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More than 21,000 old sites may be releasing ‘forever chemicals’ into land often left as open space

• ‘It’s a poison and it’s killing us’: the hidden dangers of old UK landfills

Thousands of polluted landfills across England could be leaking toxic chemicals into the environment and harming people who live nearby, experts have warned.

A few decades ago, the method for getting rid of industrial and domestic waste was to stick it in a hole in the ground, cover it up and hope for the best. It was known as “dilute and disperse” and it assumed toxic substances would seep into the surrounding soils, air and water and become harmless.

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The appointment of high-profile NSW Liberal politician Matt Kean to chair the CCA has sparked questions about what this body does. How does it influence climate policy in Australia?

The post What’s next for the Climate Change Authority under Matt Kean’s leadership? appeared first on RenewEconomy.

New Zealand’s Agriculture Minister Todd McClay has told reporters the government will accept the advice of its handpicked panel on methane targets and science, regardless of whether it contradicts advice provided by the Climate Change Commission (CCC).

Self-determination lies at the crux of the relationships Indigenous Colombians hold with both public and private stakeholders in the voluntary carbon market (VCM), Carbon Pulse heard at the Latin America Climate Summit in Cartagena this week, as communities variously seek recourse in courts to curb rights violations and open collective land allotments to project proponents to finance conservation and development.

Global carbon standard Verra on Thursday released its new methodology for technology-based carbon capture and storage (CCS), including modules for CO2 capture, transport, and storage initiatives.

Colombia’s ETS, under development for six years, is still far from designed or implementable, per a description of outstanding matters provided by an official in Colombia at the Latin America Climate Summit on Wednesday, but the government has several milestones planned for the coming years.

The next cap-and-trade rulemaking workshop date announcement reversed declines in California Carbon Allowance (CCA) prices, while Washington Carbon Allowances (WCA) settled back into sluggish trade given uncertainty surrounding the programme's future.

The world’s top law firms are lagging in pledged climate action, showing substantial ongoing support for the fossil fuel sector despite compared to minor advancements in their work on renewable energy.

The US Department of Energy (DOE) announced Thursday that up to $16 million in funding will be available for large-scale conversion of CO2 emissions into carbon-based products.

Annual trade in carbon removal credits could grow nearly 40-fold to $100 billion by 2030-35 if key barriers are addressed, a new report predicts.

John Grimes from the Smart Energy Council on China's robo-taxis, and its lead on battery, EVs, solar and hydrogen. Plus: The ISP, Matt Kean and nuclear.

The post Energy Insiders Podcast: China rules on EVs, solar, everything appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Developers have broken ground on plans to build, own, and operate dozens of 5MW, two-hour batteries on distribution networks in regional Australia, in a bid to fill a “crucial gap” between home energy storage and grid-scale big batteries. The portfolio of 27 distribution battery energy storage systems, or DBESSs, was announced earlier this month by […]

The post First sod turned in plan to build networks of dozens of small batteries on regional grids appeared first on RenewEconomy.

The Brazilian executive branch still hopes to see national cap-and-trade legislation pass this year, according to an official from the Ministry of Development speaking at the Latin America Climate Summit on Wednesday in Colombia, pushing back previously articulated target dates.

A member of Australia’s Climate Change Authority, Lesley Hughes, explains what this body does – in light of high profile NSW politician Matt Kean’s appointment to the top job this week. Lesley Hughes, Professor Emerita, Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

About a third of insects attracted to artificial lights die by morning, often from exhaustion. But we can help them, and the vital ecosystems they serve, by reducing light pollution. Janice Lord, Associate Professor in Botany, University of Otago Connal McLean, Natural History Technician – Invertebrates, Te Papa Tongarewa Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

The oil major’s net zero plans have made it a sector leader but have yet to win over investors while fossil fuels are booming

Grand corporate strategies are launched in weighty declarations by chief executives who fancy themselves as visionaries. That was how Bernard Looney, the then chief executive of BP, did it back in February 2020 when he said the company would get serious about cutting greenhouse gas emissions and investing in renewables. “The direction is set. We are heading to net zero. There is no turning back,” Looney told his City audience.

By contrast, the watering down of ambition tends to happen in increments. Thus, when Looney last year scrapped BP’s aim to reduce hydrocarbon output by 40% by 2030, versus 2019’s level, in favour of a 25% cut, he claimed the change was a case of “leaning in” to the same strategy, just in the new circumstance of a world that was worrying more about energy security after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

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The Mexican state of Queretaro, with one of the highest carbon taxes in Latin America, has carved out an exception to its 20% offsets rule for firms facing steep competition and will consider international exchange rates when determining annual price increases, a senior official told Carbon Pulse on the sidelines of the Latin America Climate Summit in Colombia Wednesday.

Gold Standard has released the second iteration of its climate framework designed to help organisations contribute to global climate efforts, with key updates including a focus on climate adaptation and further support on how companies should tackle their unabated emissions.

The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) on Thursday approved a temporary halt of an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) scheme to reduce interstate air pollution, which legal experts say could set national precedent that eases the threshold for similar stay requests of federal environmental policies.

Representatives from the government, business and academic sectors agreed that at least part of the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) revenues should be recycled to non-EU countries impacted by the mechanism, during a online webinar hosted by a think tank on Wednesday.