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Leaked government figures show proportion of assets in adequate condition has fallen ‘significantly below’ target

Thousands of flood defences in England that are supposed to protect properties from serious damage are in a state of disrepair, according to official figures leaked to the Observer before what is expected to be a wetter than usual autumn.

Data from inside the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and the Environment Agency about the so-called “asset condition” of key flood defences shows the proportion of those regarded as being in adequate condition now stands at just 92.6%, compared with 97.9% in 2018-19. This is the proportion of defences judged to be fit for purpose after rigorous inspection by experts.

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As Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore spend months longer than planned on ISS, three astronauts tell us what life is like in orbit.

From donning ‘pie-proof’ bike helmets to conversing with the songbirds, the key to avoiding avian conflict might be learning to speak their language, experts say

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Down a gravel track in the backblocks west of Ipswich ride six middle-aged women. Their bikes are black, their shorts and exercise tops nondescript – but strapped atop their helmets are party hats.

“You know those little cone hats you used to wear as a kid?” Christina Slik says. “With the streamers on top and the reflective colouring?”

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Environmental approval for wind and solar farms have to consider habitat loss for precious species, but do not yet consider the biggest threat, which is climate change, or the benefits of reduced coal emissions.

The post Breeding grounds, flight paths and climate change: Getting balance right on wind and solar approvals appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Financial entities continued to bolster V25 California Carbon Allowance (CCA) holdings, reducing exposure to V24s over the week, while traders tempered RGGI net length as shoulder season weakness set in, according to data from the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).

A US federal appeals court on Thursday instructed the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to respond to the concerns of the Supreme Court (SCOTUS) and petitioners who effectively halted the regulator’s scheme to reduce interstate air pollution.

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has notified a large-scale carbon injection project in Illinois it has violated its operating permit following a CO2 leak that occurred in 2023, according to documents shared with Carbon Pulse.

California Republicans have introduced legislation to exempt gas from the state's cap-and-trade scheme, as well as freeze impending amendments to the Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS), with the overall aim to reduce retail gasoline prices.

Democrats in the US Congress introduced separate bills on Thursday that would require analysis of the effects on emissions from legislative proposals and charge fossil fuel companies for their historic CO2 output.

Voluntary and regulated carbon markets need one another, international stakeholders told a World Bank-convened event this week, but creating the right investment conditions to scale supply and blur the lines between the two forms of pricing mechanisms will take years.

Measures to lower electricity prices for European industry to drive their global competitiveness, could severely dampen the business case for investments in clean power, warned European electricity trade association Eurelectric this week.

The European Commission has identified an “ambition gap” in the National Energy and Climate Action Plans (NECPs) adopted by EU countries, saying better planning and a tighter governance framework is needed to ensure the bloc delivers on its climate goals.

The 720 members of the European Parliament are gearing up for holding confirmation hearings with the new commissioners-designate, and for holding a series of debates on climate and the bloc's agricultural sector, as they gather in Strasbourg next week for the first time after the summer break.

Japan’s environment ministry on Friday announced it is now accepting applications from companies seeking so-called nature coexistence support certificates, after the originally intended pilot late last year got delayed.

From Port Stephens to Illawarra, candidates are running against renewable schemes because of ‘lack of consultation’

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Part of what’s driving Mark Watson’s pitch for mayor is his opposition to a project he says is the talk of the town and the “biggest issue” in his coastal home’s history.

The former One Nation candidate for the state government is now running as an independent for mayor of Port Stephens. The coastal town just north of Newcastle overlooks the middle of the 1,800-square kilometre offshore windfarm zone off the Hunter, where the Albanese government plans a renewable energy hub to be operating by 2030.

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Planning approval for the UK’s first deep coal mine in 30 years has been quashed by a court because of unlawful claims the mine would be ‘net zero’ and have no impact on the emissions cuts required under the country’s Climate Change Act.

The Swiss industry agency entrusted by its government with arranging Article 6.2 bilateral agreements has provided written and financial support to a biogas project in Ghana, a global forerunner in Paris Agreement carbon trading deals.

Indonesian president-elect Prabowo Subianto, who comes to power next month after a February win at the polls, plans to generate and sell rain forest carbon credits worth a total of $65 billion by 2028, Reuters reported Friday, citing a government advisor.

Tech firms can give emerging biodiversity markets the 'trust factor' companies need to buy nature credits without fear of backlash, a data specialist told a webinar this week.

The image of huge, glorious landscapes, where wildlife runs free under the protection of the state, is far from reality

• England’s national parks overseen by ‘bloated’, mostly white male boards

What do you think of when you think of a national park? Is it a wide area of glorious natural beauty, where wildlife runs free under the protection of the state? Or is it a wide area mostly farmed by private landowners, in which nature is faring worse than outside its boundaries, and largely off-limits to the public?

In England, the reality is the latter, and this matters. The country is one of the most nature-depleted nations in the world, in the bottom 10% of nations for biodiversity. “Nature is in freefall in our national parks,” says Dr Rose O’Neill, the chief executive of the Campaign for National Parks (CNP).

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