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As a scientist, I’m faced with indifference and a failure to understand the reality of the climate crisis every day. We must wake people up

• Bill McGuire is professor emeritus of geophysical and climate hazards at UCL

Do you find climate breakdown funny? Do you think it’s a laughing matter that we are on track to bequeath to our children and their children a planet changed for the worse beyond all recognition? I don’t – and I’m sure the presenters of Radio 4’s Today programme don’t either. But I couldn’t help feeling we were having a bit of a Don’t Look Up moment yesterday, hearing them brush off predictions by top climate scientists that our world will end up at least 2.5C hotter as depressing and “gloomy”. This is not to say that laughter and grim news shouldn’t or can’t go together. I work with comedians to help get the climate crisis message across, but we use humour to aid understanding and to help cope, not to denigrate and mock.

The truth is that most people, including many professional journalists, and most politicians, don’t really “get” climate breakdown. Partly this reflects a heads-in-the-sand attitude, but mainly it flags a poor understanding of just how bad things are set to get.

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Group says two women in their 80s took hammer and chisel to protective glass at British Library

Two Just Stop Oil protesters have smashed the glass around Magna Carta at the British Library.

The Rev Sue Parfitt, 82, and Judy Bruce, 85, a retired biology teacher, targeted the protective enclosure with a hammer and chisel on Friday morning.

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Two carbon registries will begin offering updates about projects throughout their lifecycle in a bid to improve voluntary market (VCM) transparency post-validation and verification, according to representatives speaking at Carbon Forward Turkiye on Friday.

Turkiye’s national development, including socioeconomic and ecological dimensions, are at the forefront of stakeholder interest in the voluntary carbon market (VCM) and potential Article 6 engagement, Carbon Forward Turkiye heard Friday in Izmir.

Turkish renewable energy companies say they are struggling to develop projects because of the high costs, long timelines, and administrative burdens of certifying their emission reductions, combined with the low prices and uncertainty in the voluntary carbon market.

Nepal should make it easier for private sector actors to engage in Article 6 projects to help make sure the country can meet its commitments under the Paris Agreement, the UN Development Programme (UNDP) said Friday.

European carbon allowance prices climbed to their highest in four months on Friday morning as determined buying took prices above two key technical levels, before the market gave back all its gains amid profit-taking ahead of the weekend.

A guide for adopting nature-positive practices across renewable energy sites has been published by Foresight Group, alongside details of an endangered butterfly conservation project on a solar farm.

A Belgian manufacturer of lime, limestone, and mineral-based products has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to collaborate with a British carbon capture and storage (CCS) firm. 

Trust builds passes under road bisecting Berkshire commons for increasingly endangered venomous snake

How did the adder cross the road? It didn’t – it was too scared.

Now, however, road-shy populations of the increasingly endangered snake are being given a helping hand with the construction of Britain’s first adder tunnels.

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CO2 allowance prices in China’s national emissions market fell below the 100 yuan ($13.84) mark over the past week after hitting a record high in late April, with traders and analysts expecting short-term fluctuations amid policy uncertainties.

Exclusive: Wopke Hoekstra says EU must press ahead with cutting greenhouse gases and use policy to bring about economic benefits

Europe’s climate chief has warned against politicians trying to use the climate crisis as a wedge issue in the forthcoming EU parliament elections, calling instead for climate policy that will bring wider economic benefits.

Wopke Hoekstra, the EU commissioner for climate action, said Europe had no choice but to press ahead with strong measures to cut greenhouse gases, whoever was in power, but added that more attention was needed to help businesses thrive in a low-carbon world.

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Shell has dismissed as inaccurate reports by Greenpeace and the Financial Times claiming the oil major made over C$200 million ($146 mln) selling "phantom" carbon credits that it earned for emissions reductions that never happened.

The international community's commitment to protecting at least 30% of the waters by 2030 must go beyond mere numbers and strive for quality and effectiveness, as only one-third of the largest global marine protected areas is highly protected, according to a paper published Thursday.

The Safeguard Mechanism will be a strong incentive to reduce carbon emissions, according to the Future Gas Strategy Australia released this week, but an accompanying technical report raises significant challenges and unknowns that could undermine its success.

NFU’s director of strategy asked for review of EU-derived protections as part of post-Brexit loosening of rules

The National Farmers’ Union lobbied to increase the amount of pesticides allowed in the UK’s drinking water and to allow farmers to spread manure more frequently as part of a post-Brexit loosening of environmental regulations, it can be revealed.

Nick von Westenholz, the director of strategy for the lobby group, met Timothy Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound, the Earl of Minto, who is the minister of state for regulatory reform, last year and asked him to review EU-derived environmental protections.

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Revenue from carbon credit sales combined with selective harvesting to meet growing demand for bio-based material can help support support bamboo planting in Europe, according to a developer of bamboo-based carbon projects.

One of the largest electricity utilities in Japan is planning to gradually phase out five 'inefficient' coal-fired power units that contribute around 30% of its thermal power generation capacity, while making some other utilities run partially on ammonia or biomass in a move to cut CO2 emissions.

The Thai government has teamed up with a Bangkok-based technology firm to provide financial support to the coastal communities through the creation and sale of carbon credits from a flagship mangrove restoration programme.

Two German companies have purchased nearly 20,000 biodiversity credits generated through a domestic forest conservation project, Carbon Pulse has learned.