above €13 on Friday to halt a run of three straight daily losses notched since the 2017 compliance deadline passed, as a looming week of tighter auction supply deterred selling.

EU countries handed out a further 3.68 mln free carbon allowances to industry for 2018 in the past two weeks, European Commission data released late Friday showed, as the deadline for surrendering units against last year’s emissions passed.

Environment secretary favours the move but it is hotly contested within government

Michael Gove is spearheading plans to halt the sale of new hybrid cars from 2040 to help tackle UK air pollution, Whitehall sources have said.

Ministers have been battling privately over whether or not to ban hybrids to strengthen the government’s policy of banning new diesel vehicles in 22 years time.

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Companies regulated by the EU ETS exchanged 10.57 million Kyoto Protocol credits for allowances over the last six months to use for compliance, the European Commission said Friday, continuing the slow usage rate as the market’s overall quota is almost exhausted.

CO2 emissions from fossil fuel combustion in the EU rose by an estimated 1.8% in 2017, according to the bloc’s statistics office Eurostat.

The InSight probe is due to launch this weekend to investigate the interior of the Red Planet.

The week’s top environment news stories and green events. If you are not already receiving this roundup, sign up here to get the briefing delivered to your inbox

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A marmot emerging from hibernation, a friendly elephant and a baby ring-tailed lemur are among this week’s pick of images from the natural world

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Australia’s Clean Energy Regulator this week handed out 738,134 carbon credits to maintain its recent above-average issuance rate as a small secondary market for carbon offsets continues to form.

Scientists at Imperial College London have spent more than 25 years developing the device.

The Guangdong provincial government this week issued some 61,000 carbon credits in its first issuance since last June, as China’s national offset programme remains sidelined.

Below is a table of the closing prices, ranges and volumes for China's regional pilot carbon markets this week. All prices are in RMB, and volumes in tonnes of CO2e. Data sourced from local exchanges.

South Korea has posted the final rules on use of UN-issued carbon credits from international projects in its domestic emissions trading scheme.

Methane emissions from lakes could almost double as warming boosts plants that feed gas production.

Governments often lack necessary data to determine if conservation measures are effective, says review’s leader

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One-third of Australia’s threatened species are not subject to any formal monitoring program and monitoring for the remaining species is largely poorly done, a review has found.

The findings come as the ABC reports the federal environment department could cut up to 60 jobs in its biodiversity and conservation division, which conducts threatened species assessment and monitoring.

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Report finds 76% of Australian solar homes on premium feed-in tariff would trade it in for chance to upgrade systems – in particular, to add battery storage.

Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire: They wield their snouts like a blade, slicing into the root layer then slashing vigorously with a deft twist that turns the ground over

You can’t miss the signs of wild boar in the Forest of Dean – the road verges appear to have been enthusiastically but amateurishly rotovated. When we visited in January hundreds of square metres around the car park had been worked over, and it did not take much by way of fieldcraft to spot the culprits. A small sounder (family group) of mother and three young were only metres from the cars, intently truffling for root, grub and worm, a blackbird following them as a gull follows the plough.

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A recovery in VEEC supply was not enough to prevent prices in the Victorian Energy Efficiency certificate market from strengthening in volatile conditions.

Latest update on solar projects presents striking image of development across the country. In total, more than 250 solar projects representing more than 30GW.

Iconic US motorhome maker takes "first step" towards electrification with all-electric commercial RV platform.