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The federal government has proposed changes to threatened species protection which would lead to weaker legal protections. Conservationists are alarmed, but in reality, it’s no great loss. Stephen Garnett, Professor of Conservation and Sustainable Livelihoods, Charles Darwin University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

From grieving pet owners to TV shows and major museums, demand for taxidermists remains strong. And birds are a mainstay

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For Lauren Hundloe, bringing dead birds “back to life” is all in a day’s work.

The former public servant turned taxidermist used to stuff animals of all sizes, from mice to elk and everything in between. Now she deals almost exclusively with birds in her Brisbane studio.

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The ivory-billed woodpecker is among the 23 species listed by the US Fish and Wildlife Service.

Judge blocks Teal Cedar Products’ extension request and says police conduct on Vancouver Island has put court at risk

A provincial court in Canada has refused to extend an injunction against protesters demonstrating against old-growth logging, ruling that police conduct has been so troubling that to extend the order would place the court’s own reputation at risk.

Related: Rescue of trapped Ontario miners involved gruelling climb to surface

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French experts say the mountain has lost an average of 13 centimetres in height every year since 2001

French experts say they have measured Mont Blanc, the tallest mountain in western Europe, at almost a metre lower than its previous official height.

Geographical experts said that after an expedition in mid-September the mighty mountain in the heart of the French Alps was 4,807.81 metres (15,773.65ft) high, lower than their last published estimate of 4,808.72 metres (15,776.64ft ) in 2017.

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European carbon prices could be set for further downside after setting a new record this week, as uncertainty over the EU’s 'Fit for 55' package grows amid the start of political negotiations and as lawmakers amplify calls for a limit on speculation in the market, according to an analyst.

A group of Spanish and Romanian MEPs are proposing to put forward next month a resolution in European Parliament that calls for restrictions on speculation in the EU carbon market as a way of calming soaring EU energy costs, while Czechia's Prime Minister is reportedly urging for a cap on EUA prices.

Factors behind disappearances include too much development, water pollution, logging and competition from invasive species

The ivory-billed woodpecker and 22 more birds, fish and other species are expected to be declared extinct by the US Fish and Wildlife Service on Wednesday.

It’s a rare move for wildlife officials to give up hope on a plant or animal, but government scientists have exhausted efforts to find these 23 species and warned that the climate crisis, on top of other pressures, could make such disappearances more common.

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EUA prices erased a brief plunge early on Wednesday after one of the worst-supported daily auctions since the ETS began selling allowances, while energy prices were broadly firmer after Tuesday's sell-off.

Chinese steel and aluminium will be priced out of the European market when the EU’s carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM) kicks in in 2026, unless the sectors decarbonise fast, according to an analyst report published on Wednesday.

About 50 bones of the carnivorous dinosaurs are found on a beach in southern England.

China has the capability to start reducing its CO2 emissions from the mid-2020s and become carbon neutral well ahead of its 2060 target date, the International Energy Agency said Wednesday.

Police arrest 11 after climate crisis protesters defy court injunction and glue themselves to road

Police have arrested 11 people after activists from Insulate Britain blocked a roundabout at a junction with the M25 by glueing themselves to the road on Wednesday morning.

The protest, which started at about 7.30am, was the seventh similar action to be taken by the Extinction Rebellion splinter group – and the second since the granting of a court injunction that threatened imprisonment or unlimited fines if they did not stop.

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Government removes costs and red tape in go-ahead for more trials of gene edited crops

The prospect of genetically modified foods being grown and sold in the UK has come a step closer after changes to farming regulations that will allow field trials of gene edited crops in England.

Companies or research organisations wishing to conduct field trials will still have to notify the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the government announced on Wednesday, but existing costs and red tape will be removed so more trials are likely to go ahead.

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UK photographer Anup Shah won the competition with his photograph of a gorilla walking through a cloud of butterflies in the Central African Republic

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New South Wales has upwardly revised its 2030 target to reduce emissions, to 50% from the level in 2005, an increase from its previous target of 35%, the Australian state government announced on Wednesday.

World's biggest single solar project in UAE trials Tesla battery system as it looks to bulk up storage capacity.

The post Tesla battery switched on at world’s biggest solar farm in Middle East appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Turnbull says Morrison's absence from COP26 will send a message about his priorities, slamming the "nonsense of a gas led recovery."

The post Turnbull challenges Morrison to go to Glasgow: “History is made by those who turn up” appeared first on RenewEconomy.

US developer Arevon signs deal to buy six gigawatt hours of Tesla Megapack battery storage for US projects.

The post Tesla secures biggest ever order – six gigawatt hours – for Megapack batteries in US appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Data highlights urgent need for government action to introduce low-carbon heat pumps, researchers say

The millions of gas boilers in the UK’s homes produce twice as much climate-heating carbon emissions as all the nation’s gas-fired power stations combined, according to an analysis.

The finding highlighted the urgent need for a strong government policy to rapidly introduce low-carbon heating such as heat pumps, the researchers said.

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