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There is a cynical, ‘anti-space’ ideology emerging, especially on some parts of the left. But this is misguided

John F Kennedy once called space-faring “the most hazardous and dangerous and greatest adventure on which Man has ever embarked”. We go to space because, he said – like George Mallory said of his reason to conquer Everest – “it is there.”

While it is truer to say that the race for space between Washington and Moscow was driven as much by cold war competition as by humanity’s pioneering spirit and the imperatives of scientific exploration, billions of ordinary people around the world recognized as much at the time and still were able to marvel at our species’ accomplishments in the heavens regardless of the flag under which they were achieved, from Sputnik to the moon landing.

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Inadequate record keeping means councils do not know whether former waste sites contain toxic substances

More than 100 old landfills in England that may be contaminated with toxic substances have flooded since 2000, potentially posing a serious safety risk, it can be revealed.

Some of these former dumps containing possibly hazardous materials sit directly next to public parks and housing estates with hundreds of households, the analysis by the Greenpeace-funded journalism website Unearthed , in partnership with the Guardian, found.

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Developed countries pressed to submit national plans well before Cop30 as time runs out to avoid 1.5C temperature rise

Rich countries are dragging their feet on producing new plans to combat the climate crisis, thereby putting the poor into greater danger, some of the world’s most vulnerable nations have warned.

All governments are supposed to publish new plans this year on cutting greenhouse gas emissions, but so far only a small majority have done so, and some of the plans submitted have been inadequate to the scale of action needed.

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The Washington Department of Ecology on Friday published a draft proposal detailing changes to the Climate Commitment Act and GHG reporting requirements as part of linkage with California-Quebec's ETS and other programme updates.

Traders continued to derisk across US compliance carbon markets except V26 California Carbon Allowances (CCAs) as prices remained volatile amidst bearish sentiment from the looming federal threat to terminate state-led cap-and-trade schemes and regulatory delays, data published Friday by the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) showed.

A non-profit in British Columbia will invest C$2.46 million ($1.78 mln) in five climate tech ventures led by women, the organisation said on Friday.

The US Supreme Court (SCOTUS) is poised to consider a constitutional challenge to Washington state's cap-and-invest scheme.

Stakeholders urged California regulators to swiftly conclude its extended Low Carbon Fuels Standard (LCFS) rulemaking, although concerns surrounding previous as well as newly proposed provisions continued to linger in comments submitted to the latest 15-day package.

The Oregon Environmental Quality Commission (EQC) voted to authorised a one-month delay in the annual reporting deadline of the state’s Clean Fuels Program (OCFP) as deemed necessary after a cyberattack earlier in April.

Biodiversity credit developer Terrasos will in May officially mark the first issuance from its new Aguadulce Habitat Bank, placing 20,233 Terrasos Biodiversity Units (Tebus) on the market.

Seasonal deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon is up 18% year-on-year (YoY) through the end of March, according to a report published Friday by a Belem-based scientific research non-profit.

The Netherlands' national CO2 levy imposed on top of EU ETS prices will be maintained, but the government is easing up on its impact and other climate rules in a move viewed by some as pragmatic and by others as weakening the country's climate action efforts.

A hydrogen hub in the Appalachian region is undergoing turbulence as it faces uncertainty stemming from funding uncertainty and the 45V tax credit rules the US Treasury finalised last year, according to a recent report.

Colombian businesses are campaigning for a more active role in policy design as they prepare for the delayed launch of an emission trading system (ETS) pilot, according to the leader of an industry alliance speaking Thursday in Bogota at the Colombia Carbon Forum.

Canada’s first sustainability and climate disclosure standards are on hold, as regulators hear from Canadian markets businesses struggling to navigate economic uncertainties south of the border and abroad.

The Alberta government remains committed to industrial carbon pricing, allaying concerns that the province's existing TIER system could be dismantled following next week's Canadian federal election.

Critical minerals, nuclear power and the ‘weaponisation’ of energy supplies were discussed at international conference

The UK and the International Energy Agency gathered ministers and high-level officials from 60 countries to Lancaster House in London for two days of talks on the future of energy security this week. The EU was out in force, the US sent a top official, but China stayed away. Here’s what we learned.

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The shortage of critical minerals required for the net zero transition is an "emerging energy security risk" industry and government leaders told the future of energy security summit, hosted this week in London by the International Energy Agency and UK.

Energy secretary says countries must work together during conference at which US delegate called net zero ‘dangerous’

Britain will find “common ground” with the US on energy and the economy including on nuclear power, despite differences over climate policy, the UK energy secretary, Ed Miliband, has pledged.

He was speaking at the close of a two-day, 60-country conference in London on energy security, hosted by the government and the International Energy Agency (IEA), at which the US delegate Tommy Joyce attacked net zero policies as “dangerous” and “damaging”, and said it was in the interests of “our adversaries”.

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Developing sector transition pathways and providing attractive risk return is key to delivering finance that can support the UK deliver its net zero goal whilst also driving economic growth, experts told a webinar Friday.