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Hosting the conference would help us overcome our colonial mentality and the fossil fuel lobby, both of which have held us back from tackling climate change

As the world grapples with the climate crisis, Australia stands at a crossroads. Our bid to co-host the UN’s climate conference, Cop31, with Pacific nations is not just a diplomatic event; it is a pivotal opportunity to redefine our nation’s role in the global fight against climate change. This could mark a shift, propelling Australia from climate laggard to leader on the world stage. With the Cop presidency, we would be at the centre of international climate negotiations, shouldering the responsibility to provide the infrastructure and visionary leadership needed to drive meaningful progress. The stakes are high, but so too are the potential rewards for our nation and the planet.

For years, Australia has been held back from meaningful climate action by the powerful influence of the fossil fuel lobby. This industry has shaped policies and public opinion, prioritising short-term profits over long-term sustainability. Their grip on our political landscape has delayed the transition to cleaner energy and put us on a dangerous path that threatens the security of our communities, our environment and our economy. Now, as the cost of living skyrockets and climate impacts escalate, we’re facing the consequences of that inaction.

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The Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) published an update Wednesday that experts saw as opening the door for corporates to use removals as part of carbon neutralisation claims under the organisation's net-zero standard.

Over 650 UK farms have been assessed in the “largest and most thorough” baseline of environmental farm performance in the UK, in an effort to standardise a confusing landscape of processes for collecting the data, according to a report published on Wednesday.

Australia could double its rooftop solar by 2030, but to do so will require new homes to be built with solar, solar on social housing, and businesses to start installing.

The post Two-thirds of new-build homes don’t have solar: Report calls for policy to plug holes in rooftop rollout appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Bioacoustics, an emerging technology using sound recordings to monitor wildlife, can be useful to support human ecologists but should not be considered as a replacement for on-site observation, an industry insider said on Tuesday.

The more government policies focus on developing their domestic carbon removals rather than a global market for credits, the less opportunity there will be to tap into the biggest potential in the world - often in developing countries that have less need to cut emissions, according to experts.

Minister approved Thames Water project at location prioritised by Sadiq Khan for wild swimming

Labour appeared to be in disarray on Wednesday over ambitions to clean up the River Thames for swimming.

The mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, announced plans to prioritise an area of the river in Teddington, south-west London, to make it safe and clean for swimming as part of a new 10-year strategy to reduce pollution in the river and encourage people to spend time in and around it.

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Emergency crews battle to reinforce defences around Wrocław in Poland amid devastating rainfall

Soldiers, emergency workers and volunteers battled through the night to reinforce defences around Wrocław, Poland’s third biggest city, as the EU said flooding in central Europe happening simultaneously alongside wildfires in Portugal showed climate breakdown in action.

More than five times the average rainfall for the whole of September has fallen in five days on swathes of Austria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia, triggering devastating flooding that has killed 22 people in four countries.

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Two banks have announced they will sell carbon removals issued under the Puro standard to their clients in a bid to ramp up liquidity in the nascent market.

Danish renewable energy company Orsted has secured a deal to sell 330,000 carbon dioxide removal (CDR) credits to Norwegian oil and gas major Equinor over a ten year period for an undisclosed sum, boosting Norway's Northern Lights carbon capture and storage project for the North Sea. 

Seafloor surveys for a floating offshore wind farm in the North Sea off the coast of Scotland have helped solve a 107 year-old maritime mystery.

The post “Extraordinary find:” Offshore wind seabed survey solves century old maritime mystery appeared first on RenewEconomy.

A methane certification organisation has partnered with a US gas producer and an international energy company to pilot an industry-first transaction for certified liquefied natural gas (LNG), they announced on Wednesday.

A global forestry company has launched an open source platform aimed at enhancing the management of forest restoration projects.

Biodiversity funding hit $25.8 billion globally in 2022, the highest level since 2015, although the increase was largely driven by loans provided by multilateral institutions rather than grants, according to the OECD.

A Japanese company has received approval in principle (AiP) for two new designs of liquefied CO2 (LCO2) carriers, a type of vessel integral to the nation’s plans for wholesale export of its emissions to other jurisdictions for sequestration and permanent management.

EU carbon prices fell for the fourth time in the last five days despite a second strong build in speculative short positions, which prompted some participants to predict a short squeeze, while energy markets continued to see-saw in response to conflicting pressures of bearish demand, healthy storage levels, and continuing concerns over longer-term supply.

New UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) rules for oil, gas, and mining companies are inadequate on climate and are putting investors at risk, experts said during a webinar on Wednesday.

A group of around 20 voluntary carbon organisations have launched a communications push to promote  the use of credits towards corporate net zero goals, specifically targetting the CEOs of potential buyers.

One of the giants of the tech world has agreed to buy 1.3 million reforestation credits in Brazil, with the option to acquire an extra 2.6 mln units.

Radio waves from the satellites are "blinding" radio telescopes and hurting research, say scientists.