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The body that monitors compliance by members of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) with the EU’s single market rules has opened an investigation into Norway’s proposed exemptions from certain carbon taxes for industries covered by the EU ETS, saying it “has doubts” as to whether the country’s measures are in line with the bloc’s state aid rules.

Natural variability in Australian rainfall can produce “mega-droughts” lasting 20 years or more. Add in human-caused climate change, and future droughts may be far worse than imagined. Georgina Falster, Postdoctoral Fellow, Australian National University Nerilie Abram, Chief Investigator for the ARC Centre of Excellence for Climate Extremes; Deputy Director for the Australian Centre for Excellence in Antarctic Science; Deputy Director for the Centre of Excellence for 21st Century Weather, Australian National University Nicky Wright, Research Fellow, University of Sydney Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Divesting from fossil fuels could cost banks dearly as a result of model-based EU financial regulations that rely on backward-looking risk estimates, which are insensitive to ‘structural breaks’ like the clean energy transition, according to peer-reviewed research published Tuesday.

An old flooded slate mine used as a dumping ground for cars in north Wales, the eeriness of which attracts Instagram photo seekers, is in danger of being destroyed by visitors trashing the site, it has been claimed. The flooded cavern, part of the Gaewern slate mine, became a dumping ground for old cars, TVs, microwaves and other rubbish after its closure in the 1970s. It was rediscovered by urban explorers who posted stunning photographs of the scrap illuminated by shafts of sunlight, leading to others braving a perilous 20-metre (65ft) descent and using inflatable dinghies to cross the lake to reach the scrap

• Instagrammers under fire over litter at Welsh ‘Cavern of Lost Souls’ mine site

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With EUA prices trading below €60 per tonne and benchmark European gas futures down by double-digits in the year to date, current market dynamics should incentivise some utility forward hedging, analysts have said, but any added compliance demand for carbon permits will be limited by the overall bearish fundamentals, widespread power sector decarbonisation, and the tough macroeconomic environment.

The glut of available credits in the voluntary carbon market started to grow again in March to leave the surplus close to 1 billion credits from across the big four standard bodies, according to Carbon Pulse VCM Portal data.

A project set to capture more than 900,000 tonnes of CO2 annually from an incinerator in northwest England has progressed further by agreeing a statement of principles with the UK government’s Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ).

Modelling points to ‘huge’ soil emissions in interior rangelands, which are more sensitive to a warming climate

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Intensifying extreme heat and drought due to climate change will make Australia’s soil a net emitter of carbon dioxide, impeding the country from reaching its climate goals, new analysis has found.

Soil carbon sequestration has been identified as a way to help Australia meet its greenhouse gas emission reduction targets of 43% by 2030 and net zero by 2050.

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The Commonwealth of Nations is looking to help member countries implement a carbon tax based on a model law designed to make it easy to administer, ensure a just transition, and reduce the impact on low-income and vulnerable groups.

Recent $74m investment made alongside assessment that 10% of electricity could be generated by geothermal by 2050

A limitless supply of heat exists beneath our feet within the Earth’s crust, but harnessing it at scale has proved challenging. Now, a combination of new techniques, government support and the pressing need to secure continuous clean power in an era of climate crisis means that geothermal energy is finally having its moment in the US.

Until recently, geothermal has only been viable where the Earth’s inner heat simmers near the surface, such as at hot springs or geysers where hot water or steam can be easily drawn to drive turbines and generate electricity.

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Swedish steel producer SSAB plans to turn one of its steel plants fossil-free, shaving an estimated 7% off the country’s CO2 emissions, the company announced on Tuesday.

European carbon prices tumbled by more than 4% on Tuesday morning as traders began to anticipate the publication of verified data for 2023, expected to show a sharp drop in emissions last year, while demand in the daily auction was among the weakest yet seen.

Letters revealed under FoI laws show council asked environment secretary to investigate plan

The government has been accused of quietly shelving a delayed plan to restore the polluted River Wye after letters from the government show it is incomplete with no publication date in sight.

Letters revealed to the Guardian under freedom of information (FoI) laws show the then environment secretary, Thérèse Coffey, told stakeholders in August that the government was “close to finalising” the plan to save the Wye and measures would be published within three months.

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The Chilean government has presented the board of a national fund tasked with mobilising resources for the conservation and restoration of biodiversity, seeking to raise efforts on bridging the financial gap that hampers protected areas (PAs) preservation in the country.

The Biden-Harris administration has restored a series of rules for protecting threatened and endangered species and their habitats in the US under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), rolled back by the previous Trump administration.

A UK-based remote sending firm has partnered with a Japanese project developer with an eye to generating carbon units under the Joint Crediting Mechanism (JCM) and voluntary schemes, starting with a large rice project in Japan.

Chinese state owned energy giant buys Australian energy retailer to advance the growth of its renewables business.

The post State-owned Chinese company buys Australian energy retailer to boost local renewable plans appeared first on RenewEconomy.

One of the two Callide C coal units has finally returned to service, after being taken offline due to a cooling tower failure.

The post Callide coal unit returns to service after multiple delays with new cooling tower appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Reducing cattle populations and restoring native ecoystems is our best chance to tackle global heating. Here’s one way to do it

There is a simple, cost-effective and scientifically sound way to turn back the clock on global warming and reverse the catastrophic collapse of biodiversity: pay ranchers to raise trees instead of cattle.

By mass, the world’s 1.7 billion cows are the dominant animal species on Earth, far outweighing the human population, and outweighing all the wild terrestrial mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians left on Earth by more than 15-fold. More than a third of Earth’s land is used to feed livestock.

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The road to net zero and clean energy will be long, but the chief of Australia's newly created Net Zero Authority believes the target is entirely achievable despite such a large chunk of the nation’s GDP made up of exports of fossil fuels, he said Tuesday.