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UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has backed calls for urgent action to transform the global financial system in a bid to ease the deepening debt distress while putting poor nations in a better position to handle critical issues such as climate change and nature loss.

The 21-year-old Iraqi, who lived by a smoke-choked oilfield, died of cancer before he got to address the fossil fuel giant’s shareholders. His message must be heard

Ali Hussein Jaloud, a 21-year-old Iraqi who lives next to one of BP’s biggest oilfields, was meant to ask a question at the company’s annual shareholder meeting today. He was going to challenge the CEO on why his company continues to poison his neighbourhood with cancer-causing pollution. But, just a few days ago, Ali died of a form of leukaemia that has been linked to chemicals released by the burning of fossil fuels. His grieving father will ask why BP did not use its vast profits to help save his life.

Over the past two years, my fellow investigator Owen Pinnell and I got to know Ali while making a documentary for BBC News Arabic, Under Poisoned Skies, which revealed the deadly impact of gas flaring in southern Iraq, including at BP’s Rumaila oilfield where Ali lives, surrounded by oil company-patrolled checkpoints. We also found out that Rumaila has more gas flaring than any other oilfield in the world.

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Less food is falling to dimly lit waters, home to specially adapted marine life – but emissions cuts would stem decline

Life in the ocean’s twilight zone is expected to face dramatic declines and even extinction as seas warm and less food reaches the dimly lit waters, a study has found.

The twilight zone lies between 200 metres and 1,000 metres below the surface and is home to a variety of organisms and animals, including specially adapted fish such as lantern sharks and kite fin sharks, which have huge eyes and glowing, bio-luminescent skin.

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A climate policy steel group with members across the industry’s entire supply chain has released a draft global standard to measure and report emissions from steelmaking, it was announced.

China's Guangdong province has released a set of draft work guidelines for bank loans using carbon emissions allowances as collateral, as a starting point to explore the broader potential of carbon finance.

Singapore and Cambodia have signed a memorandum of understanding to develop a framework by the year’s end to allow the trading of correspondingly adjusted Article 6 carbon credits under the Paris Agreement as a way to help the two countries meet their NDCs.

The public and private sectors along with financial institutions and NGOs must coordinate efforts to enable implementation and investment in nature-based solutions to help stave off the threat of global water shortage, according to analysts.

A German over-the-counter energy trading platform on Thursday launched an EU ETS allowance marketplace for industrial firms that do not have direct access to exchanges or daily auctions.

There’s more to sustainability than net zero. Using green ammonia for fuel and as a way to transport hydrogen could add to nitrogen pollution that already exceeds safe planetary boundaries. Jamin Wood, PhD Candidate, Australian Centre for Water and Environmental Biotechnology, The University of Queensland Bernardino Virdis, Senior Researcher, Australian Centre for Water and Environmental Biotechnology, The University of Queensland Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

The spot NZU price fell by NZ$2.50, or 4.1%, on Thursday following the Climate Change Commission recommending a major overhaul of the ETS to align it with the country’s emission reduction goals.

Climate models are indicating Australia may be hit by a 'super El Niño' before the end of the year. After three years of La Niña and above-average rainfall, Australia is now looking at a hot, dry El Niño period. The last extreme El Niño in 2016 helped push global temperatures to the highest on record, underpinned by human-caused global heating that sparked floods, droughts and disease outbreaks. But what exactly is an El Niño and how do they work? Matilda Boseley explains

• Climate models warn of possible ‘super El Niño’ before end of year

• The next El Niño: when is it coming and how strong might this one be for Australia?

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Property Council of Australia and Green Building Council set out policy recommendations to get Australia’s buildings net-zero ready, and save consumers money.

The post Report calls for national standards on building energy efficiency, electrification appeared first on RenewEconomy.

NSW has chosen its preferred consortium to build and operate the state's first renewable energy zone, which might come as a surprise to the local DNSP.

The post NSW chooses preferred network operator for first renewable energy zone appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Region is suffering its worst drought in 40 years after five consecutive years of below-average rainfall

The devastating drought in the Horn of Africa would not have happened without the human-made impact of the climate crisis, new science has shown.

The drought has affected about 50 million people in the Horn of Africa directly and another 100 million in the wider area. About 20 million people are at risk of acute food insecurity and potentially famine.

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The UK's major pension firms vote against BP's chair after the company cut its climate ambitions.

Australia's most successful renewable and storage developer says projects getting more complex, and new technologies require change in "philosophy" about way grid is managed.

The post “Change of philosophy:” Wind, solar and battery projects get bigger and more complex appeared first on RenewEconomy.

South Korea has outlined broad plans to introduce a certification system for clean hydrogen, covering the setting of standards and providing incentives to enable low-carbon hydrogen to contribute to the country’s long-term climate policy goals.

Victoria launches market search for large-scale renewables generation and/or storage project to kickstart its revival of the State Electricity Commission.

The post Victoria’s new public energy utility begins search for first renewables and storage deal appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Louis de Sambucy, the head of Neoen in Australia, on why wind, solar and battery projects are getting bigger and more complex.

The post Energy Insiders Podcast: In love with wind, solar and batteries appeared first on RenewEconomy.

SEA Electric’s Tony Fairweather on electric trucks. Plus: Battery breakthroughs, Tesla’s big new game plan, and Australia’s EV strategy.

The post The Driven Podcast: Australia’s most successful electric truck company appeared first on RenewEconomy.