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The first comprehensive audit of marine life around Australia, deploying an army of volunteer research divers alongside scientists, has revealed southern reefs are suffering the most. Graham Edgar, Senior Marine Ecologist, Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, University of Tasmania Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

The full costs – and risks – of hydrogen blending should be understood, and a strong case for its benefits proven, before consumers are asked to fund it.

The post Why blending hydrogen into the gas supply is still just a pipe dream appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Members of the European Parliament expressed concerns on Wednesday about the risks of greenwashing linked to carbon farming, during a public hearing with experts.

Global tech giants are continuing to support the nascent voluntary carbon removals market, with Microsoft and Google on Wednesday both announcing investment and initiatives.

EUA prices are likely to rise in the coming two years as utilities catch up on forward hedging following last year's energy crisis, magnifying the impact of a supply shortfall as the market begins to anticipate the impact of cuts in free allocation, according to executives at a European investment firm.

EU proposals to tackle greenwashing launched on Wednesday would force companies active in the bloc to disclose where they acquire their carbon credits and whether the units are backed by recognised methodologies, seeking to open up the little-regulated voluntary carbon market (VCM).

Almost all sampled cookstove projects have been given low scores by a carbon credit rating agency, echoing an academic report that claimed rife over-crediting even as proponents said the work mischaracterised current practices and downplayed other benefits.

Increasing ocean temperatures present ‘existential threat’ with knock-on effects for ecosystems and commercial fisheries, researchers say

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More than 500 common species of fish, seaweed, coral and invertebrates that live on reefs around Australia have declined in the past decade, a study has found, as experts warn “not all is well in the ocean”.

Global heating was likely the main driver of the falls, with marine heatwaves and a rise in ocean temperatures hitting species that live on rocky and coral reefs.

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A total of more than $63 billion was raised from the sale of carbon allowances across 28 emission trading systems (ETS) in 2022, according to a report published Wednesday, with soaring prices in the EU's carbon market driving revenues to a new record.

The Australian Museum’s new multimedia exhibition, The Birds of Australia, traces the journey of the 19th-century naturalist and ornithologist John Gould and his wife, illustrator Elizabeth Gould, as they travelled through New South Wales and recorded the unique birdlife, identifying hundreds of species new to western science

• The Guardian and Birdlife Australia’s bird of the year returns later in 2023
• The common and scientific names in brackets reflect the current taxonomy

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Dutch authorities try to tempt out animals, which dig setts under quiet and raised train embankments

Leaves on the tracks, signal failures and strikes can all cause train delay headaches, but commuters in the Netherlands are facing railway havoc caused by badgers burrowing under the lines, with authorities struggling to tempt the protected animals out.

In the densely populated country, there is limited natural space for the country’s 7,000 badgers. They often dig out their homes, or setts, under relatively “quiet” train embankments, which are ideally situated away from people and also slightly raised, which prevents the sett from flooding.

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World Bank among those urging levy to fund climate action in developing world and encourage fleets to upgrade

Pressure is growing on the international shipping industry to accept a carbon levy on ships that would fund climate action in the developing world, with the World Bank among those pushing for the measure at a crucial international meeting this week, the Guardian has learned.

A levy on the greenhouse gas emissions produced from shipping would encourage companies to upgrade their fleets, run them more efficiently and seek cleaner fuels and technologies.

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European benchmark carbon prices gyrated around the key €90 level for most of Wednesday morning as traders eyed the expiry of the March options contract early in the afternoon, though some weakness was seen after exchange data showed a sharp reduction in investment funds' long positioning last week.

The voluntary market for biodiversity credits is emerging on the back of increased pressure on corporations to report on their impact on nature and set their own targets, but government regulations can help drive demand and ensure a well-functioning market that buyers can trust, according to the Commonwealth Bank.

Funnel of south-westerly winds help push birds towards Irish coast and UK mainland as far north as Scotland

An “unprecedented” influx of alpine swifts has been reported by birdwatchers across Britain and Ireland.

Dozens of these migrating birds, which usually fly thousands of miles from sub-Saharan west Africa to southern Europe to breed at this time of year, have been spotted around the Irish coast as well as in parts of Wales, England and even as far north as Scotland.

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Authors of paper accepted for publication in Harvard Environmental Law Review argue firms are ‘killing members of the public at an accelerating rate’

Oil companies have come under increasing legal scrutiny and face allegations of defrauding investors, racketeering, and a wave of other lawsuits. But a new paper argues there’s another way to hold big oil accountable for climate damage: trying companies for homicide.

The striking and seemingly radical legal theory is laid out in a paper accepted for publication in the Harvard Environmental Law Review. In it, the authors argue fossil fuel companies “have not simply been lying to the public, they have been killing members of the public at an accelerating rate, and prosecutors should bring that crime to the public’s attention”.

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A province holding three-quarters of the peatland in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has signed a jurisdictional nested REDD+ agreement with a Singapore-headquartered project developer.

The New Zealand government has launched a new review of its emissions trading scheme to figure out if and what changes are needed to encourage business to transition away from fossil fuels and support GHG removals.

A French-headquartered global energy firm has penned a long-term deal to buy up to 11.5 million carbon credits sourced from projects in Cambodia and Bangladesh, which the parties in the deal said was the first major sale of offsets using the Gold Standard’s digital verification methodology.

Despite billions spent on the humanitarian response, Somalia faces another year of drought and hunger. We desperately need money, but it needs to be better spent

In Somalia, we are climate-vulnerable, yet we barely contribute to climate emissions. If we are to cope, we need justice in the form of financing.

We’ve seen droughts, but never six consecutive failed rainy seasons. We’ve known displacement, but never 3 million internally displaced people. We were at the brink of famine in October last year, we narrowly averted it, and we’re facing similar conditions today, with 8.3 million people needing urgent assistance.

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