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The climate emergency should have been a more prominent theme during an underwhelming election campaign

For all the many televised encounters between party leaders, one huge subject has largely flown under the radar during this underwhelming election campaign. In 2019, at a time when the Brexit crisis had overwhelmed national politics, Channel 4 nevertheless devoted an entire pre-election debate to the climate emergency. Boris Johnson didn’t turn up. But, sensing the mood of the times, as prime minister he was soon committing to a “green industrial revolution”. Climate action was high-profile and it mattered.

Contrast that with last week’s final leaders’ debate between Rishi Sunak and Sir Keir Starmer. None of the questions selected from the audience addressed the environment. Aside from one attempt by Mr Sunak to suggest that Labour’s green plans will lead to higher taxes – feeding into the Conservative party’s wider attack strategy – both leaders focused their energy and political capital elsewhere. It has been much the same throughout the campaign. Economists, industrial leaders and environmental campaigners are united in their desire for more proactive green government. But the politics has become difficult.

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International registry ACR unveiled Tuesday a series of updates in Version 2.1 of its Improved Forest Management (IFM) on Non-Federal US Forestlands methodology that it said increased the precision of its requirements for developing and evaluating conservative baseline scenarios.

A Labour win in Thursday's general election is likely to be good news for the UK's chances of meeting its legally-binding target of net zero emissions by 2050, with the governing Conservative Party pledging a range of policies that risk being regressive for the climate.

The EU is more on track to reach its climate neutrality goal than it was a year ago, but the pace of progress needs to accelerate to put the target within reach, according to an assessment of 124 net zero indicators unveiled by a consortium of researchers in Brussels on Tuesday.

The CEO of the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), Luiz Amaral, has decided to step down from his role for personal reasons, with the decision to take effect at the end of June and the process to replace him already underway.

The results of the world's first coal phaseout auction, carried out in Germany, suggest that it is a transparent and potentially cost-effective way to push fossil power plants into early retirement, according to research published on Tuesday.

A Swedish project for biogenic carbon capture and storage is about to kick start with the first auction to open this year after the European Commission gave its blessing today to a €3 billion (SEK 36 bln) state aid scheme.

Handing vital infrastructure to private investment companies will generate windfalls for investors and leave the rest of us worse off. We need a better plan

• Daniela Gabor is professor of economics and macrofinance at UWE Bristol

The Labour party has a plan for returning to power: it will get BlackRock to rebuild Britain. Its reasoning is straightforward. A cash-strapped government that wants to avoid tax increases or austerity has no choice but to partner with big finance, attracting private investment to rebuild the infrastructure that is crumbling after years of Tory underinvestment. Labour has already done the arithmetic: to mobilise £3 of private capital from institutional investors, you need to offer them £1 in public subsidies. But every time you hear Labour announce such an infrastructure partnership, think of the hidden politics. BlackRock will privatise Britain – our housing, education, health, nature and green energy – with our taxpayer money as sweetener.

BlackRock has long peddled the idea of public-private partnerships for infrastructure, climate and development. Yet its political momentum has recently accelerated. When its chair, Larry Fink, the world’s most powerful financier, sat with world leaders at the G7 summit last month, he promised the following: rich countries need growth, infrastructure investment can deliver that growth, but public debt is too high for the state alone to invest the estimated $75tn (£59tn) necessary by 2040. Trillions, however, are available to asset managers who look after our pensions and insurance contributions (BlackRock, the largest of these firms, manages about $10tn, as a shrinking welfare state pushes us – future pensioners – into its arms).

Daniela Gabor is professor of economics and macrofinance at UWE Bristol

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Energy-intensive companies facing indirect emission costs in Germany will benefit from billions worth of state aid compensation, as the European Commission approved on Tuesday some amendments proposed to an existing national scheme.

Biodiversity is increasingly included as a key performance indicator (KPI) in sustainability-linked bonds (SLBs), as the market is expected to accelerate compared to last year, a UN Development Programme (UNDP) official has said.

Decision by supreme court means water companies could be sued for damage caused by dumping of human waste

Water companies could face a spate of legal challenges by people and businesses affected by sewage pollution after a ruling that United Utilities could be sued by a private company for damage caused by the dumping of human waste.

Lawyers said it was a “watershed moment” as the courts had previously ruled that penalties for water companies were a matter for the regulator, and companies could not sue firms for damage caused to their property by sewage pollution.

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A group of financial institutions and consultancies have joined forces with a research institute to improve the assessment of biodiversity-related risks and opportunities to the financial sector, including estimating the economic impact of nature loss.

The Egyptian cabinet is in the final stages of drafting carbon tax legislation under its forthcoming 2024-30 tax policy strategy, with the final version expected before the end of the year, according to Egyptian media sources.

Canada’s pilot for enabling companies to earn government-issued certificates for conservation achievements will remain small scale, an expert has predicted.

Long-distance travel is a disproportionately large contributor to the UK’s transport-related carbon emissions, researchers have found, prompting them to propose a new new metric to evaluate the effectiveness of reducing travel demand on CO2 output.

Dropoff in government approvals put billions of investment in offshore wind schemes at risk, ports bodies warn

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The UK’s transition to net zero is under threat as delays in approving new infrastructure put billions of pounds of investment in offshore wind schemes and other vital upgrades at risk, big ports have said.

The British Ports Association (BPA) has written to the government and Labour calling for action to clear the backlog of harbour orders, the legislation needed for ports to make infrastructure changes to support offshore wind projects.

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A European agtech firm has secured €10 million in a second round of funding to boost its network of soil carbon removals projects, and plans to raise another €2-4 mln this year.

European carbon allowances were little changed at midday on Tuesday amid broadly stable energy prices, as traders reported a "boring" market that reflected the onset of the summer holiday season, while UK allowance trading slowed down as participants began to focus on Thursday's general election.

The Malaysian government will make sure that its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) goals are not undermined by the sale of carbon credits abroad, the country’s natural resources minister told parliament Tuesday.

German-headquartered retailer Lidl has partnered with conservation organisation WWF to enhance biodiversity protection throughout its value chain across 31 countries.