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Most comprehensive scientific analysis to date finds words are not matched by actions

Accusations of greenwashing against major oil companies that claim to be in transition to clean energy are well-founded, according to the most comprehensive study to date.

The research, published in a peer-reviewed scientific journal, examined the records of ExxonMobil, Chevron, Shell and BP, which together are responsible for more than 10% of global carbon emissions since 1965. The researchers analysed data over the 12 years up to 2020 and concluded the company claims do not align with their actions, which include increasing rather than decreasing exploration.

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Such a dramatic rise in extreme heat days is not inevitable. If global warming is limited to 1.5℃ this century, Western Sydney will have fewer than 17 days of 35℃ per year. Hannah Melville-Rea, Research Fellow, New York University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

The unprecedented speed at which Brussels is moving to enact its Fit for 55 climate policy package will have significant costs on EU households, panellists said at a virtual event on Wednesday, arguing that policymakers should be clearer about what this could mean for average consumers.

Opposition against a proposed second EU carbon market for buildings and transport is hardening among lawmakers, with measures seeking to kill the idea featuring strongly among the 1,600 amendments submitted ahead of a deadline on Wednesday.

EPA analysis paints grim picture for ecosystems under increasing threat from habitat destruction, invasive species and climate crisis

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The New South Wales government has admitted land clearing has increased threefold over the past decade, woodlands and grasslands are deteriorating and 62% of vegetation in the state is now under pressure from too much fire.

The NSW State of the Environment 2021 report, released every three years, paints a grim picture for land and freshwater ecosystems, which are under increasing threat from habitat destruction, invasive species and the climate crisis.

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Campaigners say Tory MP for High Wycombe is trying to ‘wreck’ government plans for environment

Constituents of Steve Baker MP who are concerned about his environmental position have set up a “Steve Baker Watch” group and are launching a crowdfunding page to raise money. The constituents in Baker’s constituency of High Wycombe in the rolling Chiltern Hills believe that Baker is trying to “wreck the government plans to improve the environment”.

Baker, who as chair of the European Research Group was instrumental in pressing for a hard Brexit, helped set up the Net Zero Scrutiny Group (NZSG), which has close links to the Global Warming Policy Foundation, a lobbyist group that has been accused of denying climate science.

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Sadiq Khan and Marvin Rees call for action as major report launched during UN Migration Week

Two of the UK’s leading mayors are calling for urgent action to prepare for mass migration to cities due to the climate emergency, as a major report into the issue launches at the UN headquarters in New York on Wednesday.

Mass migration to some of the world’s cities due to the climate emergency is already under way and the World Bank has estimated that unless significant action is taken, 216 million people could be on the move by 2050. In 2020, 30 million people were displaced due to the climate crisis, and 70% of people internally displaced due to the climate crisis are living in urban areas. The World Bank predicts that more than 1 billion people are at risk of being driven from their homes for climate-related reasons.

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A senior EU lawmaker has proposed a relaxation of the parameters for injecting additional supply to the EU ETS in the event of a price spike, one of a raft of market reform ideas MEPs put forward ahead of a deadline on Wednesday.  

Novel legal strategy argues that top schools including Princeton and Vanderbilt are legally obliged to put the public interest first

Students at five leading universities have filed legal complaints accusing their colleges of breaking a little-known law by investing in the fossil fuel companies responsible for the climate emergency.

The students from Yale, MIT, Princeton, Stanford and Vanderbilt wrote to the attorneys general of their respective states on Wednesday asking authorities to investigate breaches of the Uniform Prudent Management of Institutional Funds Act, which requires universities to invest in a manner consistent with their “charitable purposes”.

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Chinese offset developers are queueing up to kickstart new projects to benefit from rising international prices for nature-based voluntary carbon credits, but are finding it hard to secure limited available land from land-owners who would rather get involved in the domestic market.

An Australia-based carbon fund targeting the international voluntary market on Wednesday said its net asset value has almost doubled since its inception last July.

The Net Zero Scrutiny Group claim green levies are a burden, yet their own party is cutting spending on energy efficiency

Partygate has suggested that the prime minister has, shall we say, a flexible approach to the rule of law. The laws of physics, you would think, cannot be treated so carelessly – yet that is what is happening inside the Conservative party. There has been a relentless push by some MPs for the UK to abandon our climate targets and slow down, or even abandon, the transition to net zero emissions.

The goal of net zero by 2050 at the latest is not some fashionable green meme or virtue signalling by the comfortable middle classes. It is the measure we must take to keep the already painful and life-threatening impacts of climate change within the bounds of the manageable. This goal is shared not just by scientists and environmental campaigners but by 192 governments, more than 90 major banks and all of the world’s major investment managers.

Caroline Lucas is the Green MP for Brighton Pavilion

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New Zealand should consider regulations to limit the potentially huge impacts that rapidly expanding carbon forestry in the nation could have on rural communities and traditional agriculture, according to a green paper released by a former lawmaker on Wednesday.

EUA prices plunged by more than €3 in early Wednesday trading after reports emerged suggesting a senior EU lawmaker will propose a relaxation of the parameters for injecting additional supply to the EU ETS in the event of a price spike.

New South Wales police say they ‘located human remains in the water’ after being called to the south-eastern suburbs beach on Wednesday afternoon

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A swimmer has died from “catastrophic injuries” after being attacked by a shark off a beach in Sydney’s south-east.

Emergency services were called to Buchan Point in Malabar, off Little Bay Beach, about 4.35pm on Wednesday following reports a swimmer had been attacked by a shark.

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A major Australian bank has invested $50 million in climate finance and advisory firm Pollination, as it aims to accelerate its global growth.

Charlie the pet stick insect is revealed to be both male and female after moulting.

The solar switch off mechanism is now in force in W.A, and the coal lobby is fighting back at the idea that the end is nigh.

The post Solar Insiders Podcast: Solar switch off now in force in W.A. appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Energy Vault, which has designed an innovative gravity and kinetic energy-based energy storage system, begins trading on the New York Stock Exchange.

The post Gravity storage company Energy Vault suffers lacklustre start to trading on NYSE appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Holmes à Court says Climate 200 funding body helping climate independents overcome an electoral system rigged for the major parties.

The post Holmes à Court: Climate independents offer chance to “fix Australia” appeared first on RenewEconomy.