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A summary of legislative, regulatory, and policy action on carbon, clean fuel standard, and clean energy markets at the US federal and subnational levels this week, including the Vermont Senate passing amended clean heat standard legislation, the referral of a voluntary carbon credit disclosure bill in California, and the announcement of a rulemaking process for Oregon’s cap-and-reduce system.

eAgronom is bringing additional benefits to sustainable farmers via several types of projects, the main one being the Carbon Program that generates Certified Carbon Credits at the farm level.

EU nations on Friday delayed a vote planned for next week to endorse a deal on CO2 car standards amid protests from Germany, complicating what had been seen as a mere formality in a busy month of work for legislators on the bloc's climate policy.

Offset registry Climate Action Reserve (CAR) on Friday announced it will commence development of a forest carbon protocol specific to Guatemala, continuing the US-based standard’s trend of country-specific endeavours.

EU member states will be forced to allocate a portion of their EU ETS auction revenues towards key climate projects under a new industrial strategy set to be proposed by the European Commission later this month, according to a leaked draft seen by Carbon Pulse on Friday. 

Germany questions support for rules that would effectively make it impossible to sell combustion engine cars from 2035

European Union countries have delayed a planned vote next week on the bloc’s landmark law to end sales of new CO2-emitting cars in 2035 after Germany questioned its support for the rules.

No new date for the vote was given and a spokesperson for Sweden, which holds the EU’s rotating presidency, said EU countries’ ambassadors would return to the topic “in due time”.

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A rating agency has downgraded a REDD+ avoided deforestation projects in Papua New Guinea that has been in the media spotlight recently.

The government cited noise pollution and climate concerns in its decision to restrict flights.

In a knock-on effect of the European scramble to secure liquified natural gas, analysts expect key Asian economies will draw out their use of coal and oil for power generation as they prioritise security of supply, a move that could prop up global energy sector emissions for several years.

PM Rishi Sunak is warned not to go back on his pledge to re-join the EU's science research programme.

The Manager, Americas Conservation Finance, will provide technical support and leadership in financing, project management, and delivery of institutional priorities and strategies for the protection and long-term conservation of natural capital in ecosystems that are high in irrecoverable carbon and biodiversity, with a focus on the Amazonia region.

Companies prefer to use in-house due diligence before buying carbon credits and are hesitant to trust rating agencies' second hand analysis, according to a survey of market participants that identifies a potential obstacle to the scaling of the voluntary carbon market. 

Data also shows land sector will absorb more carbon than it emits from 2015 despite passage of laws that make land clearing easier

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Labor, the Greens and independent politicians have called on the New South Wales government to explain how emissions projections square with its 2050 net zero goal, after its own data showed pollution from coal and gas extending out to mid-century.

The figures, which are contained within the government’s emissions dashboard, also show the land sector growing as a sink for carbon emissions even after the government loosened land clearing laws allowing farmers to remove more vegetation.

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European carbon prices weakened for a fourth day on Friday, falling to their lowest in more than two weeks as selling activity picked up slightly amid a fifth successive day of falls in energy prices.

Royal Horticultural Society links spread of orchard infections to heatwave with trees still at risk

The UK’s fruit trees are under threat as a result of the climate crisis because plant diseases that thrive in warm weather are becoming more common.

Each year, the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) compiles a list of the most common plant diseases identified by its almost half a million members. Gardeners take pictures or samples of afflicted trees, crops or flowers and send them in to the plant pathologists, who can identify the disease.

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Natural History Museum scientists say plasticosis, which scars digestive tract, likely to affect other types of bird too

A new disease caused solely by plastics has been discovered in seabirds.

The birds identified as having the disease, named plasticosis, have scarred digestive tracts from ingesting waste, scientists at the Natural History Museum in London say.

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Delegates deplore ‘insensitivity and privilege’ of developed nations as negotiators disagree over who should benefit from marine discoveries

As UN member states gathering in New York this week to finally knock out a long-awaited treaty on the high seas announced “significant progress” with just one day left in the talks, a main stumbling block remained: how to fairly share “marine genetic resources” (MGR) and the eventual profits.

The conference president, Rena Lee of Singapore, urged delegates to “stay focused and get the job done” yesterday on the penultimate day of talks. But the contentious issue of MGR, which caused the last round of negotiations – officially called the Intergovernmental Conference on Marine Biodiversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction, or BBNJ – to fail in August, has driven a wedge between developed and developing nations.

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French President Emmanuel Macron has announced funding for a new forest protection scheme that will use scientific evidence to reward countries that are proven to have protected or restored their forests, aiming to resolve what he called an "absurd" current shortfall in funding to forest-rich nations offered by carbon crediting.

Liquidity improved in China’s emissions market over the past week, with prices moving just marginally and observers keen to know whether an upcoming political event could shed some light on the developments of carbon markets.

Independent ratings could drive higher-quality biodiversity credits and contribute to greater transparency in the fledgling market, carbon credit ratings agency BeZero said in a research note.