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A federal bill introducing a US carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM) may not pass WTO muster in the absence of a nationwide CO2 price, experts said Wednesday.

California offset issuances sunk to a three-month low as state regulator ARB distributed nearly 179,000 credits across 10 reporting periods, according to data published Wednesday.

The allowance volume on offer at Nova Scotia’s Nov. 23 cap-and-trade auction will increase for the third straight sale, according to a notice published by the province’s environment ministry on Wednesday.

The EU’s legislative bodies are planning to make key decisions on the bloc’s Fit for 55 climate proposals early next year, while the bloc's energy ministers on Tuesday discussed an idea to hold extra EUA auctions to help shield households from rising energy costs.

Birds, and perhaps other animals too, benefitted from a respite in human activity in North America, research suggests

The shutdown of traveling and socializing during the Covid-19 pandemic last year brought severe dislocation to many people, but if you were a bird during this time it was highly appealing, new research has found.

The distribution of 80% of studied bird species in North America changed during pandemic lockdowns last year, the study found, with most of these species increasing in abundance in and around urban areas that fell unusually quiet due to a sudden drop in traffic.

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It can terrorise you for five years – or 10, if you keep it as a pet

A garden snail is eating your roses. “Little snail / Dreaming you go / Weather and rose / Is all you know,” wrote Langston Hughes. It is night time, the snail’s time, after dew or rain – when the snail is happiest, because the conditions are optimal for slime-walkers.

The snail is blind. It knows the rose only by its smell and soft petals. You think you can hear the rasping of tiny teeth: scraping, scraping away at your roses. The snail is deaf: it does not hear your complaints. It could terrorise you for five years – or 10, if you chose to keep it as a pet.

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Predictions of debt, deficit and tax revenue out to 2060 rather nicely avoid the major issue that will confront the economy – climate change

The latest long-term report from the Parliamentary Budget Office provides the good news that the budget looks fine and debt levels even in the worst-case scenario are manageable. The bad news is that, as with all our long-term economic forecasts, there is little attention paid to climate change rendering much of these forecasts irrelevant.

The PBO’s latest “Beyond the budget” report charts where the Australian government’s finances are headed over the next 40 years.

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The WHO is slashing recommended maximum limits of key pollutants as evidence of danger mounts.

US biofuel credit (RIN) values declined to seven-month lows on Wednesday after news outlets reported President Joe Biden’s (D) administration is mulling multi-year cuts to Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) biofuel volumes.

Carbon pricing could help alleviate funding issues involved in US Democrats' proposed $3.5-trillion budget reconciliation bill, while the mechanism could also ensure the US reaches the long-term climate goals laid out by the Biden administration, a panel heard Wednesday.

The UK has fined seven companies including oil major ExxonMobil a total of more than £300,000 for not complying with their obligations under the EU carbon market.

Level for the most damaging tiny particles is halved, reflecting new evidence of deadly harm

The World Health Organization has cut its recommended limits for air pollution and urged nations to tackle dirty air and save millions of lives.

In the first update for 16 years, the guideline limit for the most damaging pollution – tiny particles from burning fossil fuels – has been halved. The new limit for nitrogen dioxide (NO2), mainly produced by diesel engines, is now 75% lower.

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Three major Chinese companies on Wednesday announced they had used government-issued CCERs to offset a shipment of 30,000 tonnes of crude oil from extraction in Angola and every step of the way through the supply chain to consumption.

Regulator takes Tesla big battery at Hornsdale to court over its alleged failure to deliver promised FCAS services when the country's biggest coal unit tripped.

The post Regulator takes Tesla big battery to court for failing to properly back up broken coal plant appeared first on RenewEconomy.

European carbon had a quiet morning on Wednesday as the market anticipated the expiry of the September options, while UK traders prepared for the fortnightly auction with UKAs maintaining a premium to EUAs for nearly three weeks.

A coalition representing the maritime sector’s entire value chain has called on Wednesday for a target of net zero emissions from shipping by 2050 and for market-based measures within five years.

An immune therapy derived from llama blood shows 'exciting potential' in early coronavirus trials.

Government wins high court ruling to deter Insulate Britain’s motorway-blocking protests

Environmental activists blocking the M25 face possible imprisonment after National Highways was granted an injunction against their protests, the transport secretary, Grant Shapps, has said.

The campaign group Insulate Britain has shut down parts of the M25 five times in just over a week.

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A team at the University of Oregon has begun a three-year study looking at the effects of air quality and other stress factors on dairy cattle

Juliana Ranches drove to work in eastern Oregon in early September through wildfire smoke so thick that, for a moment, she thought it was just a grey, foggy day and it would soon start to rain.

Ranches is a livestock researcher relatively new to living in the area, and the conditions were unlike anything she had experienced before, leading her to ask questions about the animals that spend their summers in the smoke. Eastern Oregon has this year experienced regular wildfires since early July.

“We know there is a negative effect,” Ranches said, referring to the cows grazing outside in some of the most polluted air in the US. The area registered 160 on the air quality index (AQI) in early September after reports of a large number of wildfires, a level that can put human health at risk.

“There is a little bit of work out of California with [dairy and beef] producers and indirect impacts, reporting lower conception rates and birthrates, but we cannot say for sure because there are no studies in a controlled environment looking into that.”

Research into the impact on livestock bred for human consumption is limited, although it is known that particulate matter from the smoke is a significant health threat, especially when exposure is long-term.

According to new preliminary research from the University of Idaho, a sample of dairy cattle exposed to poor air quality and heat stress produced less milk – about 1.3 litres less than normal (just over two UK pints) – a day than average. Some cows had not fully recovered two weeks after the air quality improved. But because this observation was based on just one herd, the data does not yet translate into solid recommendations for ranchers and farmers. The work must be scaled up to explore larger patterns.

It is why Ranches, along with her colleague Jenifer Cruickshank, who specialises in dairy management, has begun a three-year study to collect more data on cows and the effects of wildfire and smoke, as part of which they have put nearly 30 cows out to pasture.

“I call them my smoke cows,” said Cruickshank. During a wildfire event that results in an AQI measure over 50, she takes daily milk samples and blood tests, which will be analysed as stress markers. The cows’ respiratory rate and body temperatures are also documented.

“We’re getting a finer-grained picture of what these cows are experiencing, through poor air quality associated with wildfires – a better understanding of the physiological effects on them, like is it mild? Is it severe? Is there diversity among the response in the cows? With that information, we can start to look at the negative effects and minimise the damage,” she said.

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China’s Hubei province has released the 2020 allocation for its pilot emissions trading scheme, with the number of allowances to be issued falling by almost 40% after regional coal-fired power plants exited the scheme to participate in the national market.