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The pulp industry may be responsible for burning up to 45 million cubic metres of wood sourced from forests and plantations across the EU each year, a report has said.

Europe's carbon market traded in a narrow range for a second successive day as traders prepared for Wednesday's expiry of the March options contract, with prices easing towards the lower of the two main strike prices while energy markets also eased off as participants waited for news on the latest round of US-Russian talks over a ceasefire deal in Ukraine.

Verra has suspended four validation and verification bodies (VVBs) that were involved in reviewing the 37 rice cultivation projects in China that the standard rejected last year after a whistleblower raised concerns about their integrity.

Bottom trawling in European waters imposes an annual cost of up to €10.8 billion on society, primarily due to CO2 emissions released from disturbed seafloor sediments, according to a pre-print study published this week.

A group of 16 investors has asked an equal number of clothing companies to commit to embedding nature-positive practices into their supply chains to reduce sustainability risks.  

An Indian agriculture technology startup has raised INR 830 million ($10 mln) from a UK investor to expand its carbon farming operations across the South Asian nation, it announced Tuesday.

Exchanges in China are exploring innovative financial products linked to carbon credits issued under the national voluntary programme, amid rising interest in project investment across the country.

Lib Dems to urge government to control sale of products containing chemicals that kill wildlife such as fish and birds

The use of toxic flea treatments for pets should be tightly restricted, the Liberal Democrats will say in parliament on Tuesday, as the chemicals kill wildlife including fish and birds.

The government is coming under pressure to control the sale of pet flea treatments containing neonicotinoids, after it effectively announced a ban on the chemicals in pesticides on farms. However, the sale of the flea treatments to pet owners is still unregulated.

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A total of 15 of the 19 countries that have submitted updated Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Agreement are planning to increase their renewable energy ambition ahead of 2035, according to a report by two non-profit research and campaign groups.

Australia on Tuesday announced A$4.3 billion ($2.7 bln) in new spending to reach net zero emissions, but attracted criticism from environmental groups for lack of new funding to protect nature.

Decarbonising Europe’s ammonia industry hinges on targeted subsidies and carbon pricing, but domestic producers may still lose out to cheaper US imports backed by generous subsidies and looser carbon accounting rules, a report released this week has found.

Landlocked Laos will need to modify its energy system and rely less on hydropower if it is to decarbonise, meet its net zero target of 2050, and its nationally determined contribution (NDC), a regional grouping has warned.

MPs likely to be whipped against move to add protections, as government says it is already taking action on risk of forced labour

Ministers have been accused of turning a “blind eye to slavery” by ordering Labour MPs to remove legal protections to stop money being spent by state-owned Great British Energy on solar panels manufactured by forced labour in China.

The protections were added to the government bill in the House of Lords via an amendment from the cross-bench peer David Alton, which said the new body must not spend money on solar or other materials where supply chains had “credible evidence of modern slavery”.

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The Catalytic Climate Finance Facility (CC Facility) on Tuesday issued a tender looking for high-impact, scalable, and market-ready blended climate finance solutions in developing economies.

A CSIRO study published this week has found it is difficult to predict whether excluding grazing livestock can reliably boost carbon stocks in woody vegetation, raising further questions over Australia’s human-induced regeneration (HIR) carbon credit method.

Vietnam is set to implement its emissions trading system (ETS) targeting high-emitting industries in three phases, with an approach that balances carbon cuts with international market competitiveness, senior government officials were quoted saying in local media reports this week.

Germany’s top business leaders have issued a call for climate action, urging the country’s next government to embed climate neutrality at the heart of its economic strategy.

Protecting 30% of Australian lands sounds good – but what matters much more is whether we’re protecting dwindling habitat for endangered species. James Watson, Professor in Conservation Science, School of the Environment, The University of Queensland Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Regulator finds industry group breached Greenwashing Code with claims electric cooktops are more expensive and more emissions intensive than cooking with gas.

The post Regulator finds fossil fuel group engaged in greenwashing in defence of gas stoves appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Algae blooms can be a problem for marine life and people but it’s not yet clear if warmer oceans and nutrient runoff are causing more of them

Confronting images of dead seadragons, fish and octopuses washed up on South Australian beaches – and disturbing reports of “more than 100” surfers and beachgoers experiencing flu-like symptoms after swimming or merely breathing in sea spray – attracted international concern last week.

Speculation about the likely cause ranged from pollution and algae to unusual bacterial infections or viruses. We can reveal the culprit was a tiny – but harmful – type of planktonic algae called Karenia mikimotoi.

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