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Guardian analysis shows intensification in farming across the EU with a rise in livestock numbers while millions of farms disappear

The EU is to introduce sweeping reforms of farming subsidies this week to try to halt the decline of small farms and protect them from the intensification of agriculture fostered by decades of previous policies.

Janusz Wojciechowski, the EU agriculture commissioner, said: “My intention is that this process of disappearing small farms should be stopped. The European food sector in the past was based on small farms, and it should be in the future as well.”

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New research shows Australia is lagging behind international peers in emissions reductions, despite what the Morrison government may claim.

The post Australia’s emissions have risen since 2005, apart from land use accounting tricks appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Following two recent price hikes, Tesla has cut the Australian retail price of a Powerwall 2 home battery system.

The post Tesla cuts price of Powerwall home battery in Australia appeared first on RenewEconomy.

China is looking to bring two more sectors into its national emissions trading scheme from next year, according to the chairman of the carbon exchange in Shanghai.

Taxpayer funded Kurri Kurri gas plant will help give Snowy Hydro dominance of the NSW, Victoria and South Australia markets. But will it protect from battery storage?

The post “It’s a disgrace”: Snowy Hydro to use government subsidy for market dominance appeared first on RenewEconomy.

The public consultation period for assessment for export accreditation will be open until COB 25 June 2021.

Stan Renton and his wife Audrey, have been heating their home with coal for their entire married lives.

G7 efforts to stamp out coal accelerate ahead of a major June meeting - another source of pressure for Australia's reticent leadership.

The post G7 Countries agree to end coal financing before end of 2021 appeared first on RenewEconomy.

New research found lots of incentives to chuck out working solar panels and replace them with new ones. This may be creating huge amounts of unnecessary waste. Deepika Mathur, Research Fellow, Northern Institute, Charles Darwin University Imran Muhammad, Associate Professor of Urban and Regional Planning, Massey University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Fossil fuel and other emissions not linked to the land and agriculture increased by 7% over the past 15 years, analysis finds

Despite official accounts showing Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions are falling, its contribution to the climate crisis has increased over the past 15 years once areas beyond the federal government’s control – the drought and emissions from land and forests – are excluded.

Scott Morrison told a climate leaders summit hosted by the US president, Joe Biden, last month that Australia had cut its emissions by 19% since 2005. The prime minister said it was “more than most other similar economies” had done and the country was “on the pathway to net zero”.

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Turkey is the latest country to reject the role of world’s dustbin. With their environment bill, ministers have a chance to end this vandalism

The international plastics recycling market is broken. It is doubtful whether it ever worked. For most of the last decade, China was the world’s largest importer of recyclable materials, some of which were used in manufacturing. But it banned these imports as part of a “beautiful China” policy aimed at improving the environment.

Malaysia was the next country to fight back against being treated as the “dumping ground of the world” – as its environment minister, Yeo Bee Yin, put it in 2019. More than 200 facilities were closed, and thousands of tonnes of waste returned, amid growing evidence of the involvement of organised crime in the global waste business. Now Turkey has rejected the role of international rubbish bin: after a Greenpeace investigation found plastics dumped in rivers, on beaches and in illegal waste mountains, it announced that most plastic waste imports (which included 209,642 tonnes from the UK in 2020) will be banned in six weeks’ time.

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Rob Higgs alleges plainclothes officers turned up unannounced at his premises

The co-founder of the eco activist group Ocean Rebellion has filed a complaint to police alleging that officers have tried to intimidate him before next month’s G7 summit in Cornwall.

Rob Higgs, an artist and campaigner, has alleged that at least a dozen plainclothes officers turned up unannounced at his Cornish studios, his home and his boat.

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Exclusive: ‘Rapid transition to regenerative farming’ needed, says prince, as data reveals 100,000 UK farms lost since 1990

The Prince of Wales has called for small family farmers in the UK and across the world to come together in a cooperative movement using sustainable farming methods, and for their plight to be at the centre of environmental action.

Small farmers, in the UK and EU, are facing their biggest upheavals in more than a generation, with the loss of farm subsidies and new post-Brexit trade deals in the UK, and sweeping reforms to the EU’s common agricultural policy to be announced this week in Brussels.

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Small-scale agriculture needs the tools and confidence to deal with the rapid changes society has to make

• Charles, Prince of Wales is the heir apparent to the British throne

Family farmers form the backbone of our rural communities. Their hard work puts high-quality food on our tables, which is produced to some of the highest standards in the world, and their careful stewardship knits together the environmental and social fabric of our beautiful and iconic landscapes. They are a remarkable breed; adaptable, resilient and incredibly hardworking. And they are no stranger to innovation through adversity. Their very diversity brings great strengths to our environment, to our rural communities and to disease management. All this must be taken into account as agriculture starts this massive transition, especially as more than 110,000 smaller family farms have already been lost since 1990.

To me, it is essential the contribution of the small-scale family farmer is properly recognised – they must be a key part in any fair, inclusive, equitable and just transition to a sustainable future. To do this, we must ensure that Britain’s family farmers have the tools and the confidence to meet the rapid transition to regenerative farming systems that our planet demands.

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Skinks and geckos saved from disaster on Mauritian islets have successfully bred in zoo

Endangered reptiles rescued from Mauritian islands that were contaminated by a devastating oil spill have bred successfully in captivity for the first time, raising hopes that populations can be restored to the wild.

Bojer’s skink – a small, shiny reptile only found on tiny islets off Mauritius – has been bred by Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust scientists at Jersey zoo. Two other imperilled species, the lesser night gecko and Bouton’s skink, have also been brought to the zoo, with the geckos breeding successfully as well.

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'Miss? What's a duck?' The question that convinced one school to adopt nature-friendly learning.

Sir Richard Branson's spaceplane completes the first of three key test flights above New Mexico.

Coronavirus has shown how good science should be embedded in all big decisions, writes Prof Ruth Morgan.

China is now the second country after the US to operate a rover on the Red Planet.

Animal rights protesters have set up blockades at four McDonald’s distribution centres across Britain, which they say will affect about 1,300 restaurants. Activists from Animal Rebellion used trucks and bamboo structures to blockade distribution sites at Hemel Hempstead, Basingstoke, Coventry and Heywood from about 4.30am on Saturday, the group said. The group wants McDonald’s to commit to becoming fully plant-based by 2025

• UK animal rights group blockades four McDonald’s depots

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