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Springer spaniel trained to recognise scent of great crested newt with 87% success rate from distance of 2 metres

From terrorists to drug traffickers, detection dogs are trained to sniff out the most elusive of offenders. Now a springer spaniel called Freya has taken up the scent of another slippery species: the great crested newt.

Sheltering in underground burrows and rocky crevices, these warty amphibians are a protected species under rules overseen by Natural England. Boris Johnson previously complained that newt-counting delays had become “a massive drag on the prosperity of this country” because building developers must search for, and move them, before construction projects can begin.

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Conservation scientists warn releases of rare or extinct species may spread diseases and harm attempts to save other butterflies

“Ridiculous” illegal reintroductions of rare or extinct butterflies to new sites in Britain risk introducing disease, damage attempts to save species and jeopardise well-planned releases, conservationists have warned.

Conservation scientists spoke out after black-veined whites, which fell extinct in Britain 100 years ago, reappeared on a nature reserve near Croydon.

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European carbon prices were moderately weaker in Monday morning trade as early selling gave way to renewed demand – which some participants said was short-covering – while energy markets were weaker as gas prices continued to whipsaw.

One of China's largest cities is planning to roll out a special subsidy programme for businesses through the issuance of 'zero carbon vouchers' on an integrated platform to encourage more investments in carbon management.

A poisonous haze made the air over New York temporarily more hazardous than any other place on Earth. Thank fossil fuel billionaires

Who’s responsible for the poisonous haze that blanketed the north-east this week, that turned the sky eerie shades of yellow and orange and made the air over New York City more hazardous – for a time – than in any other place on Earth?

The smoke is from the unprecedented wildfires that, first sparked by lightning, have been raging for weeks in Nova Scotia and Quebec; more than 450 are now burning across Canada. More than half of those are considered “out of control”. That ferocity is thanks in large part to the kinds of unusually warm and dry conditions that rising temperatures are making more common. Winds from a low pressure system then fanned the flames and sent them southward.

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Singapore and Mongolia have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on collaboration under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, the Southeast Asian island’s tenth such carbon trading partner.

Growth in the number of national and sub-national net zero targets has slowed, though company net zero target-setting momentum continues at speed in the absence of universal standards, according to a report published Monday.

HotSat-1 will sense heat loss through roofs and walls to help direct insulation improvements.

UK-based Botanical Gardens Conservation International (BGCI) is preparing a large number of projects protecting threatened tree species for the fledgling biodiversity credit market, expecting the first issuances before the end of the year.

New Zealand’s opposition National party will keep agriculture out of the nation’s emissions trading scheme and delay a separate pricing mechanism for the sector by five years, if it wins the general election in October, it announced Monday.

Listen of Top 20 wind and solar farms in month of May shows the wind blows in Tasmania and the sun shines in Queensland.

The post Tasmania wind farms do best in May, Queensland dominates solar rankings appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Zimbabwe is preparing to host a voluntary carbon markets forum as it targets creating a pan-African registry linked to the country’s Victoria Falls Stock Exchange (VFEX).

Two UK-based technology companies have partnered to publish a draft methodology for crediting emissions removals from restoring peatlands.

New Zealand is unlikely to sell any of the 8.9 million NZUs that will be made available at this week’s auction, market participants told Carbon Pulse, doubting bids will meet the government’s confidential reserve price.

Living in cities filled with tags may make us feel less safe. But tags don’t mean crime and gangs. The real reasons people tag buildings and bridges are to show off and create community. Flavia Marcello, Professor of Design History, Swinburne University of Technology Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Nicola Shaw, who made the announcement due to public anger over sewage in rivers, is in line for a windfall of more than £1m from her previous role

The boss of Yorkshire Water’s decision to forgo her annual bonus due to public anger over sewage pollution of rivers has been labelled a “hollow” gesture by a leading union, after it emerged that she was already in line for a windfall of more than £1m from a previous role.

Nicola Shaw, who joined from National Grid last year, will receive share awards worth £1.3m from the energy network operator next month under a long-term incentive plan initiated in 2020, according to its annual report released last week.

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Geopolitical fallout from the conflict in Ukraine is threatening an environmentally crucial region

As the cold war thawed in the 1980s, the frozen high north of the planet was a leading beneficiary of more conciliatory times. Speaking in Murmansk in 1987, Mikhail Gorbachev called for an end to military competition in the Arctic, and a new focus on preserving its unique ecosystem. “The community and interrelationship of the interests of our entire world,” said the Soviet leader, “is felt in the northern part of the globe, in the Arctic, perhaps more than anywhere else.”

Mr Gorbachev’s words paved the way for a cross-state consensus around the idea of “Arctic exceptionalism” – an agreement that in an environmentally crucial region, where Europe, North America and Asia meet, geopolitical rivalries should be put to one side. Since 1996, the Arctic Council, comprising the eight Arctic states including Russia, has embodied that spirit of cooperation. It is yet another disastrous consequence of Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine that it is now at risk.

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We will miss our tentacled friend, who brought Sydneysiders together and sparked talks about ocean conservation

Mr Fabulous was the name bestowed upon him. He was a giant cuttlefish (scientific name Sepia apama) and he was the king of Cabbage Tree Bay. This huge, alien-looking cephalopod had attracted many visitors to the small marine reserve at Sydney’s Manly beach; they were enthralled by his flashing rainbow colours and flamboyant tentacles.

He measured about 1 metre in length, and he did not mind posing for an underwater camera, or 10. There were sometimes other smaller cuttlefish around, but none of his size or vibrancy. His image is all over Instagram and he even featured in the pic of the week competition of a national news site. Mr Fabulous was a legend.

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Scaling back of green prosperity plan reflects a possibly costly desire to project fiscal stability

Dread of the financial markets is part of the Labour party’s DNA. This primal fear has been passed down the generations. Ramsay MacDonald, Clement Attlee, Harold Wilson and James Callaghan were all battle-scarred from their vain attempts to defend the pound.

Even though the signs point to a big Labour victory at the next election, the mood at the top of the party remains cautious. For months, Rachel Reeves has been on a charm offensive in the City, sending out a message to the bond dealers and currency traders that she will take no risks with the public finances.

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Project to reintroduce big cat to the wild set back by loss of adults and cubs at reserve

A controversial attempt to reintroduce cheetahs to the wild has suffered a major setback after three adults and three cubs died over the past eight months.

The deaths have led to criticisms of Project Cheetah, a £4.8m international scheme that involved moving 20 animals from Africa to India’s Kuno National Park earlier this year. Some conservationists say not enough space was reserved for the cheetahs while others complained that the project was set up too hastily.

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