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Agapanthus are daggy, environmental pests. Can we stop and think before these unsightly shrubs take over?

On my birthday I made time for my one true passion. Hating agapanthus.

I was walking my kids to school, taking time from their precious blink-and-you’ll-miss-it childhoods to seethe and take a picture of the revolting, saggy mess of agapanthus on the way. I have urgently supplied this picture to the Guardian and I’m ready and willing to speak out further.

Emily Mulligan is a writer from Sydney

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Global research reveals most of 400m tonnes produced using fossil fuels, predominantly coal or oil

Less than 10% of the plastic produced around the world is made from recycled material, according to the first detailed global analysis of its life cycle.

The research reveals that most plastic is made from fossil fuels, predominantly coal and oil, despite rhetoric by producers, supermarkets and drinks companies about plastic being recycled.

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In December 2024, when unseasonable flooding threatened the breeding season of a critically endangered turtle, Marilyn Connell and other members of a Queensland community conservation group sprang into action. The Mary river turtle is one of 2,000 Australian species listed as under threat in what scientists are calling an extinction crisis

• ‘Every year matters’: Queensland’s critically endangered ‘bum-breathing’ turtle battles the odds

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Scheme in England and Wales covers only heat pumps, uptake of which has been slow

• UK politics live – latest updates

The UK government is considering expanding the boiler upgrade grant scheme for England and Wales to cover sources of low-carbon heating for domestic homes other than heat pumps, the Guardian understands.

The government has a target of 600,000 heat pump installations annually by 2028. But data from the Resolution Foundation on Wednesday revealed worryingly low uptake of heat pumps. Last year, installation of gas boilers outnumbered heat pump installations by 15:1, according to the Resolution Foundation report, and only one in eight new homes were equipped with the low-carbon option, despite the government’s clean energy targets.

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EU climate legislation is helping drive investment into affordable and sustainable housing, especially in Denmark and Poland — however, plans to simplify green finance rules could slow the transition, according to a report published on Thursday.

The Greens, who may hold the balance of power after Australia’s May 8 election, on Thursday released its energy and climate plan, pledging to tighten the Safeguard Mechanism and restrict usage of Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs) and international offsets.

The European Parliament's ruling centre-right European People's Party (EPP) is calling on Brussels to reevaluate the social impact of the bloc's Emissions Trading System for road and heating fuels (ETS2), adding to mounting criticism of the upcoming EU carbon pricing scheme.

A cohort including Verra aiming to advance the market for nature stewardship certificates without baselines plans to open a public consultation on a first version of its standard next month, one of its members has Carbon Pulse.

The government of Uzbekistan and the World Bank have launched the Uzbekistan Resilient Landscapes Restoration Project (RESILAND) as part of a broader regional programme aiming to support five Central Asian countries in rehabilitating degraded forests and lands.

The Coalition reveals plans to review Australia’s 2030 emissions reduction target if they win government at the next federal election. Tony Wood, Program Director, Energy, Grattan Institute Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

European carbon prices gapped significantly higher at the opening on Thursday, in line with steep gains in equity markets after US President Donald Trump delayed the implementation of import tariffs by 90 days, before gradually falling back as macroeconomic uncertainty continued to undermine sentiment.

New carbon removals buyers need to "drink from the cup, not the hose" by investing in projects that they can easily communicate as clear and beneficial efforts to tackle emissions, according to experts in the field.

The sooner governments commit to phasing out oil and gas exploration and production, the lower the risk of investor arbitration and the higher the chances of achieving the 1.5 target, a global think tank has advised.

The nature credit market is expected to reach $37.5 billion by 2032, driven by increasing corporate ESG commitments and strengthened biodiversity-focused regulations, a report said this week.

Out of 10 large European power utilities analysed, none are on track for net zero emissions, with all planning to continue burning gas beyond 2035, according to research published on Wednesday.

An afforestation project in Burkina Faso has become the first to be registered under Verra using a methodology approved by the Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market (ICVCM) for its Core Carbon Principles (CCP) label, the standard announced Thursday.

A US-based marketplace for carbon credits and an Indian developer on Thursday announced a “multi-million dollar” climate finance agreement focused on removal projects across South Asia.

An Australian parents’ lobby group concerned over greenwashing claims has become the latest to dispute the government's Climate Active certification used by businesses, calling for the scheme to be reviewed.

Australia's growing fleet of big batteries are soaking up record amounts of rooftop solar around the country.

The post Australia’s big batteries soak up record amounts of rooftop solar in middle of the day appeared first on RenewEconomy.

The government of Kyrgyzstan has partnered with a UK-based developer to launch a large-scale tree-planting initiative under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, to be funded through revenue generated from carbon credits.