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‘Inexcusable’: should climate hypocrites get the petrostates label?

The Guardian - Wed, 2024-07-24 20:36

Suggestions definition of petrostate is too narrow as many rich countries that could phase out fossil fuels double down

“Drill, baby, drill!” Donald Trump’s ominous avowal to pump up the oil and gas production of the US has horrified many people around the world about the intentions of the Republican candidate, who has also declared he wants to be “dictator for a day”. Rather than the prospective leader of the free world, the election frontrunner sounds more like the tyrant of a petrostate.

That should not be entirely surprising given the country’s recent record: it has ramped up fossil fuel production to become the world’s biggest producer. As a Guardian investigation reveals, the total number of projected licences by the US for 2024 could lead to an estimated 397m tonnes of planet-heating emissions.

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Indonesia plans to stage carbon tax in two phases, webinar hears

Carbon Pulse - Wed, 2024-07-24 20:30
Indonesia plans a two-stage carbon tax even as its domestic carbon credit market remains illiquid and sparsely traded, a webinar heard this week according to local media.
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EU, US blame India for sinking WTO deal on harmful fisheries subsidies

Carbon Pulse - Wed, 2024-07-24 20:13
The latest World Trade Organisation (WTO) talks failed to break a deadlock on reform aimed at strengthening rules on harmful fisheries subsidies, with the EU and the US blaming India for thwarting the deal.
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Revealed: Tories failed to do impact check before approving banned pesticide

The Guardian - Wed, 2024-07-24 20:12

Exclusive: UK campaigners say it is ‘unacceptable’ no nature assessments were made on bee-killing Cruiser SB

The Conservative government did not carry out a legally required assessment of how green-lighting the use of a banned pesticide, described as a “death blow to wildlife”, would affect some of the most important nature sites, documents have revealed.

The previous government gave emergency approval this year for sugar beet farmers to use Cruiser SB for the fourth year in a row.

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Wealthy countries lead in new oil and gas expansion, threatening 12bn tonnes of emissions

The Guardian - Wed, 2024-07-24 20:00

The US and the UK among countries with low dependence on fossil fuels criticized for ‘hypocrisy’ on climate pledges

A surge in new oil and gas production in 2024 threatens to unleash nearly 12bn tonnes of planet-heating emissions, with the world’s wealthiest countries – such as the US and the UK – leading a stampede of fossil fuel expansion in spite of their climate commitments, new data shared exclusively with the Guardian reveals.

The new oil and gas field licences forecast to be awarded across the world this year are on track to generate the highest level of emissions since those issued in 2018, as heatwaves, wildfires, drought and floods cause death and destruction globally, according to analysis of industry data by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD).

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Malaysia urges corporate sector to engage in country’s first nature-based carbon credit auction

Carbon Pulse - Wed, 2024-07-24 19:59
Malaysia’s Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability has called on corporates to participate in the auction this week of carbon credits generated from a domestic project in order to support climate financing in the Southeast Asian nation, a statement released by the ministry on Wednesday said.
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Australian soil carbon developer announces pivot as it girds for board fight at AGM

Carbon Pulse - Wed, 2024-07-24 19:53
An Australian soil carbon developer has finalised the date of its annual general meeting where it will ask shareholders to vote on removal of a director a day after it outlined a strategy to partner on soil carbon rather than go solo, and gave a firm date for the startup of its Philippines operations.
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Chinese province launches local carbon offset programme

Carbon Pulse - Wed, 2024-07-24 19:12
Jiangxi has become the latest Chinese province to launch a local offsetting programme, with plans to create millions of carbon credits by the end of the decade.
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Komodo dragons have iron-coated teeth, scientists find

The Guardian - Wed, 2024-07-24 19:00

Reptile’s teeth found to have covering that helps keep serrated edges razor sharp and resistant to wear

With their huge size, venomous bite and the fantastical connotations of their name, Komodo dragons seem like the stuff of legend.

Now, that status has been elevated further: scientists have discovered that their teeth are coated with a layer of iron that helps keep their serrated edges razor sharp.

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INTERVIEW: Afforestation credits for small land plots just got easier with new certification protocol

Carbon Pulse - Wed, 2024-07-24 18:58
Carbon credit certification for afforestation, reforestation, and revegetation (ARR) projects could become more common in Europe through Open Forest Protocol, which reduces upfront cost and makes smaller land areas more economically viable for carbon projects, said a project developer.
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UK authorities could open developers up to “commercial ransom” under biodiversity rules

Carbon Pulse - Wed, 2024-07-24 18:43
Local authorities could expose developers to exploitation from landowners, with worse outcomes for nature and housing, if they force the purchase of nature offsets nearby rather than sourcing them from more distant areas under England’s biodiversity net gain (BNG) legislation, an expert has said.
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Brazilian organisations propose new mechanism to protect tropical forests

Carbon Pulse - Wed, 2024-07-24 17:27
Three Brazilian organisations have unveiled a concept note on a Tropical Forests Mechanism (TFM) designed to help fund efforts to protect and grow tropical forests globally.
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India expands list of eligible activities under Article 6.2, adds list for 6.4

Carbon Pulse - Wed, 2024-07-24 16:30
India has updated the list of activities that will be eligible to generate carbon credits for export under Article 6.2 of the Paris Agreement, while also finalising a list of activities for Art. 6.4.
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The CFFMEU unequivocally condemns koala habitat destruction! | First Dog on the Moon

The Guardian - Wed, 2024-07-24 16:14

There is power in a (nonhuman) union

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Hydrothermal eruption in Yellowstone National Park sends sightseers fleeing

The Guardian - Wed, 2024-07-24 15:43

Video posted online shows people running away to escape the explosion at Biscuit Basin, which is now closed to visitors

A surprise hydrothermal explosion in Yellowstone national park has sent sightseers running for safety, after steam and dark-coloured rock and dirt shot up high into the sky.

The eruption happened around 10am local time on Tuesday in Biscuit Basin, a collection of hot springs a couple miles north of the famous Old Faithful Geyser.

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Extreme wealth has a deadening effect on the super-rich – and that threatens us all | George Monbiot

The Guardian - Wed, 2024-07-24 15:00

In a kayak off the Devon coast I witnessed the kind of entitled mindlessness that has ravaged society, and our planet

On a calm and beautiful morning off the coast of south Devon last week, I was watching a small pod of dolphins from my kayak. I had spotted them from half a mile away, feeding and playing on the surface. They were heading my way, so I sat on the water and waited.

But from round the headland, at top speed, came a giant twin-engined maritime wankpanzer. Though the dolphins were highly visible and it had plenty of time either to stop or avoid them, it ploughed towards them at full throttle. As it passed, missing them by a few metres, the driver turned and glanced at them, but never checked his speed. The dolphins dived. They briefly reappeared much farther from the coast, after which I didn’t see them again. I could hear the boat long after it disappeared: it sounded like a jetliner. God knows what distress it might have caused the dolphins, which are highly sensitive to sound.

George Monbiot is a Guardian columnist

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