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Most business executives see the voluntary carbon market (VCM) as an important tool to meet near-term climate goals, according to a survey published on Thursday, with responses also raising significant concerns that some companies are using carbon credits for greenwashing.

World Meteorological Organization data shows last year’s average temperature was 1.15C more than pre-industrial levels

The relentless challenge of global heating has again been underscored by the tally of a passing year, with 2022 ranking as one of the warmest years ever recorded and the past eight years now collectively the hottest documented by modern science.

Last year’s average temperature was about 1.15C warmer globally than levels seen in the pre-industrial era, according to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), with searing, record heat enveloping much of Europe and Asia, which both experienced their second hottest years on record. Europe had its warmest ever summer.

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New research reveals dolphins struggle to communicate and work together as noise pollution increases.

The United Arab Emirates has selected state oil firm boss Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber as president of the next UN climate conference to be held in the nation in December, angering climate campaigners who likened the appointment to a cigarette company leader being put in charge of a health conference.

The EU ETS will move from oversupply to significant tightness towards the end of the decade and beyond, analysts said on Thursday, assessing the overall impact of recently-agreed reforms that have the overall effect of backloading ambition for several years. 

Female killer whale died after grounding itself north of Daytona Beach in first recorded instance in south-eastern US

Wildlife officials in Florida will conduct a necropsy to determine the cause of death of a 21ft (6.4-metre) orca, the first recorded instance of a killer whale beaching itself in the south-eastern US.

The female orca was still alive when it came ashore in Flagler county, about 30 miles north of Daytona Beach, early on Wednesday, but died before rescuers arrived.

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The row between Mike Cannon-Brookes and Andrew Forrest over Sun Cable reveals the technical, economic and even geopolitical hurdles to completion

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Behind the “billionaire biffo” between Mike Cannon-Brookes and Andrew Forrest over the future of Sun Cable is a project that has analysts dubbing “visionary” but also “extremely ambitious”.

In Australia’s first big business story of the year, Sun Cable was placed into voluntary administration on Wednesday. That signalled the company won’t be able to meet debt payments without another injection of funds said to be $60m, with Forrest the one not “aligned” with other investors in a willingness to dig deep again.

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EUAs made robust gains on Thursday morning with traders highlighting apparently healthy demand in the run-up to compliance season, as buyers were seen looking to catch up on purchases delayed in 2022 amid high initial margin requirements and energy prices.

The new super space observatory probes a dynamic star factory 200,000 light years from Earth.

Baby to be named after a rock or pop star as primatologists say only about 18,000 left across Africa

Conservationists are celebrating the birth of the “world’s rarest chimpanzee” at a UK zoo.

Chester zoo has welcomed the arrival of the male critically endangered western or west African chimpanzee, which was delivered after an eight-month pregnancy.

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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).

Indian carbon offset developer EKI Energy Services will collaborate with DNV to promote awareness and support governance to develop a climate transition ecosystem, which will involve its provision of advisory services to the classification society’s assurance customers to help them reach their carbon neutral goals, the two entities announced on Thursday.

Shenzhen, home to more than 12 million people, has released a set of accounting guidelines for ocean-based carbon sink projects, as a broader ambition for the Chinese megacity to explore the potential of blue carbon.

Four organisations in the UK and Peru have partnered with the aim to facilitate one or more pilot biodiversity stewardship credits (BCS) transactions in a bid to create a model for future growth of a biodiversity market.

The CEO of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company has been chosen as president-designate of key climate meeting.

A man has directed traffic on a busy Queensland road to provide a path for the furry marsupial to cross into the safety of the forest on the other side. Will Thornton was having a coffee on his balcony at his Burleigh Heads home when he spotted the koala 'determined to cross the highway'

• Rare snowy owl’s ‘thrilling’ migration enchants California suburb

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Local government survey shows 26 council sites already spilling waste on to cliffs and into sea

Hundreds of ageing landfill dumps on the coast of England containing plastics, chemicals and other waste are a ticking timebomb threatening to leach pollution on to beaches and into the sea, new research shows.

The waste sites date back 100 years in some cases, and little is known about what has been dumped in them. Climate breakdown with associated rising sea levels and flooding are increasing the risk of a cocktail of pollutants entering the sea.

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As the Australian government seeks input on its draft legislation for its Nature Repair Market, policy watchers warn that its so-called Green Wall Street will crash if it doesn’t lead investment in the market.

The global market for key mass-manufactured clean energy technologies will reach around $650 billion per year by 2030, around three times the current level, if countries worldwide fully implement their announced climate policies and pledges, the International Energy Agency (IEA) stated in a report released on Thursday.

Group says forcing polluters to store carbon dioxide underground is needed to help world reach net zero

Fossil fuel companies should be forced to “take back” the carbon dioxide emitted from their products, handing them direct responsibility for cleaning up the climate, a group of scientists has argued.

The principle that the producer of pollution should pay for its clean-up is established around the world, but has never been applied to the climate crisis.

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