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The talking is over, and a text has been agreed on the next decade of targets to save the natural world. Here are the highs and lows of the Convention of Biological Diversity’s (CBD) agreement

The term “nature positive”, which scientists had said would be the biodiversity equivalent of “net zero”, did not make the final document. Many will see this as a missed opportunity – a unifying idea similar to keeping global heating to within 1.5C. However, the 2030 goal to “take urgent action to halt and reverse biodiversity loss” is still considered a relatively strong call to action.

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The Montreal biodiversity conference set some ambitious targets. It’s now up to nations – including the UK – to step up

I don’t normally finish United Nations Cop meetings with a smile on my face. Yet as the sun sets on the UN biodiversity conference, Cop15, in Montreal with a global agreement for nature’s recovery, I’m walking away feeling rather more optimistic than I did only a fortnight ago.

In the early hours of Monday morning in Montreal, Canada, nearly 200 countries agreed and adopted a new “global biodiversity framework” containing various goals and targets. The pact requires all nations – particularly the UK – to dramatically up their game on protecting and restoring nature.

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A fund set up as an alternative to carbon offsetting has launched a three-pronged call for proposals ahead of its third round of allocations of grants and pre-purchases in Q2 2023.

EU environment ministers welcomed nature restoration proposals from the European Commission during a preliminary discussion on Tuesday, but several major economies in the bloc expressed concern over the finances needed and that national contexts be fully taken into account.

We knew the flood waters were coming, but no one could prepare for what struck our NSW town

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A month after a wall of water hit my farm and smashed through Eugowra, the level of trauma and destruction in our community remains difficult to describe.

There were 159 official rescues reported by the New South Wales State Emergency Servicein a town of 700. Everyone who could help did, so including those saved by locals it’s probably more like 300-400 rescued. We lost two of our loved people.

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A critical letter about the treatment of indigenous people in a jurisdictional forestry conservation project in Guyana involving the oil major Hess has been refuted by the standards body crediting the scheme, the jurisdictional Architecture for REDD+ Transactions (ART) programme.

Dec-23 EUAs celebrated their first day as the benchmark contract by posting gains as traders began to accumulate positions amid light volumes, while energy prices continued to decline as weather forecasts called for milder temperatures.

There is a risk that references to nature positive goals will become a tactic used to distract consumers and the public from a continued failure to manage development impacts on biodiversity. This risk must not be overlooked as implementation of the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework begins, write a group of biodiversity and conservation experts.

China should accelerate the inclusion of the cement industry in the national emissions trading market and leverage the role of carbon pricing to push for decarbonisation, as low-carbon technology is likely to increase cement production costs and create a significant green premium in the near term, an industry group has urged.

Lawyer in a civil lawsuit launched by towns in hurricane-hit Puerto Rico describes why it is using laws used to target mob bosses

The same racketeering legislation used to bring down mob bosses, motorcycle gangs, football executives and international fraudsters is to be tested against oil and coal companies who are accused of conspiring to deceive the public over the climate crisis.

In an ambitious move, an attempt will be made to hold the fossil fuel industry accountable for “decades of deception” in a lawsuit being brought by communities in Puerto Rico that were devastated by Hurricane Maria in 2017.

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Australian iron ore producer Fortescue Metals Group (FMG) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with three partner companies to develop technology for net zero emissions ironmaking, the company announced on Tuesday.

The spot price for Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs) inched up to a five-month high over the last week, thanks to a flurry of end-of-year activity in anticipation of market reforms, according to analysis.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo is one of the world’s most biodiverse countries, and its objections raised the prospect of legal challenges

A once-in-a-decade deal to halt the destruction of Earth’s ecosystems finally won full support at Cop15 in Montreal on Monday after the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) dropped its opposition.

Earlier on Monday, Ève Bazaiba, the DRC’s environment minister, threatened to throw the integrity of the historic UN biodiversity agreement into doubt just hours after it was signed, when China’s summit president appeared to ignore her country’s objections to the text and forced it through.

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In her book, Forty Farms, the photographer has documented rural life across Cumbria, from the mountains of the Lake District to coastal salt marshes, over 12 months during Covid lockdown

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The Australian government is seeking feedback on draft legislation released Tuesday that looks to include emissions reductions as part of the country’s National Energy Objectives (NEO).

Mature trees found in UK forests play a critical role in fighting climate change, a study suggests

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

Federal Energy and Climate Minister Chris Bowen discusses the stream of new announcements in the last month, and what’s in store for 2023.

The post Energy Insiders Podcast: Chris Bowen on gas, batteries, EVs, wind and targets appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Chris Bowen dismisses gas as transition fuel, says focus is on batteries and pumped hydro. And he discusses major new legislation on capacity, EVs, safeguards and climate targets.

The post Chris Bowen: Gas is neither a transition fuel, nor low emissions. But at least it’s flexible appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Victoria's grid has recorded a new operational demand low thanks to solar power generated on rooftops.

The post Rooftop solar takes biggest bite yet out of brown coal’s Christmas lunch appeared first on RenewEconomy.