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Environmental standards are at risk across the board, from wildlife and habitats to water and air quality, a risk assessment shows

Government promises of a green Brexit have been cast into doubt by a new study that warns of declining protections for water, birds and habitats once Britain leaves the European Union.

The risk assessment – commissioned by Friends of the Earth – found standards are likely to weaken in every sector of environment policy, from chemicals and food safety to air pollution and climate, though the extent of deterioration will depend on the departure deal.

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The Australia Institute’s new Climate and Energy Program has released the Electricity Update of the National Energy Emissions Audit (The Audit*) for March 2018, authored by renowned energy expert Dr Hugh Saddler.

It's official, Craig Kelly MP doesn't rate RE. And while we don't mind that so much, we do mind his serial bending of the truth to beat up renewables, deny climate change, and shore up coal.

Sandy, Bedfordshire: While some birds plunder the scales for melody, the house sparrows strike a percussive note

The most familiar and enigmatic garden birds have been feeding on nothing again. Six beaks probed the branches of the winter-bare rose bush, four beaks descended to peck at the ground beneath, one beak washed her meal down with a sip from the pond. Every day they return and every day I scan the soil, and interrogate the impervious hide of the rose, for anything edible, in vain. Do the birds milk the thorns?

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The ANU is taking a lead role in preparing the next international climate assessment, which will be vital in informing nations about the need to strengthen their actions in order to avoid dangerous global warming.

Record-breaking April heat is likely to continue for at least another month. Jonathan Pollock, Climatologist, Australian Bureau of Meteorology Andrew B. Watkins, Manager of Long-range Forecast Services, Australian Bureau of Meteorology Catherine Ganter, Senior Climatologist, Australian Bureau of Meteorology Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

There is broad and consistent support for renewable energy both globally and in Australia, but our policies need to wake up to 21st Century.

Australia’s largest infrastructure fund, the $12 billion IFM Australian Infrastructure Fund, is working with the CEFC to reduce carbon emissions at some of the nation’s leading infrastructure assets across ports, airports and electricity infrastructure.

A Goulburn abattoir has teamed up with a Queensland energy provider to turn its waste into energy, thanks to funding from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency.

Boeing and Rolls-Royce are to invest in the UK company developing a revolutionary propulsion system.

UK and Belgian scientists explore the seabed off Norfolk after prehistoric finds.

Two lakes discovered beneath an Arctic ice sheet may help us to learn about Europa's subsurface ocean.

One of the coldest northern winters in decades has wiped out the clam population in a nature reserve in eastern China, the major food source for the critically endangered Great Knot.

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

California regulator ARB did not hand out any California Carbon Offsets (CCOs) on Wednesday, the first issuance round since June 2015 where no new offsets were distributed.

An annual assessment of the health of Australia's environment shows mostly stable conditions in 2017, but ecosystems on land and at sea suffered ever higher temperatures. Albert Van Dijk, Professor, Water and Landscape Dynamics, Fenner School of Environment & Society, Australian National University Madeleine Cahill, Oceanographer, CSIRO Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

The Nimmie-Caira project could mean the restoration of one of the largest wetlands in the Murray-Darling basin
• Murray-Darling: when the river runs dry

The New South Wales government is close to deciding who will run one of most ambitious environmental projects that have come out of the Murray-Darling basin plan.

If successful, the rehabilitation of the Nimmie-Caira property could result in the restoration of the largest wetlands on the Murrumbidgee river. It will create a sanctuary for water birds, extend vital wetland habitats and preserve a unique area rich in Aboriginal cultural heritage – all under private sector ownership.

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Non-farmed bugs and scallops also listed as red in latest conservation guide

Wild-caught Queensland prawns, bugs and scallops will be off the menu if consumers heed warnings about unsustainable fishing practices from conservationists.

The shellfish varieties have all been downgraded to a red rating in the latest sustainable seafood guide published by the Australian Marine Conservation Society (AMCS).

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Finland’s government has opted to ban coal in energy production from 2029, a move that the power sector branded "cosmetic" for reducing a tiny amount of residual emissions for €100 per tonne of CO2.

Several US senators expressed their concerns that a new bill to support the development of carbon capture utilisation and storage (CCUS) technologies could undermine environmental regulations during a committee hearing on Tuesday.