Feed aggregator

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.

Continue reading...

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”.

Continue reading...

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.

Continue reading...

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.

Continue reading...

Culls and compensation have cost hundreds of millions of pounds in the US, UK and Europe, with current outbreak predicted to worsen

More than 140 million birds have died and hundreds of millions of pounds have been spent in the past year in the US, UK and EU in tackling bird flu, as some experts said continual culling was “morally” wrong.

With an international agreement on the use of vaccinations likely to be one or two years away, the situation will probably worsen this winter as outbreaks of bird flu continue to rise.

Continue reading...

A rating agency has warned a cookstove project in Nepal has a moderate chance of achieving CO2 avoidance or removal because of additionality risks, while placing another six projects on watch for a potential ratings change, including three REDD+ projects in Kenya.

It’s not just indifference. It’s an active, and deadly, cavalier attitude towards the lives of others: an example other nations follow

There are two extraordinary facts about the convention on biological diversity, whose members are meeting in Montreal now to discuss the global ecological crisis. The first is that, of the world’s 198 states, 196 are party to it. The second is the identity of those that aren’t. Take a guess. North Korea? Russia? Wrong. Both ratified the convention years ago. One is the Holy See (the Vatican). The other is the United States of America.

This is one of several major international treaties the US has refused to ratify. Among the others are crucial instruments such as the Rome statute on international crimes, the treaties banning cluster bombs and landmines, the convention on discrimination against women, the Basel convention on hazardous waste, the convention on the law of the sea, the nuclear test ban treaty, the employment policy convention and the convention on the rights of persons with disabilities.

Continue reading...

Experts call for schemes to help fruit growers keep trees and preserve habitats vital for biodiversity

Farmers are ripping up orchards because they are unable to afford to keep them, the president of the National Farmers’ Union (NFU) has said, in a major blow for biodiversity.

The increasing cost of labour and spiralling energy costs have meant fruit growers are removing trees from their land, Minette Batters said.

Continue reading...

UK-based non-profit Global Canopy has cooperated with a number of financial market participants to draw up guidelines for how global family offices can help put pressure on asset managers to rid their portfolios of activities that drive deforestation.

An Indian start-up has raised $4 million in a seed round as it seeks to expand its operations in South Asia, it announced on Friday.

An Australian market firm has updated its base case spot price forecast for Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCU) in light of the expected changes to the Safeguard Mechanism, as a policy watcher urged the government to expand the scope of scheme’s design.

Bursa Malaysia officially launched its voluntary carbon market (VCM) exchange on Friday, to be known as BCX, an initiative jointly developed with the Malaysian ministries of environment and finance, as the Southeast Asian nation seeks to unlock sources of VCM revenue to help meet its climate and environmental policy goals.

The best of this week’s wildlife pictures, including a released snow leopard, a rescued bear and a very large flower

Continue reading...

Agency aims to double the number of schemes it supports after success of £15m pilot projects

Low-tech “natural” flood management such as using natural materials to slow river flow and storing flood water on meadows will play a key role in preventing future floods, according to the chief executive of the Environment Agency.

Sixty pilot natural flood management projects have helped protect 15,000 homes and create storage for up to 1.6m cubic metres of flood water, while also helping nature recovery on 380 miles (610km) of river and on 4,000 hectares of wetlands and woodlands.

Continue reading...

Everything has been real hard so let’s enjoy whatever we can whenever we can

• Sign up here to get an email whenever First Dog cartoons are published
• Get all your needs met at the First Dog shop if what you need is First Dog merchandise and prints

Continue reading...

Australian solar thermal technology developer puts in order for 13,500 sodium-ion batteries to form part of its proposed hybrid energy hub in Mt Isa.

The post Vast Solar puts in huge sodium-ion battery order for Mt Isa hybrid power hub appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Andrew Forrest's Squadron Energy has nearly a dozen big battery project proposals as the market focuses on "firmed" renewable power supplies.

The post Squadron plans nearly a dozen big batteries in push for “firm” renewables appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Squadron Energy CEO Eva Hanly discusses Squadron Energy’s surprise $4 billion plus purchase of CWP. Plus: Energy ministers come up with a storage plan.

The post Energy Insiders Podcast: Andrew Forrest’s big Australian power play appeared first on RenewEconomy.