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Sentences risk silencing public concerns about the environment, climate change rapporteur Ian Fry says

Long sentences handed to two Just Stop Oil protesters for scaling the M25 bridge over the Thames are a potential breach of international law and risk silencing public concerns about the environment, a UN expert has said.

In a strongly worded intervention, Ian Fry, the UN’s rapporteur for climate change and human rights, said he was “particularly concerned” about the sentences, which were “significantly more severe than previous sentences imposed for this type of offending in the past”.

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International carbon market stakeholders have broadly welcomed the last-minute adoption of recommendations for how the UN crediting mechanism under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement should operate, but also pointed to uncertainties that risk diluting ambition and noted the challenge of deferring many key decisions given the ambiguous nature of certain sections of the text.

The European Commission has extended part of the bloc’s state aid Temporary Crisis and Transition Framework by six months, meaning member states can continue providing additional support to certain EU ETS-covered entities hit by the energy crisis and ongoing war in Ukraine.

The Brazilian state of Roraima has signed a letter of intent (LOI) with a large Brazilian bank to facilitate $3 million in carbon credit funding for farmers who invest in sustainable agriculture. 

Large volumes of REDD avoided deforestation changed hands at rock bottom prices last week amid the continued fallout from the negative press coverage about the sector, while demand in general was lifted by the reappearance of an oil major in the market retiring a large volume of credits.

Icelandic singer condemns ‘terrible suffering’ of salmon farming with proceeds from her new single with Rosalía going to activists

The Icelandic singer Björk has condemned industrial salmon farming in open pens as “extraordinarily cruel”, as she announced her debut song with the Catalan singer Rosalía, which will be available on Tuesday 21 November.

The pair will donate the proceeds of the single, a love song based on a recently recovered recording Björk made two decades ago, to activists opposing the controversial industry in Iceland.

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Buyers scooped up all the carbon permits on offer in the first of two Swiss ETS auctions for 2023-vintage units.

The second round of EU auctions to support home-grown green hydrogen capacity buildout will take place in spring 2024, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced on Monday.

Data shows baby boomers have highest emissions and London has lower footprint than rest of UK

• The great carbon divide: charting a climate chasm

Restaurants, pets and foreign holidays are among the reasons why the UK’s most well-off people rack up carbon footprints far greater than those on low incomes, according to data shared with the Guardian.

The biggest carbon divide is in aviation, with the richest 10% in the UK – the 6.7 million people paid more than £59,000 a year – causing more than six times more climate-heating emissions from flights than the poorest 10%. Spending on electrical items, homeware and furniture also contributes to the outsize impact of the wealthy, who splash out four times more on these goods.

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Carbon emissions of richest 10% is up to 40 times bigger than poorest, and ignoring divide may make ending climate crisis impossible, experts say

• The great carbon divide: charting a climate chasm

The richest 10% of people in many countries cause up to 40 times more climate-heating carbon emissions than the poorest 10% of their fellow citizens, according to data obtained by the Guardian.

Failing to account for this huge divide when making policies to cut emissions can cause a backlash over the affordability of climate action, experts say.

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An Italian climate tech startup has raised €1.75 million in pre-seed funding to help develop its direct air capture (DAC) technology.

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The super-rich are responsible for 16% of global CO2 emissions, about the same as the emissions from the poorest 66% of humanity in 2019, according to a report by an NGO, that recommended a 60% income tax on the top 1% to lower their emissions and raise funds for the energy transition.

In the 1970s, Graeme Pearman measured rising carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere, briefing three prime ministers on what that meant for the planet. After decades leading Australia’s climate research, Pearman, now 82, speaks of the frustration that the science didn't lead to meaningful change.

This video is part of Weight of the World: a climate scientist's burden. The series features three pioneering Australian climate change scientists - Graeme Pearman, Lesley Hughes and Ove Hoegh-Guldberg. Pearman was measuring CO2 in the atmosphere as long ago as 1971. Hughes is one of the first ecologists to warn that rising temperatures would push many species towards extinction. Hoegh-Guldberg’s research revealed the risk that global heating would have on the ocean’s richest ecosystems - coral reefs.

The series tells the story of how the three scientists made their discoveries, how they came under attack for their science and the personal toll it has taken on them. And importantly, how they stay hopeful.

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‘We must start setting records on cutting emissions,’ UN boss says after temperature records obliterated in 2023

The world is on track for a “hellish” 3C of global heating, the UN has warned before the crucial Cop28 climate summit that begins next week in the United Arab Emirates.

The report found that today’s carbon-cutting policies are so inadequate that 3C of heating would be reached this century.

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Nations must go further than their current Paris Agreement pledges in order to be on track to meet targets to curb global warming or face a temperature rise of up to 2.9C this century, according to a UN report Monday that has prompted UN chief Antonio Guterres to urge leaders to "drastically up their game".

A new direct air capture demonstration unit will be installed at the UK's first and largest net zero industrial cluster in northeast England, resulting from a partnership between a local university and a climate tech company.

I think people everywhere, even on juries, have had enough of our leaders’ failure to tackle the climate crisis

In 2021, I was arrested with eight other women for breaking the windows at HSBC’s headquarters in London. On Thursday, after just two hours of deliberation, a jury of our peers found all nine of us not guilty of nearly half a million pounds in criminal damage.

Although the three-week trial was the most gruelling experience of my life, I trusted the jury to acquit us for two reasons. First, I believe the human spirit is basically good and cooperative, and when given the chance we will make decisions that are compassionate and fair.

Gully Bujak worked with Extinction Rebellion for several years and is now a community organiser in Hull

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European carbon prices rose on Monday morning as the energy complex advanced amid lower temperatures and continued geopolitical uncertainty, though sources said speculative traders were working to limit increases as short-biased positions continue to dominate sentiment.