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Join us for all the latest developments from day 4 of the climate summit in Azerbaijan

If delegates want evidence of the reality of the climate crisis they only need to look at Spain, which has been hit by deadly flooding for the second time in two weeks. More than 200 people have been killed and the anger towards politicians for their perceived failure to protect the public should serve as a warning to the leaders negotiating at Cop29.

My colleague Jonathan Watts has written a piece today looking at the likely impact of Donald Trump’s victory in the US on the climate crisis.

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It is Day 4 at COP29 in Baku - Finance Day. Negotiation chairs are expected to drop new draft texts on Article 6, after trimming the text on a New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG) from 35 to 33 pages early this morning. Expect a flurry of events on what these difficult climate finance talks need to achieve for developing countries, as well as the role of carbon markets in all of it. In our daily running blog, Carbon Pulse will report relevant or useful updates throughout the day. Timestamps are in local time (GMT+4).

Bedfordshire farm was saved through public donations after a successful £1.5m crowdfunding campaign

A unique farm that was “accidentally” rewilded 35 years ago and is now a haven for endangered nightingales and other rare wildlife has been saved, thanks in part to the generosity of Guardian readers.

Strawberry Hill in Bedfordshire has been successfully bought by the Wildlife Trust for Beds, Cambs and Northants (BCN) after a crowdfunding appeal raised £1.5m.

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Dutch appeal court ruled in favour of oil and gas company over judgment telling it to limit emissions

A court ruling in favour of Shell does not spell the end of climate litigation against companies, legal experts have said.

The oil and gas company celebrated on Tuesday when it won an appeal against a landmark climate judgment by a Dutch court.

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Biosecurity officials investigating after red imported fire ants found in lawn laid at Clunes property

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A global super pest that has settled into south-east Queensland has been accidentally imported into New South Wales, marking its first known incursion in almost a year.

Officials are now inquiring whether turf was falsely signed off as being treated for fire ants before crossing the border on Wednesday.

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External climate finance for developing countries, minus China, needs to triple to $1 trillion per year by 2030, and risks growing higher the longer it is delayed in this decade, an influential panel of experts warned on Thursday.

Governments must act now to unlock demand that would spur green industry, a global network of industrial stakeholders has said, with carbon markets a key tool required to make this happen.

The expected rise in global temperature has remained unchanged in the past three years since COP26, due to governments failing to improve on their policies and pledges, a new report has found. 

Study says funding to cope with climate breakdown needed five years earlier than expected

Poor countries need $1tn a year in climate finance by 2030, five years earlier than rich countries are likely to agree to at UN climate talks, a new study has found.

Waiting until 2035 to receive the funding, which is to help them cut greenhouse gas emissions and cope with extreme weather, would place damaging burdens on vulnerable countries, warned the Independent High-Level Expert Group on Climate Finance, a group of leading economists.

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Analysis by Climate Action Tracker puts median temperature rise by 2100 at 2.7C if current policies continue

World leaders have promised to try to stop the planet heating by more than 1.5C (2.7F). But current policies put the temperature rise on track for 2.7C, a report has found.

The expected level of global heating by the end of the century has not changed since 2021, with “minimal progress” made this year, according to the Climate Action Tracker project. The consortium’s estimate has not shifted since the Cop26 climate summit in Glasgow three years ago.

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The climate crisis created the setting for Trump’s economy-first win and it’s the global south that will suffer most

Donald Trump’s election is a triumph for the politics of the doomsday bunker, which is bad news for the world’s environment.

This is the idea that in an age of climate disruption, nature extinction and ever wider social inequality, the best chance of survival for those who can afford it is to construct a personal shelter, where they can keep the desperate masses at bay. It is survival of the richest.

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One of Australia's dirtiest thermal coal mines, recently approved for a major expansion, is now seeking permission to build solar and battery storage to help power its operations.

The post Whitehaven seeks to power one of Australia’s dirtiest coal mines with solar and battery storage appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Zinc and polyurethane product could stop dangerous blockages in concrete wastewater pipes – but is a few years off commercial use

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Australian engineers have invented an anti-fatberg coating for sewer pipes that could prevent the congealed masses from blocking the wastewater system and leading to overflows and flooding.

Fatbergs – solidified masses of fat, oil and grease that accumulate in sewer pipes, collecting wet wipes and other material – are a major concern for wastewater authorities globally, responsible for 40% of blockages in Australia, and a likely source for the mysterious balls that recently washed up on Sydney beaches.

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Transgrid’s massive HumeLink transmission line has been cleared for development by the NSW government, leaving just federal approval in the way of it going ahead.

The post NSW signs off on contested HumeLink transmission link, with “strict conditions” appeared first on RenewEconomy.

The scale of project proposals - particularly in battery storage - is dwarfing those already on the grid. But is there enough room in the allocated renewable zones?

The post The mega battery projects jockeying for position in renewable zones that might be too small appeared first on RenewEconomy.

A US appellate court on Wednesday heard arguments in an appeal of a district court’s ruling against a power producer’s challenge to Washington’s no-cost permit allocation provisions under the cap-and-trade scheme.

Your electric water heater uses a lot of electricity overnight. Shifting it to soak up solar could be a win-win. Baran Yildiz, Senior lecturer in Renewable Energy Engineering, UNSW Sydney Hossein Saberi, Research Associate in Renewable Energy Engineering, UNSW Sydney Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Big batteries win important concession against a Coalition era "landmine" that could have made the grid less secure, rather than more reliable.

The post Big batteries win reprieve on reliability measure and Coalition “landmine” that would make grid less secure appeared first on RenewEconomy.

One of the world’s biggest makers of electric buses has plans for Australia. We talk to Kent Chang of Yutong. Plus: The shift to V2G and Tesla’s sales slump.

The post The Driven Podcast: Are Australian buses ready to go electric? appeared first on RenewEconomy.

California regulator ARB’s latest issuance of compliance-eligible offsets was the smallest since the end of June with slim pickings of this distribution having direct environmental benefits (DEBs) to the state, agency data released Wednesday showed.