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Carbon credit certifier Gold Standard has released a new methodology for projects that reduce methane emissions from rice cultivation, five months after a popular UN protocol was embroiled in controversy.

The country generates more solar energy than all other countries combined, but burns half the planet’s coal. There are lessons here for the rest of us, though

Big numbers are a hallmark of China’s economy and now its energy transition: they thrill, they mystify, and at times they contradict, at least on the surface.

China’s solar capacity is now 228 gigawatts (GW), more than the rest of the world combined, according to Global Energy Monitor. And wind capacity, at a whopping 310GW, also leads the world. With another 750GW of new wind and solar projects in the pipeline, China will hit its 2030 target of 1,200GW – an unimaginable number when proposed just a few years ago – five years early.

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Large corporations with net zero pledges are offering better terms and extended contracts for buying carbon credits, and are increasingly seeking removal credits, a Dutch project developer announced in a bullish update on Thursday.

Captain of tourist boat from Baja California, Mexico, says grey whales return repeatedly for ‘grooming’

Grey whales have learned to approach whale-watching boats to have parasites removed by human beings, it has been claimed.

Video footage documenting the behaviour in the Ojo de Liebre lagoon, off the coast of Baja California, Mexico, shows a grey whale having whale lice picked off its head by the captain of a small boat. “I have done it repeatedly with the same whale and others,” Paco Jimenez Franco told a US news site. “It is very exciting for me.”

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A weekly summary of our biodiversity news plus bite-sized updates from around the world. All articles in this edition are free to read (no subscription required).

European carbon prices eased further on Thursday morning, as bearish technical indicators and slumping gas markets continued to pressure EUAs, and UK Allowances continued their fall in the wake of key reform documentation published earlier this week.

Japan on Thursday announced it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Kyrgyzstan, making the Central Asian nation its 27th partner country under the Joint Crediting Mechanism (JCM).

The climate activist blocked a port handling fossil fuels with a group of young activists in June.

Exclusive: Scientists hope success of growing carnivorous plants without peat will convince ministers not to water down ban

The proposed ban on using peat on private gardens and allotments is in danger of being weakened as opponents argue it is more difficult to grow carnivorous plants and other flowers without the environmentally damaging compost products.

However, the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) is hoping a successful experiment in which carnivorous plants grown peat-free outshone those grown in peat will convince ministers not to water down the ban.

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Two Tokyo-listed companies have launched an initiative to simplify the lengthy process of creating government-issued J-Credits while facilitating carbon credit trading through the use of IoT and blockchain technology, as the country is seeking ways to boost the supply of domestic offsets.

Farmers can’t use chlorpyrifos on food because it damages children’s brains but an EPA official questions restrictions under global treaty

• This article is co-published with ProPublica, a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power

On his first day in office, President Joe Biden announced that his administration planned to scrutinize a Trump-era decision to allow the continued use of chlorpyrifos, a pesticide that can damage children’s brains. And with great fanfare, the Environmental Protection Agency went on to ban the use of the chemical on food.

“Ending the use of chlorpyrifos on food will help to ensure children, farmworkers, and all people are protected from the potentially dangerous consequences of this pesticide,” the head of the EPA, Michael Regan, said in his announcement of the decision in August 2021. “EPA will follow the science and put health and safety first.”

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Calls grow for legislation requiring developers to include hollow bricks for endangered nesting species

Conservative MPs are joining calls for a new law to guarantee swift bricks in every new home to help the rapidly declining bird and other endangered roof-nesting species.

Pressure is growing to amend the levelling up bill so that developers are required to include a hollow brick for nesting birds in all new housing, with MPs to debate the issue in parliament on 10 July.

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Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are receiving increasing attention in Cambodia to safeguard marine biodiversity, according to a new World Bank report, however wider governance, corruption, and capacity building issues must be addressed to begin adequately protect the country’s blue economy.

Carbon standard Verra on Wednesday issued a call for projects to pilot its long-awaited SD VISta Nature Framework and biodiversity methodology ahead of a public consultation process expected to launch in September.

Proposal to improve soil health throughout continent by 2050 criticised for lack of legally binding targets

The European Commission has proposed the continent’s first soil law, intended to undo some of the damage done by intensive farming and mitigate global heating.

Amid intense opposition to proposed laws on nature restoration and curbs on pesticides, the European Commission put forward proposals in Brussels on Wednesday to revive degraded soils. Research indicates that this could help absorb carbon from the atmosphere and ensure sustainable food production.

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The massive injection of Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs) into the market in recent weeks has caused the price to slip to its lowest levels year-to-date, according to analysts.

The much awaited rules will allow rooftop PV to become a valuable part of the grid, and not just a side hustle.

The post Flexible export limits: The next phase for rooftop solar kicks off in an Australia-first appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Indonesia's plan to become a global electric vehicle and battery manufacturing hub could be a great opportunity for Australia.

The post Why Indonesia wants Australia’s help to supply world with EVs and batteries appeared first on RenewEconomy.

A Singaporean asset manager has secured a $300 million green loan that also includes carbon credits from Overseas Chinese Banking Corporation (OCBC) that will assist a shopping mall become carbon neutral, the company announced Thursday.

Controversial brown coal-to-hydrogen project in Victoria is likely an economic dud, and lousy for the environment, says new study.

The post “Clean” brown coal to hydrogen project likely an economic dud, says new report appeared first on RenewEconomy.