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EU carbon prices dropped below key technical levels on Monday morning as the approaching end of the annual compliance cycle has begun to depress industrial demand, though some analysts saw potential for a last-minute rush of buying in the next two days.

Tory MPs call for ministers, not watchdog, to make decisions on sites of special scientific interest

Senior Conservative MPs have suggested the nature watchdog Natural England should be stripped of powers in an overhaul of how it manages England’s best wildlife sites, after complaints from landowners.

Wildlife experts have said it is “outrageous” that sites of special scientific interest (SSSIs), which are some of the most important areas for nature in the country, could be “determined by politics rather than science”.

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An Australian news website specialising in domestic climate and carbon policies this month ceased publication and has begun contacting subscribers for refund arrangements.

China’s top independent power producers (IPPs) stand to benefit from moderating coal prices over the next twelve months, lifting their credit profiles and enabling them to be better placed to execute China’s energy transition goals, research from a ratings service has found.

Instead of yanking products, agency required industry to add more instructions to labels before re-approving dicamba, lawsuit claims

The US Environmental Protection Agency has effectively ignored a 2020 federal court order prohibiting the use of Monsanto and other producers’ toxic dicamba-based herbicides that are destroying millions of acres of cropland, harming endangered species and increasing cancer risks for farmers, new fillings in the lawsuit charge.

Instead of permanently yanking the products from the market after the 2020 order, the EPA only required industry to add further application instructions to the herbicides’ labels before re-approving the products.

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South Korea is calling for proposals for international demonstration projects in order to kickstart its participation in the Partis Agreement carbon market.

Diane Wilson took on Formosa Plastics and won a $50m settlement to help clean up decades worth of toxic plastic waste

Grassroots activists who took on British mining giants and a serial plastics polluter – and won – are among this year’s recipients of the world’s most prestigious environmental prize.

The environmental campaigns led by the six 2023 Goldman prize winners highlight the hurdles faced by some local activists, who are often on the frontlines confronting the toxic mix of corporate greed and systemic corruption that is fuelling the climate emergency, biodiversity collapse and increasingly forced displacement.

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Construction waste is a big chunk of the rubbish Australia generates; recycling it creates an equivalent emissions sink.

The post CEFC spends $75 million on recycling and cutting emissions from rubbish appeared first on RenewEconomy.

A research team has discovered a parasite that’s been killing off sea urchins, but there’s no method to eliminate it yet

Marine biologists at a Florida university say they have solved the mystery of a mass die-off of long-spined sea urchins from the US to the Caribbean.

The scientists blame a microscopic, single-cell parasite for the die-off, which took hold early last year. Affected Diadema antillarum urchins lose their spines and suction, then succumb to disease.

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Mini wind was once a real contender before cheap solar stole the show; the owner of the latest iteration hopes this proves its viability.

The post NBN turns to micro wind turbines in search for power for remote sites appeared first on RenewEconomy.

FFI produces hydrogen electrolyser prototype as it gears up to begin production at Gladstone factory, and eyes five global hydrogen projects.

The post Fortescue produces its first Australian made hydrogen electrolyser prototype appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Labor has signalled Australia is back on climate change. If so, why aren’t we telling the world? Wesley Morgan, Research Fellow, Griffith Asia Institute, Griffith University James Bowen, Policy Fellow, The University of Western Australia Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

AGL Energy on Monday began its phased shut down of the 52-year-old Liddell coal fired power station, as the price of Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCU) slipped amid limited trading.

German ministries argue over whether planned 22GW of solar should be installed in fields or meadows, or rooftops, sealed areas and "rewetted moors"

The post Germany’s Green-led ministries quarrel over using farm land for solar arrays appeared first on RenewEconomy.

National energy market volatility is increasing as more renewables, but mainly rooftop solar, continues to enter.

The post Know your NEM: Whistling for more as wind and solar eat into gas and coal share appeared first on RenewEconomy.

The current growth rates of solar alone will see the global energy sector decarbonised by mid-century.

The post Solar is a runaway global success, and Australia is showing the way forward appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Dirty air causes premature death of at least 1,200 children across Europe every year, says European Environment Agency

Europe is failing its children when it comes to air pollution, exposing nearly all children across the continent to air that falls below healthy standards and delaying the clean-up of the sources of pollution, research has found.

Breathing dirty air causes the premature death of at least 1,200 children across Europe each year, and many thousands more are afflicted with physical and mental health problems that could have lifelong impacts, according to the latest assessment of air pollution by the European Environment Agency.

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First of the last three units at Australia's oldest coal generator shut down on Monday morning.

The post AGL shuts down first of last three units at Liddell, Australia’s oldest coal generator appeared first on RenewEconomy.

There is a chasm between what advocates say new transmission links will do in western Victoria and what it will actually do - turn it into an electrical “parking lot”. 

The post Put up a parking lot: Why these new transmission projects will fail wind and solar appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Research on societal change should feature more strongly in the IPCC’s climate assessments. Because without a significant shift in behaviour, the emissions curve will not bend downwards. Ralph Sims, Emeritus Professor, Energy and Climate Mitigation, Massey University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.