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Indonesia’s foot-and-mouth outbreak shouldn’t come as a surprise. It’s been decades in the making – just the latest consequence of biosecurity shortcomings in the region. Robyn Alders, Honorary Professor, Australian National University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

New Zealand’s first adaptation plan gives local councils clearer guidelines, but it doesn’t tackle crucial questions about who should pay and how to future-proof major investments. Anita Wreford, Professor Applied Economics, Lincoln University, New Zealand Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Experts warn of current and future impact of drought as ministers are expected to make official declaration

England is likely to be declared officially in drought on Friday, a move that will allow water companies to impose tough restrictions on water use as temperatures remain high across swathes of the UK.

Hosepipe bans are likely to follow in areas that have not yet declared them, with people being urged to save water by not washing their cars, using lawn sprinklers or filling large pools.

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Look at the condition of Britain’s public services and despair – this is where the ‘small state’ gets you

Public opinion is moving only in one direction, jolted by each day’s worsening news. It is certainly not towards the ever-shrinking state offered by the two candidates in the Tory leadership race, as most voters realise that nothing but the state protects them from this growing omnicrisis.

Shocking news pours in at an accelerating pace. One day’s inbox can scarcely contain the avalanche of reports on failing public services and households stricken by debt.

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Germany-based utility RWE is to restart all three of its reserve-held lignite-based power plants from October but does not expect to generate big earnings from them, the company's executives said in half-year results on Thursday, while adding that power hedging had been much more “conservative” than normal.

Bare rock is emerging between Scex Rouge and Tsanfleuron glaciers as they melt at an accelerated rate

The thick layer of ice that has covered a Swiss mountain pass for centuries will have melted away completely within a few weeks, according to a local ski resort.

After a dry winter, the summer heatwaves hitting Europe have been catastrophic for the Alpine glaciers, which have been melting at an accelerated rate.

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The Certification Officer will be responsible to perform certification reviews of quantification approaches that account for GHGs emissions reductions or removals in projects.

Drought group preparing to meet as Met Office issues highest fire risk warning for much of England

An official drought could be declared for parts of England on Friday as rising temperatures and tinderbox conditions prompted the Met Office to issue its highest warning under its fire severity index.

The National Drought Group – made up of civil servants, the Environment Agency, water companies and other groups including the National Farmers’ Union – is due to meet on Friday to discuss the longest dry spell since 1976.

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As EU member states attempt to shift away from using gas to help reserves pile up ahead of winter, the bloc’s industry is increasingly tapping into dirty oil and coal to make up for the shortfall of the key fuel, hindering the bloc's clean energy transition that leaders promise won’t be ultimately at stake.

The tiny Pacific Island nation of Vanuatu will on Friday submit a strengthened NDC to the UN, deepening emissions reductions targets but also outlining a broad set of ambitions on adaptation and loss and damage.

EUAs raced to a six-week high on Thursday morning amid continuing strength in energy markets, where prices continued to forge higher amid concerns over gas deliveries through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline.

AEMO reveals that $130 million was spent in the last year on emergency reserves to ensure the lights didn't go out in the country's two most coal dependent states.

The post AEMO spent $130m on emergency reserves to keep lights on in coal dependent states appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Drax has taken £5.6bn in subsidies from energy bill payers but business secretary says practice is ‘not sustainable’

The importing of wood to burn in Drax power station “is not sustainable” and “doesn’t make any sense”, the business and energy secretary, Kwasi Kwarteng, told a private meeting of MPs this week.

The remarks are significant as the burning of biomass to produce energy is an important part of the UK government’s net zero strategy and has received £5.6bn in subsidies from energy bill payers over the last decade. Scientists and campaigners have long argued that burning wood to produce electricity is far from green and can even increase the CO2 emissions driving the climate crisis.

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Campaigners told new deadline for decision on first new deep coalmine in more than 30 years is 8 November

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A much-anticipated decision on whether the UK’s first new deep coalmine in more than 30 years should go ahead has been delayed again.

The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (LUHC) has written to Friends of the Earth to inform the organisation that the new secretary of state, Greg Clark, has set a new deadline of 8 November to rule on whether the coalmine should be granted planning permission.

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A Hong Kong-listed investment company that has recently broken into the Southeast Asian market has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Singapore’s public transport agency to carry out carbon neutral services in the ASEAN market.

Adam Bandt says allowing global offsets to be traded along with Australian ones would just delay action to cut emissions

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The Greens have called on the Albanese government to reject advice that Australia should allow greater use of international carbon offsets, arguing it would delay cuts in greenhouse gas emissions locally.

A review of international offsets by the Climate Change Authority, a policy advisory body, urged the government to develop a carbon market strategy as a step towards allowing international carbon offsets to be traded along with Australian carbon credits.

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Smoke and flames swirled in a tornado-like pattern as hot winds met a wildfire in southern California.

The fire near Quail Lake in Gorman closed portions of Route 138 northwest of Los Angeles.

The LA county fire department tweeted that crews were making good progress on the fire and that no structures were threatened

• Death toll rises to four in California’s biggest wildfire this year

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Japan has increased the scope of forestry activities eligible to earn J-credits as it continues to ramp up potential supply of carbon credits for the soon-to-be-launched GX League.

The Nature TTL Photographer of the Year winner has been chosen from more than 8,000 images from all over the world. From a scarred lion getting its close-up to a fish with a mouthful, entrants competed to secure category wins in wild portraits, animal behaviour, camera traps, underwater, the night sky, small world, landscapes, urban wildlife and under-16, with the overall winner chosen from the category wins

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The Amazon absorbs huge amount of CO2 and helps to cool the world, but recent studies have shown the rainforest is approaching a tipping point, with profound implications for the global climate and biodiversity. The section in Brazil, which has suffered the most deforestation since 2006, is already producing more carbon than it absorbs, and there are worrying signs that the rest of the forest is not far behind. Josh Toussaint-Strauss investigates how the Amazon has reached this point, and how agriculture and Brazilian politics are playing a central role  

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