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Agriculture agency set aside nearly $3bn to give to farmers who cut emissions, but about $1.9bn spent on practices not doing that

More than half of federal funding for “climate-smart” agriculture in the US goes to farming practices that are unlikely to reduce greenhouse gas emissions – and in some cases, would even increase them, according to a new report by the non-profit Environmental Working Group.

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) set aside more than $3bn to give to farmers who practice “climate-smart” agriculture, but roughly $1.9bn of it is being spent on practices that experts say aren’t actually combating the climate crisis.

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An Abu Dhabi-based asset management firm has announced its first investment in a biochar-based carbon offset project in Indonesia, which is expected to generate around $50 million worth of credits over the next 10 years, the firm announced Tuesday, as separately a blockchain platform is planning a biochar credit marketplace.

An Indian environmental consultancy has teamed up with the Lao government to generate carbon credits from a rice-focused emissions reduction methodology that has rapidly gained popularity across Asia.

US climate chief hits out at ‘disinformation’ and ‘demagoguery’ being used as tactics by special interests to delay action

The populist backlash against net zero around the world is imperilling the fight against climate breakdown and must be countered urgently or we face planetary destruction “beyond comprehension”, the US climate chief, John Kerry, has warned.

He hit out at the rise of “disinformation” and “demagoguery” which he said were damaging the transition away from fossil fuels, and being used as tactics by special interests to delay action.

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Large voluntary carbon project developer and investor South Pole has appointed the former head of sustainable finance at HSBC as its new CEO, the firm announced Wednesday.

Timor-Leste is taking has started taking steps to put together policy guidelines for the voluntary, nature-based carbon market, though a lot of work remains before the framework is finalised.

An initiative set up to define reporting standards for financed emissions is partnering with a provider of sustainability information to address issues with data gaps, according to a press release issued Wednesday.

Government agencies in South Korea are ramping up efforts to help domestic companies make preparations for the impact of the EU's proposed carbon border tax, with a focus on capacity building and financial support. 

Climate committee urges government not to relax future targets after UK overachieved in 2018-22, in part thanks to lockdowns

Ministers will be able to water down the UK’s carbon reduction commitments if the government chooses to take advantage of a legal loophole.

The UK overachieved on meeting its third five-year carbon budget, which ran from 2018 to 2022, requiring reductions of 38% compared with 1990 levels. The emissions cap for the budget was 2,544 megatons of CO2 equivalent, but the actual emissions were 391 MtCO2e fewer, or 15% below the budget.

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Indonesia’s captive coal-fired power stations cannot reasonably be listed as new, clean energy even if they are used in mineral processing for the battery supply chain, a think tank said Tuesday in response to the Southeast Asian country’s recently proposed sustainable finance taxonomy.

Survey results published this week show that 55% of Australian voters support the idea of small modular nuclear (SMR) reactors as an energy transition technology in the country, local media reports.

The firm never acknowledged the project publicly but had recruited about two thousands workers.

The Indian government last week released further guidelines for its Green Credit Scheme, revealing plans to award credits for planting trees in landscapes where they don’t grow naturally, a move experts say would be “disastrous” for local ecosystems.

Many Australians probably thought the worst of the bushfire season was over. But climate change is bringing not just more frequent and severe fires, but longer fire seasons. David Bowman, Professor of Pyrogeography and Fire Science, University of Tasmania Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Firm told it must take responsibility for toxic legacy of pollution and safe decommissioning of abandoned oil infrastructure

The oil firm Shell cannot be allowed to withdraw from the Niger delta before it takes responsibility for its toxic legacy of pollution and the safe decommissioning of abandoned oil infrastructure, a report says.

Shell plc is preparing to divest from the delta but a report warns that it must remain until it has cleaned up its legacy of pollution.

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Owner Drax, which received £6bn in subsidies, continues to burn timber from Canadian trees - BBC finds.

Drax used timber from precious Canadian trees while taking billions in environmental subsidies, BBC finds.

Helicopter flights over almost 50 reefs off the Queensland coast found bleaching was “extensive and fairly uniform”

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The Great Barrier Reef’s management authority is preparing to carry out aerial surveys across the entire length of the marine park after helicopter flights confirmed extensive coral bleaching across the southern section of the world’s biggest coral reef.

The Guardian reported last week that bleaching was being reported in all regions of the reef from Lizard Island in north to the Keppel islands in the south – a distance of more than 1,100 kilometres.

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Small modular reactors are popular among conservative politicians and supposedly the Australian public. But they’re nowhere near ready to power Australia in time to replace coal-powered stations. John Quiggin, Professor, School of Economics, The University of Queensland Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

New 200 MWh battery storage projects lands connection agreement as state surges towards its fast-tracked target of net 100 pct renewables.

The post Connection deal signed for new 200 MWh battery in South Australia appeared first on RenewEconomy.