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Thrill-seeking tourists are putting themselves in danger getting too close to volcanoes.

Australia's average temperature has risen 1°C, leading to more high-impact weather events such as heatwaves, extreme fire weather conditions, coastal inundation and marine heatwaves.

The post State of the Climate 2018: Heatwaves, fires and floods appeared first on RenewEconomy.

They've blocked bridges, held die-ins and closed roads - all in the name of stopping climate change.

A daily summary of our news plus bite-sized updates from around the world.

Two US senators introduced bipartisan legislation on Wednesday that would implement a carbon fee-and-dividend programme, mirroring a bill introduced by lawmakers in the House in November.

Genex brings in EnergyAustralia as potential partner to unique solar-pumped hydro facility in north Queensland, although the solar component will be delayed.

The post Genex brings in EnergyAustralia for solar-pumped hydro storage project appeared first on RenewEconomy.

The State of the Climate 2018 report said Australia is in for more frequent heatwaves as well as an increase in dangerous fire conditions.

European carbon prices resumed their upward climb on Wednesday, hitting a new three-month high but failing to breach €25 after numerous attempts.

The new Office for Environmental Protection will have similar enforcement powers to EU regulators.

Australia is facing an increase in extreme heat, fire danger weather, floods and marine heatwaves, according to the latest biennial snapshot from the Bureau of Meteorology and CSIRO. Michael Grose, Climate Projections Scientist, CSIRO Lynette Bettio, Australian Bureau of Meteorology Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

But Green groups say proposals will mean weaker protection for nature after UK leaves EU

A new post-Brexit green watchdog will be able to sue the government over environmental failings, according to new plans set out by Michael Gove. However, campaign groups have questioned the independence of the body because the chairperson and budget will be decided by the environment secretary.

The establishment of the watchdog is part of the draft environment bill, which also puts principles such as “the polluter pays” into legal guidance, but only requires ministers to consider them. The bill, the first for 20 years, makes it a legal requirement for the government to have a long-term environment plan and report on progress to parliament each year.

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California and Quebec will auction off an estimated 42.6 million allowances at 2019 auctions with consignment and unsold volume increasing the total amount offered at the quarterly sales, state data shows.

The Indigenous rangers in this Cape York national park are driven by their love of country and deep satisfaction to be finally back on their homelands

• My favourite national park: tell us why it’s important to you
  

It’s 8am and the Indigenous women rangers of Lama Lama national park are rounding up the younger rangers and casual workers for the day’s fencing. It’s a huge undertaking: kilometres of fencing to keep the cattle and pigs out of the more sensitive areas of the vast national park that hugs the pristine Princess Charlotte Bay, midway up Cape York in far north Queensland.

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State of the climate report points to a long-term increase in the frequency of extreme heat events, fire weather and drought

Australia is experiencing more extreme heat, longer fire seasons, rising oceans and more marine heatwaves consistent with a changing climate, according to the Bureau of Meteorology and CSIRO’s state of the climate report.

The report, published every two years, measures the long-term variability and trends observed in Australia’s climate.

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The US space agency says cyber-thieves may have compromised two of its computer servers.

The UK government has confirmed that it will not hold any EUA auctions in Q1 2019, regardless of the outcome of Brexit negotiations.

The Shanghai municipal government released the 2018 allocation plan for its emissions trading scheme, slightly adjusting upwards the programme’s CO2 cap but keeping the system largely unchanged ahead of the national cap-and-trade launch.

Devil’s ivy with synthetic animal gene inserted helped reduce benzene and chloroform levels

A humble houseplant with a dash of rabbit DNA could help lower our exposure to indoor air pollution, new research suggests.

Scientists have revealed that by inserting a rabbit gene into devil’s ivy (Epipremnum aureum) the plant is able to clean the surrounding air by breaking down chemicals such as benzene and chloroform, which in certain concentrations can harm health.

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EU lawmakers early on Wednesday agreed on reforms to the bloc’s power market that will end coal subsidies from 2025, paving the way for a full phase-out of the fuel.

Stay of execution for coal subsidies has been heavily criticised by climate analysts

An EU deal to slowly phase out coal subsidies is “completely inconsistent” with the bloc’s Paris climate agreement commitments, analysts say.

Marathon negotiations ended early on Wednesday with a benchmark CO2 emissions standard of 550 grams per kWh for all European power plants by 2025. But coal-dependent Poland secured a loophole allowing countries another year to negotiate new “capacity mechanisms” that would be exempted from the deadline.

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