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A start up tech company has raised €46 million in Series B funding, a year after raising €20 mln in series A funding, for its soil carbon platform.

The EU will need to phase out fluorinated greenhouse gases (F-gases) at a steeper rate from 2039 to 2050, according to the European Parliament vote on Thursday.

EU legislators reached a provisional political agreement on Thursday to raise the share of renewable energy in the block’s overall energy consumption to 42.5% by 2030, in a compromise deal that would mean an additional 2.5% indicative top-up allowing the share to reach 45%.

A weekly summary of our biodiversity news plus bite-sized updates from around the world. All articles in this edition are free to read (no subscription required).

Creating more green areas could also save up to £40m a year in costs linked to mental health issues, say researchers

An ambitious push to create more green spaces in Barcelona – a city with one of the highest population and traffic densities in Europe – could improve the health of more than 30,000 people, reduce the use of antidepressants and save up to €45m (£40m) annually in costs associated with mental health issues, research suggests.

It builds on a growing body of evidence that has linked urban green spaces to better mental wellbeing as well as the prevention of depression, anxiety and insomnia.

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Both compliance markets and voluntary carbon markets are sufficiently resilient to withstand current macroeconomic headwinds, with experts underlining that bearish impacts of the unwinding banking crisis and rising inflation would be short-term, a conference heard on Wednesday.

I haven’t eaten octopus in years, yet being smart shouldn’t make them exceptions. All animals need protection from unnecessary suffering

The collective noun for a group of octopuses, in case you were wondering, is a consortium – not, as some wags might tell you, a seafood buffet.

I myself don’t eat octopus, and have made a lot of noise about why: they’re as smart as parrots, their brain is spread over their arms, they are many millions of years older than we are – don’t you know that, of all the species on Earth, only they and we share a high-resolution camera eye?

Elle Hunt is a freelance journalist

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New Zealand’s carbon allowance price on Thursday fell by 10% to an 18-month low, as the usual end of financial year doldrums have been compounded by cratering confidence in the market.

ACX Group has formed a partnership with a blockchain technology provider to trade forward-financed carbon credits, the Singapore-based carbon exchange announced on Thursday.

Deal between Labor government and Greens requires total emissions from big industrial sites to come down, not just be offset

Australia’s parliament has passed the country’s most significant emissions reduction legislation in more than a decade after the government won backing from Greens and independent MPs for a plan to deal with pollution from major industrial sites.

After weeks of closed-door negotiation, a deal was brokered between the Labor government and Greens, a minor party with 15 parliamentarians, that included legislating an explicit requirement that total emissions from major industrial facilities must come down, not just be offset.

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Pension fund Scottish Widows this week rolled out four new funds totalling £1.4 billion that will invest in companies seeking to help resolve nature and climate change issues.

The Australian Parliament on Thursday passed the strengthened Safeguard Mechanism, providing policy certainty to the country’s industrial sector and carbon market, however experts have emphasised the government's work to achieve its climate goals have only just begun.

UK tops all league tables for highly polluting form of travel, with a flight taking off every six minutes last year

The UK is the private jet capital of Europe, with more flights than anywhere else on the continent, analysis has found.

Last year, a private jet set off from the UK once every six minutes, putting the country ahead of the rest of Europe when it comes to the extremely polluting form of travel. Many of these journeys have been called “polluting and pointless” by Greenpeace, as they are so short they could have easily been taken by train – and in one case, cycled in 30 minutes.

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A daily summary of our news plus bite-sized updates from around the world.

When we stopped whaling, the whales recovered. But our vital kelp forests won’t return without our help Aaron Eger, Postdoctoral research fellow, UNSW Sydney Adriana Vergés, Professor in marine ecology, UNSW Sydney Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Global energy technology giant unveils its newest offering, to transform the way transmission and distribution networks operate on increasingly renewable grids.

The post Fluence targets transmission transition with grid stabilising battery Ultrastack appeared first on RenewEconomy.

European aerospace firm wins grant funding to design and test hydrogen-propelled jets capable of supersonic flight, including Sydney to Frankfurt in 4h 15m.

The post New funds to test hydrogen jet that could fly from Australia to Europe in four hours appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Melting ice could trigger a disastrous chain reaction, a new Australian study warns

The solar, battery and electrification giant – which set up shop in Australia last year – will make its own panels in Germany. Why not in Australia, too?

The post 1komma5° unveils plan to make its own solar in Germany. Could Australia be next? appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Reliability panel looks to change the definition of risk to take account of changing supply (wind and solar), changing weather, and political capital.

The post Reliability standard may be changed to cope with wind, solar and nervous ministers appeared first on RenewEconomy.