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Some media outlets are already offering forecasts nearly three weeks out – but the BoM advises people to check in on 18 December

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Wondering whether to pack a poncho or sunhat for carols? Locking in plans for a picnic or pool party on 25 December?

Some media outlets are already offering a Christmas Day forecast – nearly three weeks out from the festivities – but is it too early to rely on the festive weather forecast?

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Financiers, mostly development banks, at the UN desertification conference COP16 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia this week have committed $12 billion towards drought resilience, land restoration, and combatting land degradation.

European carbon prices were marginally lower at midday, following the evolution in front-month natural gas as both markets consolidated amid what has been a weak few days.

The historic consensus on Article 6, achieved in November at COP29, may have been broadly welcomed, but some remain cautious that gaps in final decision texts could lead to a lack of integrity in the newly developed, UN-approved international carbon markets, if implementation over the coming years is not sufficiently robust.

French bank BNP Paribas has launched a low-carbon transition equity fund, targeting €750 million from institutional investors such as insurers, pensions funds, and corporates.

China's environment ministry is seeking comments on emissions accounting rules for domestic steelmakers, as the sector will soon be included in the national emissions trading scheme.

A Paris-headquartered certifier for nature-based carbon projects has raised €5 million in fresh funding to expand its operations and develop new methodologies, the organisation announced on Thursday.

A Canadian tech company has collaborated with a concrete producer and a gas distributor in Saudi Arabia to produce low-carbon materials by incorporating captured CO2, the companies announced this week.

‘Tight correlation’ between premium rises and counties deemed most at risk from climate crisis, experts say

Concern over the climate crisis may evaporate in the White House from January, but its financial costs are now starkly apparent to Americans in the form of soaring home insurance premiums – with those in the riskiest areas for floods, storms and wildfires suffering the steepest rises of all.

A mounting toll of severe hurricanes, floods, fires and other extreme events has caused average premiums to leap since 2020, with parts of the US most prone to disasters bearing the brunt. A climate crisis is starting to stir an insurance crisis.

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The EU’s 2040 climate target proposal, due early next year, should make a clear distinction between emission reductions and carbon removals, said Swedish lawmaker Emma Wiesner, denouncing the bloc's plans to put forward a net target as “a slap in the face” and “a huge betrayal” for the European Parliament.

An exchange that supports one of China's pilot carbon markets has unveiled an online financing service targeting carbon pledges in a latest attempt to explore innovative financial instruments.

Australian Carbon Credit Unit (ACCU) prices recouped some of their recent losses Thursday after a bout of severe volatility earlier in the week that had seen units trade as low as A$37 ($23.82).

New liquefied natural gas projects could produce 10 gigatonnes of emissions by the end of the decade, close to the annual emissions of all coal plants

A $200bn wave of new gas projects could lead to a “climate bomb” equivalent to releasing the annual emissions of all the world’s operating coal power plants, according to a report.

Large banks have invested $213bn into plans to build terminals that export and import gas that is chilled and shipped on ocean tankers. But a report has warned that they could be more damaging than coal power.

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New Zealand’s Climate Change Commission (CCC) has called for more severe emissions reductions across all sectors in its updated advice to government published Thursday, while recommending shipping and aviation emissions to be included in a net negative 2050 target.

An industry coalition of energy majors has released a set of recommendations for cross-border carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects in the Asia Pacific, in order to provide the necessary legal clarity in the absence of international regulations.

Peter Dutton vows to scrap the NSW Hunter region offshore wind development zone and the $10 billion project that would be built there.

The post Peter Dutton vows to scrap offshore wind zone, “rip up contracts” and sink $10 billion project appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Vanuatu’s climate case at the International Court of Justice poses a real challenge to Australia’s standing in the region. Wesley Morgan, Research Associate, Institute for Climate Risk and Response, UNSW Sydney Liam Moore, Lecturer in International Politics and Policy, James Cook University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

A battery project hailed as a "first of its kind" when unveiled two years ago has been scrapped by iron ore billionaire Andrew Forrest's Squadron Energy - because it is too small.

The post Andrew Forrest’s Squadron Energy scraps “first of its kind” battery project because it is too small appeared first on RenewEconomy.

A New York-headquartered sustainable soil company offering biochar alternatives to peat-based potting mixes has announced the completion of a $3.6-mln seed funding round aimed at transforming the horticulture industry through carbon-negative solutions.

Group of science and engineering academies agree that baseload power plants not required to support a renewables dominated grid, and are likely to make it more expensive.

The post Baseload power generators not needed to guarantee supply, say science and engineering academies appeared first on RenewEconomy.