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Natural History Museum scientists say plasticosis, which scars digestive tract, likely to affect other types of bird too

A new disease caused solely by plastics has been discovered in seabirds.

The birds identified as having the disease, named plasticosis, have scarred digestive tracts from ingesting waste, scientists at the Natural History Museum in London say.

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Delegates deplore ‘insensitivity and privilege’ of developed nations as negotiators disagree over who should benefit from marine discoveries

As UN member states gathering in New York this week to finally knock out a long-awaited treaty on the high seas announced “significant progress” with just one day left in the talks, a main stumbling block remained: how to fairly share “marine genetic resources” (MGR) and the eventual profits.

The conference president, Rena Lee of Singapore, urged delegates to “stay focused and get the job done” yesterday on the penultimate day of talks. But the contentious issue of MGR, which caused the last round of negotiations – officially called the Intergovernmental Conference on Marine Biodiversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction, or BBNJ – to fail in August, has driven a wedge between developed and developing nations.

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French President Emmanuel Macron has announced funding for a new forest protection scheme that will use scientific evidence to reward countries that are proven to have protected or restored their forests, aiming to resolve what he called an "absurd" current shortfall in funding to forest-rich nations offered by carbon crediting.

Liquidity improved in China’s emissions market over the past week, with prices moving just marginally and observers keen to know whether an upcoming political event could shed some light on the developments of carbon markets.

Independent ratings could drive higher-quality biodiversity credits and contribute to greater transparency in the fledgling market, carbon credit ratings agency BeZero said in a research note.

The best of this week’s wildlife pictures, including a coyote in the snow, a hungry ibis and giraffes on the move

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Two offset projects located in Cambodia and China will supply the inaugural Mar. 16 auction on BCX, Bursa Malaysia’s new carbon credit exchange.

Bringing children closer to nature is the first step to building the next generation of conservationists. Everyone should have that chance

• Matthew Gould is director general of the Zoological Society of London

It started with the monkeys. The Zoological Society of London, which I head, received a grant from the National Lottery Heritage Fund to repurpose our Snowdon Aviary in London Zoo into an enclosure for colobus monkeys. This grant also enabled us to offer 100,000 heavily discounted tickets to community groups. We extended this so that anyone on benefits could buy a ticket for £3, which is a tenth of the cost of peak-season entry for an adult.

News of the £3 offer spread fast, and on the first day of February half-term it became clear that something extraordinary was happening. Literally thousands of families were descending on our zoos. Both London and Whipsnade had twice as many visitors as we had been expecting.

Matthew Gould is director general of the Zoological Society of London

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National park in Senegal shows off three surprise new recruits in fight to save critically endangered species from extinction

A lioness in one of the world’s rarest lion populations has given birth to three cubs, new video footage shows, raising hopes that the critically endangered big cat can be saved from extinction.

In contrast to their southern cousins, west African lions have almost completely disappeared. Scientists believe between 120 and 374 remain in the wild, their historic range reduced to four populations clinging on in Nigeria, Benin, Niger and Burkina Faso.

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The Papua New Guinea government has released details of its long-awaited carbon market regulations that are scheduled to be implemented by the end of the month, however there are doubts the new rules will settle long-running land rights and governance issues.

Gas lobby group caught out cooking up a new fossil fuel myth, that the electrification of Australian homes will cost taxpayers more than $66 billion.

The post Gas lobby called out for overcooking electrification costs appeared first on RenewEconomy.

News of the ACCC’s greenwashing blitz and action by ASIC will be giving some in energy circles pause for quiet thought, if not chills.

The post Greenwashing is under fire. Can the energy sector stay out of its crosshairs? appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Snowy chair reappointed for another 18 months to address "legacy issues" and manage the delays and cost overruns at the company's signature projects.

The post Snowy chair given another 18 months to fix hydro and gas plant delays appeared first on RenewEconomy.

New Forests seeks a qualified candidate for the position of Manager, Natural Capital & Carbon Analytics within the Investment Analytics team.

The findings suggest cold-blooded animals will be even hotter and hungrier in a warmer world than previously thought. This may increase their extinction risk. Lesley Alton, Research Fellow, Monash University Vanessa Kellermann, Research fellow, Monash University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Three major reforms to the safeguard mechanism could see coal mines almost halve their methane emissions using just 1 per cent of annual profits.

The post Safeguard reforms could slash Australia’s coal mine methane bombs at little cost appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Australia's most successful developer of wind, solar and battery storage projects says costs have jumped significantly over last two years.

The post Wind, solar and storage costs jump up to 60 pct, says biggest project developer appeared first on RenewEconomy.

At the Our Ocean Conference that opened in Panama Thursday, the host government announced it is expanding its marine protected areas to cover more than half the nation’s oceans, while the EU said it will spend €816.5 million this year for various ocean protection initiatives.

Leveraging demand from regulatory compliance may be key to building a robust market for biodiversity credits, some experts have said, pointing towards the potential for a softening divide between voluntary- and compliance-driven approaches.

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