Feed aggregator

A US federal court on Wednesday nixed three Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) compliance waivers handed out in the final hours of President Donald Trump’s tenure, as judges ruled that the EPA did not analyse necessary legal questions in handing out the relief.

California Carbon Allowance (CCA) prices will accelerate over the coming decade due to greater speculative involvement in the linked WCI cap-and-trade programme, analysts said Wednesday.

MEPs adopted a position on the EU’s Hydrogen Strategy on Wednesday, emphasising support for renewables-derived hydrogen but also leaving the door open for production from gas.

Washington legislators are exploring ways to reverse Governor Jay Inslee’s (D) vetoes of their carbon market and low-carbon fuel standard (LCFS) bills, while regulatory experts believe future prospects for a WCI cap-and-trade link could hinge how the final rules are drafted.

Residents urged to help keep persecuted raptors safe after two males disappear from Geltsdale nature reserve, Cumbria

People in Cumbria are being urged to watch over a pair of hen harriers who have begun nesting on a nature reserve as police investigate the disappearance of two other of the endangered raptors.

Two male hen harriers vanished from RSPB Geltsdale last week in what the police described as “suspicious circumstances”, just when both were providing nesting females with food. As a result both nests failed.

Continue reading...

Ukraine should gradually raise its national CO2 tax to avoid the effects of the EU’s planned carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM) while it prepares its national carbon market, an expert group said in a report presented Wednesday.

Massospora cicadina, laced with the same chemical as psychedelic mushrooms, infects a small number of cicadas

As billions of Brood X cicadas emerge from the dirt for the first time in 17 years, a fungus is making these bugs want to mate more than usual.

The Massospora cicadina, laced with the same chemical as psychedelic mushrooms, infects a small number of the periodical cicadas and takes over their bodies. Besides making the bugs eat away their insides, the fungus also increases their sex drives.

Continue reading...

UN report warns that quantity not matched by quality, with many conserved areas poorly protected, as Germany backs new landscapes fund for developing countries

An area greater than the land mass of Russia has been added to the world’s network of national parks and conservation areas since 2010, amid growing pressure to protect nature.

As of today, about 17% of land and inland water ecosystems and 8% of marine areas are within formal protected areas, with the total coverage increasing by 42% since the beginning of the last decade, according to the Protected Planet report by the UN Environment Programme (Unep) and International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

Continue reading...

EUAs lost another €3 on Wednesday to deepen the previous session's 7% plunge, while UKA futures fell during their first trading day as the market remained wary over increased supply coming in the form of UK utilities selling EU units, Britain's first standalone auction, and the prospect that this year's free EUA allocations would begin soon.

China’s environment ministry on Wednesday released rules for registry, trading, and settlement under its national carbon market, the last piece of the ETS puzzle, though important details were left for the exchange to complete.

Imagery comes back from the six-wheeled robot that landed successfully at the weekend.

The world-first system can allow anyone to check if reefs known to be under heat stress have started to bleach

Scientists have launched a world-first system to detect in almost real time the bleaching of the planet’s coral reefs that are under severe threat from global heating.

The developers of the new tool, which has been four years in the making, claim it can allow anyone to check if reefs known to be under heat stress have actually started to bleach.

Continue reading...

Australia’s biggest carbon project developer has acquired a start-up that offers customers the opportunity to offset their greenhouse gas emissions, the company announced Wednesday.

Government-owned firms are often branded as uncompetitive, stuck in the past and unable to truly innovate. But they're sometimes better suited than private firms to drive new, clean technologies. Arjuna Dibley, Visiting Researcher, Climate and Energy College, The University of Melbourne Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Western Australia's largest wind energy project, the 214MW Yandin wind farm, is formally open and will be one of the most productive in the country.

The post Western Australia’s biggest wind farm formally opened, with PPA to come appeared first on RenewEconomy.

A global energy authority created a roadmap for the world to reach net-zero emissions by 2050. Meanwhile, Australia committed $600 million for a major new gas plant. Samantha Hepburn, Director of the Centre for Energy and Natural Resources Law, Deakin Law School, Deakin University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Clean Energy Council slams federal government decision to go ahead with new gas-fired power station in New South Wales, noting battery storage is significantly cheaper.

The post Coalition gas plant “reckless,” battery storage is much cheaper, says CEC appeared first on RenewEconomy.

A South Australian government-backed operation to manufacture green hydrogen and distribute it through the gas mains has officially begun operations.

The post Australia’s largest electrolyser switches on, to pipe “renewable gas” into homes appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Verdant Earth Technologies, a small energy company with big plans for exporting green hydrogen, wants to create a hydrogen export hub in the Top End.

The post Verdant enlists NT’s ex-chief minister to push big Darwin green hydrogen plan appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Higher temperatures have accelerated build-up of salts, which causes the art to flake off the walls.