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The government of Western Australia announced Friday the first cohort of six early-stage nature tech startups that will receive seed capital and expert support to scale their businesses under a newly launched accelerator programme.

Behind the violence of extreme weather is that of the fossil fuel industry, and Americans are suffering for it

The weather we used to have shaped the behavior of the water we used to have – how much and when it rained, how dry it got, when and how slowly the snow in the heights melted, what fell as rain and fell as snow. Climate chaos is changing all that, breaking the patterns, delivering water in torrents unprecedented in recorded history or withholding it to create epic droughts, while heat-and-drought-parched soil, grasslands and forests create ideal conditions for mega-wildfires.

Water in the right time and quantity is a blessing; in the wrong ones it’s a scourge and a destroying force, as we’ve seen recently with floods around the world. In the vice-presidential debate, Tim Walz, the Minnesota governor, noted that his state’s farmers “know climate change is real. They’ve seen 500-year droughts, 500-year floods, back to back.” Farmers around the world are dealing with flood, drought and unseasonable weather that impacts their ability to produce food and protect soil.

Rebecca Solnit is a Guardian US columnist. She is the author of Orwell’s Roses and co-editor with Thelma Young Lutunatabua of the climate anthology Not Too Late: Changing the Climate Story from Despair to Possibility

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Over 270 civil society organisations and academics from around the world have penned a statement against the use of biodiversity credits and offsets, warning that market-based mechanisms pose significant risks to ecosystems and communities.

Businesses are increasingly turning to internal carbon pricing (ICP) to drive their decarbonisation efforts, a webinar heard on Thursday.

Exclusive: Study suggests people more willing to reduce own carbon footprint if they see leaders doing the same

Political leaders “walking the talk” on climate action by flying less or eating less meat could be a “crucial missing link” in fighting global heating, according to a study.

Researchers found that people are significantly more willing to reduce their own carbon footprint if they see leaders doing the same. The finding, by psychologists in the UK, was not a given, as green action by high-profile people can sometimes be dismissed as virtue-signalling.

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The concept of nature-positive insurance is building momentum in Australia as a way to address insurability challenges, but work must be done more quickly to integrate these practices more broadly, a report published Friday urged.

Dozens of companies in Japan have endorsed a government-backed initiative that aims to reduce methane emissions in the liquefied natural gas (LNG) value chain, according to local media reports.

Researchers tethered 50 long-spined and 50 short-spined urchins outside lobster den and sharks were observed ‘smashing the whole thing’

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An experiment designed to investigate lobster predation on sea urchins unexpectedly found that Port Jackson and crested horn sharks ate the spiky animals instead.

The research, led by University of Newcastle marine ecologist Jeremy Day, involved tethering sea urchins at the entrance to a lobster den – home to at least 20 large eastern rock lobsters – near Wollongong on the south coast of New South Wales.

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An experiment designed to investigate the role lobsters play in regulating sea urchin numbers unexpectedly found sharks were eating them instead. The research, led by the University of Newcastle marine ecologist Jeremy Day, involved 50 long-spined and 50 short-spined sea urchins tethered to the entrance of a lobster den on the south coast of NSW. Over the course of 25 nights, sharks ate 45 of the urchins, while lobsters ate only four. Sea urchins are native to NSW but have become are a pest in Tasmania, where they are threatening local ecosystems

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

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The stars of 367 Collins Street have welcomed baby birds to the nest. Two hungry chicks are taking meals after entering the world on a Melbourne skyscraper. Last year’s eggs were unable to hatch after the mother stopped incubating – likely due to a territorial dispute – making the stakes all the higher this year

• Good eggs: fans delighted as new peregrine falcon chicks hatch on Melbourne skyscraper

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Snowy Hydro seeks to play down use of diesel at its controversial Hunter Valley power project, which is still waiting for a connection to the gas network.

The post Snowy plays down diesel allowance for Kurri Kurri, but gas pipeline problems persist appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Kenneth Newcombe, formerly CEO of C-Quest Capital, indicted over allegations of carbon credit manipulation

A former carbon offsetting executive has been charged with fraud by US federal authorities, who allege that he helped to manipulate data from projects in rural Africa and Asia to fraudulently obtain carbon credits worth tens of millions of dollars.

Kenneth Newcombe, former CEO of C-Quest Capital LLC and a leading figure in the offsetting industry, was indicted on Wednesday in New York with commodities and wire fraud.

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The largest operating wind farm in Australia, has marked a significant milestone, with the first export of renewable energy to the national electricity market.

The post Australia’s largest operating wind farm sends first power to Sunshine State grid appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Renewable records fall for the third time in five days, and likely more to follow as coal fired generators learn how to switch off and then back on again.

The post Renewable penetration record falls for third time this week on Australia’s main grid appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Sharks easily consumed large, spiky sea urchins – sometimes in just a few gulps. See it for yourself, in our new Footage from the Field Series. Jeremy Day, PhD researcher, University of Newcastle Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Bosses say cost of complying with zero-emission vehicle mandate is ‘astronomical, and unsustainable’

UK electric car sales hit a record high in September, even as bosses from big carmakers told the chancellor that government targets were putting too much pressure on the industry.

The British industry sold 56,300 electric cars during the month, the highest on record, according to preliminary data published by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), a lobby group.

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Aula Energy has jumped on board the plans to build a more than 600 megawatt wind farm in south-western New South Wales.

The post Macquarie’s Aula jumps on board plans to build massive wind farm in New South Wales appeared first on RenewEconomy.

IEEFA's recent research on the cost of building nuclear is detailed and extensively referenced, with the methods laid out transparently. Dismissing it as "cherry-picked" and "nonsense" is not good enough.

The post If Peter Dutton has a better understanding of the cost of building nuclear, then let’s see it appeared first on RenewEconomy.

David Crisafulli reminds voters that an LNP government in Queensland does not mean Peter Dutton can bank on the state's support for building nuclear power plants.

The post “Differences of opinion:” Queensland state LNP insists it will not sign up to Dutton’s nuclear plan appeared first on RenewEconomy.