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A twice-weekly summary of our biodiversity news plus bite-sized updates from around the world. All articles in this edition are free to read (no subscription required).

Measurement, reporting, and verification initiative MRV Collective has been relaunched as non-profit Nature Tech Collective to underline its change in focus towards nature technology.

Oman Arab Bank (OAB) will advance-purchase carbon credits linked to projects selected by the First Carbon Investments (FCI) platform with the goal of accelerating the viability of alternative fuels, according to a joint statement issued by the companies upon the signing of their MoU.

A first demonstration plant in Sweden for the production of fossil-free sponge iron, a precursor to steel, has received government grant support in an example of a public-private endeavour to clean up the steel industry.

With nature-related announcements and outcomes firmly in the spotlight at COP28, stakeholders have taken stock of the outcome from the Dubai conference and what it may mean for the global biodiversity crisis.

Climate experts say lack of unambiguous statement is ‘tragedy for the planet and our future’

The failure of Cop28 to call for a phase-out of fossil fuels is “devastating” and “dangerous” given the urgent need for action to tackle the climate crisis, scientists have said.

One called it a “tragedy for the planet and our future” while another said it was the “dream outcome” for the fossil fuel industry.

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After COP28 talks ended in turmoil, UN carbon crediting under the Paris Agreement's Article 6 provision is now not expected until 2026, with the way forward complicated by political divisions, attention may pivot towards the voluntary carbon market and scaling international trading arrangements.

France's second-largest listed bank will no longer finance fossil fuels, it said on Thursday, and will also triple the financing of renewable energy projects by 2030, in a move seen to align with the UN Global Stocktake outcome from COP28.

A carbon crediting standard has teamed up with an intelligence platform to help stakeholders understand and navigate new regulations and policy changes affecting the carbon market, including those underpinning Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, they said Thursday.

A Zurich-headquartered direct air capture (DAC) company and a US-based consulting firm have signed a 15-year agreement that entails the purchase of tens of thousands of CO2 removal (CDR) credits by the latter, in a move the two say is intended to help scale the nascent technology.

An Estonia-based carbon removal platform has obtained €5.5 milllion in seed investment from a trio of venture capitalist investors, the start-up announced on Thursday.

Government says insufficient hydrogen production available to replace home gas supplies

A plan to test the use of hydrogen to heat homes in a village in the north-east of England have been abandoned after months of strong opposition from concerned residents.

The government said the Redcar “hydrogen village” scheme, which had been expected to start in 2025, will not go ahead because there would not be enough local hydrogen production for the trial to replace the home gas supplies with the low-carbon alternative.

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A major US-headquartered exchange operator Nasdaq is pivoting blockchain technology originally developed for cryptocurrency trading towards carbon markets.

The European Parliament and Council of EU member states have reached a provisional deal on rules setting obligations for large companies to identify and remedy risks to the environment, human rights, and health arising from their value chain, including an obligation for companies to adopt Paris Agreement-aligned climate plans.

State energy ministers give themselves power to force coal generators to stay open if a fast-tracked closure puts grid reliability at risk.

The post State energy ministers give themselves power to force coal generators to stay open appeared first on RenewEconomy.

The green export scenario - the basis of the hope that Australian can be a renewable superpower - suggests the grid could reach 99 per cent renewables within a decade.

The post Australia could be at 99 pct renewables by 2032, if green exports take off as hoped appeared first on RenewEconomy.

AEMO's new planning blueprint says coal will exit five years early, households will play key role with rooftop PV, EVs and electric homes, but rollout of large scale wind and solar needs to quicken.

The post AEMO’s jaw dropping prediction for coal power – all but gone from the grid in a decade appeared first on RenewEconomy.

European carbon prices were largely steady on Thursday morning, as traders digested the relatively light price impact of the options expiry on Wednesday, as well as the weekly Commitment of Traders data that showed investment funds extended their short positions, while Dec-23 positions continued to be rolled into the Dec-24 contract.

I’ve been accused of being a ‘soyboy’ and ‘in the pay of Big Lettuce’ by one of the most destructive industries on Earth

Everything that makes campaigning against fossil fuels difficult is 10 times harder when it comes to opposing livestock farming. Here you will find a similar suite of science denial, misinformation and greenwashing. But in this case, it’s accompanied by a toxic combination of identity politics, nostalgia, machismo and the demonisation of alternatives. If you engage with this issue, you don’t just need a thick skin; you need the skin of a glyptodon.

You will be vilified daily as a “soyboy”, a “hater of farmers” and a dictator who would force everyone to eat insects. You will be charged with undermining western civilisation, destroying its masculinity and threatening its health. You will be denounced as an enemy of Indigenous people, though generally not by Indigenous people themselves, for many of whom livestock farming is and has long been by far the greatest cause of land-grabbing, displacement and the destruction of their homes.

George Monbiot is a Guardian columnist

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Several companies have announced a partnership to ship captured CO2 from an UK ETS-covered gas power plant in southeast England up to northeast Scotland to then pipe onto permanent storage below the North Sea using re-purposed gas pipelines.