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South Korea’s greenhouse gas emissions rose 3.5% in 2021 as the economy begun its post-Covid recovery, but remained significantly below the levels seen before the pandemic.

Australia’s energy and climate minister has announced the government will introduce a Climate Change Bill when parliament resumes next month, while outlining his priorities surrounding domestic and international offset use to meet the country’s nationally determined contributions (NDCs).

Remaining curbs on food imports imposed after 2011 nuclear disaster to be scrapped

Food from Fukushima will be freely available in the UK from Wednesday, weeks after Boris Johnson snacked on popcorn from the Japanese prefecture hit by a triple nuclear meltdown in March 2011.

Britain restricted Fukushima imports after the disaster, the world’s worst nuclear accident since Chernobyl, but has gradually lifted them, even as other countries limit or ban produce from the region.

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Philadelphia, where I live, is nicknamed Filthadelphia and I’m getting more disgusted by the day

I have been having some very dirty thoughts lately, and it’s been driving my wife bonkers. “Just look at all the litter!” I’ll exclaim numerous times a day. “Why is there so much rubbish on the street? Why aren’t there more bins in this city? Why does Philadelphia [where I live] have such a subpar municipal waste management system?” These are all valid questions (there is a reason Philly has the nickname Filthadelphia), but my wife doesn’t want to hear about city sanitation any more. “Please,” she keeps saying, “get over it!”

The thing is, I can’t get over it. Is it a function of middle age? Am I losing my mind? I don’t know what has precipitated it, but I am hung up on waste management. I have gone full disgusted-of-Tunbridge-Wells about it, as we all should, really. Litter isn’t just unsightly and unhygienic, it is associated with more crime and antisocial behaviour: cleaning up neighbourhoods makes them safer. Sanitation workers are the unsung heroes of the streets: the US should be diverting some of the money it gives to its bloated police departments to street cleaners. If I was going to run for mayor (I’m not), that would be at the top of my policy platform.

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In our writer’s garden, and across the country, the scourge of Dutch elm disease has not been entirely eliminated

Look up. If you do, you’ll almost certainly see butterflies where you’ve never noticed them before.

The hairstreaks are hugely overlooked mostly treetop-dwelling butterflies. Two species are active now: the white-letter hairstreak and the purple hairstreak.

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UK government put under ‘considerable pressure’, says chair of all-party parliamentary group on banning trophy hunting

The US hunting lobby has spent £1m putting pressure on the government to delay the trophy import ban, a new report by MPs has found.

Boris Johnson promised to ban the imports of these trophies three years ago, but the legislation has still not gone through parliament. Because of the delay, the Conservative MP and animal welfare campaigner Henry Smith has put forward his own private member’s bill to ban imports of hunting trophies.

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Five New South Wales solar and battery recycling initiatives receive combined total of $7.4m in state government funding.

The post NSW backs three solar and battery recycling plants in new state funding round appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Anthony Albanese says Scott Morrison's recalcitrance on climate change almost scuttled a major trade deal with the European Union.

The post Europe saw Morrison’s Australia as “handbrake” on global climate action, Albanese says appeared first on RenewEconomy.

G7 western economies reaffirm commitment to climate goals while tackling ongoing energy crisis. But climate activists are not happy.

The post G7 says no compromise on climate goals despite global energy crisis appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Singapore-based Climate Impact X (CIX) has formed a strategic technology-based partnership with US exchange operator Nasdaq to enable price transparency and liquidity in its voluntary carbon market operations, it was announced on Wednesday.

Labor will seek to legislate its 2030 target, EV tax cuts and a revival of the Climate Change Authority during the first week of the new parliament.

The post Labor to introduce legislation for climate targets and EV tax cuts in first week of parliament appeared first on RenewEconomy.

MGA Thermal says it hopes to be producing 1MWh a day of stackable thermal storage blocks by year’s end at its new commercial facility in Newcastle.

The post Australian thermal storage start-up nears production at Newcastle plant appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Australia's LNG exporters are contributing to an ongoing energy crisis, by diverting gas away from the domestic market, AER data confirms.

The post Gas exporters sucking gas out of domestic market in middle of crisis, data shows appeared first on RenewEconomy.

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

Olivia Smith from PositiveGood discusses where and how PR fits into your marketing toolkit.

The post Great Solar Business Podcast: Marketing and PR for PV companies appeared first on RenewEconomy.

The Climate Change Committee also cites a "shocking" lack of policy to insulate people's homes.

Canada is set to release its final Clean Fuels Standard (CFS) regulation on July 6 that targets reducing the carbon intensity (CI) of transportation fuels, and omits carbon credit eligibility from DAC and EOR, the ministry said in an update on Tuesday, retaining the compliance start date as July 1, 2023.

The King's College study also says the UK public underestimates how much scientists agree on the link between human activity and climate change.

Committee on Climate Change report paints a dire picture of Britain’s progress in reducing farm emissions and homes insulation

There are currently no credible plans to help the majority of households to improve their energy efficiency, the progress report from the Committee on Climate Change concludes: a gaping policy hole that is costing the UK dear, not just in climate terms but in unnecessarily high energy bills for our leaky homes. Insulating buildings would be the quickest and most effective way to counter soaring gas prices, but has been largely ignored by the government after the botched “green homes grant” was scrapped last year. Even our new homes are not efficient: at least 1.5m homes have been built in recent years that will require expensive retrofitting. “It’s a complete tale of woe,” said Chris Stark, chief executive of the Committee on Climate Change.

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Progress report from the Climate Change Committee suggests ministers could renege on greenhouse gas emissions commitment

• Five things we have learned about the UK’s path to net zero

The government is failing to enact the policies needed to reach the UK’s net zero targets, its statutory advisers have said, in a damning progress report to parliament.

The Climate Change Committee (CCC) voiced fears that ministers may renege on the legally binding commitment to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, noting “major policy failures” and “scant evidence of delivery”.

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