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EU carbon permit prices gave up all of Thursday's gains in the final morning session of the week as the previous day's short squeeze came to an end and buyers stepped back, while the slow and steady selling that has characterised the market for the last two weeks resumed.

The Swedish Energy Agency’s (SEA) Ghanaian partner has broadened the scope of its Article 6 mitigation project after realising that the original plans would produce insufficient emissions reductions, the CEO of the company told television media.

German energy company RWE has reported a huge year-on-year decline in fossil power generation covered by the EU ETS, in preliminary output data for 2023 released this week, while its renewable electricity production surged.

A nascent industry providing insurance for carbon projects and credits is gathering momentum, aiming to shore up the integrity of the voluntary carbon market by managing risk for buyers, project investors, and developers alike.

A regulation supporting South Korea's engagement in overseas forestry projects will become effective on Saturday, as Seoul seeks to secure more forest-derived carbon credits from developing countries.

Four people died after heavy rain in the Middle Eastern country, which is one of the driest in the world

Abnormally high rainfall hit Oman and the United Arab Emirates on Monday, with heavy downpours and thunderstorms rolling in from the north-east. The two countries are among the driest in the world, with large parts of both typically receiving less than 100mm of rainfall each year. However, on Monday 50-100mm of rainfall was widely reported across eastern UAE and northern Oman, with a highest total of 140mm in Dibba, a city in the far north of Oman that lies on its border with the UAE. Some thunderstorms were accompanied by hail, with a particularly heavy shower in Abu Dhabi leaving the streets blanketed in hailstones, some of which were almost the size of golf balls.

Flooding was widespread, with flash flooding proving particularly dangerous in Oman’s mountainous regions. More than 100 people had to be rescued, many from stranded vehicles, while four fatalities were confirmed. Three stages of the Tour of Oman cycling race were curtailed due to landslides on some climbs. The UAE was less badly affected, but some schools were closed, while an official visit to Dubai by Narendra Modi, the prime minister of India, was scaled down.

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Two of the world's largest asset managers, JPMorgan Asset Management and State Street Global Advisors, have announced their departure from an investor group focused on pressuring companies to address global warming, while BlackRock is stepping back as a corporate member, they said this week.

A letter signed by multiple environmental groups has called on the Philippine government to restore mangrove forests at unproductive fishponds as mandated by domestic laws to mitigate the adverse impacts of climate change.

The best of this week’s wildlife photographs from around the world

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Australia plans its own climate infrastructure strategy similar to the US’s Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) to help meet its emissions reduction and renewable energy targets.

The animal translocation scheme by wildlife NGOs including African Parks, once headed by the royal, has been dogged by controversy

Four more people have died after an elephant translocation overseen by two wildlife organisations, including one that was headed by Prince Harry, in a protected area in Malawi. The recent deaths bring the total fatalities connected to the relocated elephants to seven.

In July 2022, more than 250 elephants were moved from Liwonde national park in southern Malawi to the country’s second-largest protected area, Kasungu, in a three-way operation between Malawi’s national park service and two NGOs: the International Fund for Animal Welfare (Ifaw), and African Parks. Prince Harry was president of African Parks for six years, before being elevated to the board of directors from 2023.

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Brussels is ditching green measures as EU leaders panic over rural protests, upcoming elections and the threat of the far right

Ursula von der Leyen surrendered to angry farmers last week faster than you could shake a pitchfork or dump a tractor-load of manure outside the European parliament. The European Commission president, expected to announce her candidacy for a second term heading the EU executive next week, told lawmakers that the commission was withdrawing a bill to halve the use of chemical pesticides by 2030 and would hold more consultations instead.

The proposed measure was a key plank in the commission’s European Green Deal and its Farm to Fork strategy, intended to make the EU carbon-neutral by 2050, make agriculture more environmentally friendly and preserve biodiversity.

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The NZU price dipped lower on Friday as speculation continues about whether or not the government will adjust the confidential reserve price settings in the upcoming March auction in a bid to raise cash.

We sampled sewage sludge from 13 wastewater treatment plants across three states. We found every resident adds microplastics to farmland, in dried sewage sludge (biosolids) used as fertiliser. Shima Ziajahromi, Advance Queensland Research Fellow, Griffith University Frederic Leusch, Professor of Environmental Science, Griffith University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Perth-based energy storage hopeful commissions battery storage system capable of charging and discharging at 50kW of power for up to five hours.

The post Perth battery hopeful debuts commercial-scale, five-hour vanadium flow battery appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Australia looks poised to get its own version of the so-called Green Deals of other countries, with prime minister Anthony Albanese promising his government will go “toe-to-toe” – if not “dollar-for-dollar” – on policies to establish Australia as a renewables powerhouse and a booming net-zero economy. In a speech to be delivered at a dinner […]

The post We can go “toe-to-toe” on IRA: Albanese hints at an Australian Green Deal appeared first on RenewEconomy.

California regulator ARB on Thursday hosted the first public workshop to develop the fifth investment plan for cap-and-trade auction proceeds, as panellists emphasised prioritising support for disadvantaged communities.

In pursuit of blind, dogged virtue signalling to their base, the Coalition is prepared to sacrifice what remains of the Liberal Party in favour of a declining rural constituency.

The post Is Ted O’Brien a fit for purpose shadow energy minister? appeared first on RenewEconomy.

As Dutton renews call for renewables to be stopped and coal closures suspended until nuclear is built, wind and solar are delivering the fastest transition the world has seen.

The post Wind and solar are delivering an energy transition at record speed appeared first on RenewEconomy.

As other nations race to restructure their economies in line with a low-carbon future, Australia risks being left behind. An economy-shaping tax on fossil fuels is a conversation we must have. Ian A. MacKenzie, Professor of Economics, The University of Queensland Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.