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Climate scientists say that the world is continuing to warm, despite brief respite in record breaking temperatures

Earth’s string of 13 straight months with a new average heat record came to an end this past July as the natural El Niño climate pattern ebbed, the European climate agency Copernicus announced on Wednesday.

But July 2024’s average heat just missed surpassing last year’s July, and scientists said the end of the record-breaking streak changes nothing about the threat posed by the climate crisis.

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The new government has made a fast start in mobilising Britain’s most obvious natural asset, but big challenges remain

In its pomp during the 1970s, Ardersier port near Inverness was a behemoth of Scottish industry. During the North Sea oil and gas boom, thousands worked on one of the largest rig construction sites in the world. Disused since 2001, the port is making a triumphant comeback, to be reconfigured as a giant hub for the turbines that will harness wind power off the Scottish coast. If Sir Keir Starmer’s government is to achieve its goal of fully decarbonising electricity by 2030, this huge investment project in the Highlands will need to be matched by similar ambition elsewhere.

Wind energy is fundamental to meeting Britain’s net zero commitments, generating growth and reducing energy costs. But under Rishi Sunak, the sector suffered a lost year in 2023, when the government failed to award a single offshore wind contract. In July, the Climate Change Committee estimated that by 2030, the number of annual offshore and onshore wind installations needed to at least triple and double, respectively.

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Argentina’s carbon markets are growing rapidly and poised to shift away from reliance on waste management and renewables projects to embrace a broader array of credits, a jurisdictional REDD (J-REDD) developer told Carbon Pulse.

Devastation in Brazil wetlands was made at least four times more likely by fossil fuel use and deforestation, scientists say

The devastating wildfires that tore through the world’s biggest tropical wetland, Brazil’s Pantanal, in June were made at least four times more likely and 40% more intense by human-caused climate disruption, a study has found.

Charred corpses of monkeys, caimans and snakes have been left in the aftermath of the blaze, which burned 440,000 hectares (1.1m acres) and is thought to have killed millions of animals and countless more plants, insects and fungi.

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A German direct air capture startup is offering cement plants the opportunity to make extra revenue from their waste heat, which it can use to improve the efficiency of its CO2 capture process and generate carbon removal credits.

A global climate solutions provider announced on Thursday the launch of its supply chain emissions reduction product.

The wind hovering behaviour of the bird of prey is the ‘closest representation in the avian world to fixed wing aircraft’, researcher says

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When researchers were hunting for a way to make drones fly more smoothly as they delivered food and packages, they turned to an unusual source for inspiration: the common kestrel.

RMIT and the University of Bristol researchers began tracking the flight motions of two Australian kestrels. They attached reflective markers to the birds and analysed their motion using a motion tracking system – the same technology used to create CGI effects.

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Just 4% of major companies globally have set targets to reduce their water pollution, the World Benchmarking Alliance said in a survey published on Wednesday.

While the Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market (ICVCM) rejected this week multiple renewable energy carbon crediting methodologies from its Core Carbon Principles (CCP) label, citing additionality concerns, the Dominican Republic (DR) is pushing forward on expansion plans for these projects in the frame of sustainable development.

Rebecca Colvin from ANU and John Cole from University of Southern Queensland and their takes on obtaining social licence for energy projects, and the lessons from King Island and CSG. Plus, news of the week.

The post Energy Insiders Podcast: A civil war over renewables? appeared first on RenewEconomy.

German power company Uniper posted a significant fossil-based power generation slump over the first six months of the year, relative to 2023, amid ongoing demand weakness that continues to pressure EUAs.

An Egyptian nonprofit conservation group is launching a large project to protect thousands of migratory birds from the threats posed by electricity power lines in the Gulf of Suez, it announced on Thursday.

One of the largest shipping companies in the world, Maersk, has backtracked on its previous anti-liquefied natural gas (LNG) position by announcing plans to purchase ships capable of running on the fuel, highlighting the difficulty of lowering shipping emissions.

The UK government's decision to hike the windfall tax on offshore oil and gas isn't all bad news for energy companies, according to an energy consultancy that argues it could help to focus energy investments on decarbonisation. 

A Venice-based conservation group is eyeing the biodiversity credit market to save the Italian city's lagoon ecosystems from destruction driven by shipping and mass tourism.

US-headquartered private equity investor Pegasus Capital Advisors is looking to invest in nature-related companies via its land and ocean funds to help improve the sustainability of entire economic systems.

Climate adviser says world leaders must show ‘maximum ambition’ to prevent people being harmed by climate crisis

Fossil fuel companies are running “a massive mis- and disinformation campaign” so that countries will slow down the adoption of renewable energy and the speed with which they “transition away” from a carbon-intensive economy, the UN has said.

Selwin Hart, the assistant secretary general of the UN, said that talk of a global “backlash” against climate action was being stoked by the fossil fuel industry, in an effort to persuade world leaders to delay emissions-cutting policies. The perception among many political observers of a rejection of climate policies was a result of this campaign, rather than reflecting the reality of what people think, he added.

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A lot of gas technologies are far less efficient than many believe, and deliver heat at temperatures higher than processes actually require.

The post There are many smarter and cheaper alternatives to gas to fill gaps in supply from wind and solar appeared first on RenewEconomy.

UNSW team behind solar tech that can generate power at night have locked in funding from the US Airforce – and been nominated for a prize. 

The post Dark solar UNSW team win US funding for night-light electricity – and nomination for a prize appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Some 104 million carbon credits were retired in the first six months of this year, mirroring the total from H1 2023, and with most sold to companies in the energy sector in alignment with previous years' trends, according to the latest AlliedOffsets Corporate Buyers Report.