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Last year was the hottest in recorded history. That heat led to a range of unusually intense weather events across Australia. Laure Poncet, Research officer, UNSW Sydney Andrew King, Senior Lecturer in Climate Science, The University of Melbourne Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

‘Crucial’ UN resolution attempts to avoid repeat of injustices produced by Africa’s fossil fuel sector

In an attempt to avoid the “injustices and extractivism” of fossil fuel operations, African leaders are calling for better controls on the dash for the minerals and metals needed for a clean energy transition.

A resolution for structural change that will prioritise equitable benefit-sharing from extraction, supported by a group of mainly African countries including Senegal, Burkina Faso, Cameroon and Chad, was presented at the United Nations environmental assembly in Nairobi on Wednesday and called for the sustainable use of transitional minerals.

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The UK must make overtures to link its ETS to the EU’s emissions market in order to avoid substantial carbon tariff burdens in Northern Ireland, though ‘non-discrimination’ challenges could apply under World Trade Organisation (WTO) rules regardless, experts have told Carbon Pulse.

Scientists confirm sighting of two same-sex marine giants copulating in amorous encounter off Hawaii coast

Humpback whales have been observed having sex for the first time, with this landmark moment having an interesting twist – the two whales were male.

Despite decades of research on humpback whales, sightings of the male’s penis have been rare. Copulation by the species had not been documented by people – until now, when two photographers captured images of a sexual encounter between two whales off the coast of Hawaii.

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Brazil has teamed up with a large global climate finance group to rapidly ramp up funding for the protection of the Amazon rainforest and scale clean energy development.

Cuba has legislated financial incentives to generate CO2 removals via improved forest management (IFM) through a certification process mediated by the government, according to a resolution published in the country’s Official Gazette on Feb. 21.

A North American timberland owner has joined forces with a Texas-based energy to explore the potential for CO2 sequestration opportunities across a vast expanse of the southern US.

Financial institutions have been invited to sign a statement, calling on governments to agree on mandatory corporate disclosures on plastic pollution, by UN Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP FI)

Germany's Uniper's EU coal-fired power generation fell by more than one-fifth last year, the utility said in an annual report on Wednesday.

A voluntary carbon standard has opened a consultation on a new afforestation, reforestation, and revegetation methodology, weeks after it had announced it will exclusively focus on crediting nature-based solutions and move away from older UN crediting programmes.

Brazil has launched an initiative to lay the groundwork for a common framework on bioeconomy as a part of its G20 Presidency, though political divisions threaten to hamper the process, an expert involved in the talks told Carbon Pulse.

A developer of direct air capture (DAC) says that its technology’s low energy use requirements compared to other methods will allow it to scale up faster by connecting to the grid.

Almost half of executives surveyed for a new study said that they struggle to fund climate investments, with spending on sustainability reporting exceeding that on tangible green innovation by 43%.

A US-based project developer has launched a new initiative aimed at empowering small and midsize businesses (SMBs) to engage in sustainable practices and voluntarily reduce their carbon footprints.

European ambassadors failed to reach an agreement on a bill setting due diligence rules for large companies, including an obligation to adopt Paris Agreement-aligned climate plans, leaving their meeting on Wednesday open-ended after a month-long stall.

New guidance from the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) aims to encourage companies to invest in emissions reductions beyond their own value chains on top - rather than instead - of decarbonising their own operations, including by investing in voluntary carbon credits and projects.

Farmers in Britain have real reasons to be angry, but this protest against reasonable green policy has become a culture war

Step back a pace to see how weird this is. Last week, the prime minister of the United Kingdom joined a protest against one of the UK’s four governments. Farmers had obstructed a road in Llandudno with their tractors to demonstrate against the Welsh government’s attempts to meet its environmental obligations under UK law. The policies the protesters were attacking are similar to the policies Rishi Sunak’s government has introduced for England. The main difference is that in Wales, the offer for farmers is better – with more consistent payments and a smoother transition from the old system.

Sunak leads a government that has introduced the most draconian anti-protest laws in our democratic history. These laws are deployed exclusively against official enemies: environmental campaigners, republicans, feminists, Muslims. If you belong to one of these groups and you block a road, you might go to prison. If you are a farmer and you block a road, the prime minister might join you.

George Monbiot is a Guardian columnist

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Nations should be cutting emissions to meet Paris agreement, says Michel Forst after year-long inquiry

European nations must end the repression and criminalisation of peaceful protest and urgently take action to cut emissions in line with the Paris climate agreement to limit global heating to 1.5C, the UN special rapporteur on environmental defenders has said.

After a year-long inquiry that included gathering evidence from the UK, Germany, Denmark, the Netherlands, Spain and Portugal, Michel Forst said the repression faced by peaceful environmental activists was a major threat to democracy and human rights.

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Traditional steelmakers say they will have to spend €3 billion on additional EUAs until 2030 to comply with the European Commission's newly proposed free allocation rules, which aim to promote the cleanest methods of reducing iron ore for steelmaking.

Key challenges to scaling the emerging biodiversity credits market include the need for independent verification, robust regulation, and fair engagement with Indigenous Peoples, a UK-France led international initiative told an event on the sidelines of the ongoing UN environment summit this week.