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Pragmatism will win over purism, unless the government favours early closure for car manufacturers

The main timetable is set: no new petrol and diesel cars will be allowed to be sold in the UK after 2030, and sales of all new hybrids will be forbidden from 2035. But that phasing still leaves open the critical matter – for the automotive industry, and for a couple of manufacturers in particular – of which new hybrids will be allowed to be sold until the last day of 2034.

Just the variety that comes with a socket – plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs)? Or should old-style hybrids, such as the Toyota Prius, which have smaller batteries charged by a main internal combustion engine, also be permitted?

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Divergences between developed and developing countries, along with massive funding gaps, pose serious threats to the implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF), a study published Tuesday said.

Forest carbon markets should rely on new technologies such as environmental DNA (eDNA) to improve biodiversity monitoring, as over half of the existing projects risk overlooking co-benefits for nature, according to a paper.

UK has more than halved amount of electricity generated from fossil fuels but gas still had largest share at 28%

The UK’s electricity was the cleanest it has ever been in 2024, with wind and solar generation hitting all-time highs, according to a report.

The analysis by Carbon Brief found that in the past decade the UK had more than halved electricity generated from coal and gas and doubled its output from renewables.

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Emissions from European electricity generation hit a historic low in 2024 due to a higher proportion of renewables, while electricity demand did not pick up, the bloc’s industry association reported on Thursday.

Two US banking giants have announced their departure from a global climate-banking group, joining a growing number of Wall Street firms stepping away in recent weeks and marking a win for Republican lawmakers. 

Endangered spectacled flying foxes and vulnerable grey-headed flying foxes are ‘astonishing’ animals but misinformation is rife

One of the most spectacular sights at Adelaide’s Womadelaide music festival is not on the official lineup.

As dusk approaches, thousands of grey-headed flying foxes begin chattering and stretching their wings as they prepare to ascend from their roosts in Botanic Park and set out in search of food.

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State’s beloved but under-pressure sea cows were barely recorded in the area before seas warmed in the late 1700s

Manatees, long considered among Florida’s most beloved and enchanting inhabitants, are not native at all, and only came to the Sunshine state for warm temperatures and clear blue waters like any other visitor, researchers have found.

The surprise revelation by scientists at the University of South Florida (USF) and George Washington University (GWU) upends decades of thinking about the origins of the threatened species, once plentiful around the Florida peninsula, the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean.

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A Dutch nature-based solutions developer has partnered with a plastic recycling company to launch a plastic credit project in Sri Lanka, with plans to register it under Verra's framework by mid-2025.

Oil and gas companies are increasingly deploying digital technologies such as artificial intelligence and robotics for benefits such as emissions reduction, productivity gain, and supply chain optimisation, a new report has found.

The International Emissions Trading Association (IETA) has released analysis on the nascent biodiversity credit market, identifying integrity and the role played by governments to be among key elements driving demand.

Taiwan has updated its GHG emissions reduction target, aiming to reduce its emissions 26-30% by the end of the decade compared to the 23-25% target set in 2022, according to an official statement.

Abu Dhabi’s Environment Agency has introduced a measurement, reporting, and verification (MRV) programme to standardise emissions tracking and support the development of a carbon pricing mechanism in the emirate.

South Korea has established a blueprint that lays out the goals and policy direction of the country's emissions trading scheme (ETS) over the next decade.

China's financial regulator has given the green light to eight other securities firms to be involved in domestic carbon markets, which could lay the basis for the inclusion of financial institutions in the national emissions trading scheme, according to analysts. 

China has announced a set of trading rules for China Certified Emission Reductions (CCERs), as the country's national voluntary market is expected to see the issuance of new credits shortly.

Indonesia and Japan at a recent meeting adopted guidelines for carbon capture, utilisation, and storage (CCS/CCUS) projects under the latter's Joint Crediting Mechanism (JCM), as well as approving seven new eligible crediting methodologies.

The federal cabinet of Pakistan has approved international carbon market regulations, launched during COP29 in Baku in November last year.

About 200 footprints made by dinosaurs 166 million years ago have been unearthed in a quarry in Oxfordshire.

Society to retire plants no longer suited to UK’s changing climate after 14% fewer days of ground frost recorded

Fig and almond trees are thriving in Britain as a result of fewer frosts, the Royal Horticultural Society has said.

The lack of frost, one of the effects of climate breakdown, means plants used to warmer climes have been doing well in RHS gardens. Almond trees from the Mediterranean were planted at Wisley in Surrey several years ago, and without frost this year have fruited well for the first time.

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