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Study shows funding bias towards animals like rhino while other endangered species including amphibians and algae disregarded

Most global conservation funds go to larger, charismatic animals, leaving critically important but less fashionable species deprived, a 25-year study has revealed.

Scientists have found that of the $1.963bn allocated to projects worldwide, 82.9% was assigned to vertebrates. Plants and invertebrates each accounted for 6.6% of the funding, while fungi and algae were barely represented at less than 0.2%.

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About 40% of Australians don’t believe humans are a major cause of climate change. Reaching these sceptic holdout groups may require unconventional approaches. Xiongzhi Wang, Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Environmental Social Science, Australian National University Kelly Fielding, Professor of Environmental Psychology, The University of Queensland Rebecca Colvin, Associate Professor in Social Science, Australian National University Robyn Gulliver, Honorary Research Fellow in Social Science, The University of Queensland Winnifred Louis, Professor of Social Psychology, The University of Queensland Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

A Brazilian coalition for nature restoration and bioeconomy finance that launched last year, aiming to reduce CO2 emissions by 1 gigatonne by 2050, last week welcomed two new members.

Surcharges on flights to account for the cost of sustainable aviation fuel will become "relatively common practice" by 2030, while taxing fossil jet fuel could also be on the cards as a way to reduce the cost difference between traditional and clean methods, said analysts during an energy forum in London.

An oil and gas major retired a huge number of REDD carbon credits to keep the market ticking over, while the Voluntary Carbon Markets Integrity Initiative (VCMI) signalled a shift of direction in a bid to kick start wider participation in the market.

A long-awaited carbon markets regulation to implement Paraguay’s 2023 law and support the creation of a domestic trading hub launched last week, as Chile saw late-stage approval of its own standard, and Brazilian biofuels entered the crosshairs of US tariffs.

A clear UK plan to spearhead development of carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects is urgently needed to decarbonise hard-to-abate industries and to achieve the 2030 clean power goal, according to the oil majors behind CCS clusters in England.

Ukraine has approved a roadmap for setting up a national emissions trading system (ETS) – although it would not become fully operational until the country's war-torn economy has recovered, the environment minister has announced.

There is a misalignment between studies of chemical impacts on nature and biodiversity measurements, according to a study led by the EU Commission's Joint Research Centre (JRC).

The Scottish government’s proposals to give politicians the power to modify key environmental legislation have triggered biodiversity credit concerns from a market actor.

Their metamorphosis seems more like a human’s than a butterfly’s – so much is visible, and awkward, whereas the butterfly forms in secret

Some species of frog have eyes so sensitive to light that they can detect a single photon. To confirm this, scientists dissected a frog’s eye and removed the lens. If you dissected eyes in biology class, you may remember that a lens is extraordinarily simple, and unlike other organs. It is a hard, clearish, object that comes out clean: no blood supply, no blood. It looks like a glass bead, and functions – inanimate – much like glass, and not like most things we find in our body (except maybe teeth, which function like knives). Look through the lens at the classroom around you, you will see it clearly, but upside down.

A frog in space, moving further and further from the sun, would eventually start to see not a shrinking star, but tiny flashes of light: individual photons. This is because as the photons travel further from their source, they are spread over greater areas: they will hit a frog’s eye less and less often.

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The European Commission’s upcoming Clean Industrial Deal initiative, due on Wednesday, lacks “game-changing” measures to reduce energy prices, such as a reform of the marginal pricing system for electricity, say EU steelmakers and trade unions.

European carbon prices gave up Friday's gains as an early boost from Germany's general election result was quickly wiped out, while natural gas continued its 10-day decline that has seen regional prices for the fuel drop by 23%.

Anthocyanins in nuts, fruits and vegetables seem to lesson harmful effects of microplastics on reproductive systems

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Antioxidants that give fruits and flowers their vibrant colors seem to counteract some of the most dangerous reproductive system effects of exposure to microplastics, such as decreased fertility, and could ultimately be used in developing treatments, new peer-reviewed research shows.

The paper focused on microplastics’ reproductive toxicity and plant compounds called anthocyanins, which are widely found in nuts, fruits and vegetables. The new review of scientific literature on anthocyanins found that the compounds are probably protective against a range of plastic-induced impacts on hormones, reductions in testosterone and estrogen, decreased sperm counts, lower sperm quality, erectile dysfunction and ovarian damage.

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Brazil's National Biodiversity Commission (Conabio) has issued recommendations on the targets that should underpin the country's National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP), including halting deforestation, reducing harmful subsidies, and increasing public funding.

The Australian conservative Coalition's flagship energy policy to hold back the renewable energy roll-out and keep coal power online longer while a fleet of nuclear power stations are built would add an additional 2 billion tonnes of cumulative CO2 emissions, according the the country's Climate Change Authority (CCA).

Australia hits a new solar output record in the morning period before rooftop solar takes centre stage on the grid.

The post Australia’s main grid sets new solar output record before rooftop PV takes centre stage appeared first on RenewEconomy.

The European Commission plans to defer the financial obligations for companies under the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) to 2027, from 2026, and raise the threshold of emissions embedded in goods that are subject to the fee, according to a leaked draft amendment seen by Carbon Pulse on Saturday.

Bhutan will sign an Article 6.2 implementation agreement with Singapore on Feb. 28, becoming the third nation to formalise the agreement with the city state, Carbon Pulse has learned.

Fossil fuel companies in Australia and their industry associations have been swapping notes with their international counterparts to stop phaseout of gas in homes.

The post Fossil fuel lobby shares global “toolbox of tactics” to fight Victoria’s gas phaseout appeared first on RenewEconomy.