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Huge scale of human-driven loss of species demands urgent action, say world’s leading scientists

Earth’s wildlife populations have plunged by an average of 69% in just under 50 years, according to a leading scientific assessment, as humans continue to clear forests, consume beyond the limits of the planet and pollute on an industrial scale.

From the open ocean to tropical rainforests, the abundance of birds, fish, amphibians and reptiles is in freefall, declining on average by more than two-thirds between 1970 and 2018, according to the WWF and Zoological Society of London’s (ZSL) biennial Living Planet Report. Two years ago, the figure stood at 68%, four years ago, it was at 60%.

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Indonesia would be able to exit coal-fired power by 2040 with investments of $37 billion, but this cost compares favourably over the long term with recent annual subsidies to coal plants amounting to $10 bln annually and the high cost of deploying CCUS, according to research released on Thursday.

Bills and regulations approved last quarter are expected to impact California’s emissions forecasts, the supply and demand for California Carbon Allowances (CCA) in the state’s cap-and-trade scheme, and allowance prices, a webinar heard Wednesday, based on four scenarios presented by an analysis firm.

The Washington Clean Fuels Program (WCFP) will build up a substantial credit bank over its first two years as low-carbon fuels will easily beat the GHG reduction goals of the transportation sector system, according to a report released Wednesday.

The United States Geological Survey has a vast collection of satellite images capturing breathtaking geological features of our planet. As a geologist, I’ve picked eight of the most fascinating. Emily Finch, Research Affiliate, Monash University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Gabon's upcoming massive issuance of carbon credits comes with extensive co-benefits and the ability to scale, the nation's environment minister Lee White said on Wednesday.

A broad consensus of EU nations support a gas on gas prices for power generation, EU energy commissioner Kadri Simson said on Wednesday after a "difficult" informal meeting of the bloc's energy ministers.

A carbon credit ratings agency downgraded a Canadian VCS-registered project to its lowest score amid fresh information and a review.

The weakening of CORSIA’s post-2023 emissions baseline last week will depress airlines’ carbon credit demand by 30% compared to UN body ICAO’s original plan, a market research provider said Wednesday.

The World Bank, in partnership with the government of Singapore and the International Emissions Trading Association (IETA), will launch a decentralised metadata layer for operational use in December that will enable end-to-end offset data sharing and transparency for carbon markets. 

Dozens of environmental protesters and supporters of Insulate Britain blocked central London roads outside the Houses of Parliament as Liz Truss faced prime minister's questions.

At around 11.30am on Wednesday, 26 supporters blocked the roads around Parliament Square at two points demanding the government pledge to insulate homes in the UK.

Several groups of supporters of the Just Stop Oil campaign also stood in protests behind Downing Street. The roadblocks were part of the Just Stop Oil coalition’s month-long campaign of non-violent civil resistance across central London

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Australian and UK researchers grow brain cells in a lab that have learned to play a 1970s video game.

Group’s London return comes as Met chief says climate action is not yet so disruptive that he must shut it down

Supporters of Insulate Britain have joined Just Stop Oil protesters on the streets of London, as the chief of the Metropolitan police said daily protests by climate activists had yet to reach a legal threshold of causing “major disruption” required for the force to shut them down.

Just after 11am on Wednesday, about two dozen members of the group, which shot to fame last autumn with a series of blockades of major London roads, walked into the road outside parliament, sat down and glued themselves to the ground.

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The head of emissions at a Swiss commodity trading firm and a carbon options trader from a Czech utility have left their respective firms to join a UK-based energy investment fund.

Federal government green bank backs low-cost solar innovator SunDrive alongside tech billionaire Mike Cannon-Brookes in $21m funding round.

The post CEFC joins Cannon-Brookes in funding round for Aussie solar innovator appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Graham Stuart tells MPs that awarding more than 100 licences for North Sea drilling is a green policy

Fracking and drilling for new oil and gas in the North Sea is green and good for the environment, Liz Truss’s new climate minister said on Wednesday.

Graham Stuart insisted that awarding more than 100 licences to companies for North Sea drilling, covering almost 900 locations, and rolling out fracking across the countryside, were green policies. He told MPs on the environmental audit committee that drilling for new fossil fuels would help the UK reach net zero by 2050.

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The gap between the supply and demand of eligible carbon credits for cancellation against South Africa's domestic carbon tax will average 100 million across each trading phase until at least 2030, and continue well into the 2030s, a conference heard Wednesday.

Study finds chemical companies dodging federal law designed to track how many PFAS plants are pumping into environment

Chemical companies are dodging a federal law designed to track how many PFAS “forever chemicals” their plants are discharging into the environment by exploiting a loophole created in the Trump administration’s final months, a new analysis of federal records has found.

The Fiscal Year 2020 National Defense Authorization Act put in place requirements that companies discharging over 100lbs annually of the dangerous chemicals report the releases to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). But during the implementation process, Trump’s EPA created an unusual loophole that at least five chemical companies have exploited.

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EUAs posted a healthy rally on Wednesday morning as a firm Polish auction triggered buying activity, with a 2 million tonne drop in investment funds' net short position also boosting sentiment, while energy prices were largely stable as EU ministers met to discuss ways to cap the price of natural gas used for power generation.

Committee report says government approach on guiding people in tackling climate crisis is muddled and inadequate

A third of the UK’s emissions reductions must come from people’s behaviour changing, a House of Lords committee has said.

A report published on Wednesday by the upper house’s environment and climate change committee urged ministers to lead a public campaign and use regulations and taxation to guide public behaviour change in order to stop the decline of nature and reach legally binding net zero targets.

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