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‘It’s unbelievable the difference a path has made’: how volunteers are building a cycle network a yard at a time

The Guardian - Thu, 2024-05-16 16:00

The Strawberry Line network of paths in Somerset has found a way to speed up planning permission and harness the goodwill of the community

In the past two years, multiple sections of a hoped-for 76-mile rural cycling and walking route spanning Somerset have sprouted up around the small town of Shepton Mallet, seemingly every few weeks.

These new routes are popular. One 300-metre section of path in the heart of the town, for example, uses one of Historic Railway Estates’ bridges for the first time for a cycle route (an organisation usually more given to infilling its structures).

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Net zero U-turns will hit UK infrastructure, say government advisers

The Guardian - Thu, 2024-05-16 16:00

Sir John Armitt urges ministers to act swiftly or risk impeding growth and jeopardising climate targets

Rishi Sunak’s U-turns over net zero have delayed progress on vital infrastructure that is needed for economic growth, the government’s advisers have said.

Sir John Armitt, the chair of the National Infrastructure Commission (NIC), said good progress had been made on renewable energy in the past five years, but changes to key policies, including postponing a scheme to boost heat pump takeup, had created uncertainty and delay.

The government will fail to meet its targets on heat pump rollout.

The promised lifting of a ban on new onshore windfarms has not gone far enough.

Massive investment is needed in the electricity grid.

There is no proper plan for rail in the north and Midlands now that the northern leg of HS2 has been cancelled, severely inhibiting economic growth in those regions.

Water bills will need to go up to fix the sewage crisis, and more reservoirs are needed to avoid drought, while water companies have done too little to staunch leaks.

The UK lacks a coherent strategy on flooding, with more than 900,000 properties at risk of river or sea flooding and 910,000 at risk of surface water flooding.

Good progress has been made on the rollout of gigabit broadband around the country.

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Hydrogen, solar and batteries – did the 2024 federal budget deliver on clean economy investment? | Tennant Reed

The Guardian - Thu, 2024-05-16 15:50

Labor’s Future Made in Australia policy has enough money to move the needle. What matters is implementation – and readiness to adjust course if needed

Business groups such as ours, alongside investors, unions and climate campaigners, have been calling out for a big push on clean economy investment.

So what should we make of the 2024-25 budget and have those calls been answered?

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Host countries must be prepared for imminent demand for Article 6 credits once implemented -expert

Carbon Pulse - Thu, 2024-05-16 15:42
Demand for Article 6 credits from developed countries will arise sooner rather than later, however host countries must put necessary policies in place, a conference heard this week.
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Carbon project financier takes $19 mln net investment value hit following crediting methodology update

Carbon Pulse - Thu, 2024-05-16 12:45
A Toronto-based voluntary carbon project financier on Wednesday reported an unrealised net loss on investment of nearly $19 million after the crediting methodology governing one of its endeavours was updated.
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Malaysia’s Sarawak to introduce 5% tax on carbon credit sales

Carbon Pulse - Thu, 2024-05-16 11:07
The Malaysian state of Sarawak will tax revenue from carbon credit sales by 5%, the government announced Wednesday.
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INTERVIEW: UK investor explores generating biodiversity credits in Scotland

Carbon Pulse - Thu, 2024-05-16 10:48
Asset manager Gresham House is preparing for the possibility of generating voluntary biodiversity credits from parts of its forestry sites in Scotland, Carbon Pulse has learned.
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Forever war: Climate change costs to global economy much higher than previously estimated, researchers warn

Carbon Pulse - Thu, 2024-05-16 10:42
Global economic output could drop by 12% for every 1 C rise in the world’s average temperature, according to a study by researchers from Harvard University and Northwestern University, who likened the impact to fighting a major war in perpetuity.
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Microsoft emissions up 29.1% from 2020, contracts over 5 mln carbon removal credits in 2023

Carbon Pulse - Thu, 2024-05-16 09:54
US tech giant Microsoft saw an aggregate 29.1% increase in Scope 1-3 emissions in 2023 relative to its 2020 baseline, largely driven by data centre construction, alongside procurement of over 5 million tonnes in multi-year carbon removal offtake agreements, according to its annual sustainability report published Wednesday.
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Rural electricity cooperative files stay motion against EPA power plant regulations amidst growing challenges

Carbon Pulse - Thu, 2024-05-16 09:51
A trade association representing hundreds of local electric cooperatives filed in federal court this week a motion to halt the implementation of controversial US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) power plant emissions regulations, amidst ongoing legal challenges since the rules were published.
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Stirring films made the Snowy scheme a nationbuilding project. Could the troubled Snowy 2.0 do the same?

The Conversation - Thu, 2024-05-16 06:11
Workers tunnelling through mountains and redirecting rivers, powering and irrigating the nation. We think of the Snowy scheme as a successful nationbuilding project – but it wasn’t always that way Belinda Smaill, Professor of Film and Screen Studies, Monash University Kate Fitch, Senior Lecturer, Communications and Media, Monash University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
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Profitability of carbon projects over logging in Peru hinges on bankable integrity claims -study

Carbon Pulse - Thu, 2024-05-16 05:40
Peruvian forest concessions generating carbon credits could be more lucrative than those reserved for logging, provided that the country’s improved forest management (IFM) credits can command a premium for high integrity, according to a study.
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