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US climate envoy says he will publicly criticise UK’s approval of Cumbrian mine if it adds to emissions

John Kerry, the US climate official, has said he is closely examining the UK government’s approval of a new coalmine, over concerns that it will raise greenhouse gas emissions and send the wrong signal to developing countries.

Kerry, Joe Biden’s special envoy for climate, said he was taking a close interest in the mine, the first to get the go-ahead in the UK for 30 years, and that he would speak out publicly against the approval if it did not meet strict criteria.

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High court will rule next week on challenge brought by Alexander Darwall to remove right to wild camp on moor

Wild campers are planning to hold protests against a landowner’s attempts to outlaw sleeping under the stars on Dartmoor.

Rallies attended by those who camp, and those who support the right to, will take place on Dartmoor on Saturday and outside the high court in London on Monday to express fierce public opposition to an attempt to legally overturn the right to camp in Dartmoor national park.

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Experts describe it as a ‘beautiful endemic rainforest species’, one of several that have not been seen for decades

• Marine life hit by ‘perfect storm’ as red list reveals species close to extinction
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The mountain mist frog, a species once found across two-thirds of Australia’s wet tropics, has been declared extinct on the International Union for Conservation of Nature red list.

The last recorded sighting of the frog, most commonly found near Thornton Peak, north-west of Cairns, was in April 1990. It is believed to have been wiped out by chytrid fungus, a disease that attacks the skin and has destroyed amphibian populations across the globe, though a reduction in its natural habitat due to rising temperatures driven by greenhouse gas emissions may have also played a role.

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

While scientists agree on the dire state of life on Earth, they don't always agree on how we should describe it.

Compliance entities and financials reduced their California Carbon Allowances (CCAs) over annual contract rolling and rebalancing activity, while RGGI Allowances (RGAs) were picked up by regulated entities ahead of the last allowance sale for the year, according to US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) data published Friday.

California free carbon permit distributions to industrials increased slightly for 2023 as economic sectors likely saw their production bounce back after the earlier stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to data from state regulator ARB published on Friday.

Gold Standard has dismissed the UK government’s statement that the standard body’s carbon credits could be used to mitigate a controversial new coal mine in the UK, branding the offsetting justification as “nonsense” and against its guidance.

2023 is shaping up to be a year filled with climate action from businesses, as new regulations come into place and carbon data becomes key to meeting reduction targets. Rachel Delacour, CEO of Sweep, Europe’s leading carbon management and reduction platform, shares her insights to help businesses get ahead of the curve. 

The Senior Program Officer, Carbon will be the recognized focal point for the project in Lao PDR and will have overall responsibility for timely and high-quality project delivery. The position-holder will provide day-to-day technical and strategic guidance and management, as well as liaise externally to ensure impactful delivery of the project and its outputs.

A French investment bank this week launched an exchange-traded commodity (ETC) contract in Europe that tracks EU carbon prices.

The Canadian government confirmed on Thursday that it would end new direct public support for the international fossil fuels energy sector by the end of 2022, in keeping with a pledge made at COP26 last year.

EUA prices dipped on Friday but still managed a weekly gain, as a supportive energy complex and options-related positioning eclipsed warnings that the recent rally to a three-month high is overdone.

Eight projects for energy infrastructure across Belgium, Croatia, France, Ireland, Italy, Austria, Poland, Romania, Slovenia, and Tunisia are set to receive a total of €602 million from the Connecting Europe Facility after gaining approval from Brussels on Friday.

RGGI's Q4 auction this week cleared at the lowest level in over a year amid weaker demand from compliance entities, according to results published Friday.

Unsustainable human activity putting dugongs, abalone shellfish and pillar coral at risk of disappearing, says latest IUCN update

Illegal and unsustainable fishing, fossil fuel exploration, the climate crisis and disease are pushing marine species to the brink of extinction, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) red list, with populations of dugongs, abalone shellfish and pillar coral at risk of disappearing for ever.

Marine life is facing a “perfect storm” of human overconsumption, threatening the survival of some of the world’s most expensive seafood, according to the conservation organisation, which publishes the most up-to-date information on the health of wildlife populations on Earth.

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A new extinction list reveals grave conservation concern for a 'sea cow' that inspired tales of mermaids.

Exclusive: Despite demands from water campaigners, there will be no overall target for river health

Water pollution goals are to be weakened by the government next week, the Guardian can reveal, as Environment Act targets will give farmers three extra years to reduce their waste dumping into waterways.

River campaigners have said the news is proof the government has not dropped its “attack on nature”.

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Open Spaces Society secures re-registration of 116 hectares of ‘splendid’ moorland’ for common use

More than 100 hectares of some of the most stunning landscape in west Cornwall has finally been recognised as common land, protecting it for the public 140 years after it was threatened with enclosure.

Lizard Downs was authorised for enclosure – the act of taking ownership of common land – in 1880 but the proposed fencing off never happened.

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Female calf named Nessa will help efforts to protect species, of which fewer than 2,500 remain in the wild

An endangered Malayan tapir has been born at a UK zoo, in what the zoo said was an “important moment” for conservation.

The female calf, which zookeepers have named Nessa, was born weighing 9kg on Wednesday at Chester zoo, one of only two places in the country to keep tapirs, a species related to the horse and the rhinoceros.

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