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Fossil fuel generation tumbles to less than a quarter of EU electricity demand
Mosquitoes found all across warming Scotland
Feral horses in Australia’s high country are damaging peatlands, decreasing carbon stores
The Guardian view on Britain’s dirty waterways: a failure of industry and regulation | Editorial
Fresh warnings about polluted rivers from the environment watchdog are shocking but not surprising
A steady stream of stories about the shockingly poor state of Britain’s waterways has turned into a flood. In March, news that competitors in the Boat Race had been warned to stay out of the Thames due to sewage pollution travelled round the world. That the water industry is dysfunctional, and for years has enriched shareholders and executives at the expense of customers, is broadly recognised by the public. Anglers, surfers and swimmers have joined with environmentalists and the former pop star Feargal Sharkey to demand improvements. Polling last year suggested more than half of voters would take the government’s handling of sewage into account when deciding how to vote.
The latest warnings about the situation from Dame Glenys Stacey, the environment watchdog, are thus not surprising. But her data and analysis still have the power to shock. Under the worst-case assessment from the Office for Environmental Protection, just 21% of England’s rivers and other bodies of water will be in a good ecological state by the target date of 2027 – in contravention of the Environment Act.
Continue reading...UK farmers consider quitting after extreme wet weather and low profits
Farmers ‘on the brink’ after record rains, phasing out of EU subsidies and price volatility
British farmers are considering walking away from their farms as the recent record run of wet weather has left the sector “on the brink”, rural bodies have warned.
The Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) and the Soil Association raised concerns over the perilous situations facing many in their industry, with profits being squeezed and extreme weather driven by the climate crisis putting financial and mental strain on farm owners.
Continue reading...Record-breaking increase in CO2 levels in world’s atmosphere
Experts issue warning after finding global average concentration in March was 4.7ppm higher than same period last year
The largest ever recorded leap in the amount of carbon dioxide laden in the world’s atmosphere has just occurred, according to researchers who monitor the relentless accumulation of the primary gas that is heating the planet.
The global average concentration of carbon dioxide in March this year was 4.7 parts per million (or ppm) higher than it it was in March last year, which is a record-breaking increase in CO2 levels over a 12-month period.
Continue reading...Third pilot of household hydrogen heating shelved by UK government
Move suggests homes will rely on electricity for low-carbon heating well into the future
A third pilot project to test the use of hydrogen heating in homes has been shelved by the UK government in the clearest sign to date that households will rely on electricity for low-carbon heating in the coming decades.
The government said it would shelve plans to develop a “hydrogen town” to test whether hydrogen could help to heat homes at scale before taking a final decision after 2026.
Continue reading...I understand climate scientists' despair – but stubborn optimism may be our only hope | Christiana Figueres
Fighting spirit helped us achieve the Paris accords in 2015 – and we need it now the world is on course to overshoot 1.5C
• ‘Hopeless and broken’: why the world’s top climate scientists are in despair
• Christiana Figueres was the head of the UN climate change convention from 2010 to 2016
“Hopeless and broken”: that is how a top scientist interviewed by the Guardian described feeling as she and hundreds of other climate experts shared harrowing predictions of the future of the planet this week.
I resonate with her feelings of despair. Even as the former head of the UN climate change convention that achieved the Paris agreement in 2015, I, like many, can succumb to believing in the worst possible outcome. Just after I assumed the role of UN climate chief in 2010, I said to a room full of reporters that I didn’t believe a global agreement on climate would be possible in my lifetime.
Continue reading...Expert group advises EU Commission to ramp up efforts in shaping a biodiversity credit market
‘The stakes could not be higher’: world is on edge of climate abyss, UN warns
Top climate figures respond to Guardian survey of scientists who expect temperatures to soar, saying leaders must act radically
The world is on the verge of a climate abyss, the UN has warned, in response to a Guardian survey that found that hundreds of the world’s foremost climate experts expect global heating to soar past the international target of 1.5C.
A series of leading climate figures have reacted to the findings, saying the deep despair voiced by the scientists must be a renewed wake-up call for urgent and radical action to stop burning fossil fuels and save millions of lives and livelihoods. Some said the 1.5C target was hanging by a thread, but it was not yet inevitable that it would be passed, if an extraordinary change in the pace of climate action could be achieved.
Continue reading...UK renewables company partners with consultancy on biodiversity net gain
CF TURKIYE: Experts warn proposed limits on Turkish ETS could stunt investment, liquidity
Euro Markets: Midday Update
Gravity storage pioneer to build two batteries next to Australia’s biggest solar farm
The post Gravity storage pioneer to build two batteries next to Australia’s biggest solar farm appeared first on RenewEconomy.
Cruise ship arrives at New York City harbor with dead whale caught on bow
The 44ft-long whale corpse was an endangered sei whale, which will now be examined to determine how it died
A cruise ship has journeyed into New York City’s harbor bearing a gruesome cargo in the form of a huge, dead whale sprawled across its bow.
The incident happened on Saturday, according to local US media reports, and the event is being held by some as further evidence of the unfortunate impact on sea life that large vessels can have.
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