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European carbon prices plunged on the first trading day of 2024 as speculative traders renewed bearish bets that had been unwound in the final two weeks of last year, while energy prices drifted despite forecasts for colder weather by the end of the week.

Electricity generation from fossil fuels in the EU slumped 21% year-on-year in 2023, according to transmission data, with coal producing half as much power over the last twelve months as in 2018, and the share of renewables also jumping in the bloc-wide mix.

Morgan Trowland and Marcus Decker received the longest sentences given to non-violent protesters in UK

Last year, Morgan Trowland was one of two Just Stop Oil protesters sentenced to more than two and a half years in prison for scaling the Dartford crossing.

The sentences handed down to Trowland and Marcus Decker are the longest sentences yet given to non-violent protesters in the UK. Now, after his release on licence last month, Trowland says the 13 months he spent behind bars hardly felt like punishment at all.

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Several members of the High Ambition Coalition (HAC), formed by the Marshall Islands in 2014 to phase out fossil fuels, may yet develop their own gas reserves, despite the COP28 decision to transition away from fossil fuels.

A government-commissioned working group containing some of Japan’s biggest companies has called for a broad set of actions to be taken to improve liquidity and quality in the nation’s emerging voluntary carbon market, including regulatory guidelines, rating systems, and greater transparency.

Members of the public get a chance to see the 2m-long pliosaur fossil at a museum in Dorset.

The price for Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs) has started the new year at a six-month high, likely a result of end of year voluntary retirements. 

Cronulla residents believe speared fish may have been ‘Gus’, a 35- to 40-year-old blue groper known to swimmers and divers in the area

A man has been fined $500 for spearing a protected fish species in Sydney over the weekend.

NSW police have confirmed officers spoke to a 26-year-old man on Saturday following reports a blue groper (Achoerodus viridis) was speared and killed at Oak Park in Cronulla.

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Invasive species such as deer, pigs and rabbits might help boost native predator populations. Euan Ritchie, Professor in Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, School of Life & Environmental Sciences, Deakin University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

As 2023 wrapped up, some new records were achieved in Australia’s energy transition, particularly in Victoria and South Australia, where rooftop PV met all state demand at one stage.

The post Rooftop solar PV gorilla roars again, meets all demand in one state in holiday peak appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Cabinet papers reveal John Howard killed proposed emissions trading scheme in 2003 after meeting "industry" leaders. Even Joe "wind turbines are offensive" Hockey was on board.

The post John Howard killed emissions trading plan in 2003 after industry lobbying – cabinet papers appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Poor state of critical assets in many parts of country leaves thousands of homes and businesses more vulnerable to storms

Ministers have been told they will be “punished” by voters after analysis revealed the decline of vital flood defences across England.

The proportion of critical assets in disrepair has almost trebled in the West Midlands and the east of England since 2018, leaving thousands of homes and businesses more vulnerable to storms.

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Pioneering initiative to consider children’s addresses after coroner ruled air pollution a factor in death of Ella Adoo-Kissi-Debrah, nine

Doctors at Great Ormond Street are being encouraged to consider air pollution levels at their patients’ home addresses when assessing the causes of their illnesses, under an innovative pilot scheme.

Data showing the average annual air pollution rates at patients’ postcodes has been embedded in patients’ electronic files, so that clinicians can help families understand whether their child has been exposed to elevated risk.

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Keeping your cat indoors is safer for your pet and wildlife. There are some simple steps you can take to ensure its quality of life doesn’t suffer. Tiffani J. Howell, Senior Research Fellow, School of Psychology and Public Health, La Trobe University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Kristy Holmes always knew she could use her electric car for ‘good things’, but when storms caused a blackout, it proved life-saving

An electric vehicle owner has used her car’s emergency power system to run her 11-year-old son’s lifesaving dialysis machine and another has ridden to the rescue of his neighbours after devastating storms cut power in south-east Queensland.

When the power went down following storms and flash flooding on Christmas Day, many residents immediately felt the consequences: electric gates did not work, septic tanks began to fill, air conditioners could not run and fridges began to warm as a heatwave followed.

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Protests, natural disasters and First Nations pride were among the memorable images from the past year taken by Australia’s wire agency photographers

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Experts say prolonged delay in replacing chair signals that government does not take net zero policy seriously enough and is harming investment

Rishi Sunak has come under fierce attack from UK climate experts for his government’s failure over the past 18 months to appoint a new chair of the independent committee that advises ministers on emissions targets.

In a letter to the prime minister leaked to the Observer, the UK’s leading organisation working on the economic effects of global warming condemned the “excessive delay” in finding a replacement to previous chair Lord Deben.

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Cautious optimism among experts that emissions from energy use may have peaked as net zero mission intensifies

Global efforts to slow a runaway climate catastrophe may have reached a critical milestone in the last year with the peak of global carbon emissions from energy use, according to experts.

A growing number of climate analysts believe that 2023 may be recorded as the year in which annual emissions reached a pinnacle before the global fossil fuel economy begins a terminal decline.

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Several US banks and hedge funds opened accounts in California’s WCI-linked carbon market in Q4, while dairy digester offset developers continue to exit the cap-and-trade programme, according to state data published Friday.

Farmers in Switzerland want the predators to be reduced in number to protect livestock.