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A summary of legislative and regulatory action on carbon pricing, clean fuel standards, and clean energy at the US subnational and federal level this week, including developments in Illinois, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey.

EUAs briefly dropped below €48 on Friday after a weak auction and as traders adopt a more cautious outlook for the coming month following the passing of the end-April ETS compliance deadline.

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Study finds more relatively warm water is reaching Thwaites glacier than was previously understood

An Antarctic glacier larger than the UK is at risk of breaking up after scientists discovered more warm water flowing underneath it than previously thought.

The fate of Thwaites – nicknamed the doomsday glacier – and the massive west Antarctic ice sheet it supports are the biggest unknown factors in future global sea level rise.

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There are ambitious new goals in the US and UK. But governments also need to decarbonise the economy and rethink how it’s planned

Last week was a critical time in the global response to the climate emergency: the US vowed to cut its emissions by at least 50% by 2030, while the UK government committed to reducing emissions by 78% by 2035, relative to a 1990 baseline. Both announcements were important steps that reflected the significance of one particular tool in climate governance: the target. From the legally binding targets in the UK’s Climate Change Act (2008) to those of the 2015 Paris agreement, targets define a sense of direction and signpost of ambition. Alone, however, targets are not enough. We need more than just targets to transition to a post-carbon future. We need planning.

Despite what free-market economists may suggest, markets are not “free”, nor do they emerge spontaneously. They are created and sustained by governments, laws and political institutions, which plan how they operate and whose interests they serve. What’s more, the global economy, far from being organised by the anarchy of competition, is itself structured by institutions with vast planning power. Targets may dominate the headlines, but it’s these institutions of planning that are central to the climate struggle.

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Three claimants in their 20s say their rights to life have been breached because of inadequate roadmap to solve emergency

The UK is being taken to court by three young people who claim their human rights are being breached by the government’s failure to act decisively on the climate crisis.

Adetola Stephanie Onamade, Marina Tricks and Jerry Amokwandoh, all students in their early 20s, will on Saturday ask for a judicial review of government actions to cut national carbon emissions.

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The European Commission is not ruling out presenting its EU climate package in July as it is still finalising work on a number of policy proposals, a senior EU official said Thursday, which may delay by several weeks proposals including the review of the bloc’s carbon market.

A study of likes on the photo-sharing app has (perhaps surprisingly) deemed the Australian and south-east Asian native ‘most aesthetically appealing’

If someone were to ask what the most “Instagrammable” bird in the world would be, it’s unlikely that the frogmouth – whose main aesthetic goal is to look like a jagged tree branch – would be front of mind.

But it seems science says otherwise, the dishevelled looking Australian and south-east Asian native taking out the top spot in a study from Germany’s University Hospital Jena, which aimed to see which bird species reigned supreme on the photo-sharing app.

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Eating fewer animal products and less dairy would make a huge difference to carbon emissions

Something is cooking in the world of climate politics. Or, perhaps more accurately, something isn’t.

This week, the American recipe website Epicurious announced that, for environmental reasons, it wouldn’t publish any new beef recipes. No more steaks, burgers or creative ways with mince; no more juicy rib. Since about 15% of global greenhouse gas emissions come from livestock farming, with beef responsible for nearly two thirds of those, it wanted to help home cooks do their bit.

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A small release of water for the environment from Menindee Lakes will begin this week to give young fish living in the lower Darling/Baaka an extra helping hand.

ESB market reform proposals raise concerns about emissions, consumer outcomes, and the lingering issues over the payment for grid connections.

The post Reaction: Emissions the unspoken ‘elephant in the room’ in ESB reform package appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Morrison government plans to use taxpayer funds to build a new gas plant has been met with a frosty reception by local business and the energy market.

The post Hunter Valley businesses say they don’t want Coalition’s gas plant appeared first on RenewEconomy.

California regulator ARB repeatedly pushed back against researchers’ conclusions that the state’s forestry offset protocol allows for inaccurate baseline levels and developers to utilise those loopholes to inflate credit issuances, according to responses published by the agency on Thursday.

Imagine constantly living with mice. When you go to sleep they run across your bed, the stench of dead mice fills the street. As an expert on mouse outbreaks, let's look at the issue in more detail. Steve Henry, Research Officer, CSIRO Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Kerry Schott joins Energy Insiders to discuss the proposed options for the energy market reform, and why coal generators are not viable, and may need support.

The post Transcript: Energy Insiders interview with ESB chair Kerry Schott appeared first on RenewEconomy.

The 20th April 2021 marked completion of the first wind turbine foundation for the Esperance Renewable Energy Project being constructed by juwi Australia on behalf of project owner Contract Powe

The post First wind turbine foundation completed at the Esperance Renewable Energy Hub appeared first on RenewEconomy.

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US-based carbon offset developer C-Quest Capital announced the final leg of a programme to deploy clean cookstoves across Sub-Saharan Africa on Wednesday, signing a voluntary emissions reduction (VER) offtake deal with oil major BP.