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RSPB warns wildlife is in freefall with 70 of Britain’s 245 bird species now seriously at risk

The red list of Britain’s most endangered birds has increased to 70 species with the swift, house martin, greenfinch and Bewick’s swan added to the latest assessment.

The red list now accounts for more than a quarter of Britain’s 245 bird species, almost double the 36 species given the status of “highest conservation concern” in the first review 25 years ago.

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Malaysia plans to launch a domestic emissions trading market late next year, beginning with voluntary offset trade before rolling out an ETS at a later date, the country’s environment minister said Wednesday.

Dame Meg Hillier says scheme cost £50m and delivered only a fraction of objectives

The government’s green homes grant scheme underperformed badly and risks damaging future efforts to deliver net zero, the public accounts committee (PAC) said.

Hailed by the prime minister, Boris Johnson, as a key plank in his green industrial revolution, the grants only upgraded about 47,500 homes out of the 600,000 originally planned. They also delivered a small fraction of the expected jobs.

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Mark Tufnell says many farmers are reluctant to trust government as changes to subsidy payments loom

Farmers are anxiously awaiting further detail from the government on imminent changes to their subsidy payments, with many reluctant to trust the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) to manage the transition, the leader of one of the UK’s biggest farming organisations has said.

“Quite a few have said to me: ‘Well, we’re not at all clear what Defra is doing,’” Mark Tufnell, the recently installed president of the Country Land and Business Association (CLA), told the Guardian. “[They say:] ‘We don’t think that Defra know what they’re doing,’ and ask me: ‘What do you know?’”

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Techniques could help make farm animals resistant to disease but there are fears welfare standards could drop

Robust regulations must be put in place to protect the welfare of farmed animals before genome-editing procedures are approved for commercial livestock, ethicists have warned.

Powerful gene-editing techniques have the potential to improve modern farming by making animals resistant to heat and disease, reducing methane emissions and increasing productivity, but the same approaches could also exacerbate animal welfare problems, the Nuffield Council on Bioethics says.

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Renewables will account for about 95% of growth in global power-generation capacity up to the end of 2026, finds energy agency

It has been another record year for renewable energy, despite the Covid-19 pandemic and rising costs for raw materials around the world, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA).

About 290GW of new renewable energy generation capacity, mostly in the form of wind turbines and solar panels, has been installed around the world this year, beating the previous record last year. On current trends, renewable energy generating capacity will exceed that of fossil fuels and nuclear energy combined by 2026.

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Inpex, Japan’s largest oil and gas operator, has signed four separate carbon neutral gas agreements with local Japanese gas and power companies, the company has announced.

We explore the issues and challenges of protecting consumers and regulating solar retailers in Australia with Gerard Brody, the CEO of the Consumer Action Law Centre in Melbourne.

The post Great Solar Business Podcast: Consumer law and the solar industry appeared first on RenewEconomy.

An alternative to solar switch-off? WA virtual power plant trial will orchestrate solar and battery resources of 500 homes and businesses.

The post Project Symphony: First big trial to “orchestrate” rooftop solar and battery storage appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Radioactive waste from nuclear medicine facilities will be trucked to and buried near the South Australian town of Kimba. But this decision still faces a range of hurdles. Ian Lowe, Emeritus Professor, School of Science, Griffith University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

BloombergNEF says global steel production could be decarbonised by 2050 and Australia's iron ore and coal producers needs to move quickly or become stranded assets.

The post Australia could be badly burnt by global pivot to green steel if it moves too slowly appeared first on RenewEconomy.

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The long-term fundamentals of the gas market are clear. Anyone who understands the urgent messages being sent by climate science would avoid new investments.

The post The Morrison government and the mad world of fossil gas appeared first on RenewEconomy.

The number of cyclists being killed on rural English roads rose sharply over the last year.

An ethics body publishes a report as the government considers whether to allow gene-edited farm animals.

Engie and Macquarie to build 150MW one hour battery at site of shuttered Hazelwood coal generator.

The post Engie and Macquarie to fund 150MW big battery at Hazelwood appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Anyone can nominate a place with outstanding heritage values for inclusion. Nominations close on 9 February 2022.

The New Zealand government on Wednesday sold all the allowances on offer in its quarterly NZU auction at a record high price, immediately pushing the secondary market into unchartered territory.

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