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Without the strongest conservation efforts, it can’t be long before the Maugean skate – and other marine living fossils in Australia – are wiped out

• Explore the series – Last chance: the extinction crisis being ignored this election

Australia is justly famous as a place where ancient species, long extinct elsewhere, live on. After aeons of adversity, Australia’s living fossils often survive only in protected habitats: the Wollemi, Huon and King Billy pines, the Queensland lungfish and even the Tasmanian devil (which thrived on the mainland at the same time as the Egyptians were building the pyramids) are good examples. Such species are a source of wonder for anyone interested in the living world and they should serve as a source of hope that, given half a chance, even ancient, slow-changing species can survive periods of dramatic climate change.

Australia’s largest repository of living fossils is arguably the cool, shallow marine waters off its southern coastline. Despite that fact that most of us enjoy a swim, snorkel or walk on the beach, the biological importance of our shallow temperate seas is almost entirely unrecognised.

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Eva Czislowski, a student and activist, says Carnaby’s black cockatoos used to blacken the sky. ‘I can't believe that I won't be able to experience that,' she says. The endemic WA bird is just one of 2,000 Australian species listed as under threat, in what scientists are calling an extinction crisis

• From blackening skies to barely casting a shadow – the Carnaby’s cockatoo faces a bleak future

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A new study has found that the global economic damage caused by severe climate change may be far greater than previously estimated, with losses potentially quadrupling when global weather effects are included in economic forecasts.

If a car generates more potholes, takes up more space and poses more risk, it is only fair that its owner pays more

Britain is facing an unusual crisis: carspreading. Our road vehicles are getting bigger as people buy more and more SUVs of increasing dimensions and weight. At the same time, our streets and parking places remain the same size.

The consequences of this uncontrolled vehicular expansion have become profound. Potholes are being created in greater numbers as our roads are pounded by heavier vehicles; multiple parking spaces are being taken over by single, giant cars; and road accidents are now producing more severe injuries to drivers and passengers of other vehicles. This last issue is of particular concern.

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A team of researchers has released a global open-access database containing the geospatial boundaries of 575 forest-based carbon offset projects across 55 countries, aiming to boost transparency in the voluntary carbon market.

Constitutional expert says Tory leader’s break from political consensus over target for greenhouse gasses will require monarch to choose his words carefully

King Charles will have to temper his public support for net zero after Kemi Badenoch broke the political consensus over the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions.

Senior royal sources have conceded that the 76-year-old monarch, who has spent more than half a century highlighting environmental challenges, will have to choose his words more carefully now that the Conservatives under Badenoch have said it will be impossible for the UK to hit net zero by 2050.

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EPA bids to change chemical risk evaluations, which could expose public to higher levels of PFAS and other pollutants

The Trump administration is quietly carrying out a plan that aims to kill hundreds of bans on highly toxic PFAS “forever chemicals” and other dangerous compounds in consumer goods.

The bans, largely at the state level, touch most facets of daily life, prohibiting everything from bisphenol in children’s products to mercury in personal care products to PFAS in food packaging and clothing.

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Federal Labor unveils plan to dramatically boost home battery uptake in Australia, through a national scheme that would cut the up-front cost of installation by around $4,000.

The post “Huge win:” Federal Labor unveils $2.3bn plan to slash home battery costs by 30 pct appeared first on RenewEconomy.

‘Groundbreaking’ tool aims to help tree-planting efforts and identify areas to create nature-rich habitats

England’s non-woodland trees have been mapped for the first time, using cutting-edge methods of laser detection and satellite imagery.

Tree scientists at the UK’s Forest Research agency have built a comprehensive picture of trees in urban and rural areas in a “groundbreaking” map that goes live on Saturday.

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Government also considering blocking more profitable farmers from a revised future scheme

Farmers fear they will no longer be able to afford to restore nature in England and reduce their carbon footprint after government funding for doing this was frozen.

The environment secretary, Steve Reed, recently announced that the sustainable farming incentive (SFI), which pays farmers for making space for nature on their land, would be paused and overhauled before June’s spending review. The scope of the scheme – and its budget – are being reassessed.

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We forced the government to take some action, but still it closes it eyes to the impending climate collapse. A new method of confrontation is needed

• Indigo Rumbelow is co-founder of Just Stop Oil. She is currently on remand in HMP Styal

After three years, Just Stop Oil is ending its campaign of non-violent civil disruption: we are hanging up the high-vis. But this does not mean the resistance is over. Sitting here in a prison cell in HMP Styal, I am still demanding an end to oil and gas. Every prison key that rattles, every door that is bolted shut, every letter that is read by the prison staff – it all reminds me that 15 Just Stop Oil supporters are currently locked up for refusing to obey governments whose climate inaction is frankly murderous.

There has been some progress. The Labour government was elected last year on a manifesto including the pledge that they will “not issue new licences to explore new [oil and gas] fields”. This is a victory for civil resistance and the climate movement. To everyone who donned an orange high-vis, who leafleted on the streets, who got arrested for their actions, ran a social media page, gave a talk in a community centre, or answered a phone call from someone in custody, I say: you are part of this change.

Indigo Rumbelow is co-founder of Just Stop Oil and Insulate Britain. She is currently on remand in HMP Styal having been found guilty of conspiracy to intentionally cause a public nuisance. She is due to be sentenced on 23 May at Minshull Street crown court in Manchester

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Siemens Gamesa has taken the top spot for the world’s most powerful wind turbine, after successfully installing it a test field in Denmark.

The post Siemens Gamesa claims world’s most powerful wind turbine with new offshore behemoth appeared first on RenewEconomy.

US ethanol exports declined “sharply” in February amid key market changes, an industry group wrote on Thursday.

Market participants cut down open interest (OI) in V25 California Carbon Allowances (CCAs) and RGGI allowances (RGAs) with lack of progress on the regulatory front, while building V26 CCA OI to new highs, data published Friday by the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) showed.

The UN’s civil aviation agency has raised concerns over renewed international proposals to impose levies on aviation emissions, warning they could jeopardise more than three decades of progress towards a unified global approach to climate action in the sector.

Batteries become dominant player in Australia's most renewable state, providing more than one third of state demand in early morning peak.

The post Big batteries provide one third of state’s power needs, smashing records and “big banana” tropes appeared first on RenewEconomy.

A new report by a Canadian policy think tank is pressing Canada’s next government to rethink the country’s GHG reduction strategy, amid uncertainty after the consumer carbon tax was cut.

The Florida Senate approved legislation on Thursday banning geoengineering and weather modification activities within the state.

California regulator ARB published a third 15-day package on Friday reflecting updates to its Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) amendments that the state’s Office of Administrative Law (OAL) had requested last month, which sent futures prices soaring 13.5% on the day.

Washington's Department of Ecology (ECY) will offer a lower overall number of allowances at the second quarterly auction of 2025, but a higher number of V25s, according to a notice published Friday.