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Ministers missed crucial opportunities but should use energy windfall tax to speed up insulation efforts, committee says

A national “war effort” on energy efficiency is required to cut energy bills, reduce climate-heating emissions and ensure energy security, according to a cross-party committee of MPs.

Boosting efficiency in homes and businesses is the fastest way to cut energy use but the government missed a “crucial window of opportunity” last summer, the report from the environmental audit committee (EAC) said. The energy bills crisis was sparked by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, while political turmoil in the UK resulted in three prime ministers in office between July and October.

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Queensland Resources Council says industry would welcome restrictions easing but new long-term customers since found elsewhere in Asia

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Australia would benefit from a lifting of China’s ban on its coal but any gains would likely be modest as miners have largely redirected supplies elsewhere, analysts said.

Shares of ASX-listed coalminers shot up on Wednesday after reports China was considering lifting its restrictions on coal imports from Australia from April. The ban was imposed in mid-2020 amid deteriorating bilateral relations that have since begun to improve.

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A series of reports have found Australian forests are continuing to be cleared at globally significant levels, to the point where some could become net carbon emitters in the coming decades in the face of the ever-increasing impacts of climate change while putting domestic biodiversity under pressure.

The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) has picked four project proposals across Latin America and the Caribbean for an initiative seeking to find innovative ways to use digital assets to promote biodiversity conservation and climate change action.

A daily summary of our news plus bite-sized updates from around the world.

As a key member of the experienced Carbon team, you will be in charge of developing and managing carbon operations and expertise within PUR. In this role you will work with all our teams (Africa, Europe, Asia, North America and Latin America) and perform a wide range of activities.

As a key member of the experienced Carbon team, you will be in charge of developing and managing carbon models and forecasts within PUR. In this role you will work with our teams across the globe (Africa, Europe, Asia, North America and Latin America) and perform a wide range of activities.

The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) on Wednesday proposed amendments that would remove carbon allowances from auctions under the in-state Global Warming Solutions Act (GWSA) cap-and-trade system that are associated with supplying waste steam.

The next stage in the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality’s (DEQ) cap-and-trade rulemaking process scheduled for January has been postponed, the agency’s spokesperson told Carbon Pulse, potentially pushing back implementation of the RGGI-aligned programme.

California lawmakers could pursue several options that would bolster the environmental performance of the state’s WCI-linked cap-and-trade regulation, which as currently structured will not meet the state’s 2030 GHG reduction target, a government body said in a report published Wednesday.

Hopes of a new weapon against diseases that routinely ravage colonies that are relied upon for food pollination

The world’s first vaccine for honeybees has been approved for use by the US government, raising hopes of a new weapon against diseases that routinely ravage colonies that are relied upon for food pollination.

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has granted a conditional license for a vaccine created by Dalan Animal Health, a US biotech company, to help protect honeybees from American foulbrood disease.

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Offset registry Climate Action Reserve (CAR) laid out a timeline for developing a livestock protocol specific to the Dominican Republic on Wednesday, as the Caribbean country continues to ramp up its international carbon credit strategy.

Taking Root is seeking a Project Development Analyst who will provide key analyst support for the Expansion Team through performing desk and on-the-ground research, interviews, documentation review, insight compilation and presentation, report writing, note taking, and other tasks as assigned. Areas of content focus for the role will include: forest carbon projects, country-level and global policy review, economic modeling, tropical farming community input, and agroforestry systems with agricultural commodities such as cocoa and coffee, high-value timber, fuelwood, and fruits.

Taking Root is seeking a Market Certification Lead who will play a key part in ensuring that Taking Root’s carbon projects and products are aligned with our projects’ certifications, principally the Plan Vivo Standard. Reporting to the Director of Methodology and Standards, this role is critical in leading and managing these certification activities so that our projects can continue to plant trees into the future.

Taking Root is seeking an Android Developer to lead the development new features for our mobile app, which is used to collect carbon data around the world. Reporting to the Engineering Manager, you will work closely with the data science and reforestation teams to incorporate the best techniques to survey, measure, and monitor carbon captured through agroforestry.

More of us than ever want to see the ice continent. But is the environmental awakening many return with worth the emissions and possible environmental damage? Elizabeth Leane, Professor of English and Associate Dean, Research Performance, University of Tasmania Anne Hardy, Associate Professor, Tourism and Society, University of Tasmania Can Seng Ooi, Professor, University of Tasmania Carolyn Philpott, Senior Lecturer in Musicology, Conservatorium of Music, School of Creative Arts and Media; Adjunct Senior Researcher, Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, University of Tasmania, University of Tasmania Hanne E.F. Nielsen, Lecturer, University of Tasmania Katie Marx, PhD Candidate, Centre for Marine Socioecology, University of Tasmania Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Sugar water feeding in cities helps native nectar-eating birds in winter, but it’s important to use the right feeders to avoid pathogens. Daria Erastova, Doctoral researcher, University of Auckland Ellen Hume, Doctoral researcher of social ecological systems, University of Auckland Margaret Stanley, Associate professor, University of Auckland Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

The European Commission will set out a new bloc-wide industrial strategy by the end of January amid growing pressure by industry and member states to avoid de-industrialisation and help big-emitting  companies decarbonise amid high energy prices, a Commission spokesperson said on Wednesday.

Carbon market broker Matt Udberg of ICAP assesses trading patterns in the voluntary carbon market as a shift in volume from physical markets to futures brought an influx of new counterparties over 2022.

Germany failed to meet its emissions reduction targets in 2022 largely due to a rise in coal and oil consumption triggered by high energy prices caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, German think-tank Agora Energiewende said in a report published on Wednesday.