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WWF has launched a fund that seeks to galvanise collective action to tackle Brazilian deforestation and land degradation in leather supply chains with a target raise of $10 million.

The market for durable CO2 removals is expected to expand significantly in the coming years, but high costs and regulatory uncertainty remain key barriers to scaling adoption, according to a new survey.

Study on cancer data in US agricultural heartland finds children more at risk than if exposed to just one pesticide

Exposure to multiple pesticides significantly increases the risk of childhood cancers compared with exposures to just one pesticide, first-of-its-kind research finds, raising new fears that children are more at risk to the substances’ harmful effects than previously thought.

The study’s authors say they are the first to look at the link between exposures to multiple widely used pesticides and the most common childhood cancers. Most research considers pesticides’ toxicity on an individual basis, and the substances are regulated as if exposures occur in isolation from one another.

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The European Investment Bank (EIB) has teamed up with a Paris-based consultancy firm to help scale voluntary biodiversity credit transactions in France, with a view to backing the market uptake across the EU.

New ancient DNA research on Adélie penguin poo in Antarctica shows how several species respond to environmental change over time, including southern elephant seals. Jamie Wood, Senior Lecturer in Ecology and Evolution, University of Adelaide Theresa Cole, Postdoctoral technician in environmental DNA, University of Adelaide Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

A UK waste-to-energy operator is moving ahead with the next phase of its carbon capture technology programme, installing the only active carbon capture and storage (CCS) pilot in Wales and a new pilot plant in West Yorkshire.

By allowing owners of electric vehicles in Europe to store excess electricity, and to sell it back to the grid, the bloc could boost uptake while they save considerably, an EU industry association has said.

Another day, another health scare. I’m struggling to know which dangers I should take seriously

If you want to stir up online controversy, wooden spoons are the perfect tool with which to do so. Every few years, influencers go viral with warnings about how the wooden spoons in your kitchen are covered in disgusting gunk and if you don’t boil them immediately you will poison yourself and everyone you love.

In 2023, for example, a woman called Lulaboo Jenkins posted a TikTok video of her boiling spoons. Millions of people watched the water turn brown and it triggered a deep-cleaning craze. The Guardian’s Tim Dowling had a go, detailing the results in an article that prompted more than 1,000 comments. Who knew spoons could inspire such a feverish response? (Well, Jenkins, I suppose.)

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A Singapore industry group is working with stakeholders to develop a sustainable claims guidance for the carbon industry that it hopes can be applied to the broader Asia-Pacific region.

Founders of a New Zealand solar developer announce ambitious plan to link Australia and New Zealand grid with a sub-sea cable.

The post Solar developer unveils plan for “world’s deepest” undersea cable to link Australia and NZ grids appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Guardian analysis finds fossil-fuel and mining firms have won $92bn of public money from states, with a growing number of cases backed by financial speculators

Read more: Fearing toxic waste, Greenland ended uranium mining. Now, they could be forced to restart - or pay $11bn

Financial speculators are investing in a growing number of lawsuits against governments over environmental laws and other regulations that affect profits, often generating lucrative awards, the Guardian has found.

For a long time, litigation finance thrived primarily in the realm of car crashes and employment claims. “Had an accident that wasn’t your fault?” was the industry’s billboard catchphrase, offering to finance lawsuits in exchange for a cut of any payout.

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Biochar offtakes struck by early bird buyers are locking in available supply at discounted rates, likely crowding latecomers out due to limited leftover supply and unaffordable prices, according to information published Wednesday by a carbon removals (CDR) marketplace.

The ministry overseeing Vietnam’s soon-to-appear pilot carbon market is about to merge with another in the biggest government shake-up in decades, though it's impact on the scheme launch date remains uncertain.

Carbon credits that come with insurance can fetch a premium of up to 40% and are 75% more likely to trade, the Carbon Forward conference in Singapore heard on Wednesday.

A Coalition party win at the imminent Australian election would not see the updated Safeguard Mechanism repealed, but it could be weakened or see large sectors, such as LNG, carved out, a conference heard this week.

China will prioritise several carbon-related measures this year, including the planned expansion of the coverage of industries in the national ETS and enhancing the capacity for emissions accounting and verification, according to the annual government work report released on Wednesday.

The plant multiplies quickly, is rich in vitamins, and eaten across Asia. Why isn’t it on supermarket shelves?

In the summer sun, duckweed (Wolffia globosa) can be a menace. It grows so fast it covers a pond in a few days, blocking out the light for the life below. But it is this ability to multiply and its high nutritional value that has made it a potentially valuable food.

Although commonly eaten in Asia, where varieties of duckweed are also known as water lentils or watermeal, it has taken nearly 10 years for scientists to convince the European Food Safety Authority that it is a vegetable that is safe to eat.

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The New Zealand government has developed a draft land-use classification (LUC) framework for the country, which delineates carbon forestry from indigenous and exotic plantations.

Researchers say data strengthens case for holding firms to account for their contribution to climate crisis

Half of the world’s climate-heating carbon emissions come from the fossil fuels produced by just 36 companies, analysis has revealed.

The researchers said the 2023 data strengthened the case for holding fossil fuel companies to account for their contribution to global heating. Previous versions of the annual report have been used in legal cases against companies and investors.

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Emissions from major oil, gas, coal, and cement producers increased in 2023 compared to the previous year, with more than half of fossil fuel CO2 emissions linked to just 36 companies, according to a report released Wednesday.