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Despite the uncertain future facing the voluntary carbon market, early-stage investment has held relatively firm in 2023, with some in the market pointing to an emergent 'flight to primary' trend, as investors seek to avoid reputational risk in secondary and tertiary credit buying and instead channel capital directly into project development.

A twice-weekly summary of our biodiversity news plus bite-sized updates from around the world. All articles in this edition are free to read (no subscription required).

California electricity sector CO2 year-on-year output decreased at an even faster pace during September, reaching a ten-year low for the month as shares of renewable energy and hydroelectricity continued to build on their 2022 levels, according to data published Monday.

Nations are to start procuring carbon dioxide removals at the upcoming UN climate summit for use against their nationally determined contributions (NDCs), an expert in the sector said Tuesday.

Climate commissioner says pace of reductions needs to speed up in buildings, transport and agriculture to meet 55% target by 2030

The EU must cut greenhouse gas pollution almost three times more quickly than it has over the past decade to meet its climate targets, a European Commission report has said.

In an attempt to stop weather growing more extreme, the EU has promised to pump 55% less planet-heating gas into the air in 2030 than it did in 1990. But over the past three decades it has cut emissions by just 32%, leaving behind “significant gaps” for the next seven years, the commission found in its latest State of the Energy Union report.

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The European Parliament's environment committee (ENVI) on Tuesday formally adopted a provisional political agreement to phase out by 2050 fluorinated greenhouse gases (F-gases) and adopted a draft report to strengthen EU CO2 emission standards for new heavy-duty vehicles.

Average of 854g a week eaten at home in 2022, with the 14% decline since 2012 driven by cost of living crisis and lifestyle changes

People in the UK consumed less meat last year than at any point since records began in the 1970s, in a trend driven by the cost of living crisis, the continued impact of Covid and broader lifestyle changes.

Data released by the government showed that Britons ate less meat at home in the year to March 2022 than at any point since 1974, with the average person eating 854g (1.88lbs) a week. That was down from 976g the previous year and 949g in 2019-20, before the Covid-19 pandemic.

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As the first known cases of H5N1 are detected in the region, scientists fear for the isolated penguin and seal populations that have never been exposed

Avian flu has reached the Antarctic, raising concerns for isolated populations of penguins and seals that have never been exposed to the deadly H5N1 virus before. The full impact of the virus’s arrival is not yet known, but scientists are raising concerns about possible “catastrophic breeding failure” of the region’s fragile wildlife populations.

The virus was found in populations of a scavenging bird called brown skua on Bird Island, which is part of the British overseas territory of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands. These migratory birds probably brought it with them from South America where bird flu is widespread and has already killed an estimated 500,000 seabirds and 20,000 sea lions in Chile and Peru alone.

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The European Commission unveiled plans to bolster the EU's faltering wind power capacity rollout on Tuesday, while reporting that the bloc was on track in its efforts to exit Russian fossil fuels despite patchy national progress on decarbonisation.   

RWE reported a drop of almost a quarter in its ETS-covered thermal power output over the first nine months, according to preliminary results published on Tuesday that showed an acceleration of coal decline over the past quarter.

Colossal Biosciences, which is behind bid to bring back Tasmanian tiger, teams up with Melbourne Zoo to save tiny reptile

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A US biotechnology “de-extinction” company behind efforts to bring the Tasmanian tiger, woolly mammoth and dodo back from the dead is backing a project to save a tiny Australian dragon.

The support from Colossal Biosciences for a project to restore the Victorian grassland earless dragon – which was feared extinct before being rediscovered in the wild this year – was announced as the company’s representatives visited Tasmania to speak with officials about their plans and inspect a potential thylacine rewilding site.

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Life on planet is in peril, say climate experts, as they call for a rapid and just transition to a sustainable future

Earth’s “vital signs” are worse than at any time in human history, an international team of scientists has warned, meaning life on the planet is in peril.

Their report found that 20 of the 35 planetary vital signs they use to track the climate crisis are at record extremes. As well as greenhouse gas emissions, global temperature and sea level rise, the indicators also include human and livestock population numbers.

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Research suggests writing down your ‘feelings’ about winter can help with seasonal affective disorder. I’m willing to give it a go

Dear winter,

It seems that you intend to visit us again this year. I just want to make it clear – because researchers have found that expressing “feelings” about you in the form of a “dear winter” letter could make me less miserable at this time of year – that I did not invite you.

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A new study produced by a collection of NGOs, think tanks, and academics said that international commitments to halt deforestation have not yet been backed up by sufficient action or funding to tackle the challenge.

Three sets of guidance for measuring biodiversity covering direct operations, supply chains, and ecosystem conditions have been launched by the EU Commission-funded Aligning Accounting Approaches for Nature (Align).

China on Tuesday published methodologies for four project types that will be eligible to generate Chinese Certified Emissions Reductions (CCERs), providing clarity for developers and investors.

European carbon prices made a small recovery on Tuesday morning after the market had dropped to a two-month low on Monday, as prompt gas prices ticked up despite a generally bearish fundamental outlook and weaker TTF prices further along the curve.

IEA, for first time, says demand for oil, gas and coal will all peak by 2030, but must fall sharply before then if agreed climate targets are to be met.

The post Australia issued “stark warning” by IEA as fossil fuel demand tipped to plummet by 2030 appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Biodiversity over an area equivalent to at least 3,000 hectares was supported by ASN Impact Investor’s biodiversity fund last year, according to the “first” measuring of positive nature impact by an investment manager, it said.

Wind and solar deliver more than 70 pct of generation on main grid for first time, as the share of renewables hits a new instantaneous peak of 72.5 pct.

The post Wind and solar smash records as renewables reach new peak of 72.5 pct on main grid appeared first on RenewEconomy.