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Exclusive: Target is 81% emissions cut compared with 1990, but activists say it must be backed by plan of action

Keir Starmer will announce a stringent new climate goal for the UK on Tuesday, the Guardian can reveal, with a target in line with the advice given to the government by its scientists and independent advisers.

The UK will pledge to cut emissions by 81% compared with 1990 levels by 2035, a target in line with the recommendations of the Climate Change Committee.

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The succession of authoritarian fossil fuel producers hosting international climate negotiations is a concern. We must pay attention to political influences on the talks and beware of greenwashing. Ellie Martus, Senior Lecturer in Public Policy, School of Government and International Relations, Griffith University Fengshi Wu, Associate Professor in Political Science and International Relations, UNSW Sydney Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Extreme weather is already costing vulnerable island nations US$141 billion each year. How should rich nations contribute and who should pay the most? Nina Ives, PhD Candidate in Climate Change, Auckland University of Technology David Hall, Senior Lecturer in Social Sciences and Public Policy, Auckland University of Technology Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Agreement on rules paving way for rich countries to pay for cheap climate action abroad breaks years-long deadlock

Diplomats have greenlit key rules that govern the trade of “carbon credits”, breaking a years-long deadlock and paving the way for rich countries to pay for cheap climate action abroad while delaying expensive emission cuts at home.

The agreement, reached late on the first day of Cop29 in Azerbaijan, was hailed by the hosts as an early win at climate talks that have been snubbed by prominent world leaders and clouded by the threat of a US retreat from climate diplomacy after Donald Trump’s victory in the presidential election.

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The political push to massively electrify energy systems risks making them more vulnerable to climate change, said the chief transition officer of the Flemish distribution system operator (DSO) at an event in Brussels. 

The demand for carbon credits in the international voluntary carbon markets is terrible and needs to be fixed, the prime minister of Bhutan said at a panel discussion on the first day of COP29 in Azerbaijan on Monday.

News of the COP29 presidency securing an early Article 6 outcome during Monday’s opening plenary session lifted spirits in the voluntary market, which had been left uneasy by last week’s election of Donald Trump to the White House despite improving liquidity amid a typical fourth quarter pick-up.

Even if president-elect rolls back climate progress, John Podesta reaffirms commitment to a clean planet at Cop29

The US climate envoy John Podesta said the fight “for a cleaner, safer” planet will not stop under a re-elected Donald Trump even if some progress is reversed, speaking at the Cop29 UN climate talks on Monday as they opened in Baku, Azerbaijan.

“Although under Donald Trump’s leadership the US federal government placed climate-related actions on the back burner, efforts to prevent climate change remain a commitment in the US and will confidently continue,” said Podesta, who is leading the Biden administration’s delegation at the annual talks.

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Azerbaijan's COP29 presidency secured an early endorsement of key methodological standards under Article 6 during Monday's opening plenary, driven to action by two years of failure at the annual UN climate summit to move forward on the Paris Agreement's carbon crediting mechanism.

US climate envoy John Podesta acknowledged the election of Donald Trump as “disappointing” for climate action, but remained steadfast in continued private sector and subnational-led efforts to reduce emissions at COP29 on Monday.

Further details from the UN aviation body ICAO on its voluntary credit approvals is unlikely to be published until the end of the month at the earliest, according to Verra’s CEO, making it hard to say when eligible credits are likely to appear and from what countries.

Initial recommendations for a joint Article 6.2 Crediting Protocol between Singapore, Verra, and Gold Standard advise synchronised, detailed reporting and credit traceability between UN, national, and private carbon registries – but avoid consolidation, giving each a distinct role.

An Australian-led study using seal-shaped decoys found underside lighting disrupted ability of great whites to see silhouettes against sunlight above

Using LED lighting on the underside of surfboards or kayaks could deter great white shark attacks, new research suggests.

In an Australian-led study using seal-shaped decoys, underside lighting disrupted the ability of great whites to see silhouettes against the sunlight above, reducing the rates at which the sharks followed and attacked the artificial prey. The brighter the lights, the more effective the deterrent was.

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The planet Uranus and its five biggest moons may not be the sterile worlds scientists have long thought.

Authorities have been racing to evacuate people reluctant to leave villages affected by the erupting Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki volcano on the Indonesian island of Flores. Volcanic material has continued to spew from its crater since 3 November, prompting authorities to extend the danger area and increase the number of evacuees. Lewotobi Laki-Laki is one of 120 active volcanoes in Indonesia

• At least 10 dead as volcanic eruptions destroy houses in Indonesia

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A veteran carbon trader has joined a London-based energy transition investment firm as partner, Carbon Pulse has learned.

Warmer weather brings multitudes of largest and noisiest varieties to east coast, with some as loud as 120 decibels

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The east coast of Australia is heading into a big, loud cicada summer.

Prof David Emery, veterinary immunologist and cicada expert, called it a “phenomenal season so far” for green grocer cicadas, which emerged in huge numbers in the Blue Mountains in September and were now making their appearance in Sydney and parts of Victoria.

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Much is unclear about how Donald Trump’s return to power will affect efforts to tackle global heating, but there are a few things we can say

You’ve likely already heard the worst-case takes: that a second Trump presidency is a disaster for the climate, and will almost certainly lead to emissions being higher than they otherwise would have been. There’s obvious truth in that. But it’s also true that Trump 2.0 will almost certainly not play out in line with immediate post-election predictions.

We have been here before. As the writer and analyst Ketan Joshi points out, in 2016 it was projected that Trump’s policies would lead to a steep rise in US emissions – a fork in the road at odds with the decline forecast if Hillary Clinton had won.

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Exclusive: Environmental group says it is ‘concerned’ to hear progress on cleaning up air pollution from diesel-burning may have hit a wall

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Work to regulate one of Australia’s biggest sources of carbon dioxide and other pollutants “has stalled”, despite the project beginning six years ago and comparable nations limiting emissions years earlier, New South Wales government documents have revealed.

State and federal environment ministers agreed in 2018 to examine pollution from non-road diesel engines as part of the national clean air agreement. These machines totalled more than 640,000 – ranging from mining trucks, outboard motors and forklifts to electricity generators – and were forecast to reach 945,000 by 2043.

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Standards body Cercarbono is working hard to be approved for Phase 1 of aviation offsetting scheme CORSIA and expects to receive first assessment by ICVCM for its Core Carbon Principles (CCPs) by year end, while it has also launched a circular economy programme with a first project in Bangladesh.