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Russia is committing grave acts of ecocide in Ukraine – and the results will harm the whole world | Andriy Yermak and Margot Wallström

The Guardian - Wed, 2023-08-16 15:00

By the war’s end, it will be too late to prevent the worst consequences of these terrible crimes. Global leaders must act now

  • Andriy Yermak is head of the Office of the President of Ukraine; Margot Wallström is a former foreign minister of Sweden

Robert Oppenheimer, the American physicist who led the team that developed the world’s first nuclear weapons, quoted from ancient Hindu scriptures to illustrate his conflicting feelings about the forces his science unleashed: “Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds,” he said. In his later years, Oppenheimer longed for a future “without nation states armed for war, and above all, a world without war”.

Yet there’s another kind of loss that Oppenheimer recognised only too clearly in his readings of the Bhagavad Gita, the ancient text he turned to after the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945. Humans now possess the power to destroy the world they live in.

The people of Ukraine have grown cruelly familiar with war and death, inflicted on them by a nation state with vastly superior resources: they will never forget the human loss they have suffered in fighting to save their homeland. But Ukraine is also facing a destruction of habitat and nature on a scale that will reverberate far beyond its borders. While it is almost impossible to measure, the breadth and depth of this damage must be understood.

Russia has taken deliberate aim at Ukraine’s environment: its rivers, forests and fields. Many of Ukraine’s natural reserves – its animal and sea life, water and impressive biodiversity – have been terribly damaged or polluted. Toxins leak from its damaged industries and infrastructure. Global food security is at risk. The world cannot afford to ignore this growing environmental threat.

The overwhelming threat to Ukraine’s environment was highlighted in June, with the extraordinary collapse of the huge Nova Kakhovka dam, which held back one of the biggest water reservoirs in Europe. This was no coincidental collapse: the dam was under Russian control when an explosion inside an internal passageway blew its concrete heart to pieces. This unleashed a catastrophic flood that wrecked over 40 towns and villages and one of the world’s most valuable agricultural regions. Tonnes of oil were spilled into the Dnipro River. An uncountable number of landmines were strewn into the river and the Black Sea, leading to toxic leakage.

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Categories: Around The Web

Australia, California sign wide ranging climate cooperation agreement

Carbon Pulse - Wed, 2023-08-16 12:47
Australia and the US state of California have signed an MoU to work together to combat climate change, focussing on clean energy and tech, trade, and nature-based solutions.  
Categories: Around The Web

NSW says it may put part of controversial Snowy link underground, despite higher costs

RenewEconomy - Wed, 2023-08-16 12:36

Snowy Hydro penstocks Tumut 3NSW energy minister says she is open to possibility of putting part of HumeLink that will connect Snowy 2.0 project to rest of grid under ground.

The post NSW says it may put part of controversial Snowy link underground, despite higher costs appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Categories: Around The Web

Critics of ‘degrowth’ economics say it’s unworkable – but from an ecologist's perspective, it’s inevitable

The Conversation - Wed, 2023-08-16 12:33
Access to fossil fuels allowed humanity to overshoot Earth’s biophysical limits. The crises we now face are all symptoms of this overshoot, and the only fix is to cut our demands on the biosphere. Mike Joy, Senior Researcher; Institute for Governance and Policy Studies, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
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Gold miner completes first of four solar and battery hybrid power stations

RenewEconomy - Wed, 2023-08-16 12:29

The four hybrid power stations will eventually boast a combined installed capacity of 82MW and reduce diesel consumption by 38 million litres each year.

The post Gold miner completes first of four solar and battery hybrid power stations appeared first on RenewEconomy.

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SwitchedOn Podcast: How this regional town transitioned off the gas network in just 12 months

RenewEconomy - Wed, 2023-08-16 11:32

SwitchedOn Australia PodcastStephanie Unwin, the CEO of Horizon Power, discusses how 400 residential and business customers had just one year to electrify after the local gas distribution decided to cut off the gas supply.

The post SwitchedOn Podcast: How this regional town transitioned off the gas network in just 12 months appeared first on RenewEconomy.

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Fund launches to earn ACCUs from environmental plantings

Carbon Pulse - Wed, 2023-08-16 10:45
A new fund is being established to earn Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs) from premium environmental plantings (EP), aiming to generate returns of 12-14% per annum.
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CP Daily: Tuesday August 15, 2023

Carbon Pulse - Wed, 2023-08-16 10:18
A daily summary of our news plus bite-sized updates from around the world.
Categories: Around The Web

Climate experts go cold on social media platform now known as X

RenewEconomy - Wed, 2023-08-16 09:47

CaliDeathValleySTOPextremeheatWikiCommons.jpgAlmost half of the environmental experts on the social media network formerly known as Twitter have abandoned the platform in a trend one study found could damage climate change discourse.

The post Climate experts go cold on social media platform now known as X appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Categories: Around The Web

How undercover sting outwitted pangolin traffickers

BBC - Wed, 2023-08-16 09:17
How charity investigators went undercover to outwit a global wildlife trafficking gang.
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California kicks off public engagement for CCUS regulation, announces timeline for framework development

Carbon Pulse - Wed, 2023-08-16 08:38
The California government on Tuesday provided an overview and timeline for developing its regulatory framework for carbon capture, utilisation, and storage, with the state facing strong support from industry and heavy pushback from environmental justice organisations.
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Brookfield lines up Chinese wind, battery and hydrogen giant for Origin renewable plans

RenewEconomy - Wed, 2023-08-16 08:27

Brookfield lines up Chinese renewable giant to potential build wind, battery and hydrogen components for its massive renewables investment plans in Australia.

The post Brookfield lines up Chinese wind, battery and hydrogen giant for Origin renewable plans appeared first on RenewEconomy.

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Oil company Occidental buys direct air capture firm Carbon Engineering for $1.1 bln

Carbon Pulse - Wed, 2023-08-16 08:23
Houston-based oil and gas firm Occidental has purchased the Canadian direct air capture (DAC) company Carbon Engineering through a subsidiary for $1.1 billion, the entities announced Tuesday.
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Mexico’s Colima state announces CO2 tax, as Tamaulipas prepares to reinstate its carbon levy

Carbon Pulse - Wed, 2023-08-16 08:19
The small Mexican state of Colima is working on quickly rolling out a carbon tax, while the Tamaulipas government is planning to soon reinstate its own CO2 levy that will have stronger legal backing, a conference heard Tuesday.
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Harrison Ford has a new Peruvian snake species named after him

BBC - Wed, 2023-08-16 07:33
Unlike his Indiana Jones character, Ford says he likes snakes and called the discovery "humbling".
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Carbon investor’s net-settlement less than $1 per credit from REDD+ project sold in Q2

Carbon Pulse - Wed, 2023-08-16 06:04
Tens of thousands of credits from a Brazilian REDD+ projects were sold by a Toronto-headquartered voluntary carbon market financier for a net-settlement of less than $1 per unit during this year's second quarter, an investor call heard Tuesday.
Categories: Around The Web

Controller, Terraformation – Remote, US

Carbon Pulse - Wed, 2023-08-16 04:09
Terraformation is hiring a Controller to lead the Accounting team. Reporting to the CFO, the Controller will closely manage all monthly, quarterly, and annual accounting processes and reporting, allowing Terraformation to push forward in its mission of planting 1 trillion trees by 2030. This critical role will help monitor our financial accounting as we continue to grow our projects worldwide.
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European Carbon Analyst, BloombergNEF – London

Carbon Pulse - Wed, 2023-08-16 04:03
BloombergNEF (BNEF) is seeking a talented and highly motivated individual to join its European compliance carbon market team.
Categories: Around The Web

US-led ETA carbon market concept for ending coal could backfire and cause a massive CO2 increase, warns think-tank

Carbon Pulse - Wed, 2023-08-16 02:48
The US-led Energy Transition Accelerator (ETA) jurisdictional carbon crediting mechanism to phase out coal globally could backfire and cause a staggering 22 billion tonne increase of CO2 against a baseline case of no intervention, a UK think-tank has warned.
Categories: Around The Web

Timber and pulp companies unprepared for EU-deforestation legislation, study suggests

Carbon Pulse - Wed, 2023-08-16 01:29
Timber and pulp countries have not made sufficient progress towards complying with an upcoming EU law that obliges companies to prove products sold in the 27-nation bloc have not led to deforestation, according to a London-based initiative. 
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