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Archaeologists find remains of insects that ‘hitchhiked’ here nearly 2,000 years ago

From plumbing to public baths, the Romans left their mark on Britain’s health. But it may not have all been positive. Archaeologists working at Vindolanda, a Roman garrison site south of Hadrian’s Wall in Northumberland, have unearthed fresh evidence that the Romans also brought us ... bedbugs.

Dr Andrew Birley, who heads the Vindolanda archaeological team, said: “It is incredibly rare to find them in any ancient context.”

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A German fintech billionaire has set up a $1.5-billion nature conservation fund through his family office to combat the mass extinction of species and help meet the Global Biodiversity Framework target of protecting 30% of the world’s land and oceans by 2030.

A daily summary of our news plus bite-sized updates from around the world.

The British Antarctic Survey hope the new technology will change what we know about global warming.

Regulated entities had the largest weekly reduction in California Carbon Allowance (CCA) net length in almost a year, locking in record high prices in RGGI as well, while speculators increased net length across North American carbon markets over the Jan. 24-30 period, data published by the US Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Friday showed.

Research by a US environmental NGO found that producers of factory farm biogas earning credits from California's Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) programme were piping gas from digester projects that continued to release methane plumes up to 1,700 kilograms per hour.

A large Canadian pension manager launched Thursday a C$1 billion ($785 million) fund investing in industrial decarbonisation, renewable fuels, electrification, as well as energy storage and efficiency, among other energy transition themes.

Scientists have issued a stark warning about the potential consequences of heavily relying on large-scale, land-based CO2 removal (CDR) strategies as a means to avoid immediate and significant reductions in global greenhouse gas emissions.

Greta Thunberg and four others charged with public order offences over a protest in London have been cleared after a judge ruled that they had no case to answer. Thunberg was charged alongside Christofer Kebbon, Joshua James Unwin, Jeff Rice and Peter Barker with 'failing to comply with a condition imposed under section 14 of the Public Order Act'.

They had been taking part in a protest outside the InterContinental hotel in Mayfair, the venue for the Energy Intelligence Forum (EIF), a fossil fuel industry summit attended by corporate executives and government ministers

• Judge throws out case against Greta Thunberg and other London protesters

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Sir Keir Starmer wants to change his country for the better. That won’t happen if he drops his key industrial strategy for growth

Sir Keir Starmer promised that his green prosperity plan would be a manifesto commitment ahead of the next election. Labour’s proposal was to be the centrepiece of its economic offer to generate growth, create well-paid, secure jobs and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. It was striking, exciting and popular. In mid-January, the party leader told the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg that spending £28bn by the end of the next parliament would make the UK secure in energy and lower household bills.

If a week is a long time in politics, then a fortnight might be called an era. Sir Keir’s plan appears to have gone up in smoke. If so, that’s bad news for the environment and the economy. Inadequate public and private spending is holding back growth while there is a crying need for investment to decarbonise the UK. Other countries are already eyeing up the opportunities. New green industries could be worth $10tn to the global economy by 2050. Britain risks being left behind.

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Some 905 million carbon credits could be in line to be awarded the ICVCM’s Core Carbon Principles (CCPs) high-integrity stamp in an initial review of methodologies, the stakeholder initiative revealed to Carbon Pulse.

Decision to abandon key policy decried as ‘economically illiterate’ reaction to short-term political pressures

Colder, damper, sicker, poorer and less employed: Britons in the near future are likely to be worse off if the next government fails to invest in a cleaner and greener economy, business experts and green campaigners have said.

Economic revival requires investment, and the UK’s crumbling infrastructure needs renewal. The country faces a choice: decline, as businesses and financial investors go elsewhere to find welcoming governments and the regulations, equipment and skills they seek; or investment in the future.

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Court rules not enough evidence provided to prove defendants failed to comply with section 14 order at anti-fossil fuel rally

Greta Thunberg and four others charged with public order offences over a protest in London have been cleared after a judge ruled that they had no case to answer.

Thunberg was charged alongside Christofer Kebbon, Joshua James Unwin, Jeff Rice and Peter Barker with “failing to comply with a condition imposed under section 14 of the Public Order Act”.

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Spot credit prices under the Alberta Technology Innovation and Emission Reduction (TIER) programme in January ticked up following two months of stagnation, despite an oversupply issue plaguing the market, a report published Thursday said.

A group of researchers receiving EU support has begun work on an interactive model to describe how different green policy and investment scenarios transform EU industry from 1990-2070, as the EU shifts into the implementation phase of its flagship Green Deal.

US oil majors Chevron and ExxonMobil reported their full-year earnings on Friday, with both posting a drop in income as oil prices fell, after a year in which the companies’ commitments to cut emissions were juxtaposed with record domestic production levels.

California electricity sector CO2 emissions in December and for full year 2023 maintained the trend of sitting at decade lows, even as the share of natural gas power supply remained near record highs, data published Thursday showed.

UN climate chief says ‘torrents, not trickles’ of public and private finance needed to meet global challenge

Governments must not try to pick loopholes in the global agreement to “transition away” from fossil fuels reached last December, the UN’s climate chief has said, as he called for “torrents” of cash for poorer countries to tackle the crisis.

Some countries have sought to play down the significance of the deal reached at the Cop28 UN climate summit in Dubai, the first time that governments have made such a pledge on oil and gas.

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As a professional footballer I see the climate crisis killing my sport and believe we have a duty to act accordingly

When I play football I feel free from the worries of day-to-day life. But as a young person living in a climate and environmental crisis, these worries have become increasingly hard to ignore. This has been made even harder by the fact that the climate crisis is killing my sport, and one of the companies most responsible is plastering its name all over football in England to distract from what it is doing.

As a professional footballer, I’ve had the privilege of representing my country, New Zealand, 15 times. From being a champion of Italy with Juventus to playing most recently for Hearts in the Scottish Women’s Premier League, I have been lucky enough to experience football in a variety of settings. The goal was always to use football as a means to experience the world, but it turns out the world I’ve been experiencing isn’t what I thought it would be.

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