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Hundreds of Brecon households sign up for scheme in which they get money for every container they recycle

It is best known as a picturesque base for mountain walks but over the last three months a small Welsh market town has been taking part in a world-first environmental scheme that it is hoped may help revolutionise recycling.

People in Brecon (Aberhonddu) have been given manifold ways of returning drinks containers in exchange for a small financial reward. Uptake for the project, a digital deposit return scheme (DDRS) in which citizens get 10p for every container they recycle, has been good with 1,300 of the 4,300 households eligible signing up and 25,000 containers set to be processed.

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Lloyd’s of London, Zurich and Swiss Re among top 10 insurers of largest US coalmines, study finds

Lloyd’s of London and other big European insurers are underwriting almost a third of US coal production despite their net zero pledges, according to research, with the Lloyd’s insurance market emerging as the second-biggest player.

A report from the Insure Our Future campaign group found that Lloyd’s, Zurich and Swiss Re are among the top 10 insurers of the 25 biggest US coalmines, which produced more than 60% of the country’s output last year. They underwrite 13 mines producing 30.7% of US coal.

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European carbon prices were marginally firmer in choppy Thursday morning trade, underpinned by a second strong auction in a row as participants continued to speculate over investment funds' likely positioning in the coming days, while energy markets were firmer amid gas supply interruptions in the North Sea.

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).

Police investigating after former tree of the year winner thought to have been deliberately felled

A police investigation has been launched into the felling of one of the most photographed trees in the country, the Sycamore Gap tree at Hadrian’s Wall, Northumberland, which was found cut down on Thursday morning.

The world famous tree, voted tree of the year in a Woodland Trust competition in 2016 and featured in the 1991 film Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, is thought to have been deliberately felled.

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Four major global materials in the supply chain of construction firms have relatively low biodiversity impacts, though the built environment overall still rely on ecologically destructive processes, a UK industry-led members network said Thursday.

Chinese carbon permits continued to climb over the past week amid stable trading volumes, reaching a fresh record high on Wednesday ahead of a week-long holiday, with analysts expecting the growing momentum to continue to the end of the compliance period despite government measures to suppress prices.

Emerging critical infrastructure technology company has raised more than $15 million to bankroll a push into the United States and Europe to support energy utilities.

The post Neara raises $15 million for bankroll its push to ease renewable bottlenecks appeared first on RenewEconomy.

While the link between global CO2 emissions and GDP growth is getting weaker, it has yet to decouple entirely, said a research note published Thursday.

Volume lost during hot summers of 2022 and 2023 equal to total depletion between 1960 and 1990, says report

Swiss glaciers have lost 10% of their volume in just two years, a report has found.

Scientists have said climate breakdown caused by the burning of fossil fuels is the cause of unusually hot summers and winters with very low snow volume, which have caused the accelerating melts. The volume lost during the hot summers of 2022 and 2023 is the same as that lost between 1960 and 1990.

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A shift to a new and improved satellite monitoring system will likely raise fresh issues with the carbon crediting of Australian human-induced regeneration (HIR) projects, according to an expert.

A direct air capture company has joined forces with a carbon mineralisation firm to initially remove 500 tonnes of CO2 per year to be permanently stored in rock from a project in Oman, they announced Thursday.

One of Japan's major trading houses has teamed up with a software provider to help create millions of domestically issued forest-based offsets based on a 3D measurement system, it announced Thursday.

After a brief downing of tools in May, the first turbine has been installed at what will be one of the biggest wind farms in Australia.

The post First turbine goes up at Forrest-backed Clarke Creek wind farm appeared first on RenewEconomy.

A French private investment house and nature-based carbon project developer have announced details of their plan to invest €1.5 billion in forest carbon projects that will sequester an estimated 150 MtCO2, the two firms said Thursday.

A US-based think-tank has suggested better ESG practices, lower emissions technologies, and practices to conserve biodiversity near mines could have far-reaching implications for social licence and ultimately mine permitting, leading to faster development of the critical minerals needed for the world to meet net-zero goals.

Researchers see political risks to decarbonisation plan across forthcoming elections, but also suggest steps to win support

The EU faces a “make or break moment” for decarbonisation if it is to stick to the European Green Deal, a new report warns, amid the cost of living crisis, multiple elections and a growing political “greenlash”.

In research published on Thursday, the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR) said European policymakers must convince voters that sticking to the green transition is in their interests – especially with European parliament elections and several national elections coming next year.

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Holding climate change to 1.5 might be possible – but in the best case, we’ll blow past the limit first and then backpedal. Pep Canadell, Chief Research Scientist, Climate Science Centre, CSIRO Oceans and Atmosphere; Executive Director, Global Carbon Project, CSIRO Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Good intentions around community batteries are being hijacked by monopoly businesses, while the best route to energy equality is staring governments in the face.

The post Want energy democracy? Paying networks to install community batteries is not the way appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Amber’s Tim Barson on how home batteries are turning into a money spinner. Plus: Rooftop solar shattering records across the grid.

The post Solar Insiders Podcast: Making money out of home batteries appeared first on RenewEconomy.