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The British government has added a further 803,500 tonnes to 2022 carbon allowance auction supply under the UK ETS, it announced late Tuesday.

The climate pledges of companies based in G7 countries are only consistent with a 2.7C global warming trajectory, way off the 1.5-2C Paris Agreement pathway despite wide regional differences, according to a study published on Tuesday. 

Environment secretary responds to criticism of plan to stop ‘literal shit being pumped into rivers and seas’

The environment secretary, George Eustice, insisted the government was tackling the millions of hours of raw sewage discharges into rivers and seas in England as MPs demanded answers to a summer of water companies dumping effluent into holiday swimming spots.

Caroline Lucas, the Green party MP for Brighton Pavilion, said: “Literal shit is being pumped into our rivers and seas. The state of our water network is a national scandal and the government has utterly failed to take action.”

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A flawed government plan for workers adds to problems as growers apply to pull down 60 hectares of greenhouses

Huge areas of one of Britain’s biggest salad growing hubs will be replaced with housing estates, as growers give up in despair, and cash in their land.

The Lea Valley, also known as the cucumber capital and Britain’s salad bowl, is one of the diamonds of the UK’s embattled horticultural sector. The Lea Valley Growers Association (LVGA), seeded through an area running across Greater London, Essex and Hertfordshire, comprises more than 180 hectares (450 acres) of glasshouses, run by 80 growers. The valley should be a jewel in the crown for a country concerned with homegrown industry and food security.

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EUAs extended the week's losses to reach a new six-month low on Tuesday morning as sentiment continued to weaken amid speculation the EU will sell more permits to raise funds to assist the transition away from Russian fuels, while energy also gave up hefty chunks of Monday's gains as traders appeared reassured by supply-boosting efforts.

Tico, a rescued manatee, sent experts on a 4,000km-chase after they became concerned for his welfare.

Several landfill companies in Australia say they receive carbon credits for activities they would have done anyway, and that they receive too many offsets even for their additional activities, according to national media.

Milder winters could threaten crop yields as plant-eating insects spread northwards and become more voracious, researchers say

Agricultural pests that devour key food crops are advancing northwards in the US and becoming more widespread as the climate hots up, new research warns.

The corn earworm (Helicoverpa zea) is considered to be among the most common farm pests in the US, ravaging crops such as maize, cotton, soya and other vegetables. It spends winter underground and is not known to survive in states beyond a latitude of 40 degrees north (which runs from northern California through the midwest to New Jersey), but that is changing as soils warm and it spreads to new areas, according to research led by North Carolina State University.

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A coalition of shipping industry players including oil major Shell and container firm MSC has launched an initiative to seek out solutions for the maritime industry to measure and mitigate methane emissions, it announced Tuesday.

AEMO boss says challenges of energy crisis underline need for switch to renewables, and to build more generation, firming and transmission.

The post AEMO’s Westerman says energy crisis more challenging than South Australia blackout appeared first on RenewEconomy.

A serial denier of human-driven climate breakdown, Jair Bolsonaro has been criticised in the past for failing to protect the Amazon rainforest and its native communities.

Now, with less than a month before Brazilians cast their ballot in the country's presidential elections on 2 October, using architectural techniques and satellite technologies, researchers at Forensic Architecture, in cooperation with the Climate Litigation Accelerator, have examined evidence of crimes against Indigenous people and the true impact of Bolsonaro's policies as he seeks a second term

• Large parts of Amazon may never recover, major study says
  
• How the Amazon has started to heat the planet – video
  
• See the full investigation here

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China's leading digital freight platform has teamed up with a special trade zone in Tianjin province to build the country's first carbon offsetting programme exclusively for the road freight field.

While claiming to support net zero, the new PM is pro-fracking, plans to increase extraction of oil and gas in the North Sea and finds solar farms "depressing".

The post Liz Truss has links to climate science denial, and finds solar farms depressing appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Future of Mount Pleasant project to be decided by federal environment and water minister, Tanya Plibersek, but activists say it is ‘reckless’ and should be rejected

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The New South Wales Independent Planning Commission has approved a coalmine expansion in the state’s Upper Hunter region that would cause almost 1bn tonnes of carbon emissions.

The decision will allow MACH Energy to double the output of its Mount Pleasant mine in Muswellbrook to 21m tonnes a year and extend its life to 2048.

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New Zealand carbon allowances on Tuesday closed at their highest ever level, but market participants still think there is further upside and that Wednesday’s government sale of 4.825 million NZUs might clear even higher.

Ban Ki-moon and Laurence Tubiana say greater ambition needed as climate bill debated in Senate

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Global climate figureheads have welcomed Australia’s increased climate commitments under the Albanese government as a “positive first step”, but said the country needs to do more to match other developed countries and play its part in efforts to limit global heating to 1.5C.

Ban Ki-moon, the former United Nations secretary general, and Laurence Tubiana, known as one of the architects of the Paris climate agreement, told a Canberra conference by video that Labor’s climate change legislation and enhanced commitment to the United Nations were welcome changes. But both said more was needed.

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Regulator looking at 26 incidents, with seven involving very large volumes which far exceed amounts subsequently licensed

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NSW authorities are investigating several major “unexplained” incidents where 200GL of flood water – equivalent to nearly half the volume of Sydney harbour – was harvested by irrigators during floods in western NSW in late 2020 and early 2021.

NSW estimates was told last week 26 separate incidents were under investigation. Seven involve very large volumes which far exceed the amounts that were subsequently licensed.

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By 2050, Africa’s 1bn children will bear the brunt of the climate crisis, yet they have no say in decisions largely made by old men

It is ironic that Africa – sometimes called the “youngest continent” due to the average age of its population being below 20 – has the oldest leaders in the world. Ten of Africa’s political leaders are over 75; the average age of an African president is 62.

According to the Global Center on Adaptation, young people in Africa are often excluded from politics precisely because Africa has its oldest generation squarely at the helm of political leadership.

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A Sydney-headquartered forestry and carbon offset company has set up a subsidiary that will specifically manage and develop agricultural assets, initially in Australia and New Zealand.

Labor's Climate Bill on track to pass through Senate as Bowen agrees to some "sensible" amendments proposed by independent Senator David Pocock.

The post Bowen considers forest biomass ban as Labor cuts deals on climate bill appeared first on RenewEconomy.