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

A flickering black and white effect could further reduce bird collisions with offshore wind turbines.

The post Could zebra stripes steer birds clear of offshore wind turbines? appeared first on RenewEconomy.

ESB has not reacted well to its latest policy humiliation. Critics say it should be wound up.

The post Humiliated ESB reacts badly to its policy rejections, industry wants it shut down appeared first on RenewEconomy.

The common timber treatment CCA is made up of heavy metals copper, chromium and arsenic. They don’t decompose and leach into soil and water. Why does New Zealand still allow its use? Clemens Altaner, Associate Professor in Wood Science, University of Canterbury Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Verra has restored the registry account of the developer of a REDD+ project in Papua New Guinea after it had temporarily suspended it to investigate allegations aired by an Australian news programme.

The New Zealand government has committed NZ$9 million ($5.5 mln) in its upcoming budget to support research and development into cutting agricultural GHG emissions, as it expects to make a decision on how to fund its international crediting arrangements before the next election.

One of the biggest proponents of offshore wind projects in Australia fears a skills shortage as it competes for engineers and onshore workers.

The post Offshore wind giant hopes to avert skills crisis in training deal with Melbourne Uni appeared first on RenewEconomy.

New research provides insights into the evolution and ecology of Australian bees. The capricious masked bee employs female nest guards in a cooperative social structure. Meanwhile, fussy feeders abound. James B. Dorey, Adjunct Associate Professor, Flinders University Lucas Hearn, Researcher, Flinders University Mike Lee, Professor in Evolutionary Biology (jointly appointed with South Australian Museum), Flinders University Patricia S. Slattery, Postgraduate Student, Flinders University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Absence of long-term plan could deter investors or lead them to increase prices, says National Audit Office

Ministers’ efforts to tackle the energy bills crisis have left the UK at risk of missing a key target to source green power and are threatening the country’s net zero goal, the government spending watchdog has said.

The government said in 2021 it wanted all electricity to be generated from low-carbon sources by 2035, a pillar in the plan to reduce carbon emissions to net zero by 2050.

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California regulator ARB’s Board will vote on the state's forthcoming regulatory package to strengthen the WCI-linked carbon market by the end of 2024, with those changes potentially going into effect the following year, a government official told a watchdog meeting on Tuesday.

Rooftop solar installed on Australian homes and businesses will generate more power than the nation's remaining coal plants when Liddell closes in April.

The post Rooftop solar set to eclipse coal as installations reach more than 20GW appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Australia in danger of missing massive opportunity in green hydrogen as capital, projects and people flee to US because of tax and production incentives.

The post Forrest says Australia will miss green hydrogen bus as projects, capital and people head to US appeared first on RenewEconomy.

The Quebec environment ministry on Tuesday said it will consider potential regulatory amendments to its cap-and-trade programme this year that may address its emissions budget stringency and the allowance surplus in the linked market with California.

EU lawmaker scrutiny of the bloc's proposal for a certification scheme for voluntary carbon removals is taking shape, with senior MEPs already wary about leaving key decisions to Brussels officials and considering how removals would be included in the bloc's ETS.

EU legislators have a delicate task crafting law to eliminate F-gases used in fridges and air conditioners, because the potent climate-heating substances are also found in many of the heat pumps expected to play a critical role in the bloc's efforts to reach net zero emissions.

The RGGI states next month will host the first meeting since 2021 of the cap-and-trade market’s third programme review, intending to assess the successes, impacts, and design elements of the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic US power sector scheme.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s administration on Tuesday announced that major government suppliers will need to disclose their GHG emissions and implement science-based GHG reduction targets, mimicking a recent proposal south of the border.

An unusual feeding technique only recently observed by scientists was documented nearly 2,000 years ago, a study suggests

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Mysterious whale feeding behaviour only documented by scientists in the 2010s has been described in ancient texts about sea creatures as early as two millennia ago, new research suggests.

In 2011, Bryde’s whales in the Gulf of Thailand were first observed at the surface of the water with their jaws open at right angles, waiting for fish to swim into their mouths. Scientists termed the unusual technique, then unknown to modern science, as “tread-water feeding”. Around the same time, similar behaviour was spotted in humpback whales off Canada’s Vancouver Island, which researchers called “trap-feeding”.

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An unusual whale feeding technique first documented by scientists in the 2010s may have actually been described in ancient texts two millennia ago, researchers say. Researchers from Flinders University identified striking parallels between the behaviour of tread-water feeding and a sea creature named hafgufa from 13th century Old Norse texts. It is thought hafgufa can be traced back to the aspidochelone, a sea monster that first appeared in the ancient Greek text Physiologus. 'Definitive proof for the origins of myths is exceedingly rare and often impossible, but the parallels here are far more striking and persistent than any previous suggestions,' the researchers noted.

• Research reveals climate crisis is driving a rise in human-wildlife conflicts
• Record number of dolphins wash up on France’s Atlantic beaches
• Going to see a man about a dog: canine DNA tests lead to family reunions

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The UK government has issued carbon allowances for 2023 to stationary installations and aviation operators in the British carbon market, the market operator said on Tuesday.