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The penalties reflect the failings of the Environment Agency and Ofwat as much as the water companies

Behind the record fines announced by Ofwat for the routine dumping of sewage into rivers and seas by three water companies, there is a voiceless victim, one that does not sit in boardrooms, or get a chance to count dividends. It is our rivers and coastal waters, subjected to years of continuous pollution under the noses of the regulators, which are suffering.

In all likelihood the £168m penalties for the already struggling Thames Water, Yorkshire Water and Northumbrian Water will be followed by fines for the remaining eight water and sewerage companies, all of whom Ofwat is investigating over failure to treat sewage according to the law.

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Voluntary carbon standard Verra confirmed plans to release guidance for projects on the Core Carbon Principles (CCPs) by the end of the quarter, after the Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market (ICVCM) published its latest eligibility decision on methodologies that saw nearly one-third of the market blocked from the high-integrity stamp.

European carbon prices rebounded on Tuesday, tracking a recovery in volatile global stock and energy markets after they plunged on Monday, as participants continued to point to possible price risk from mounting tensions in the Middle East.

Solar farms have the potential to significantly increase biodiversity in the UK and scale investments in 'nature positive', provided that appropriate metrics for evaluation are established, a report has found.

Some 54% of agricultural land globally has potential to increase carbon sequestration through tree planting while maintaining crop and livestock yields, leading to additional carbon storage of 3.3 billion tonnes of CO2 per year, a study has found.

Firm moves ore through land without telling tribal leaders as mine resurfaces painful legacy of nuclear development

A coalition of hundreds of environmental activists, Navajo and Havasupai tribal members are protesting the transportation of uranium ore through the Navajo Nation, as a newly opened mine near the Grand Canyon resurfaces a painful legacy of nuclear development.

Located just seven miles south of the famous national park, the controversial Pinyon Plain mine is one of the first uranium mines to open in years as the United States works to boost its nuclear arsenal and energy supply.

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A scientific consortium will conduct a three-year study in search of a proof-of-concept vaccine that can decrease methane emissions in cattle.

An investor has transferred ownership of an approximately 4,450 hectare forest in the US to non-profits so it can be protected "forever" with benefits for biodiversity, endangered species, and water.

Europe’s carbon market is set to decouple from gas prices in the next five years, as abundant gas supply in the bloc leads to a halving of gas prices and tightness in the carbon market pushes prices up, according to a Goldman Sachs analyst.

Thames Water, Northumbrian Water and Yorkshire Water face fines for repeated sewage leaks.

Impact Earth is planning to launch a biodiversity fund that raises between $50-100 million focused on either Latin America or Southeast Asia, similar to its existing Amazon strategy, Carbon Pulse has learned.

In order to meet announced targets, the global carbon capture, utilisation, and storage (CCUS) industry will need $160 billion in investment by the end of this decade, with Europe and China leading the storage race.

Japan's environment ministry has selected several companies to advance a digital monitoring, reporting, and verification (MRV) system for the creation of domestically issued carbon credits, as the government seeks to make the process quicker and easier for market participants.

Nearly one third of credits will not be able to use the Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market (ICVCM)’s Core Carbon Principles (CCPs) label, the standard-setting body said Tuesday, while allowing one more methane methodology into the high-integrity category.

Countries in the Asia Pacific should develop an integrated market such as the European Union’s emissions trading system (ETS) and synergise different types of carbon markets in the region to create effective carbon price signals, a report released this week suggested.

One of Japan's largest oil refiners has teamed up with the trading arm of Petronas, Malaysia's state energy company, to work on voluntary projects that can generate carbon credits in the Southeast Asian country.

The environmental regulator has a history of backing fossil fuels – that is why its preliminary view on Woodside’s Browse project is extraordinary

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The news that the Western Australian Environmental Protection Authority is likely to recommend that a massive gas export development off the state’s north-west shouldn’t go ahead is remarkable, but shouldn’t be.

We don’t know much about what the EPA told Woodside Energy in February about its Browse project off the state’s Kimberley coast. All we have is a line that WAtoday extracted from the EPA – that it had formed a “preliminary view” that the proposal was “unacceptable”.

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An Australia-headquartered junior gold miner has launched what it calls its “first major offset initiative” in the north of Cambodia, several hundred kilometres west of its flagship mine.

Thames Water, Northumbrian Water and Yorkshire Water face fines for repeated sewage leaks.

Australian low cost solar hope SunDrive cuts staff and changes CEO as it gears up for next level of commercialisation.

The post Australian low cost solar hope SunDrive cuts staff and changes CEO, but still focused on copper tech appeared first on RenewEconomy.