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The European Commission's publication of its proposal for a Net Zero Industrial Act (NZIA) is facing last-minute uncertainty, with sources citing internal disagreements about how nuclear technologies should be dealt with.

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).

It took decades to force banks to abandon racist redlining. We don’t have decades to avert catastrophic climate crisis

The collapse of Silicon Valley Bank will bring many forms of fallout. One of the most obvious consequences is that the biggest banks – Chase, Citi, Wells Fargo, Bank of America – will probably get even bigger. That is why we’re joining protests across the United States outside hundreds of those banks’ branches on Tuesday, 21 March: if they’re going to hold that much power over the planet’s economy, we need them to recognize and help with our great crises. We need them not to do what they did last century, which is to ignore or exacerbate our deepest troubles.

Beginning in the 1930s, the federal government mapped America, grading neighborhoods to decide which ones were worthy of investment, literally drawing red lines on maps to make it crystal clear. Many mainly Black and Brown neighborhoods ended up with low grades, and most US banks made sure money didn’t flow in their direction. Nearly a century later, these neighborhoods still suffer. Lacking trees and parks, they are degrees warmer than nearby leafy communities. Their residents are condemned to a myriad of health issues, from asthma to kidney stones.

Ben Jealous is the executive director of the Sierra Club, the former executive director of the NAACP, and the author of Our People Have Always Been Free

Bill McKibben is the founder of Third Act, which organizes Americans over the age of 60 for action on climate and democracy

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Malaysia plans to establish itself as a regional hub for CCS in Asia, largely through its national oil company Petronas, with plans to develop infrastructure to store up to 10 million tonnes of CO2 annually by 2030, according to a presentation at a conference on Thursday.

An established REDD+ project developer has highlighted the major challenges standard body Verra is facing in revamping its avoided deforestation methodology, noting that greater engagement with developers could have helped.

A global forestry investment company has begun measuring biodiversity baselines across their assets in anticipation of emerging nature markets, a company representative said Thursday.

Vast numbers of people drinking water with levels that would be banned in the US, research shows

Pressure is building on UK ministers to tighten regulations on PFAS “forever chemicals” as research shows vast numbers of people are drinking water with levels that would be banned in the US.

On Tuesday, US president Joe Biden announced plans to drive down acceptable limits in drinking water to four nanograms per litre (4ng/l) for two types of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFOS and PFOA), and announced proposals to regulate four more – PFNA, PFHxS, PFBS and GenX Chemicals – as a mixture.

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Exclusive: Drastically weakened rules on how vessels document their catches of endangered species could endanger the marine ecosystem, confidential EU papers reveal

A push by EU fishing nations including France and Spain to weaken how fish catches are reported could see massive overfishing of endangered species and even “call into question” the whole point of setting quotas, according to confidential EU documents seen by the Guardian.

Europe’s most commonly fished species – which include mackerel, tuna, Atlantic herring and sprat – could be threatened under the latest proposal, which would apply to all vessels in EU waters.

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The decision comes after the failure of the first ever satellite mission launched from the UK.

Households and businesses are set for more hip-pocket pain after regulators flagged hefty electricity price rises in four Australian states. Ariel Liebman, Ariel Liebman Director, Monash Energy Institute and Professor of Sustainable Energy Systems, Faculty of Information Technology, Monash University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Oil and gas companies may have eased off on making carbon neutral claims for commodity shipments, but work to improve methodologies for calculating lifecycle emissions of cargoes is an ongoing task that will be key to the greater use of carbon neutral commodities as part of company decarbonisation strategies going forward, an industry conference was told on Thursday.

China’s environment ministry has released the final ETS allocation plan for the years 2021 and 2022, marginally easing the settings for coal-fired power plants compared to the previous draft while leaving the key issues of offset use and permit carryover unresolved.

We know the solution to the energy crisis, and it is not to pander to the demands of the war-profiteering, multinational gas cartel to create new supply.

The post There is no “gas shortage,” just a shortage of ethics and integrity from gas cartel appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Methods used on the Spanish farm would be "cruel" to such intelligent animals say experts, as details emerge.

Parts of England could face drought conditions again without sustained rain in coming weeks.

Three research projects aimed at reducing methane emissions from livestock will receive between $1 million and $3 million each in federal government funding.

The post Seaweed trials to slash methane from cow burps win federal funding appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Developer seeks approval to build a huge solar farm and big battery in southern Queensland's CSG heartland, opposite a black coal power plant.

The post Huge gigawatt scale solar and big battery project seeks approval in gas heartland appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Strong wind generation conditions help deliver what reports suggest is Europe's highest yet combined wind and solar hourly production peak.

The post Windy weather sets new renewable generation records across Europe appeared first on RenewEconomy.

New Zealand’s urban green space has dwindled over the past six decades. The Commissioner for the Environment has issued a warning and a challenge – get greener before climate change gets meaner. Timothy Welch, Senior Lecturer in Urban Planning, University of Auckland Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

University researcher gets grant to study voltage management that could boost solar uptake and lift reliability in vulnerable grids in regional areas.

The post Voltage control to boost solar penetration and reliability for vulnerable rural towns appeared first on RenewEconomy.