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European Parliament Roberta Metsola stressed the need to respect the EU legislative process on Thursday, the first day of a two-day EU leaders' summit held amid tensions over Germany’s last minute refusal to back an already done-deal on an EU ban of the internal combustion engine car sales by 2035.

Carbon credits from the Paris Agreement's Article 6.4 mechanism could be issued next year if the supervisory body and the secretariat of the UNFFCC get into gear, the President and CEO of the International Emissions Trading Association (IETA) told Carbon Pulse on Thursday.

Reducing gas use in our homes will help avoid energy price hikes. But where is the best place to start? Rachel Goldlust, Adjunct Research Fellow, School of Archaeology and History, La Trobe University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

A unit of utility Engie has deepened its partnership with a data-driven startup certifier, aiming to accelerate the use of climate finance in the off-grid sector in sub-Saharan Africa through issuing and selling carbon credits to the voluntary market.

Depressed levels of carbon hedging by EU utilities in 2022, mainly due to the energy crisis, may well continue with a shaky macroeconomic picture further weakening in recent weeks, expectations of lower power sector emissions in 2023 and beyond, and the risk of gas supply shortages later in the year.

Carbon project certifier Gold Standard will look to credit the early phaseout of coal power plants and their replacement with renewables, according to a proposed methodology concept published Thursday. 

Exclusive: People left to ‘swim in filth’ as Environment Agency turns down applications, say Lib Dems

Most applications for bathing water status to clean up rivers and coastal waters in England have been rejected by the government in the last 14 months, according to new data from the Liberal Democrats.

Local groups have been working for months to create bathing water areas, where the Environment Agency is forced to undertake more rigorous testing for faecal bacteria. Grassroots groups are focusing on inland waters in particular, in a push to stop the discharge of raw sewage by water companies and force a clean-up of English rivers, which all fail tests for chemical and biological pollution.

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The law has changed to allow the commercial development and sale of gene-edited food in England.

Gene-edited food can now be developed and sold in England, but not in the rest of the UK.

Fatal bloodstream illnesses driven by urinary tract infections could rise, warn scientists as research shows link to food-borne bacteria

Meat bacteria are the likely cause of over half a million urinary tract infections (UTIs) in the US every year, a new study has found, with one of its authors warning that deaths from UTI-driven bloodstream infections could be on the rise.

The study found that of the 6-8m UTIs caused by E coli bacteria in the US every year, between 480,000 and 640,000 could be linked to strains known as FZECs, or food-borne zoonotic E coli. Women are far more likely than men to suffer from UTIs. The British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy (BSAC) estimates that about half of all women in the UK will have at least one UTI in their lifetime.

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Report says methane emissions from fossil fuel facilities will make up about 70% of total emissions budget covered under Safeguard Mechanism, raising new questions over its integrity.

The post “Criminally irresponsible:” Report finds methane bomb buried in Safeguard design appeared first on RenewEconomy.

EU carbon prices rose strongly on Thursday morning as sustained buying after Wednesday's expiry of the March options contract and continued compliance buying drove the market to its most in eight days, while energy markets were also stronger amid an improvement in macro sentiment.

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).

The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) has partnered with a technology platform that aims to rally the global gaming industry to join forces to protect nature in a 2023 event focusing on wildlife.

A group of six African and Latin American nations on Thursday officially launched the Freshwater Challenge, an initiative to restore 300,000 km of rivers and 350 million hectares of wetlands by the end of the decade.

Being part of the People’s Plan for Nature, it was illuminating to see how people could reach consensus

The People’s Plan for Nature, launched on Thursday, sets out the public’s recommendations for reversing massive declines in Britain’s nature. One hundred people were invited to come together, in a citizens’ assembly, to agree on a plan for how to renew and protect nature. Their recommendations include calls for access to nature to be a human right, the urgent restoration of rivers, transparency from supermarkets and a cross-party commitment to farming for nature. One of the assembly members, Sara Hudston, here shares her views on taking part in the process.

I first heard of the People’s Plan for Nature early last autumn, but I didn’t intend to take part because I thought it looked too simplistic. It began with a national callout for ideas about how nature might be renewed, which I felt lacked urgency and wasn’t enough given the scale of biodiversity loss in the UK.

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The EU needs a dedicated funding mechanism to help member states prepare and implement their national restoration plans on nature and lead the world on freshwater biodiversity, green group Nature Conservancy urged as global negotiators are gathered for the three-day UN Water Conference in New York.

Negotiators of the European Parliament and Council reached a provisional deal early Thursday morning on the FuelEU Maritime initiative, aiming to reduce the carbon footprint of the maritime sector by accelerating the deployment of sustainable fuels.

Watchdog finds PFBS toxicity value was altered in 2021 report, as scientists say episode part of ‘larger rot at the agency’

Trump administration appointees at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) meddled in agency science to weaken the toxicity assessment of a dangerous chemical, a new report by the US body’s internal watchdog has found.

In response to what it labeled “political interference”, the Biden administration in February 2021 pulled the assessment, republished it months later using what it said is sound science, and declared it had resolved the issue.

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BHP partners with Hatch to co-design an electric smelting furnace pilot plant, technology that could slash steelmaking emissions by more than 80%.

The post BHP to pilot green smelting furnace using electricity, hydrogen and Pilbara iron ore appeared first on RenewEconomy.