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‘Beaver bombing’ increasing because of failure by successive governments to approve releases, say experts

“Beaver bombing”, covertly releasing beavers into the countryside, is increasing in England because successive governments have not fulfilled promises to permit some planned wild releases, conservationists are warning.

Beavers now live freely on river systems across swaths of southern England, and conservationists are calling on Labour to allow official releases of free-living beavers and produce a national strategy to maximise the biodiversity and flood alleviation benefits delivered by the industrious mammals.

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A Brazil-based voluntary carbon standard has opened a public call for the registration of validation/verification bodies (VVBs) interested in participating in its certification programmes.

Australian supermarket giant Woolworths Group will stop selling beef and other commodities linked to deforestation by the end of next year, in accordance with Science-based Targets Initiative (SBTi) guidance, it said on Wednesday.

Elon Musk's company said it would be delayed "due to unfavourable weather forecasted" in the capsule's splashdown areas.

The miner has pulled its 1.7GW H2Tas project from the federal environment approvals process after two years in the queue.

The post Woodside pulls plans for Bell Bay hydrogen project in latest blow to Tasmania hub appeared first on RenewEconomy.

The NSW side of the line will now start, although the amount Transgrid has raised is $100m less than the ceiling approved by the regulator.

The post Transgrid locks in $700 million to start works on NSW side of VNI West network upgrade appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Fortescue Metals CEO says he sees "endless opportunities" for green metals industry in Australia, as green hydrogen takes a back seat in the company's ambitions.

The post Fortescue doubles down on green iron, says green hydrogen market “stuck in limbo” appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Why have politicians outsourced the most important issue of our time to private agencies and individuals? We can’t do it all - this way lies disaster

There are several services and assets I would like to see nationalised. But at the top of my list is neither water, nor trains, nor development land, much as I’d like to see them brought under national or local public ownership. Above all, I want to see the nationalisation of my own business: environmental persuasion. I love my job. But I’m not very good at it. None of us is.

We face the greatest predicament humankind has confronted: the erosion and possible collapse of our life-support systems. Its speed and scale have taken even scientists by surprise. The potential impacts are greater than any recent pandemic, or any war we have suffered. Yet the effort to persuade people of the need for action has been left almost entirely to either the private or voluntary sectors. And it simply does not work.

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Australia's largest gas infrastructure business says it plans to spend most of its capex on bespoke renewables in the Pilbara over the next two years.

The post Gas giant says bundled renewables in Pilbara will unlock billions in growth appeared first on RenewEconomy.

New research examines how citizen science data contributes to decisions by governments and conservation organisations about which species are at risk of extinction, and how they can be conserved. Erin Roger, Sector Lead, Atlas of Living Australia, CSIRO Jasmin G Packer, Research Fellow in Wildlife Conservation, University of Adelaide Jodi Rowley, Curator, Amphibian & Reptile Conservation Biology, Australian Museum, UNSW Sydney Rachael Gallagher, Associate Professor, Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, Western Sydney University Thomas Mesaglio, PhD candidate, Evolution & Ecology Research Centre, UNSW Sydney Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

More than 150 councillors join 15,000 members of the public calling for urban areas to be free of the chemicals

The UK should copy Paris and ban pesticides in urban areas, campaigners and local councils have said.

Drawing attention to how the capital city of France still looked pristine while hosting the Olympics, the Pesticide Action Network (PAN) has said the same can be true of UK towns and cities.

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Madrid study finds people from below-average income groups more likely to die in heatwaves

Scorching temperatures across Europe have killed tens of thousands of people in recent years. But as fatalities rise, researchers are finding that one group is disproportionately bearing the brunt of extreme heat: those living in poverty.

“It’s common sense,” said Julio Díaz Jiménez, an investigative professor at Madrid’s Carlos III health institute. “A heatwave is not the same when you’re in a shared room with three other people and no air conditioning, as when you’re in a villa with access to a pool and air conditioning.”

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The Australian government has said its work to strengthen the integrity of the country’s carbon crediting scheme is well in hand in its response to both the 2023 and 2020 review of the market by the Climate Change Authority (CCA).

Snowy Hydro confirms that its new "fast-start, on demand" Hunter Power Plant will begin operations, not on hydrogen, not on gas, but on costly and polluting diesel fuel.

The post Snowy confirms controversial and costly NSW gas plant will start operations fuelled by diesel appeared first on RenewEconomy.

The cameras that made the falcons a social media phenomenon are rolling again for a new breeding season, capturing a new female falcon incubating an egg atop Melbourne's Collins Street skyscraper. There are high hopes for this season after last year’s eggs were unable to hatch after the female stopped incubating, likely due to a territorial dispute

• New peregrine in town: female falcon becomes latest to nest atop Melbourne skyscraper

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It seems less and less likely an energy only market is the right design for a heavily renewables grid.

The post Australia’s energy only market is setting up a lose-lose situation for new wind and solar appeared first on RenewEconomy.

The Colombian Ministry of Environment will present a resolution this week for a public consultation aimed at establishing its long-awaited emissions trading system (ETS), according to local media.

Colorado commenced a series of workshops on Tuesday to inform forthcoming rulemaking to reduce methane pollution from municipal solid waste landfills.

The New York GOP unveiled a proposal Friday to delay emissions reduction targets under the state's climate law, arguing more time is needed for clean energy projects to develop at affordable rates.

A New York state retirement fund announced Tuesday that it had reached climate-related agreements with several companies within its portfolio, while also boosting its investments in a climate index fund by another $2 billion.