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Sustainability is key to survival of billions of people, says UN study, which notes income from wild species incentivises conservation

• Patrick Vallance: ‘We need to change if we’re to survive’

Wild plants, animals, fungi and algae support half of the world’s population but their future use is threatened by overexploitation, according to a new assessment by leading scientists.

From the 10,000 known wild species that humans harvest for food to the firewood that one in three people need for cooking, nature is key to the livelihoods and survival of billions of people in developed and developing countries, says a new UN report.

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The best of this week’s wildlife pictures, including baby lemurs, a fulmar and a sulphur-crested cockatoo

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Carbon was heading for its first five-day loss in a month on Friday morning, albeit amid modest volume and wide bid-offer spreads, while energy commodities also snapped their recent run of strong bullish performances amid speculation that gas flows from Russia could soon increase.

Tiwi elder Dennis Tipakalippa seeks to prevent drilling at Barossa gas project until a court challenge to project approvals is resolved.

The post Tiwi elder seeks injunction to block start of drilling at Santos Barossa gas project appeared first on RenewEconomy.

A landmark report calls for action to stop the over-exploitation of wild plants, animals and fungi.

Conservation manager Jake Fiennes says Norfolk’s Holkham estate shows how fragile ecosystems can support huge visitor numbers

The government should factor in access to nature in its new payments strategy for farmers and other landowners in England, a leading land manager has said.

Jake Fiennes, who sits on the board for Natural England’s national nature reserves, has advised the government to incentivise farmers to put better paths in place and educate the public about what they grow, and what nature lives on their land.

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Large tortoiseshells breeding at Knepp, Sussex, after being officially extinct in Britain for half a century

An elusive butterfly that has been officially extinct in Britain for more than half a century has been discovered breeding on the rewilded estate of Knepp in West Sussex.

The large tortoiseshell mysteriously vanished more than 50 years ago but this week male and female butterflies – much larger than the small tortoiseshell and without its white patterning – have been spotted at Knepp for the first time.

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Dramatic aerial images of how flooding has transformed the area after torrential rainfall over recent weeks

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The UK has dished out £54 million across multiple carbon removal projects as the country looks to scale the technology to meet its mid-century net-zero target, the government announced Friday.

Contract price is nearly 6% lower than previous auction in 2019, which could ease pressure on energy bills

The price of offshore wind power in the UK has fallen to an all-time low, which could ease the pressure on future household energy bills.

Following the biggest ever UK renewables auction, the government said on Thursday the contract price for windfarms was nearly 6% lower than the previous auction, despite the rising cost of materials to build windfarms.

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Total holdings of NZUs in the national registry were up around 9% in the June quarter year-on-year as speculators continue to take up a growing space in a market whose historical permit surplus keeps growing, an update by New Zealand’s Environmental Protection Authority showed.

Allowances in China’s carbon market edged up over the past week, although the lack of policy direction continues to dampen market participants’ enthusiasm.

Scientists call for limits on mining as study finds noise pollution could travel for hundreds of miles and from surface to sea bed

Noise pollution from proposed deep-sea mining could radiate through the ocean for hundreds of kilometres, scientists predict, creating a “cylinder of sound” from the surface to the sea bed.

An analysis by scientists from Oceans Initiative in the US, the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) in Japan, Curtin University in Australia and the University of Hawaii, published in the journal Science, has found that noise from one mine alone could travel 500km (more than 300 miles) in gentle weather conditions.

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Some of Australia’s biggest carbon emitters surrendered a total of 1.1 million units and certificates in financial year 2020/21, according to a new report by the Clean Energy Regulator that for the first time tracks company progress towards voluntary commitments, though many heavy emitters have made minimal progress on meeting their goals.  

Whither the larrikin?!! Where is that iconic laconic fellow with cheeky disdain for authority?

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Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province has significant forest carbon potential, with officials aiming to create a “gateway” for carbon offset buyers and for investors to channel finance towards forest carbon sequestration projects, a local voluntary carbon market working group forum was told on Thursday.

Particles found in supermarket products and on Dutch farms, but human health impacts unknown

Microplastic contamination has been reported in beef and pork for the first time, as well as in the blood of cows and pigs on farms.

Scientists at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (VUA) in the Netherlands found the particles in three-quarters of meat and milk products tested and every blood sample in their pilot study.

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Scientists believe tiny limbs gave the giant predator - named Meraxes gigas - survival advantages.

Regulators look into actions of energy retailers who shed tens of thousands of customers and then cashed out of the market.

The post Regulators investigate energy retailers who shed customers and sold hedges appeared first on RenewEconomy.

While Australia worries about Chinese influence, Pacific nations are more worried about climate change. By boosting climate ambition, Australia could be the region’s security partner of choice. Wesley Morgan, Research Fellow, Griffith Asia Institute, Griffith University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.