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An aquarium in Galway has been hit by strong winds and flooding as Storm Éowyn sweeps Ireland and the UK. Footage shows water rising to the top of a staircase and streaming past the building as gusts blow flood water across the car park

• Storm Éowyn live – latest updates

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From Europe to Canada, Africa, China and Brazil, most countries appear to have doubled down on their commitment to tackle crisis

World leaders, senior ministers and key figures in climate diplomacy have one by one reaffirmed their commitment to the Paris agreement this week, in response to the order by Donald Trump to withdraw the US from the pact.

The prospect of the world keeping temperatures to 1.5C above pre-industrial levels, as the treaty calls for, was damaged by the incoming US president’s move. Hopes of meeting the target were already fast receding, and last year was the first to consistently breach the 1.5C limit, but the goal will be measured over years or even decades and stringent cuts to emissions now could still make a difference.

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International research team based findings on 300m records from MOT data to estimate failure rates of all cars

Battery cars on Britain’s roads are lasting as long as petrol and diesel cars, according to a study that has found a rapid improvement in electric vehicle reliability.

An international team of researchers has estimated that an electric car will have a lifespan of 18.4 years, compared with 18.7 years for petrol cars and 16.8 years for diesels, according to a peer-reviewed study published on Friday in the journal Nature Energy. The findings were based on 300m records from compulsory annual MOT tests of roadworthiness.

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China continued to see trading activity muted in its national emissions market over the past week, while the country's undersupplied voluntary also experienced draining liquidity.

The Global Carbon Council (GCC) announced Friday it has submitted its programme-level assessment application to the Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market (ICVCM).

Switzerland has set the carbon removal sector alight after bringing into force bold new climate legislation at the start of the year, offering millions in funding for carbon capture projects.

China has finalised emissions accounting rules for domestic steelmakers, in order to prepare mills for their entry into the national emissions trading scheme.

UK-focused forestry standard the Woodland Carbon Code (WCC) plans to apply in April for approval under the Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market (ICVCM)’s CCP-quality label, and is carrying out trials to digitise project measurement, reporting, and verification, according to a manager.

Acoustic indices used in biodiversity monitoring often fail to accurately reflect species richness, representing a potential challenge for the nascent biodiversity credit market, a conservation expert told Carbon Pulse.

Adding shipping to the UK ETS could help push the sector towards decarbonisation — but there are concerns that the carbon price is still too low to make a dent and that it creates a patchwork of regulations in a market where international measures are also in the pipeline. 

The best of this week’s wildlife photographs from around the world

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Queensland’s newly elected conservative government on Friday promised A$117.84 million ($74.44 mln) for natural resource protection over the next four years.

Mikkel Larsen, the former CEO of Singapore carbon market trading platform Climate Impact X, passed away suddenly on Thursday, at the age of 50, the company confirmed to Carbon Pulse Friday.

Corpse flower mania is sweeping the nation (inner-city Sydney)

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Fridays for Future organiser warns conspiracy theories are increasingly taking hold despite effects of global heating

The rise in extreme weather is not generating political support for climate action, Germany’s best-known climate activist has warned, as conspiracy theories increasingly circle after disasters made worse by global heating.

“Like many, I did buy into the idea that big catastrophes would do something to politics,” said Luisa Neubauer from Fridays for Future Germany. “I bought into that – and I’m glad about it – because I was naively believing there was a democratic responsibility that would live through coalition changes and climate changes.”

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Birdwatch survey comes as concerns grow over infection risks posed by garden bird feeders

People are being urged to spend an hour this weekend counting the birds in their garden, park or local green space for the world’s largest survey of garden wildlife.

More than 9m birds were counted last year by 600,000 participants in the RSPB’s Big Garden Birdwatch, providing a vital snapshot of how wild birds are faring.

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Peter Dutton says a Coalition government won't follow Trump out of the Paris agreement, but also won't set 2030 or 2035 emission reduction targets. His office begs to differ.

The post Yes to Paris, no to targets: Dutton’s climate doublespeak causes confusion in Coalition ranks appeared first on RenewEconomy.

California's Low Carbon Fuels Standard (LCFS), which started the year on a stable footing, faltered after regulator ARB detailed potential headwinds to the approval of programme updates last week, while the new US administration's executive action on year-round E15 use also raised questions about impacts on the scheme.

The world’s biggest wind, solar and green ammonia project joins queue seeking federal environmental approval to install up to 60 million PV panels and 3,000 turbines.

The post Massive 70 GW wind and solar project that straddles Nullarbor seeks federal green tick appeared first on RenewEconomy.

First there was Moo Deng, then there was Pesto the Penguin – but have you met Sydney's Putricia, the corpse flower? To the scientific community, the Botanic Gardens of Sydney’s corpse flower is known as Amorphophallus titanum, which translates to 'large, deformed penis'. But online, the rare endangered plant has taken a life of its own.

It’s the first time a corpse flower has bloomed in the Royal Botanic Garden in 15 years – and when they do blossom, they last just 24 to 48 hours

• ‘Putricia for president’: Sydney’s blooming corpse flower becomes a cult hero – to those who can’t smell her

• She looks like a ‘deformed penis’ and smells like a dead possum: Sydney goes wild for its blooming corpse flower

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