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One scientist on why we should all pay more attention to the hidden world beneath our feet.

In 1971 Edward Carpenter discovered plastic floating about in the Atlantic Ocean.

December 2022 was third-busiest month on record for solar panel installation partly driven by spiking electricity prices

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When record rainfall caused flooding in south-east Queensland last February, Steve McLean’s solar installers were kept off roofs, blowing a $60,000 hole in his firm’s budget and setting back what might have been another record year for his business.

“If we didn’t do a system for five weeks, you can imagine that no one else did … We got absolutely smashed in February and March,” McLean, the owner of Gold Coast Solar Systems, said. “If you take that number out of the marketplace, well, that was disastrous.”

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The government wrote to the then Prince of Wales in 2019, seeking approval for legislation that had implications for his estates

The government asked King Charles for permission to pass its post-Brexit “world-leading” Environment Act because laws requiring landowners to enhance conservation could affect his business interests.

Environment minister Rebecca Pow wrote to the then Prince of Wales in 2019 to ask if he would accept section seven of the environment bill, which became law in November 2021.

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Climate activist also denounced ‘police violence’ against campaigners at the abandoned village of Lützerath

Greta Thunberg is calling for people to join her in a protest against the expansion of a coalmine that will demolish a small German village, denouncing “police violence” against environmental campaigners resisting the demolition.

“Germany is really embarrassing itself right now,” the climate activist said during her visit to the abandoned village of Lützerath, ahead of a planned protest on Saturday.

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Photographer Tracey Nearmy spotted this koala climbing down a tree in South Australia's Adelaide Hills on a hot Saturday when temperatures reached 35-40C. After giving the thirsty marsupial a drink, Nearmy and her friend alerted staff at the nearby Carrick Hill historic house who often leave water at the base of the trees for the local koala colony. They said they would take a bucket of water up to this one in case it needed more to drink

• Firefighters battle blaze in Adelaide Hills as residents of Montacute advised to take shelter

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Bill payers stand to collectively save billions if minimum standard raised to a C rating, research suggests

Raising the minimum standard of energy efficiency to a C rating for privately rented homes would save bill payers about £570 a year, research has found.

This would amount to annual savings totalling £1.75bn across the UK, according to the thinktank E3G in a report called Cutting Energy Bills and Raising Standards for Private Renters.

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Sale by retailers and food outlets in England of single-use plastic tableware to be banned but not ‘shelf-ready pre-packaged food’ containers

Single-use plastic plates, cutlery and a range of other items will be banned in England from October, to curb their “devastating” impact on the environment, the government has confirmed.

The Department for the Environment said the ban will also cover single-use plastic bowls, trays and certain types of polystyrene cups and food containers.

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

More details emerge of a ban that businesses say could make takeaways more costly.

The Architecture for REDD+ Transactions (ART) Program on late Friday afternoon announced it has approved a listing for Ethiopia under The REDD+ Environmental Excellency Standard (TREES), as well as a monitoring report for Guyana’s emissions reductions achieved in 2021.

Regulated parties increased their holdings across North American carbon markets, adding to California Carbon Allowance (CCA) and RGGI Allowance (RGA) net length this week, while financials reduced net interest across both markets, according to US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) data published Friday.

A summary of legislative, regulatory, and policy action on carbon and low-carbon fuel standard markets at the US federal and subnational levels this week, including a carbon offset and CCUS management proposal in Alaska, GHG reduction goal legislation in Colorado, and a constitutional amendment package for regulations in Pennsylvania. 

A carbon credit ratings agency has put a highly-ranked Verra-certified REDD project on ratings watch for a potential downgrade, with a Gold Standard biogas project also facing scrutiny.

A California-based carbon removal company on Thursday announced it has raised $12 mln to accelerate its technology to sequester atmospheric CO2 directly from ocean water, for which tech giants have recently committed to pay nearly $1,000/tonne.

The EU should use one or more funding tools for clean tech investment so the bloc can ensure global competitiveness, European Commission’s president Ursula von der Leyen said on Friday. 

The United Arab Emirates on Friday made plans to advance its green hydrogen cooperation with the the Netherlands and the UK, adding to a pact stuck with Germany by this year’s UN climate talks host and furthering its ambition to becoming a major exporter of the fuel.

Seaweed farming can be a powerful tool to capture carbon and transform regional economies in the EU but it is being hindered by an overly-complicated and costly regulatory process, according to a report prepared for the European Commission and published on Friday.

Norway-based Chooose on Friday announced a $15 mln capital raise from several venture capital firms to expand its climate tech platform that provides access to carbon offsets, removals, and sustainable aviation fuels.

The UK should set out a clearer pre-and post-2030 pathway for its ETS and give assurances for industry on carbon leakage risk, according to a government-commissioned review of the nation's net zero strategy published on Friday that also called for voluntary carbon market regulation within two years.