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Named Muga dhambi by traditional owners, it was uncovered on a marine citizen science course

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At 10.5 metres wide, four centuries old and twice the size of its nearest cousin, an “exceptionally large” coral has been discovered on the Great Barrier Reef – the widest known in the area.

The coral is 5.3 metres tall, “hemispherical in shape” and 2.4 metres wider than the next widest specimen. It is roughly the length and height of a modern double-decker bus.

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Protests starting next week aim to highlight the billions poured into fossil fuels by financial sector

The City of London will be the target of a new round of Extinction Rebellion protests aimed at highlighting the role of high finance in the climate crisis, starting next week and carrying on for at least a fortnight.

Thousands of protesters are expected to take part in a series of actions in the City, details of which are under wraps. These will target businesses headquartered in the Square Mile financial district, and will include site occupations. There are no plans to disrupt public transport, as has occurred during some previous actions.

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The Architecture for REDD+ Transactions (ART) programme finalised the new version of its deforestation reduction standard on Thursday, setting out new methods for recognising and crediting high-forest, low-deforestation (HFLD) jurisdictions, Indigenous territories, and emissions removals.

Rattlesnakes have evolved a clever method of convincing humans that danger is closer than you think.

New analysis suggests the costs of capacity payments to coal and gas plants could lead to electricity price increases much greater than the carbon price.

The post Taylor’s favoured coal subsidy could reach $7 billion and hit households appeared first on RenewEconomy.

A senior staffer at green group Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) has been named to the California Independent Emissions Market Advisory Committee (IEMAC), Carbon Pulse has learned.

Australian carbon credits hit another record high secondary market spot price in Thursday trade as the mix of persistent demand and limited available supply continues to fuel the bull run that’s lasted since the beginning of the year.

It’s clear to me when I teach that sustainability and the environment should be a thread running through every subject

In August 2018, the then 15-year-old Greta Thunberg started spending her school days outside the Swedish parliament calling for stronger action on climate change. It might sound perverse, a teacher supporting kids taking time off school, but spreading awareness of environmental issues is something I’ve always been passionate about. The challenge is finding a way to give them a meaningful climate education in the classroom.

As a middle school (aged nine to 13) science teacher, I’ve seen pupils react to the climate crisis in a number of ways. I still hear “my dad says it’s not real” every once in a while, but mostly they are interested. Interested in how oil companies obfuscated the truth, interested in the science, and interested in what the future holds now that we’re “running out of time”.

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EUA prices fell to their lowest in more than two weeks early on Thursday, tracking widespread losses across the energy complex as Russian gas producer Gazprom was reported saying that it would begin shipping through the new Nord Stream 2 pipeline this year.

As Covid continues to curb visits to see our iconic wildlife, now is the time to move away from western-led funding models

That African governments have failed to mobilise funds to conserve their vast protected areas is not in doubt. Countries were just about managing to pay basic salaries to rangers who barely had enough to put fuel in their patrol vehicles. Covid has exacerbated this already dire situation, with the loss of income from foreign tourism.

The continent has more than 8,500 protected areas, described by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as government-led national parks, areas jointly governed by state agencies, communities, privately owned wildlife reserves, and public-private partnerships between governments, companies and NGOs. Included too, are what the IUCN calls “indigenous peoples and communities conserved territories and areas”.

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Government urged to relax UK immigration rules after one in six jobs left unfilled since EU departure

The British Poultry Council has said food producers are facing serious staff shortages because of Brexit as this week’s partial closure of the Nando’s chain threw the spotlight on problems made worse by the fallout from Covid.

The trade association said its members, which include 2 Sisters Food Group – the country’s largest supplier of supermarket chicken, said one in six jobs were unfilled as a result of EU workers leaving the UK after Brexit.

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Tracking devices show movements of curlew after their release into the wild.

Sweden is inviting carbon-cutting projects in Ghana to bid to deliver Paris Agreement-era carbon credits to the Nordic nation, the country’s second such call.

Effective action against climate breakdown is near impossible while governments are vulnerable to lawsuits

The human tragedy is that there is no connection between what we know and what we do. Almost everyone is now at least vaguely aware that we face the greatest catastrophe our species has ever confronted. Yet scarcely anyone alters their behaviour in response: above all, their driving, flying and consumption of meat and dairy.

During the most serious of all crises, the UK elected the least serious of all governments. Both the Westminster government and local authorities continue to build roads and expand airports. An analysis by conservation charity WWF suggests that, while the last UK budget allocated £145m for environmental measures, it dedicated £40bn to policies that will increase emissions.

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Labor's Chris Bowen says medium-term emissions targets need to drive "greatest economic transformation since the Industrial Revolution".

The post “Not doing so well:” US puts pressure on Australia as Labor flags new interim target appeared first on RenewEconomy.

New analysis finds chemicals tested on animals in moisturisers, lipsticks, hair conditioner and sunscreen, despite ban

Hundreds of cosmetic products sold in the UK and Europe contain ingredients that have been tested on animals, despite bans that outlawed such testing years ago, a new analysis has shown.

Banned tests were performed on ingredients used in products including moisturisers, lipsticks, sunscreen and hair conditioner, the analysis found, with more than 100 separate experiments performed on animals including mice and rabbits.

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Origin Energy prepares pivot into big batteries and green hydrogen after $2.3 billion loss, another legacy company wrestling with the energy transition.

The post Origin ready to ‘pull trigger’ on big batteries after recording $2.3 billion loss appeared first on RenewEconomy.

AEMO to build an "online twin" of the main grid to allow wind and solar developers to more easily model the impact of their project proposals.

The post “Digital twin”: Online simulator to help wind and solar farms connect to the grid appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Vote. Divest. Plant trees. Recycle. Remove fossil fuel subsidies. Go renewable. We don’t need to accept the inevitable demise of life on the planet

Imagine if scientists had just informed the world that there was a huge meteor heading our way that would likely wipe out life as we knew it. Or if the sun started doing really dangerous and frightening things that were likely to fry us. What would we do? Party like there was really no tomorrow? Or just crawl under the doona to wait out the inevitable?

The silver lining to the climate change catastrophe is that it’s not caused by a meteor, or the sun. It’s us. And because we’ve caused it, and we know how, we can fix it – or at least slow it down a lot.

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Wind turbines face a price hike of around 10 per cent over the coming year due to rising mineral prices, logistics and Covid problems.

The post Cost of wind turbines to jump 10 per cent due to mineral prices, logistics and Covid appeared first on RenewEconomy.