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European carbon prices on Friday clawed back much of the previous session's losses as strong demand in the final auction of the week before a reduced programme next week triggered more short-covering, sources said, while energy markets continued to weaken.

Land equivalent to an area half the size of Australia has been abandoned over the past five decades, though policymakers and conservationists have spent little time trying to understand how that impacts biodiversity and how such territory can contribute to the world meeting its targets under the Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF), according to research published this week.

Astronomers have discovered what they believe to be the largest explosion ever detected.

Allowance prices in China’s national emissions market edged up over the past week amid sustained liquidity, though bearish sentiment lingers as participants are still awaiting more guidance from the government.

Chemicals yield profit of about $4bn a year for the world’s biggest PFAS manufacturers, Belgium-based NGO found

The societal cost of using toxic PFAS or “forever chemicals” across the global economy totals about $17.5tn annually, a new analysis of the use of the dangerous compounds has found.

Meanwhile, the chemicals yield comparatively paltry profits for the world’s largest PFAS manufacturers – about $4bn annually.

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A US-headquartered offset developer has teamed up with a Shell subsidiary to finance one of the largest household energy efficiency lighting projects in the world, the company announced on Friday.

The best of this week’s wildlife photographs, including a pollinating bee, injured owls and a pelican hungry for ice-cream

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Until now, a limitation of records of past fires is that these have come from sediments laid down in lakes and bogs. Records for dryland regions have been lacking, but dune deposits can fill the gap. Nicholas R Patton, Postdoctoral Researcher, Integrated Terrain Analysis Program, Desert Research Institute James Shulmeister, Adjunct Professor, University of Queensland, and Professor and Head of School of Earth and Environment, University of Canterbury Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Businesses that put together bids for flood doors, non-return valves and waterproof floors say they have spent tens of thousands

A £50m scheme to protect thousands of homes from flooding by the autumn has been pulled by the Environment Agency.

Businesses that put together bids for the scheme to provide homes in England with flood defences including flood doors, non-return valves and waterproof floors, say they have spent tens of thousands preparing their bids.

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Surely we want to encourage more storage and firming, so we why don’t we have a NEM-wide policy like the LRET?

The post Australia needs a lot more four-hour batteries – but first we need the right policies appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Early stage plans to develop a 26 turbine wind farm in the NSW Riverina region have been dumped by developer Windlab.

The post “No Twiggy Turbines:” Locals celebrate after Windlab dumps NSW wind project appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Airborne ‘lidar’ survey would generate 3D map of the country and provide high-quality information on its ecosystems

Scotland may conduct an annual airborne laser scan of the country’s landscapes to monitor the health of its forest, peatlands and natural ecosystems, the Guardian can reveal.

The Scottish government is weighing up the benefits of annual 3D imaging flights to provide regular data on nature restoration across the temperate rainforests of the west coast to the peaks of the Cairngorms, akin to an annual CT scan for biodiversity.

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Draconian new powers allow the police to shut down every form of effective protest. It’s a green light for even greater abuses

The more unequal a society becomes, the more oppressive its laws must be. This, I think, explains new acts that would not be out of place in a police state. So vague and broad are the powers granted to the police under last year’s Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act and this year’s Public Order Act that it is no longer clear where their abuse begins and ends.

At two o’clock on the morning of the coronation, the Metropolitan police, using the Police Act, arrested three people in Soho for carrying rape alarms. The police claimed they were acting on intelligence that rape alarms might be used to frighten the horses that would later be parading elsewhere.

George Monbiot is a Guardian columnist

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South Australia and Victoria will be the first states to hold auctions for storage under the new Capacity Investment Scheme.

The post South Australia and Victoria to host first auctions under Capacity Investment Scheme appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Fortescue offers glimpse of Australia's first hydrogen electrolyser factory, which is undergoing a fit out to get ready for first production.

The post Fortescue offers first glimpse of Australia’s first hydrogen electrolyser factory appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Australia's plan to get its economy to net zero by 2050 is a laudable goal. But it has been hijacked by people huffing hydrogen hopium.

The post The net zero fallacy: How Australia’s renewables projections got so absurd appeared first on RenewEconomy.

The steel sector's green transition has shifted the industry's focus to the emerging high-grade market by further exploring magnetite iron ore.

The post Why magnetite will be crucial to Australia’s green steel transition appeared first on RenewEconomy.

William Todts, the head of Transport and Environment, on the accelerating EV transition in Europe. Plus: Australia to have a new biggest battery.

The post Energy Insiders Podcast: EVs and big batteries on the march appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Australia has opened a third pilot exit window for carbon abatement contract (CAC) holders with the Emissions Reductions Fund (ERF) to sell their Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs) on the secondary market, the Clean Energy Regulator announced Friday.

Coalition is digging deeper into its nuclear fantasy and takes another swipe at battery storage and transmission links.

The post Coalition goes nuclear again as Dutton compares big batteries to pink batts appeared first on RenewEconomy.