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In order to avoid fungibility becoming a race to the bottom, the voluntary carbon market needs tools that recognise the variation in carbon returns and enables the creation of products that capture this variation, according to Sebastien Cross of BeZero Carbon.

While carbon removals will play a role in mitigating climate change, we cannot afford to take our focus away from the urgent objective of avoiding emitting in the first place, write Sarah Leugers and Owen Hewlett of Gold Standard.

Conservation watchdog given boost after decade of funding cuts that left it at ‘crisis point’

Natural England, the government’s conservation watchdog, is to receive a 47% increase in government funding this year as its role expands to support a “green recovery” and provide environmental scrutiny of the government’s controversial “Project Speed”.

The dramatic funding increase is a boost for wildlife protection and monitoring after a decade of deep cuts which left the agency at “crisis point” and its chairman, Tony Juniper, admitting that it would struggle to reverse declines in biodiversity.

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Scientists predict migration of the megabats, mostly found in eastern and northern Australia, could have significant effects on Tasmania’s ecosystems

Fruit bats may migrate as far south as Tasmania in the future as a result of extreme weather events linked to the climate crisis, new modelling suggests.

University of Tasmania scientists predicted the grey-headed flying fox could take “climate refuge” in the southernmost state in coming decades if greenhouse gas emissions continued on their current trajectory.

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A ‘just add water’ approach is unlikely to be successful, with better monitoring of species needed to target environmental watering

Trillions of litres of water released into the Murray-Darling Basin to benefit the environment has failed to increase the populations of threatened species, according to new research.

In a damning assessment of the monitoring of eight threatened species, the research from Australian National University scientists says the public reporting of the benefits of environmental watering was fragmentary and not backed by evidence.

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EUAs rose more than €3 on Thursday, clawing back almost half of the 12% losses of the previous two sessions as traders bought on what they expect to a brief dip in a still-bullish market.

Head of Australian agricultural firm predicts sales surge as UK farmers warn they will struggle to compete

Australia’s biggest cattle farmer has predicted that the nation’s beef exports to the UK could rise as much as tenfold if the two countries strike a free-trade deal.

Boris Johnson is determined to push through a free-trade deal with Australia, despite warnings from the National Farmers’ Union over the “irreversible damage” such a deal would do to UK agriculture. It was discussed by ministers at a cabinet meeting on Thursday.

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Czech utility CEZ presented its climate strategy on Thursday, setting the intention to reduce its share of coal-fired generation to just over a tenth of its generation mix in line with recent output falls.

US biofuel credit (RIN) values only slightly dropped on Thursday morning following a report that the EPA will keep Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) biofuel volumes steady for the next two years.

Initiative just one of several after Overton parish council declared a climate emergency in 2019

A Hampshire village has launched a scheme to replace all disposable cups in their village with a reusable mug that will be free for users with a simple £1 deposit.

The Overton cup will be available in all the shops and cafes along Overton’s high street, including the greengrocer, “who does a lovely soup from his leftover vegetables”, according to Alison Zarecky, chair of Sustainable Overton. Customers pay their deposit (plus another £1 if they want a lid, which are non-returnable) and then return the cup once it’s been used to any deposit point in the village.

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Federal energy and emissions reduction minister says he will not drive an electric vehicle.

The post Angus Taylor: “I’m not driving an electric car” appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Native shorebirds and caribou among species at risk as survival strategies are upended

A drastic drop in caribou and shorebird populations is a reflection of the dire changes unfolding on the Arctic tundra, according to a new report from the Arctic Council.

The terrestrial Arctic spans approximately 2.7m sq miles (7m sq km), marked by extreme cold, drought, strong winds and seasonal darkness. Species living in this environment have adapted to thrive in the harsh conditions. But the climate crisis has upended such survival strategies, according to the State of the Arctic Terrestrial Biodiversity report, published by the council’s Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna (Caff) working group.

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Financial services firms DBS and Standard Chartered, the Singapore Exchange, and Singaporean government-owned investment company Temasek on Thursday announced plans for a new exchange for the global voluntary carbon market.

Greens/EFA MEPs will seek to establish a carbon price floor and additional measures to stabilise prices under the much-anticipated EU ETS reform kicking off in mid-July, two EU lawmakers said Thursday.

New Zealand will use future revenue from its quarterly sales of carbon allowances under its emissions trading scheme towards investing in projects that will further cut greenhouse gases, the government said Thursday as part of its annual budget.

Leading credit ratings agency warns Snowy Hydro still faces significant credit risk, even after $600m of taxpayer funds to build a gas plant.

The post S&P says taxpayer handout for gas plant won’t solve Snowy’s financial pressures appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Energy start-up Verdant Earth Technologies says it has figured out a way of using biomass to produce hydrogen and help firm the grid.

The post Could biomass become a renewable peaking fuel? This man is counting on it appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Ampol to trial green hydrogen production and solar and storage to cut emissions at its service centres, but not from the petrol it sells.

The post Ampol to trial green hydrogen production and Tesla battery VPP at outlets appeared first on RenewEconomy.

They overlook a vast body of evidence that crown fire – the most extreme type of fire behaviour in which tree canopies burn - is more likely in logged native forests. Philip Zylstra, Adjunct Associate Professor at Curtin University, Honorary Fellow at University of Wollongong, University of Wollongong Grant Wardell-Johnson, Associate Professor, Environmental Biology, Curtin University James Watson, Professor, The University of Queensland Michelle Ward, PhD Candidate, The University of Queensland Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Government owned utilities like Snowy Hydro should be leading the clean energy transition, not acting as a handbrake.

The post Government-owned firms like Snowy Hydro can do better than building $600 million gas plants appeared first on RenewEconomy.