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Criticism of sacred site decision shows we have learned nothing from Juukan Gorge | Calla Wahlquist

The Guardian - Tue, 2024-09-17 01:00

Cultural protection order has been framed as a push to curry favour with inner-city seats, ignoring grassroots campaigns from Indigenous and non-Indigenous locals

Among the concerns listed by the 2,000 farmers who converged on the lawns of Parliament House in Canberra last week was the protection of prime agricultural land from renewable energy developments.

It has become a common refrain. The National party leader, David Littleproud, warned at the party’s annual federal council on Friday of the risk to prime agricultural land from energy transition projects. The mining magnate Gina Rinehart took to the stage at a business event last year to warn that one-third of Australia’s prime agricultural land could be “taken over” by renewable energy projects. In almost every campaign against a proposed development in the bush, the potential impact on prime agricultural land is raised as a key concern.

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The environment was meant to be ‘back on the priority list’ under Labor. Instead, we’ve seen a familiar story | Adam Morton

The Guardian - Tue, 2024-09-17 01:00

There have been moments of modest progress, but the Albanese government has not lived up to its early rhetoric

It wasn’t supposed to be like this. Back in the heady new government days of July 2022, Tanya Plibersek told the National Press Club that change was coming for environmental protection in Australia after a decade of disaster and neglect.

Releasing the five-yearly state of the environment report, which the previous Coalition government had received months earlier but put in a drawer until it was turfed from office, the new environment minister said it told a “story of crisis and decline in Australia’s environment”.

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Net zero a ‘vast challenge’ with EU, US to miss NDCs, say analysts

Carbon Pulse - Tue, 2024-09-17 00:04
The EU and US are on track to miss their 2030 UN climate targets, and achieving net zero by the middle of the century is now a “vast challenge”, according to a new energy transition outlook published Monday.
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Morocco to fulfil carbon tax, fossil fuel levy promises in 2025

Carbon Pulse - Mon, 2024-09-16 23:09
The Moroccan finance ministry has presented a bill to launch a carbon tax in 2025 and lay the groundwork for an increase in value-added tax (VAT) on fossil fuels, following up on international promises to reform its system of environmental levies.
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‘Climate funding cliff’: 2.7% of EU GDP needed every year to reach net zero -study

Carbon Pulse - Mon, 2024-09-16 22:32
Reaching climate neutrality will require additional investments worth at least 2.7% of the EU’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) – or €462 billion at today’s rate – every year throughout this decade, according to new research published on Monday, which warns against a looming EU “climate funding cliff”.
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Protected areas largely fail to prevent forest loss, study says

Carbon Pulse - Mon, 2024-09-16 22:14
Protected areas (PAs) contribute to preventing, on average, just 30% of forest loss, with the lowest levels of protection observed in some of the world's most biodiversity-rich countries, a paper has said.
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Australian cattle body seeks to exempt agricultural lands from EU deforestation rules

Carbon Pulse - Mon, 2024-09-16 22:00
An Australian cattle industry lobby group has released its definition of deforestation, in an attempt to seek exemptions for agricultural lands from upcoming EU rules.
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Euro Markets: Midday Update

Carbon Pulse - Mon, 2024-09-16 21:26
EU carbon permit prices dropped to a seven-month low on Monday morning before rallying briefly after the daily auction cleared at a record premium amid reported demand from options hedging, while gas dropped to a seven-week low and German year-ahead power tumbled to its lowest since April.
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Storm Boris batters central Europe – in pictures

The Guardian - Mon, 2024-09-16 20:23

Storm Boris has caused several deaths, and thousands have been evacuated from their homes across Austria, the Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia

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Hot queen conch seeks cool mates: Florida’s new ‘speed dating’ service to save endangered shellfish

The Guardian - Mon, 2024-09-16 20:00

Soaring sea temperatures have made the celebrated gastropod lethargic and infertile, so scientists are helping the threatened species to reproduce

Of the many novel initiatives dreamed up by scientists to protect threatened species from the ravages of record ocean temperatures, Florida’s new “speed dating for shellfish” programme might be about the most extraordinary.

Researchers are acting as matchmakers for the queen conch, a mollusc with iconic status in the Florida Keys, by removing them from the heat of their nearshore habitat and relocating them to deeper, cooler waters where a plethora of potential new partners awaits.

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China releases emissions accounting rules for cement, aluminium sectors

Carbon Pulse - Mon, 2024-09-16 19:43
China has revamped the emissions accounting guidelines for domestic cement and aluminium sectors, as the country is set to include the two industries in its emissions trading scheme this year.
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Is pollution in England’s rivers really getting worse? There’s more good news than you might think | Michelle Jackson

The Guardian - Mon, 2024-09-16 19:00

River wildlife is on the up and there’s little evidence that storm overflows are being used more often. But protest is still vital

Public outrage over river pollution has been heartening to see. Over the past few years, stories about sewage contamination in rivers have captured public attention, and prompted campaigns and protests, such as the forthcoming River Action UK march for clean water on 26 October in London. It is important to protect our rivers because they are biodiversity hotspots and essential for human health. However, as a freshwater ecologist, I know there is more nuance to the story than you may have been led to believe. From my perspective, there is some good news when it comes to our rivers. I would even say that some rivers in England are in the best state they have been in for hundreds of years.

Many rivers in England are polluted, but we need to recognise that this is not an emerging issue but a much longer-standing one that has been largely ignored by the media and politicians for decades. Much of the recent furore over pollution has to do with increased awareness, rather than a sudden increase in pollution itself. It’s only by understanding how these ecosystems have changed over time and reflecting on previous successes that we can make real progress.

Michelle Jackson is associate professor of freshwater/marine ecology at the University of Oxford. Prof Jackson previously conducted one study that received funding from a wastewater treatment company, and currently has no industry funding.

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Australia consults on ACCU Scheme transparency changes

Carbon Pulse - Mon, 2024-09-16 18:29
The federal government Monday published an exposure draft for consultation on transparency changes to the Australian Carbon Credit Unit (ACCU) Scheme.
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Internal audit reveals ongoing integrity concerns with the Clean Energy Regulator

Carbon Pulse - Mon, 2024-09-16 17:19
An audit of the Clean Energy Regulator (CER) has found weak governance practices regarding internal conflicts of interest (COI) within the organisation, according to documents published Monday, issues that critics continue to say are indicative of much broader problems with Australia's carbon market. 
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Did you know climate change made the entire Earth wobble for nine days! What? | First Dog on the Moon

The Guardian - Mon, 2024-09-16 16:34

Is there anything climate change cannot do?!

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