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Department’s finances were slashed during austerity and campaigners say more cuts will stall progress to meet nature and climate targets

Rachel Reeves has been urged not to cut the government’s environment funding in the budget as analysis shows the department’s finances were slashed at twice the rate of other departments in the austerity years.

Between 2009/10 and 2018/19, the environment department budget declined by 35% in monetary terms and 45% in real terms, according to Guardian analysis of annual reports from the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), the Environment Agency and Natural England. By comparison, the average cut across government departments during the Conservative austerity programme was about 20%. During the first five years of austerity, it was the most cut department.

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A biodiversity credit project developer and a data provider have announced a partnership with the aim of scaling projects in countries across Africa, South America, and Europe, Carbon Pulse has learned.

A Spanish agricultural organisation has launched a project aimed at generating carbon credits from the livestock sector, targeting pollution reduction and emissions control in pig farming.

European gas employers have rejected a draft agreement with trade unions to wind down the EU’s industry, highlighting the difficulties in managing the social aspects of the green transition.

Australia’s Clean Energy Financing Corporation (CEFC) has for the first time invested A$75 million ($49.2 mln) in the forestry sector, according to the group's annual report published this week, which details tens of billions of dollars of clean investments.

Researchers found 38,000 fewer people – 10 times number of murders – would have died if atmosphere was not clogged with greenhouse pollutants

Climate breakdown caused more than half of the 68,000 heat deaths during the scorching European summer of 2022, a study has found.

Researchers from the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal) found 38,000 fewer people would have died from heat if humans had not clogged the atmosphere with pollutants that act like a greenhouse and bake the planet. The death toll is about 10 times greater than the number of people murdered in Europe that year.

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Taiwan has given the green light to two new offset methodologies for nature-based projects, which can create carbon credits from forest and bamboo management activities.

Iceland’s Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs submitted a bill to parliament last week proposing a new mileage tax on fossil fuel-powered vehicles.

Australia’s opposition climate spokesperson has refused to say whether a future Coalition government would support the reformed Safeguard Mechanism, as the lack of certainty continues to be a headache for investors and emitters, according to conference attendants.

New economic stimulus measures to prop up household consumption could bring greater uncertainty to China’s emissions outlook, even though the country's annual emissions may fall this year thanks to the massive additions of renewables, analysts said.

Deluge of delegates at biodiversity conference has led some to impromptu accommodation

Robert Baluku, a Ugandan delegate to the UN’s biodiversity summit in Colombia, found himself between a rock and hard place when his team’s accommodation was abruptly cancelled, leaving them stranded before the start of Cop16 in Cali.

The city’s hotels were packed to capacity with thousands of country leaders, scientists, government ministers and UN negotiators, and Baluku was left scrambling for options – until the Motel Deseos (Desires) came to the rescue.

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Exclusive: Linked accounts on X push petrostate’s posts about climate summit and drown out criticism

Scores of apparently fake social media accounts are boosting Azerbaijan’s hosting of the Cop29 climate summit, an investigation has revealed.

The accounts were mostly set up after July, at which time seven of the top 10 most engaged posts using the hashtags #COP29 and #COP29Azerbaijan were critical of Azerbaijan’s role in the conflict with Armenia, using hashtags such as #stopgreenwashgenocide. By September this had changed, with all of the top 10 most engaged posts coming from the official Cop29 Azerbaijan account.

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Eight governments on Monday pledged a total $163 million in new funding for the Global Biodiversity Framework Fund (GBFF), taking the total amount committed to the fund to just below $400 mln, less than 2% of what developed nations have promised to contribute by the end of next year.

Australia’s first commercial concentrated solar thermal heat plant will be built at the Mars Petcare facility in Wodonga, joining the recently installed "thermal battery."

The post Australia’s first commercial solar thermal heat plant to slash gas use at Mars factory appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Australian silicon anode technology that promises to reduce battery storage costs and enable longer EV driving ranges awarded Arena funding.

The post Arena backs homegrown battery tech that promises to cut storage costs, boost EV range appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Australian gravity storage company wants to use mine shafts in one of the country's biggest mining regions to deploy its technology as vast new wind and solar resources are opened up.

The post Gravity storage technology mooted for Mount Isa mine shafts to back up vast wind and solar projects appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Rooftop PV pushed grid demand and coal output to new record lows, as NSW prepares to join other states in introducing a household solar switch off mechanism.

The post Rooftop PV pushes grid demand and coal output to new lows as NSW gets ready for solar switch-off appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Rising global temperatures are likely to increase inequalities between wealthy and low-income nations by exacerbating disruptions in the carbon and nitrogen cycles of the world’s forests, placing critical ecosystem services and economic assets in jeopardy, a new study has warned.

RGGI states released feedback on proposed programme review changes, with compliance entities questioning modelling inputs, leakage considerations, and consumer impacts of higher ambition, while investors and environment justice groups pushed back against cost containment plans and delayed implementation.

RGGI allowance (RGA) dipped downwards over the last week as activity remained muted, with the market continuing to await clarity on proposed programme review updates.