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Exclusive: firms out of pocket and losing faith in scheme administered by US-based corporation

• US firm running eco grants scheme has won multiple UK government contracts

England’s much-hyped £2bn green homes grant is in chaos, renewable energy installers say, with some owed tens of thousands of pounds and struggling to stay in business.

Members of the public have been left waiting nearly four months, in some cases, to take advantage of the scheme to fit low carbon heating systems. Some installers say customers are pulling out after losing faith in the green grants.

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Green campaigners attack further delay ‘to most important piece of legislation for decades’

The government has delayed the long-awaited environment bill, which redraws rules after the UK’s departure from the EU, provoking fury from campaigners who said it would harm action on air pollution and water quality, as well as other key issues. The proposed legislation would be the biggest shake-up of green regulation in decades.

Ministers said the delay, which means the flagship bill is unlikely to pass before the autumn, was necessary because dealing with the Covid-19 crisis left too little parliamentary time for debate. Trying to continue with the original timetable would have risked the bill falling and having to return to square one of the parliamentary process.

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The Environment Bill has been postponed again because of a lack of time for scrutiny, the government says.

Last such event for 15 states including New York, Ohio, Illinois and Georgia occurred in 2004

Billions of cicadas that have spent 17 years underground are set to emerge across large areas of the eastern US, bringing swarming numbers and loud mating calls to major towns and cities.

The periodic cicadas – bugs with strikingly red eyes, black bodies and orange wings – burrow underground as nymphs and suck fluids from the roots of plants as they grow, eventually bursting into the open as adults in mass synchronized events.

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Ten biggest retailers produced 900,000 tonnes of packaging and 2bn plastic bags in 2017

Supermarkets are still putting nearly 900,000 tonnes of plastic packaging on to the market, representing a plastic footprint which is bigger than in 2017, a new report has found.

The retailers sold more than 2bn plastic bags, according to the study by Greenpeace and the Environmental Investigation Agency, which called for the government to require companies to publish independently verified audits of their plastic footprint, alongside their financial reports each year.

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Enforcement of rules and boosting numbers of vets to help with inspections, quarantines and general animal health seen as critical

China’s attempts to prevent another zoonotic disease outbreak will fail without deep changes in enforcement, oversight, and extensive investment to ramp up veterinary capacity, say experts.

China’s top lawmakers last week approved revisions to the country’s law on preventing the spread of animal diseases. Amendments to the Animal Epidemic Prevention Law, due to come into force in May, were accelerated in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The outbreak of the deadly pig disease African swine fever (ASF), which has decimated as much as 40% of China’s pig production since 2018, has been an added impetus for reform.

The new measures include a system of quarantine standards for captive bred wildlife; revisions to a system for classifying animal epidemics based on their potential impact on human health, the economy and the public; compulsory vaccinations; and stipulations for veterinarians to pass qualification tests.

However, observers said the challenge was poor enforcement of rules, rather than the need for new ones. “If China is truly to prevent and tackle future viruses, it is immensely important that the revised law is not simply adopted or revised and then ignored,” Peter J Li, a China policy specialist at the Humane Society International, told the Guardian.

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Large UK study found small pollution rise associated with more cases of age-related macular degeneration

Small increases in air pollution are linked to an increased risk of irreversible sight loss from age-related macular degeneration (AMD), a large UK study has found.

Previous work had already found a link between dirty air and glaucoma and a link to cataracts is suspected. The scientists said the eyes have a particularly high flow of blood, potentially making them very vulnerable to the damage caused by tiny particles that are breathed in and then flow around the body.

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A detailed new report reveals 2020 was the first year wind, solar, biomass and hydro beat fossil fuels in Europe. We're on the right track for climate.

The post Wind and solar lead charge as renewables overtake fossil fuels in Europe appeared first on RenewEconomy.

A daily summary of our news plus bite-sized updates from around the world.

Before Wuhan was locked down in January 2020 officials said the outbreak was under control - but the virus had spread inside and outside the city.

Scientists propose 10 golden rules for restoring forests to maximise benefits for the planet.

Offset prices in the voluntary carbon market (VCM) receded last week despite a positive outlook going forward after new US President Joe Biden (D) issued several climate-related executive orders.

Investing in conservation and land management programmes can sequester nearly one-third of the carbon necessary to keep temperatures in line with the Paris Agreement’s 1.5C target, with carbon markets seen as an important component in realising this goal, according to a report published Monday.

EUAs tumbled back towards €33 on Monday as gas prices again weakened and observers warned of pressure from the upcoming auction resumption.

As you swelter during this heatwave, it may not be all bad news for our urban and natural environments. Sometimes, positive outcomes arise when and where we least expect them. Gregory Moore, Doctor of Botany, University of Melbourne Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

California fuel consumption dropped in November as coronavirus cases surged over the month and led to more stringent statewide restrictions to slow the spread, according to US Energy Information Administration (EIA) data.

EU foreign ministers on Monday adopted a new climate diplomacy agenda for the 27-nation bloc which acknowledged the role of national and international carbon markets.

An increase of 5% in Australia’s recycling rate would add an estimated $1bn to the country’s GDP, the CSIRO says

Australia could see billions of dollars in revenue lost without a profound cultural shift to a circular and zero-waste economy that re-uses plastic, glass and paper instead of burying it in landfill or exporting it.

The national science agency, CSIRO, released a detailed circular economy roadmap identifying major challenges including inconsistencies across states, a lack of reprocessing capacity and the continued loss of materials to landfill and dumping.

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I felt guilty for dragging my family away from lovely Brussels. Here in York though, murky floodwater and all, I’ve found a new sense of home

‘Have you been out?” I ask my 16-year-old, who rolls his eyes. I’m committed to providing my sons with continuity in a world in crisis and that means asking this idiotic question daily. (I alternate this with my other greatest hits: “How was your day” and “Have you drunk enough water?”)

“Yeah,” he says.

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EU gas-fired power generation slipped 4% year-on-year in 2020 while coal power output fell 20% as renewables eclipsed ETS-covered fossil generation for the first time, a report showed on Monday.