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Many people warming homes with wood from construction sites unaware of health risks, say experts

Arsenic particles are being spotted by scientists in London’s air, as concerns grow that people are increasingly burning waste wood from construction sites while being unaware of the serious health risks.

Dr Anja Tremper at Imperial College London’s air research station in south London tracked January’s data and found arsenic particles in London’s air, especially around the weekend of 2223 when air pollution reached the top index value of 10 on the UK government’s scale.

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EUAs gave up some of their early gains on Thursday morning after a relatively strong auction result and as a panel of lawmakers approved the bloc's carbon market reform package, while energy prices snapped a five-day losing streak as weather forecasts suggested a drop in temperatures in the coming week.

Campaigners and experts say holiday park in ancient woodland would have been ‘disastrous’ for wildlife

Center Parcs has scrapped plans for a new holiday park in an ancient woodland that is home to rare birds after outcry from wildlife campaigners.

The holiday company said that it had decided the 550-acre Oldhouse Warren site in Worth Forest was “not suitable” for the development, due to not being able to meet targets to improve biodiversity at the site. The plans included 900 lodges, indoor and outdoor leisure facilities, a variety of restaurants, a spa, and a “subtropical swimming paradise”.

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ArcelorMittal, the world's second-largest steelmaker, expects its shipments to increase by around 5% this year driven mainly by a demand rebound in the EU and US, it said in quarterly results published Thursday that also gave a less certain outlook on Chinese consumption.

The European Parliament's environment committee (ENVI) approved on Thursday a provisional deal to reform the EU ETS, an interim step in the formal adoption process to pass the bill into law.

Labour’s bowing to business contrasts with the boldness of the US president’s green industrial policies. There is an opportunity to be grasped

The severe crises humanity faces will not be solved by the outdated rules of the global economy. Keir Starmer came close to recognising this in his new year’s speech, when he spoke of his plans for “mission-driven” government. The phrase – borrowed from Mariana Mazzucato – implies governments setting economic goals (say, 100% renewable energy) and single-mindedly driving that goal forward through investment and regulation.

In essence, this is an acceptance that government planning, state intervention and public ownership, so derided over 40 years of neoliberalism, are necessary tools of government today, and it’s what makes Labour’s industrial strategy central to any progressive offer to the country.

Nick Dearden is director of Global Justice Now (formerly World Development Movement)

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A 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).

Environmental activist group ClientEarth has filed what it called a world-first lawsuit against oil major Shell's board of directors for failing to manage risks to the company from climate change, the London-headquartered group announced on Thursday.

China needs to introduce a phased regulatory framework and clearer guidelines for companies to conduct climate-related information disclosure, given emerging challenges in the sector, according to analysts.

The European Investment Bank (EIB) will provide indicative funding of €1 billion to promote the green hydrogen sector in India, the EU bank and a local industry group, the India Hydrogen Alliance (IH2A), have jointly announced.

A global trading firm with a special interest in environmental markets is in the process of negotiating its first voluntary biodiversity credit transaction, as it seeks to play a part in developing the emerging market.

Early scoping work begins on the fourth phase of the world’s largest offshore wind farm, taking the total to around 5GW.

The post World’s biggest offshore wind farm seeks to add another gigawatt of capacity appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Faulty components in turbines still under warranty are starting to savage the profits of some of the industry's biggest players. So what's going on?

The post Wind turbine failure rates are rising – has the industry gone too big, too fast? appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Singapore will publish later this year a ‘whitelist’ of international carbon credits that will be eligible for companies to use to partially offset their liable emissions under the country’s carbon tax scheme, the Minister for Sustainability and the Environment, Grace Fu, announced in parliament.

Claimants ClientEarth say the oil company’s plan puts the company at financial risk as the world transitions to clean energy

The directors of oil major Shell are being personally sued over their climate strategy, which the claimants say is inadequate to meet climate targets and puts the company at risk as the world switches to clean energy.

Environmental lawyers ClientEarth have filed the lawsuit against the 11 directors at the high court in England. It is the first case in the world seeking to hold corporate directors liable for failing to properly prepare their company for the net zero transition, ClientEarth said.

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AGL has yet to demonstrate a “story” that investors could realistically embrace.

The post AGL’s coal sore: Boring is OK in share markets, clueless is not appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Western Australia takes up six out of 10 spots in the top rankings for wind farm performance in January, with South Australia occupying the remaining four.

The post West is best for wind farm performance as renewables blow away gas market share appeared first on RenewEconomy.

For a country that once "rode on the sheep's back," the dual use of farm land for both sheep grazing and solar generation makes more and more sense.

The post Solar and Sheep: “The future of regional Australia” and the key to better quality wool appeared first on RenewEconomy.

AGL is looking to rapidly expand decentralised assets - EVs, orchestrated solar and batteries - which means less investment in big wind and solar.

The post AGL looks to EVs, batteries and rooftop solar as it goes local and digests massive loss appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Danish wind giant explores new method of recycling wind turbine blades – including those already in landfill.

The post Vestas claims major breakthough in wind turbine blade recycling appeared first on RenewEconomy.