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This election campaign has involved more than political candidates and parties on the hustings. We’ve seen grassroots community groups, political activist organisations and social media players getting involved too. But, just how influential are they? And is there enough scrutiny on them? Katherine Gregory investigates.

This election campaign has involved more than political candidates and parties on the hustings. We’ve seen grassroots community groups, political activist organisations and social media players getting involved too. But, just how influential are they? And is there enough scrutiny on them? Katherine Gregory investigates.

This election campaign has involved more than political candidates and parties on the hustings. We’ve seen grassroots community groups, political activist organisations and social media players getting involved too. But, just how influential are they? And is there enough scrutiny on them? Katherine Gregory investigates.

Australia was once home to a range of massive animals - giant wombats, oversized kangaroos and mega-lizards that would have rivalled those of the Serengeti.

Planes going to the finals in Spain and Azerbaijan will emit 35,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide – climate activists want change

Controversy has erupted over the environmental impact of football fans travelling across Europe in coming weeks – to watch English sides play each other hundreds of miles from home.

Campaigners say staging games between Liverpool and Tottenham in Madrid and Arsenal and Chelsea in Baku, in Azerbaijan, will trigger the release of thousands of tonnes of carbon dioxide from planes carrying supporters to the Champions League and Europa League finals.

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Review will assess impact of dirty air on health and will support NHS efforts to go green

The health secretary has described polluted air as a “slow and deadly poison” and warned of a growing national health emergency.

Matt Hancock has commissioned a review of the impact of dirty air on health, including updated estimates of the number of new cases of illness that could be caused by air pollution by 2035.

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Britain’s net zero by 2050 goal may have impact on whether existing policies are reassessed

Britain’s move to “net zero” carbon and the declaration of a climate emergency in parliament will be “given careful consideration” in deciding whether to grant a review of Heathrow airport’s expansion, the government has said.

The new approach falls well short of any commitment to review Heathrow’s expansion, but means the decision on whether to grant campaigners’ request for a review will include the net zero target and the climate emergency among its criteria.

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As changing climate impacts agriculture and water storage, Lewis Dartnell says some populations will need to relocate.

The UK may need to review expansion of aviation to meet CO2 targets, the government admits.

As part of Te Papa, a new $12m immersive nature exhibition at New Zealand's national museum, perfumer Francesco van Eerd has distilled the unusually strong scents of the country's native birds. 'I just love smells,' he says. The exhibition, Te Taiao Nature, amounts to the biggest ever investment in a museum exhibition in the country – and also includes a life-like recreation of the now extinct giant Haast eagle and moa bird. 

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A daily summary of our news plus bite-sized updates from around the world.

Engineers are making sure their joint European-Russian rover will perform as expected on the Red Planet.

EUAs continued to slip on Friday to give back most of the week’s gains as prices crashed through technical supports, natural gas prices turned south, and auction demand continued to weaken.

A summary of legislative and regulatory action on carbon pricing and clean energy at the US subnational level taken this week, including New York adopting regulations to eliminate coal power next year, California’s governor proposing a study to limit fossil fuel supply, and Washington’s governor endorsing a suite of climate policies.

California Carbon Offset (CCO) prices are continuing to lag behind the recent bull run in the California Carbon Allowance (CCA) market, but some believe that trend could change if permit prices keep outpacing historic norms.

Farmers say the Landcare system was broken by successive Government cuts

Deal will improve handling of plastic waste and prevent it from getting washed or dumped into oceans and rivers, UN says

Almost all the world’s countries have agreed on a deal to improve the way they deal with plastic waste and prevent so much of it from getting washed or dumped into oceans and rivers – with the glaring exception of the United States, the United Nations announced on Friday afternoon.

A “legally binding framework” that affects thousands of types of plastic waste emerged at the end of a two-week meeting of UN-backed conventions on plastic waste and toxic, hazardous chemicals that threaten the planet’s seas and creatures.

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Does a second feel the same for a fly, a bird, or a swordfish, as it does for me? From the BBC World Service, immerse yourself in the world of animal senses.

German utility EnBW advanced its hedging rates over Q1 2019 to maintain its stance of having a larger share of its expected output hedged than a year earlier, giving a slightly bearish signal for EUAs.

Erin Priddle defends the record of the Marine Stewardship Council, Sam Laird attacks fishing subsidies, Keith Snell says we will suffocate if phytoplankton are wiped out, and Fiona Carnie says that we all have a duty to help save the planet

George Monbiot wants the world to stop eating fish (Journal, 9 May). However, considering over a billion people rely on fish as part of their diet, many of them in poorer parts of the world, simply cutting fish out – even if it were possible – would deprive millions of people of an essential protein source and vital source of income. The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) provides an international benchmark for sustainable fishing that ensures certified fisheries safeguard fish stocks and our oceans.

Monbiot criticises the MSC for certifying unsustainable fisheries. But his examples include a tuna fishery that has nearly eradicated shark finning in its fishery. The steps taken by this certified fishery have helped to secure livelihoods for a suite of small-island developing nations, and they have contributed to the protection of important species, including sharks.

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