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The UN ‘30 by 30’ biodiversity strategy aims to set aside 30% of land as protected areas. New research shows these areas do support biodiversity, but big parks also increase it outside their borders. Matthew Scott Luskin, Researcher and Lecturer in Conservation Science, The University of Queensland Jedediah Brodie, Research Fellow, Institute of Biodiversity and Environmental Conservation, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak; Associate Professor and John Craighead Endowed Chair of Conservation, University of Montana Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

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

The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) on Wednesday proposed amendments to its market-based Climate Protection Program (CPP) that would overhaul the methodology used to distribute compliance instruments to fuel suppliers, as well as calculate holding limit reductions.

The number of California Carbon Offsets (CCOs) distributed this week fell compared to earlier this month, but still remained well above year-ago levels through the first two-thirds of 2023, according to state data published Wednesday.

The energy transition is a race and what’s needed are policies that will drag large-scale renewable power into the system faster

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This week should be a wake-up call on the future of the electricity grid, but we seem in danger of collectively drawing the wrong conclusions about which way to go.

The main problem is straightforward – investment in large-scale solar and windfarms has dried up to next-to-nothing just as it is supposed to be moving into overdrive.

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A commodity trading firm and carbon solutions provider on Wednesday announced an agreement to help develop and finance a developer’s nature-based offset projects that could yield more than 100 million credits.

One of the oldest project developers and traders in the carbon market is pivoting towards consultancy services and seeking project partners after a drastic drop in carbon credit revenue, Carbon Pulse has learned.

New York is considering policy options to reduce emissions in environmental justice (EJ) communities, including the prohibition of allowance trading for plants situated in Disadvantaged Communities (DACs), government officials told a webinar on Wednesday.

It’s not just ocean temperatures that determine whether we have El Niño or La Niña. Air circulation also plays a role, and it’s changing in unexpected ways. Georgina Falster, Postdoctoral Fellow, Australian National University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

The August California-Quebec current vintage carbon auction settled at its highest point of all time while slightly surpassing secondary market levels, as the advance sale clearing price also achieved a new peak, according to government data published Wednesday.

A study of the biggest known congregation of breeding octopuses, about 20,000, has made discoveries as to why so many of the species gather there. A volcanic vent in the ocean bed off California provides warm water and nutrients to the brooding octopuses, and scientists from MBARI have found this helps shorten the time it takes for their eggs to hatch, increasing their chances of survival

• Discovered in the deep: an octopus’s garden in the shade

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Older voluntary carbon credit vintages are not a sign of low quality, a leading REDD-focused project developer argued in a white paper published on Wednesday amid growing calls for the market to address its mounting stockpile of ageing units.

New study published in Nature says period was as destructive as record 2016 El Niño drought and heatwave

The first half of Jair Bolsonaro’s presidency was so destructive for the Amazon that it was comparable to the record 2016 El Niño drought and heatwave in terms of carbon emissions, according to scientists.

Annual emissions from the world’s largest rainforest roughly doubled in 2019 and 2020, compared with the 2010 to 2018 average, according to a new study published in Nature, as swaths of forest were deliberately cleared and burned for cattle ranching and farming during the first two years of the far-right leader’s time in office.

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Some kinds of tree leaf could become too hot to be able to conduct photosynthesis, researchers warn

Tropical forests could become so hot that some kinds of leaves will no longer be able to conduct photosynthesis, according to a study published in the journal Nature.

The photosynthetic machinery in tropical trees begins to fail at about 46.7C on average. The research suggests that forests may be nearing dangerous temperature thresholds sooner than expected.

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UK Oil and Gas says work is to resume at Avington site in national park after decision from Planning Inspectorate

The Liberal Democrats and green groups have accused the government of “an environmental crime” after it emerged that potentially large-scale oil drilling is to take place inside the South Downs national park, despite widespread local opposition.

In a statement, UK Oil and Gas, which is part of the consortium wishing to drill at the Avington site near Winchester, said work was to resume in the hope of extracting “potentially significant” amounts of the estimated 59m barrels there, lasting up to 2025.

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Chandrayaan-3 has created history by landing near the little-explored south pole of the Moon.

Experts shocked as analysis finds no traces of eel DNA in area once teeming with the endangered fish

Eel experts say they are shocked to find no evidence of the animal in the network of drainage ditches that make up its traditional habitats in the Somerset Levels, which once teemed with the critically endangered fish.

DNA sampling by the Sustainable Eel Group and Somerset Eel Recovery Project in the drainage ditches found no traces of eel DNA.

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 A new government-funded centre in the UK aims to expand the use of artificial intelligence (AI) for industrial decarbonisation, with a focus on how AI can help the energy, manufacturing, agriculture, and buildings sectors operate more efficiently and with lower carbon emissions.

The US government has announced it will spend $2 million over the next three years on a programme to help Mozambique develop nature-based carbon credit projects.

Agreena is seeking an accomplished and forward-thinking individual to take on a key role as the Head of Solution Sales which covers its MRV and Supply Chain services.