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More than 200 deaths and widespread destruction in Valencia are the latest sign of danger in a warming world

The death toll from floods in Spain’s Valencia region has topped 200. A huge clean-up is under way amid desperate conditions, with severe weather warnings still in place. The storms which caused this devastation – with roads turned into muddy rivers, thousands of homes deluged and cars swept into piles – were unprecedented. The gota fría, or “cold drop”, is a regular occurrence when cold autumnal air moves over the warm Mediterranean, causing dense clouds to form. But this rain, according to the Spanish weather service, was 10 times stronger than a normal downpour.

Extreme weather in Spain, and the rest of southern Europe, is more commonly understood to mean dangerous heat, drought and wildfires. The regional government is under attack regarding the lack of sufficient warnings and there is no doubt that the severity of these floods came as a terrible shock.

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From clean industrialisation, to money, to the justness of the energy transition, to the depth of emissions cuts -- the two European Commission candidates most responsible for climate action are preparing to be grilled by parliamentarians on how they expect the EU's next era of climate policy.

Climate damages have been systematically underpriced within the global financial system, leading to a severe underestimation of the economic impact of global warming, according to a new paper presented Friday.

Conservationists warn actions and ambitions of two super powers could lead to overexploitation of vital food source for whales, penguins and seals

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China and Russia are working together to block new Antarctic marine parks and loosen krill fishing restrictions, undermining a major international convention designed to protect the region from overexploitation, according to analysts and conservationists.

With the support of Russia, China reportedly used its veto rights at a meeting of the 26-nation Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) in Tasmania to prevent the renewal of an agreement restricting krill fishing.

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More than 200 people have died in Valencia and neighbouring provinces after floods hit the east of Spain. According to the country’s national weather agency, Valencia received a year’s-worth of rain on 29 October, causing flash floods that destroyed homes and swept away vehicles

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A German startup working with small farmers to remove carbon through enhanced rock weathering is planning to go global and launch its first projects outside Europe as soon as next year, its CEO told Carbon Pulse.

European carbon prices clawed back some of their significant post-settlement loss from Thursday, outperforming energy markets on Friday morning, as traders waited for more information on reports that EU buyers were near to an agreement to buy gas from Azerbaijan, replacing lost volumes from Russia.

COP29 host Azerbaijan has boosted its decarbonisation target and is considering the introduction of a carbon tax, said ministers at an Azerbaijani conference, according to local media.

Chinese carbon prices hit record highs again over the past week as the year-end compliance deadline draws near, with analysts expecting prices to stay well above the 100 yuan ($14.04) level throughout the rest of the year.

António Guterres says treaty will endure but urges US to remain amid reports of Republican plan to withdraw from the climate negotiating framework entirely

The world needs the US to remain in the international climate process to avoid a “crippled” Paris agreement, the UN secretary general has warned, amid fears that Donald Trump would take the country out of the accord for a second time.

António Guterres said the landmark 2015 agreement to limit global heating would endure if the US withdrew once again, but compared the prospective departure to losing a limb or organ.

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The majority of European countries are struggling to cut emissions from sectors outside of the EU ETS and risk needing extra permits, data shows.

Compliance carbon markets in the Global North should be open to accepting high-quality carbon removal credits from Africa, with any argument to the contrary illogical, the CEO of a Kenyan direct air capture (DAC) project developer told Carbon Pulse.

Climate finance flows from multilateral development banks (MDBs) are falling short on adaptation support for low-income, low-emission countries, according to a new report released on Thursday.

First-of-its-kind research highlights need for change to regulation, as humans almost always exposed to mixtures

Mixtures of different types of PFAS compounds are often more toxic than single chemicals, first-of-its-kind research finds, suggesting humans’ exposure to the chemicals is more dangerous than previously thought.

Humans are almost always exposed to more than one PFAS compound at a time, but regulatory agencies largely look at the chemicals in isolation from one another, meaning regulators are probably underestimating the health threat.

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South Korea has demarcated three areas for hydrogen development to support the clean fuel’s development as part of its Hydrogen Cities 2.0, Prime Minister Han Duck-soo confirmed Friday.

Heightened risk Cádiz river could overflow, with yellow and orange rainfall warnings for southern regions

The low-pressure system responsible for Spain’s most devastating floods in decades in Valencia also set new rainfall records across south-eastern Spain. In Jerez de la Frontera, 115mm of rain fell in 24 hours on Wednesday – the wettest day on record for the southern Spanish city. The deluge caused widespread flooding and road closures, and there is a heightened risk that the River Barbate in Cádiz could overflow as more rain is forecast through Friday and into the weekend.

While the rare red warning issued on Thursday for Valencia has expired, Spain’s national meteorological service, Aemet, has maintained yellow and orange rainfall warnings for southern and Mediterranean regions as storms continue to push in.

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Sectors including cement, lime, and clinker would likely be the first to be covered under an Australian Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), according to a government paper published Friday, though no final decisions have been taken.

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

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The gas industry says we need more of the fossil fuel to prosper. Jarrod Leak, from the Australian Alliance for Energy Productivity, says that’s not true, and there are alternatives. Plus: News of the week.

The post Energy Insiders Podcast: How to replace gas appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Queensland LNP to combine treasurer and energy minister role, as it moves quickly to stop work on giant pumped hydro project.

The post Queensland LNP names new energy minister, nixes massive pumped hydro project appeared first on RenewEconomy.