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Nature was the painter’s ultimate muse, and he would have admired those seeking to protect it

• Nadya Tolokonnikova is the creator of the feminist art collective Pussy Riot and former political prisoner

I woke up to a call from Vincent van Gogh today. He told me he wants the Just Stop Oil protesters who threw soup on his Sunflowers to be released immediately. I nodded and promised to do everything I could to ensure Phoebe and Anna would be freed soon. Our conversation continued. “What would life be if we had no courage to attempt anything?” Van Gogh remarked. “We must try and keep courage alive.”

He sounded upset about the sentence given the other day to Just Stop Oil activists – two years in jail for Phoebe Plummer, 23; 20 months for Anna Holland, 22. I sympathise with him. He seemed crestfallen that two young women were being thrown behind bars because a judge deified him and his painting, which, in Van Gogh’s mind, was not meant to be venerated, but instead inspire young artists and activists to do exactly what Phoebe and Anna had done – to push the boundaries of life and art even further, and raise uncomfortable questions.

Nadya Tolokonnikova is the creator of the feminist art collective Pussy Riot and former political prisoner

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Researchers have identified previously-unmapped high marine biodiversity areas off the coast of Mozambique, paving the way for expanding the national network of marine protected areas (MPAs) and key biodiversity areas (KBAs).

Nature markets took centre stage on Tuesday at the European Parliament's environment (ENVI) committee meeting, with an EU biodiversity negotiator sharing concerns raised by some MEPs about the role of biodiversity credits in plugging the nature finance gap.

European carbon prices extended their recent lows on Thursday morning in choppy trading but were little changed at midday as traders nervously waited for directional signals, while energy prices were also flat.

BusinessEurope, an umbrella group representing national employer’s organisations, has called on policymakers to “reconsider” the planned phase out of free allowances under the EU’s Emissions Trading System (EU ETS), saying Europe should “be prepared” in case its new carbon border tariff scheme fails to deliver.

Nature is a significant topic for stakeholders in government-related investments, with its risks often overlooked by bond markets, consultants AXA Climate said in a report this week.

Europe’s industry needs greater electrification to compete with the likes of China and the US, according to research published on Thursday.

A UK-based startup has developed a method to break down waste plastics at the atomic level, which it said could support global efforts in advancing chemical recycling.

A second asteroid hit Earth around the same time causing a "catastrophic" event.

Study uncovers vivid and poignant accounts of reefs as high as houses off countries including UK, France and Ireland

Only a handful of natural oyster reefs measuring at most a few square metres cling on precariously along European coasts after being wiped out by overfishing, dredging and pollution.

A study led by British scientists has discovered how extensive they once were, with reefs as high as a house covering at least 1.7m hectares (4.2m acres) from Norway to the Mediterranean, an area larger than Northern Ireland.

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A major trading house in Japan has launched a system that can standardise and digitalise the work needed for creating domestically issued carbon offsets from forestry projects. 

Heavily forested Laos has issued a decree to "define principles" around cooperation in multilateral carbon market projects, a state-run newspaper said Thursday.

Australian energy gentailer Origin announced on Thursday it would shelve a hydrogen development project due to a lack of certainty, while Woodside Energy continues to register new carbon credit projects.

Modern pharmaceuticals have revolutionised disease prevention and treatment. But eventually, the chemicals can end up in rivers, oceans and soils. Lauren T. May, Senior Lecturer and Group Leader, Drug Discovery Biology, Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Monash University Manuela Jorg, Research Fellow & Lab Head in Medicinal Chemistry, Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Monash University, Monash University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

New Zealand government officials have recommended exotic forestry be defined within the country’s National Environmental Standards for Commercial Forestry (NES-CF), in order to better regulate the sector that drives carbon credit supply in the country, according to a report published Thursday.

Origin becomes the latest green hydrogen contender to dump a major project, citing uncertainty in the timing of the market and the risks of "capital intensive" development.

The post Origin joins green hydrogen exodus, dumps “risky” Hunter project to focus on renewables, storage appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Credibility ‘damaged’ by proposed 12-month delay, which followed lobbying from governments and firms around the world

A former top environment official has said the EU’s credibility on its climate commitments has been damaged by plans for a one-year delay to a law to combat deforestation that followed intense lobbying from companies and governments around the world.

Virginijus Sinkevičius, a Lithuanian MEP who was the environment commissioner until mid-July, said postponing the deforestation regulation would be “a step backward in the fight against climate change”.

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Experts are calling for ‘rapid rescue package’ for nature to improve condition of protected sites

The amount of land that is protected for nature in England has fallen to just 2.93%, despite government promises to conserve 30% of it by 2030, new data reveals.

Campaigners are calling for a “rapid rescue package for UK nature”, as government delegates head to Cop16, the international nature summit, which will take place from 21 October in Colombia. They intend to ask other countries to stick to ambitious nature targets.

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A hybrid 360MW solar farm and two-hour big battery – and with a first of its kind grid connection agreement – has been cleared for construction in Victoria.

The post Hybrid solar and battery project dubbed first of its kind gets green light for construction appeared first on RenewEconomy.