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By promoting more diverse farming, we can provide nutritious food without having the same devasting effect on our climate

• Andy Cato is a regenerative farmer and cofounder of Wildfarmed. He is also one half of the electronic music band Groove Armada

On the way back from a gig 15 years ago, I read an article on the environmental consequences of food production. It made for sobering reading, and ended by saying: “If you don’t like the system, don’t depend on it.” I was inspired to transform our garden in France into a vegetable patch in a quest for self-sufficiency. This quickly escalated, and I ended up selling the rights to my songs with Groove Armada to buy a farm nearby. After 12 years in the agricultural school of hard knocks, what we learned there is now being applied on a National Trust farm near Swindon for which we were awarded the tenancy last year.

Back in France during last month’s heatwaves, the effect on the landscape was devastating. Spring-sown crops, hanging on after very little rainfall and unrelenting sun, will, for many, not be worth harvesting. Looking over the parched valley, veiled in wildfire smoke drifting up from the coast, I made a throwaway remark to some farming friends about planting olive trees to cope with increasingly regular episodes of intense, dry heat. One replied that there was in fact a meeting that evening about the creation of a Gascon olive oil collective. The shift in weather patterns over the past decade has been incredible. Farmers feel the effects immediately; we are gardening without a hosepipe.

Andy Cato is a regenerative farmer and cofounder of Wildfarmed. He is also one half of the electronic music band Groove Armada

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EUAs moved up on thin liquidity despite a weak German sale, as the annual August auction supply cut continues to support the market, with relative stability on gas and power prices also offering some strength.

India’s carbon market framework is likely to be rolled out over three phases, with the government leveraging its experience with existing schemes to develop voluntary markets in the first two, ultimately progressing to a fully-fledged compulsory scheme in the third, according to a research note from an Indian securities firm.

Kylie Jenner’s 17-minute private jet ride is a reminder that private jets are morally obscene and terrible for the climate. The planet can no longer afford these indulgences

Kylie Jenner, Drake and other celebrities have recently faced criticism for carbon emission-heavy private jet rides, with one of Jenner’s flights reportedly lasting an offensively short 17 minutes.

It might be less insulting if the flights were taken for reasons vital to the survival of the human race or at least the function of government. But these were entertainers and private individuals who have access to first-class commercial flights and the same conveniences of phone and video calls us humble common folk use.

private aircraft still emit more than 33m tonnes of greenhouse gases, more than the country of Denmark … they are five to 14 times more polluting than commercial planes, per passenger, and 50 times more polluting than trains.

Akin Olla is a contributing opinion writer at the Guardian

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Wildfires in the US have depleted at least 95% of California’s forest offset buffer pool in just one decade, a reserve mechanism used by the state’s forest carbon offsets programme, which is designed to protect against the risk of damage to forests from natural disasters for a period of 100 years, research has found.

Birdwatcher ‘overcome with emotion’ on spotting the Santa Marta sabrewing, only third time it has been documented

A rare hummingbird has been rediscovered by a birdwatcher in Colombia after going missing for more than a decade.

The Santa Marta sabrewing, a large hummingbird only found in Colombia’s Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta mountains, was last seen in 2010 and scientists feared the species might be extinct as the tropical forests it inhabited have largely been cleared for agriculture.

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Chinese carbon allowance prices dropped over the past week with evaporated trading volumes amid lukewarm interest, while the offset market posted relatively abundant liquidity during the period.

The Australian Labor Party government is all but certain to have its 43% emissions reduction cut by 2030 signed into law next month, now the work begins on one of its key policy measures to meet that target – the Safeguard Mechanism.

Thousands more residents outside the original contamination zone may be drinking tainted water

A French industrial fabric producer that poisoned drinking water supplies with PFAS “forever chemicals” across 65 sq miles (168 sq km) of southern New Hampshire misled regulators about the amount of toxic substance it used, a group of state lawmakers and public health advocates charge.

The company, Saint Gobain, now admits it used far more PFAS than regulators previously knew, and officials fear thousands more residents outside the contamination zone’s boundaries may be drinking tainted water in a region plagued by cancer clusters and other health problems thought to stem from PFAS pollution.

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From US floods to drought in France, communities around globe are still feeling effects of July’s extreme weather

Central US states are still reeling from a week of extreme flooding events in the final days of July. Initially, the extreme rainfall into St Louis gave a quarter of the normal annual rainfall in just 12 hours, according to the National Weather Service (NWS). A few days later, in eastern Kentucky, at least 10-12 inches (about 25-30cm) fell in the space of a few days, causing devastating flooding in the Appalachian region of the state.

The complex, numerous and steep valleys in the region enabled rainwater to quickly run down valley sides and build up on the limited and often built-up floodplains. Deforestation and historic mining activity in the region have also been mentioned as potential contributors. Both flooding events have been classified as one in 1,000-year events by the NWS.

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The best of this week’s wildlife pictures, including a bearded seal, peacocks and mating humpback whales

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

The Canadian federal government has argued the carbon allowances Koch Industries purchased in the shuttered Ontario cap-and-trade system aren't protected investments under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), legal documents released Tuesday revealed, marking the latest development in a years long dispute.

Industry angry and frustrated at the failure of the ESB to develop a credible policy, they say investments at risk and question the future of the body.

The post “Makes little sense:” ESB’s capacity market farce leaves projects in a financial hole appeared first on RenewEconomy.

New data shows coral cover in the Great Barrier Reef is at a record high, despite a disturbing decade of marine heatwaves, cyclones and floods. While the data is robust, it can be deceptive. Zoe Richards, Senior Research Fellow, Curtin University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

A huge day for renewables as Albanese government starts process to declare Gippsland, in Victoria, as Australia’s first zone for offshore wind development.

The post “Momentous:” Labor begins process to declare Australia’s first offshore wind zone appeared first on RenewEconomy.

The people hardest hit by climate change are invariably those who are more vulnerable. We need to pay more attention to the root causes of vulnerability and address poverty and inequity. Bruce Glavovic, Professor in Natural Hazard Planning, Massey University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

More than half of France's nuclear fleet are offline, its power prices are through the roof, and it faces a long-term supply problem.

The post France’s troubled nuclear fleet a bigger problem for Europe than Russia gas appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Will spring bring an end to the cold and the rain? Andrew King, Senior Lecturer in Climate Science, The University of Melbourne Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

California Carbon Allowance (CCA) prices climbed on purchases believed to be generated from funds along with an uptick in broader market sentiment, while RGGI Allowances (RGAs) were relatively flat this week, as Pennsylvania’s future in the 11-state cap-and-trade programme remains mired in uncertainty.