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Government admits its policies will achieve only 92% of cuts and experts think that is a ‘generous reading’

The UK government has said it is still on track to meet its international climate commitments under the Paris agreement, as analysis of its energy plans suggested more drastic policies would be needed to make the required carbon cuts.

Ministers announced the UK’s revamped net zero strategy on Thursday, with a raft of documents exceeding 1,000 pages, setting out policies on sectors from biomass to solar power, and from electric vehicles to nuclear reactors. It came as Rishi Sunak headed to Oxfordshire to visit a development facility for nuclear fusion, accompanied by Grant Shapps, the energy and net zero secretary.

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Carbon offset trade group ICROA on Thursday announced it has remodelled its accreditation programme as part of a wider internal overhaul and rebrand made in response to the voluntary carbon market’s rapid growth and mounting integrity concerns.

Therésè Coffey may bring Food Standards Agency, now overseen by health department, under remit of Defra

The UK government is considering tightening control over the Food Standards Agency (FSA) after news that allegedly fraudulent pork products found their way on to supermarket shelves.

Therésè Coffey, the secretary of state for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), told the House of Commons on Thursday that she would look at bringing the FSA under her department’s control.

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A major shake-up of rules governing derivatives trade in EU emission Allowances appears to have been defeated, but stakeholders are still concerned at what they say is a growing trend towards political interference in the bloc’s flagship climate programme.

Scottish first minister's questions was disrupted five times on Thursday as Yousaf took questions from MSPs. When FMQs eventually got going, Douglas Ross, leader of the Scottish Conservatives, queried Yousaf's appointment of an independence minister, asking if it was a fair use of taxpayers' money. Yousaf hit back, telling MSPs that independence was a priority for the Scottish people. Yousaf said: 'I make no apology whatsoever for having a minister for independence because, my goodness, we need it more than ever before'

• Can Humza Yousaf unite the SNP? – Politics Weekly UK

• What challenges await the new SNP leader and first minister of Scotland?

• Postponing state pension age decision ‘not exactly a sign of strength’, Jacob Rees-Mogg tells Tories – UK politics live

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A UK forestry fund has this month added three new nature-based projects to its portfolio from activities across Scotland and Wales, the firm announced Thursday.

Plants can produce staccato pops when they do not have enough water or suffer a sudden wound, which nearby creatures may respond to, scientists have discovered.

Humans cannot hear the ultrasonic sounds emitted from plants that might even help shape their ecosystems.

Scientists recorded sounds produced by tomato and tobacco plants raised in greenhouses. Healthy plants emitted clicks and pops, but the sounds came in far more rapid bursts when the plants were deprived of water or had their stems cut

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Thirsty or damaged plants produce up to 50 staccato pops in an hour, which nearby creatures may respond to, researchers find

There comes a time in a plant’s life when the head sags, the leaves go pale and the body releases a barrage of sounds that are the ultrasonic equivalent of stamping on bubble wrap.

While any gardener is familiar with the wilting and discoloration that comes with drought, a shortage of water or a sudden wound can also prompt plants to produce staccato pops, which nearby creatures may respond to, scientists say.

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Millions given to party and MPs last year came from entities linked to fossil fuels, high-polluting industries and climate denial

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The Conservative party received £3.5m from individuals and entities linked to climate denial, fossil fuels and high-pollution industries last year, according to new analysis.

The climate website DeSmog analysed Electoral Commission records, which show that the party and its MPs received funds from the aviation and construction industries, mining and oil interests, and individuals linked to the Global Warming Policy Foundation (GWPF), a thinktank which has denied the legitimacy of climate science.

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European carbon was relatively quiet on Thursday, with the benchmark futures trading in its narrowest range of the year to date for a second successive day, while energy markets were mixed as Europe's gas reserves were predicted to reach their 2023 goal early.

A start up tech company has raised €46 million in Series B funding, a year after raising €20 mln in series A funding, for its soil carbon platform.

The EU will need to phase out fluorinated greenhouse gases (F-gases) at a steeper rate from 2039 to 2050, according to the European Parliament vote on Thursday.

EU legislators reached a provisional political agreement on Thursday to raise the share of renewable energy in the block’s overall energy consumption to 42.5% by 2030, in a compromise deal that would mean an additional 2.5% indicative top-up allowing the share to reach 45%.

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Creating more green areas could also save up to £40m a year in costs linked to mental health issues, say researchers

An ambitious push to create more green spaces in Barcelona – a city with one of the highest population and traffic densities in Europe – could improve the health of more than 30,000 people, reduce the use of antidepressants and save up to €45m (£40m) annually in costs associated with mental health issues, research suggests.

It builds on a growing body of evidence that has linked urban green spaces to better mental wellbeing as well as the prevention of depression, anxiety and insomnia.

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Both compliance markets and voluntary carbon markets are sufficiently resilient to withstand current macroeconomic headwinds, with experts underlining that bearish impacts of the unwinding banking crisis and rising inflation would be short-term, a conference heard on Wednesday.

I haven’t eaten octopus in years, yet being smart shouldn’t make them exceptions. All animals need protection from unnecessary suffering

The collective noun for a group of octopuses, in case you were wondering, is a consortium – not, as some wags might tell you, a seafood buffet.

I myself don’t eat octopus, and have made a lot of noise about why: they’re as smart as parrots, their brain is spread over their arms, they are many millions of years older than we are – don’t you know that, of all the species on Earth, only they and we share a high-resolution camera eye?

Elle Hunt is a freelance journalist

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New Zealand’s carbon allowance price on Thursday fell by 10% to an 18-month low, as the usual end of financial year doldrums have been compounded by cratering confidence in the market.

ACX Group has formed a partnership with a blockchain technology provider to trade forward-financed carbon credits, the Singapore-based carbon exchange announced on Thursday.

Deal between Labor government and Greens requires total emissions from big industrial sites to come down, not just be offset

Australia’s parliament has passed the country’s most significant emissions reduction legislation in more than a decade after the government won backing from Greens and independent MPs for a plan to deal with pollution from major industrial sites.

After weeks of closed-door negotiation, a deal was brokered between the Labor government and Greens, a minor party with 15 parliamentarians, that included legislating an explicit requirement that total emissions from major industrial facilities must come down, not just be offset.

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