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If a tree-planting scheme in western England can match the first national forest, people as well as wildlife will benefit

The benefits for bats were presumably not at the top of the government’s list of reasons for announcing the creation of the new western forest. The chancellor, Rachel Reeves, regards rules that protect these nocturnal mammals as a nuisance. Nevertheless, the rare Bechstein’s bat, as well as the pine marten and various fungi, are expected to be among species that benefit from the multiyear project, to which central government has so far committed £7.5m.

Like England’s only existing national forest, in the Midlands, this one will be broken up across a wide area, featuring grassland, farmland, towns and villages as well as densely planted, closed-canopy woodland. John Everitt, who heads the National Forest organisation (which is both a charity and a government arm’s length body), describes this type of landscape as “forest in the medieval sense with a mosaic of habitats”.

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Cyclone Alfred drives wild seas, a seagull eclipses the moon, and our Kylie performs on a trapeze: Guardian Australia looks at some of the month’s best images

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New Delhi has finalised procedures for its voluntary carbon market – or ‘offset mechanism’ – by approving eight methodologies ranging from renewables to reforestation projects, marking a major step in the operationalisation of the country's carbon market, the government said in an announcement this week.

NSW-based company unveils its proprietary microemulsion flow battery technology for the first time, promising a breakthrough in long duration energy storage.

The post Origin-backed energy storage start-up unveils “breakthrough” redox flow battery appeared first on RenewEconomy.

BNEF says Australia is on the cusp of a big battery boom that could deliver an eight-fold increase in capacity.

The post Big battery boom could deliver 18 GW of grid-scale energy storage by 2035 appeared first on RenewEconomy.

This immense worm moves slowly and gracefully underground and can grow to the length of an outstretched arm

• More fantastic invertebrate nominations here

The giant Gippsland earthworm already has an upbeat campaign song.

“I am a real worm, I am an actual worm,” bangs the chorus of Doctor Worm, a late-90s novelty hit by the American indie rock band They Might Be Giants.

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Country delegates have come under pressure to defend their regulatory mandate at the 30th Council of the International Seabed Authority (ISA) for deep sea mining, as a move from a large Canadian metals company threatens to hamper multilateral efforts.

Just Stop Oil says it will disband but does this mark an end to the chaos caused by its climate protests?

Just Stop Oil says it will disband but does this mark an end to the chaos caused by its climate protests?

Solar households may feel aggrieved about receiving not much for rooftop PV fed into the grid. It means they are subsidising everyone else's power usage.

The post Low rooftop PV tariffs mean solar houses are subsidising everyone else’s power supply appeared first on RenewEconomy.

The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) published proposed clean truck rules on Friday that would delay the implementation of low NOx regulations to model year (MY) 2026 engines, and create additional flexibilities within the Advanced Clean Trucks (ACT) regulations.

Market participants continued to cut their exposure to California Carbon Allowances (CCAs), while emitters went into a net short position in V25 RGGI allowances (RGAs) and once again built Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LFS) shorts, data published Friday by the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) showed.

The US Supreme Court may be poised to rule against the EPA in a pair of cases challenging the agency’s alleged penchant to transfer lawsuits to the friendly grounds of the DC Circuit court, although the outcome may hinge on the opinion of a single justice, an environmental law specialist said Thursday.

A US federal judge has ruled that two climate lawsuits filed by Native American Tribes against several fossil fuel corporations must be returned to state court in Washington, rejecting arguments that the cases fall under federal jurisdiction.

Three Republican members of the US Congress introduced a bill on Thursday that would scrap the EPA’s Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS).

Flexible, rooftop solar installations can deliver substantial emissions savings across Europe, as citizens prepare to face the evolving framework of the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS2), set to cover heating and cooling fuels from 2027.

Major voluntary carbon registries must shake off their scepticism of blockchain technology to enable the market to scale, according to a new report.

The European Commission will put forward options in May to address the issue of “export leakage” for goods covered by the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), ahead of a formal legislative review due before the end of the year, an official has said.

Environmentalists call bid to skirt UN treaty ‘reckless’ amid fears that mining will cause irreversible loss of biodiversity

A Canadian deep-sea mining firm has revealed it has been negotiating with the Trump administration to bypass a UN treaty and potentially gain authorisation from the US to mine in international waters.

The revelation has stunned environmentalists, who condemned the move as “reckless” and a “slap in the face for multilateralism”.

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A UK forest carbon standard will launch a new version of its crediting code later this year, as part of its ongoing commitment to improvement, it said in an update on Friday.