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Next week, the Republic of the Congo will host the Three Basins Summit of tropical forest basins, which account for 80% of the world’s tropical forests, house two-thirds of terrestrial biodiversity, and play an essential role in regulating the global carbon balance. Rarely has there been an event where forests play a more central role than the forthcoming meeting in Brazzaville. The Summit provides a unique opportunity to make the case for a reform of the rules of global public finance to value tropical forests as global climate and biodiversity assets, writes Charlotte Streck in a piece for Ecosystem Marketplace.

Transactions of durable carbon removals have increased by more than 10 times over the past year, according to an annual report from a carbon credit ratings agency, supporting recent data from analysts that there is likely to be a strong future supply of nature-based credits from projects currently in the pipeline.

A shortage of skills in the workforce is one of the greatest obstacles holding back the scaling up of nature-based solutions worldwide, according to a European Commission official.

The UK government has forced asylum seekers to return to the Bibby Stockholm barge in Dorset, more than two months after it was evacuated when legionella bacteria were discovered in the water supply. Just Stop Oil protesters managed to stop the coach carrying the men to the vessel in Portland port by blocking the causeway to the island and claimed that the vehicle put their lives in danger by pushing through them. About 50 other local people and campaigners gathered at the gates to the port to object to their return to the facility

• Chaotic scenes as first asylum seekers return to Bibby Stockholm barge

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Concerns are mounting that high debt piles, or a possible global economic recession, could knock the energy transition off course.

‘We need … to maintain our roads in a way that’s fair, and aimed at helping, not hindering, electrification of transport’, says Monique Ryan

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Teal independent MPs have welcomed the high court’s decision to strike down Victoria’s electric vehicle tax, urging the federal government to instead legislate national road-user charges.

Zoe Daniel, Allegra Spender, Monique Ryan and Kylea Tink have all called for road use charges to apply fairly to all vehicles, with a nationally consistent scheme that does not target EVs.

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The state levy was a good example of what not to do to support a transition to EVs, plaintiffs Chris Vanderstock and Kathleen Davies say

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Kathleen Davies remembers driving an electric vehicle in 2012, and how it felt as if she was commuting in a spaceship.

“There were hardly any on the road – it felt quite bizarre,” she says.

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Exclusive: Blueprint Institute says nuclear ban should be lifted, but disagrees with Coalition opposition to green energy rollout

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A centre-right thinktank is calling for “drastically accelerated deployment” of renewable energy, batteries and electricity transmission infrastructure and acknowledged there is no prospect of nuclear energy playing a role in Australia before 2040.

The report by the Blueprint Institute, not yet released but seen in draft form by Guardian Australia, says the ban on nuclear energy should be repealed and argues small modular nuclear reactors (SMRs) could play a “small but vital role” in minimising costs in reaching net zero emissions in the power grid by 2050.

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India's draft notification on a new ecolabelling scheme is seen by some as bolstering demand for carbon credits among corporates seeking to demonstrate the very highest levels of climate leadership.

The company released wastewater from treatment plants despite overflow levels not being hit

Welsh Water has admitted to spilling untreated sewage near a rare dolphin habitat for at least a decade.

A BBC investigation found the water company had been illegally discharging untreated wastewater at dozens of sewage plants, often for years at a time.

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European carbon prices dropped sharply on Thursday morning, amid continuing weakness in energy markets and after one of the most bearish auctions of the year to date.

A programme backed by around €12.9 million of funding from German government agencies for boosting biodiversity on agricultural land has expanded to another state.

North Atlantic right whales are being killed in collisions with vessels that are flouting go-slow zones in US waters, report warns

The lives of critically endangered North Atlantic right whales are being put at risk by ships speeding in designated “slow zones”, according to a new report.

Only about 340 of the species remain, and collisions with boats are a leading cause of injuries and fatalities as the whales often swim close to the surface, and their dark colour makes them difficult to spot.

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Undeterred after being charged over separate demonstration, Thunberg joined fossil fuel activists outside JP Morgan in Canary Wharf

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Greta Thunberg has taken part in climate protests in London for the second time this week, protesting outside the JP Morgan headquarters in Canary Wharf.

Apparently undeterred after being arrested and subsequently charged with a public order offence after a protest on Tuesday, the Swedish campaigner joined fellow activists in the east London financial district on Thursday morning.

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The climate activist is part of a Fossil Free London protest at JP Morgan's Canary Wharf office.

The overwhelming takeaway from industry experts at this year’s AFR Energy & Climate Summit was that while commitment to ambitious clean energy goals remains strong, achieving 82 per cent renewable energy by 2030 is fast becoming unachievable under the existing plan. The repeated calls for increased support and investment to bring the necessary volume of […]

The post We need new solutions to reach Australia’s 2030 renewable goals appeared first on RenewEconomy.

EnergyAustralia announces plans to help coal plant workers transition from jobs at its Yallourn power station to the Elanora Offshore wind farm.

The post Yallourn coal plant workers given option to transition to offshore wind industry appeared first on RenewEconomy.

A Japanese project developer predominantly involved in agricultural projects has teamed up with a forest management firm to begin generating J-Credits in the Kansai region, while planning to offer a simplified process for other companies to establish themselves in the market through new technology.

A Japanese government body has partnered with three corporations looking to manufacture carbon negative concrete in a turn around given the product is typically classed as both high emissions and particularly hard to abate.

An Australian carbon project developer has raised concerns with how the government has communicated what it described as “significant” policy changes to the Australian Carbon Credit Unit (ACCU) Scheme, saying further consultation is needed.