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Spain's socialist ecological transition minister, Teresa Ribera, a long-time political standout on climate action, may be set to surge to a top job in Brussels overseeing EU climate policies over a period that could largely determine the bloc's ability to fulfil its promises without damaging its economy.

Flea treatments for dogs, ant killer, washing-up liquid and herbicides may be partly to blame for decline in UK

Insect numbers are in freefall and most people know that pesticide use in agriculture is partly to blame.

But many domestic products including flea treatments for dogs, ant killer applications, washing-up liquid and herbicides can also contribute to the problem.

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New research shows toxic ‘forever chemicals’ gas may escape landfills and threaten the environment

Toxic PFAS “forever chemicals” that leach from landfills into groundwater are among the major pollution sources in the US, and remain a problem for which officials have yet to find an effective solution.

Now new research has identified another route in which PFAS may escape landfills and threaten the environment at even higher levels: the air.

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Most data stored on power-hungry servers is used once then never looked at again

When “I can has cheezburger?” became one of the first internet memes to blow our minds, it’s unlikely that anyone worried about how much energy it would use up.

But research has now found that the vast majority of data stored in the cloud is “dark data”, meaning it is used once then never visited again. That means that all the memes and jokes and films that we love to share with friends and family – from “All your base are belong to us”, through Ryan Gosling saying “Hey Girl”, to Tim Walz with a piglet – are out there somewhere, sitting in a datacentre, using up energy. By 2030, the National Grid anticipates that datacentres will account for just under 6% of the UK’s total electricity consumption, so tackling junk data is an important part of tackling the climate crisis.

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More appropriate indicators are needed to measure progress towards the species target of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) beyond the Red List, an academic paper said on Thursday.

European carbon prices traded rangebound on Friday morning, initially following TTF gas higher amid supply concerns due to geopolitical uncertainty, before easing back, as they moved on course for a thin 1% weekly gain.

CO2 allowance prices in China’s carbon market remained rangebound over the past week amid improved liquidity, though participants expect a pick-up in trading activity as the compliance deadline is approaching.

Scotland’s Flow Country is the first peatland to become a world heritage site. It’s time we cherished these biodiverse landscapes

For centuries, peatlands have had a bad reputation. Possessing neither the majesty of the mountains nor the pastoral beauty of a meadow, they have been tarred as dangerous, ugly and useless. Travellers have long feared being swallowed into their murky depths: “If his foot slip … it is possible he may never more be heard of,” wrote the cleric William Gilpin in 1772, expressing a common sentiment at the time.

But now the image of this ecosystem is finally on the mend. Unesco has inscribed the Flow Country as a world heritage site – the first peatland to make the list. From now on, this 190,000-hectare (470,000-acre) expanse of the Scottish Highlands will sit alongside the Great Barrier Reef and the primaeval forests of the Carpathians as a landscape of international significance.

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China's national emissions market will likely see tight supply-demand dynamics around the end of this decade, given a downward trend in the cumulative balance, according to analysis released this week.

The government of Para discussed this week ways to include family farming in the development of jurisdictional REDD+ (J-REDD+) systems in the Brazilian state, according to Agencia Para, the state’s official news agency.

A London-headquartered startup at the intersection of AI and chemistry is hoping to speed up the discovery, reduce the costs, and successfully scale new green materials, driving climate breakthroughs in areas ranging from carbon removal to sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and low-impact mining.

The best of this week’s wildlife photographs from around the world

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A Japanese carbon offset project developer has raised 350 million yen ($2.38 mln) in the first close of its Series A round.

Indonesia is hosting the second Asian Zero Emission Community (AZEC) ministerial meeting on Aug. 20-21 in current capital Jakarta, and on Friday released a list of around 20 out of a total 70 decarbonisation projects set to be announced at the event.

Malaysia will revise its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) targets by February and conclude the review of its climate change regulations by June 2025, an official told a conference Thursday.

The recommendations of the senate inquiry into Australia’s disaster resilience mainly focus on volunteers involved in the immediate disaster response. This will not make Australians more resilient. Monica Taylor, PhD Candidate in climate justice, Queensland University of Technology Fiona Crawford, Adjunct Lecturer at the Centre for Justice, Queensland University of Technology Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Australia’s emissions-reduction efforts must continue in haste, at large scale. Real change is possible. Luke Brown, Head of Policy and Engagement, Climateworks Centre Anna Malos, Climateworks Centre - Country Lead, Australia, Monash University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Areas where farmers provide good habitats show notable increase in butterflies, bees, bats and breeding birds

Butterflies, bees and bats are among the wildlife being boosted by England’s nature-friendly farming schemes, new government research has found.

Birds were among the chief beneficiaries of the strategy, particularly ones that largely feed on invertebrates. An average of 25% more breeding birds were found in areas with more eco-friendly schemes.

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Particle pollution in China’s capital has fallen by 60% in 10 years, but it remains six times higher than WHO guidelines

Photographs of smog enveloping Beijing’s Bird’s Nest stadium became one of the defining images of the first decade of this century. China’s annual air pollution deaths reached 2.6 million people a year in 2005. At the time, Beijing was crowned smog capital of the world and concerns for the health of athletes overshadowed preparations for the 2008 Olympic Games.

But rapid improvements followed, with clean-up technologies fitted to coal-burning power stations and industrial plants, followed by their conversion to fossil gas. New vehicles were fitted with tighter emissions controls and fuels were improved.

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Drax received £22bn in subsidies despite being UK’s largest emitter in 2023, though company rejects ‘flawed’ research

The Drax power station was responsible for four times more carbon emissions than the UK’s last remaining coal-fired plant last year, despite taking more than £0.5bn in clean-energy subsidies in 2023, according to a report.

The North Yorkshire power plant, which burns wood pellets imported from North America to generate electricity, was revealed as Britain’s single largest carbon emitter in 2023 by a report from the climate thinktank Ember.

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