Feed aggregator

European and North African policymakers are hoping that a deepsea power cable across the Mediterranean will soon help to spread the region’s abundance of solar, wind, and hydropower across the EU – but technical, regulatory, and political challenges still abound.

Oldest Carnaby’s cockatoo in wild lived to 35, with eight recorded living beyond 21, researchers find

• Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast

Western Australia’s endangered Carnaby’s cockatoos can live up to 35 years in the wild, making them one of the longest-lived bird species, according to a study that began in 1969.

Eight Carnaby’s cockatoos aged between 21 and 35 years have been recorded, according to research published in Pacific Conservation Biology.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email

Continue reading...

Some 220 fossil fuel and chemical industry representatives have registered to participate in UN discussions of a treaty aimed at tackling plastic pollution, the highest number at any of the negotiations on the agreement so far, according to analysis released Wednesday.

India’s largest aluminium producing company has partnered with an auditing and consulting firm for carbon reduction projects and biodiversity conservation in the Indian state of Odisha.

Fossil fuel and chemical industry representatives outnumber those of the EU or host country South Korea

Record numbers of plastic industry lobbyists are attending global talks that are the last chance to hammer out a treaty to cut plastic pollution around the world.

The key issue at the conference will be whether caps on global plastic production will be included in the final UN treaty. Lobbyists and leading national producers are furiously arguing against any attempt to restrain the amount that can be produced, leaving the talks on a knife-edge.

Continue reading...

A Dutch nature restoration company aims to improve the scalability of reforestation with a fleet of tree-seeding robots that could help national tree-planting schemes.

Danish CO2 reduction company Topsoe has partnered with Saudi oil giant Aramco to develop and commercialise low-carbon hydrogen technology, the two companies announced on Wednesday.

The second European Commission headed by Ursula von der Leyen received the green light from the European Parliament on Wednesday, opening a new five-year policy cycle in Brussels that is expected to refocus the EU’s climate agenda on strengthening Europe’s industrial competitiveness.

EU carbon prices dropped to their lowest in five days on Wednesday morning along with a decline in natural gas, as weekly position data showed investment funds building length for a third week in a row.

Heavy industries, led by steel and the oil and gas sector, are fast-eating into the power sector's share of emissions under the EU ETS, opening a new era made of greater uncertainty in the bloc's carbon market, say analysts.

Loyalists selected for important roles have offered staunch support to fossil fuels and downplayed climate crisis

Donald Trump’s cabinet picks have been eclectic and often controversial but a unifying theme is emerging, experts say, with the US president-elect’s nominees offering staunch support to fossil fuels and either downplaying or denying the climate crisis caused by the burning of these fuels.

Trump ran on promises to eviscerate “green new scam” climate policies and to “drill, baby, drill” for more oil and gas, and his choices to run the major organs of the US government echo such sentiments, particularly his picks relating to the environment, with Lee Zeldin chosen as the Environmental Protection Agency administrator, Chris Wright as energy secretary and Doug Burgum as interior secretary.

Continue reading...

A top refiner in Japan has secured another partnership to carry out emissions reduction projects in the country's livestock production industry, targeting the abatement potential in dairy and beef cattle farming for the carbon credit market.

A price floor should be established in the emerging plastic credit market to avoid a flood of low-integrity credits, including under national producer responsibility schemes, a standards body has told Carbon Pulse.

Environmental standard Verra plans to expand its plastic credit programme with an additional 40 projects expected to be onboarded within a year, the company told Carbon Pulse.

One of Australia’s “big four” banks has raised its price forecast for Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs) thanks to increasing demand and smaller than expected issuance.

We’ve cared for our farm through war, pandemic and money worries. The inheritance tax row shows how little the government respects that

• Clare Wise is a farmer based in County Durham

If you are familiar with the pangs of parental guilt, then you can relate to owning a farm. Take that gut-wrenching, often irrational feeling, amplify it, and welcome to being a farmer. From the moment you’re born into a family farm, there’s a weight of expectation on you to look after it, to put it before yourself, to uphold your family’s pride. All farm kids know they don’t open presents on Christmas morning until the animals are fed, that parents miss special occasions because cows are calving, and that hopes of a foreign holiday are almost nil, at least on a livestock farm such as mine.

Owning a farm is like playing a game of pass the parcel with a valuable gift, but the one who unwraps the present is very much the loser of the bunch. From an early age, it’s drilled into you that the farm, the land and its legacy are things you carry and pass on to your children. We don’t see the farms we inhabit as truly ours: they’re generational assets that produce food for the masses. That is why farmers are putting up a huge fight against the government’s new inheritance tax changes. It’s hard not to feel as though this policy is a land grab by ministers who have no idea about how farming works.

Clare Wise is a farmer based in County Durham

Continue reading...

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a $500-million policy-based loan to help the Philippines implement its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) and more broadly mitigate the effects of climate change.

Chinese solar giant Jinko seeks planning approvals for a large solar and battery project near Goondiwindi in Queensland.

The post China solar giant Jinko seeks federal approval for massive PV and battery project in Queensland appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Australia will meet its 2030 climate targets to cut emissions 43% below 2005 levels by 2030, according to fresh analysis by the government, while efforts to pass a bill on the country’s nature reforms have been put on hold again.

Community forums for proposed wind farm in central Victoria cancelled by the developer over "safety concerns".

The post Community meetings for proposed Victoria wind farm cancelled due to “safety concerns” appeared first on RenewEconomy.