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A prototype deep sea mining machine is lying stranded on the floor of the Pacific Ocean.

Utility RWE reported a 33.5% year-on-year rise in its EU ETS-covered thermal generation in Q1, the company said on Wednesday, boosting the carbon demand of one of the market’s biggest buyers.

Australian scientists say shading reef and controlling coral-eating starfish can only be effective if strong action is taken to reduce emissions

Shading corals and deploying more heat-resistant species across the Great Barrier Reef on an as-yet untested scale could buy the world heritage site another two decades, according to a study led by Australian government scientists.

The scientists said combining “life support” interventions such as cloud brightening – which involves spraying sea water to make low-altitude clouds more reflective – with better management of a coral-eating starfish could help delay “precipitous declines” caused by global heating.

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Michael Collins stayed in orbit as Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walked on the Moon in 1969.

The British government on Wednesday set out the eligibility criteria for participation in its carbon allowance auctions, which are scheduled to kick off next month.

The EU’s objective to go beyond net zero emissions after 2050 highlights the need for a policy on carbon removals, as the European Commission prepares two key legislative proposals to compensate for and certify carbon sinks.

Glacier melt contributing more to sea-level rise than loss of Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets, say experts

The melting of the world’s glaciers has nearly doubled in speed over the past 20 years and contributes more to sea-level rise than either the Greenland or Antarctic ice sheets, according to the most comprehensive global study of ice rivers ever undertaken.

Scientists say human-driven global heating is behind the accelerating loss of high-altitude and high-latitude glaciers, which will affect coastal regions across the planet and create boom-and-bust flows of meltwater for the hundreds of millions of people who live downstream of these “natural water towers”.

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EUAs extended their all-time high on Wednesday, breaking above €48 amid rising energy prices, surging investor interest, and as buyers approached their last possible moment to cover 2020 compliance.

A $40/tonne carbon price and a bump in variable renewable energy capacity could shave a quarter off CO2 emissions from Thailand’s power sector by the end of the decade, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA).

Environmental groups claim planned Suffolk power station will devastate marine life and key bird habitat

More than 500 million fish, including protected species, could be sucked into the cooling system of a proposed £20bn nuclear power plant in Suffolk if construction goes ahead, environmental campaigners say.

A local campaign group, Together Against Sizewell C (Tasc), claims the subsequent deaths of millions of fish is “inhumane and unacceptable” and flies in the face of the government’s green agenda. Also opposing the development, the bird conservation group RSPB expressed concern over predicted levels of fish loss on the marine birds that feed on them.

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Another planned huge coal-fired power plant in Japan was put to rest this week as the government’s more ambitious climate policy and overall dubious market outlook for fossil fuels put the country on a lower-carbon path.

Expedition spent 24 days clearing 10 miles of shoreline in Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, collecting 94,472lb marine debris

In a span of just over three weeks, more than 47 tons of plastic waste were removed from America’s largest protected marine reserve, sometimes directly off animals, a stark reminder of the scourge of plastic pollution in the world’s oceans.

Related: Idaho bill seeks to kill more than 1,000 wolves

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Australia’s Clean Energy Regulator is moving forward with plans to set up an exchange for Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs), in a bid to boost transparency and cut costs as the nation’s voluntary carbon market expands.

Unfounded claims do not reflect president’s proposals to tackle global heating, which make no mention of meat consumption

At a major summit hosted by Joe Biden last week, a procession of world leaders fretted over the spiraling dangers of the climate crisis, with some pledging further cuts to planet-heating emissions, others touting their embrace of electric cars and a few vowing the end of coal.

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New research claims AEMC has made an error in calculations that, once corrected, would make the impact of its proposed solar export charge much worse than originally projected.

The post Rooftop solar tax could bite twice as hard as was modelled, says report appeared first on RenewEconomy.

As the energy market awaits the Energy Security Board's proposed reforms, some in the industry believe large incumbent players have received an early drop.

The post Has the coal lobby got the early drop on key energy market reforms? appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Don’t be alarmed if you spot one in your compost heap, they are harmless, except to pests like slugs

If it looks like a snake but blinks, it is a slow worm: Anguis fragilis. That is the helpful hint for the squeamish who might worry about the appearance of a greyish brown or black legless lizard in their garden compost heap. Your reaction should be delight, as slow worms are entirely harmless and a gardener’s friend; they eat slow-moving prey like slugs and other garden pests.

They are the most likely of Britain’s reptiles to be found in gardens but like any damp and boggy place on the edge of woodland or in tufty grasslands. They are most numerous in Wales and the West Country but can appear anywhere in Britain although populations can be patchy.

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MPs say Treasury has not set out how tax system will help UK meet target to cut emissions

The Treasury cannot explain how it will manage declines in tax revenues worth £37bn from fossil fuels as the UK shifts to a clean economy, MPs have warned.

A report from the influential parliamentary public accounts committee also warned that the Treasury had not set out how the tax system was going to help the government meet the target to cut emissions to “net zero” by 2050.

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Rooftop solar hits record share of generation in WA, as gas and wind output fall due to more renewables and a higher number of outages.

The post Rooftop solar hits record 65.2% generation in WA as installation rush continues appeared first on RenewEconomy.

It’s official: Australia will soon have its own fully-fledged carbon market as Clean Energy Regulator kick starts creation of carbon exchange.

The post Australia is about to get its first proper carbon market, will save business $100m appeared first on RenewEconomy.