Feed aggregator

The energy secretary’s plans to install thousands of pylons in unspoiled rural areas is facing a huge backlash

The energy secretary, Ed Miliband, has been warned he faces battlegrounds across the country over plans to install thousands of pylons in unspoiled rural areas to deliver a “clean power” revolution. Council leaders and communities oppose proposals for a vast new network of pylons across large parts of several counties, including Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire, Lincolnshire, Norfolk and Suffolk.

There are calls for community compensation of “hundreds of millions of pounds” if the schemes are pushed through.

Continue reading...

New York Governor Kathy Hochul (D) on Friday unveiled $100 million to decarbonise the Empire State Plaza, targeting a 20% GHG reduction in its operations.

A US federal appeals court on Friday rejected another request for a temporary pause on controversial Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) power plant standards as they are being challenged on merit.

Stakeholders shifted their California Carbon Allowance futures and options holdings to vintage 2025 in the aftermath of ARB’s cap-and-trade workshop fallout, while the month-long trend of strong compliance demand for RGGI Allowances (RGA) continued, weekly data from the Commitment of Traders’ report released Friday showed.

Iowa state Republican lawmakers, counties, and landowners filed separate motions on Monday requesting the Iowa Utilities Board (IUB) to reconsider its issuance of a construction permit to a proposed CO2 pipeline.

Canada’s ministry of natural resources on Friday announced more than C$71 million ($51.7 mln) in additional funding to support its 2 Billion Trees (2BT) initiative, which was previously deemed unlikely to meet its target without significant changes.

Algeria’s government and private sector are looking to carbon capture and storage (CCS) to counterbalance emissions from oil and gas production, with an eye to minimising the impact of the EU's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), according to local media sources.

The steel sector has potentially turned a corner on net zero, says a new report, after years of being considered a laggard in emissions reduction pathways.

Michel Forst, UN special rapporteur, joins growing chorus of voices criticising jail terms handed to five defendants

The lengthy multi-year sentences handed to Just Stop Oil activists are “not acceptable in a democracy”, a UN special rapporteur has said, as the government faced growing pressure to reverse the previous administration’s “hardline anti-protest” approach.

Michel Forst, the UN special rapporteur for environmental defenders, joined a growing chorus of voices condemning the sentences handed down to the five defendants for planning non-violent protests on the M25.

Continue reading...

Azerbaijan has today announced the launch of the Climate Finance Action Fund (CFAF), initially targeting $1 billion in financing from fossil fuel producing countries and companies, and half of the capital to go towards climate projects in developing countries.

The Turkish parliament has passed a law requiring ships to pay for the greenhouse gas emissions released when entering and departing from the country's ports.

These protesters are shouting ‘fire’ while the world burns. A society that locks them up cannot be called democratic

There’s a crisis in our prisons. Keir Starmer says it is “shocking”. Our jails are so full, police chiefs are warning it may soon be impossible to maintain even the most basic law and order. So here’s a radical proposal. Let’s stop locking up our truth tellers. The people who are shouting “fire” because there’s a fire. When they see we’re not moving fast enough and that the flames are getting higher, they know their responsibility is to shout out the message louder. Because they care. You probably know who we mean.

These people might be annoying. They might give you an earache. We might wish they would tone it down. But in a democratic society, they do not belong in prison. We need to be listening to them, not locking them up.

Chris Packham is a naturalist, environmental and animal welfare campaigner, author and television presenter on BBC Two’s Springwatch

Dale Vince is a green energy industrialist and campaigner and a Labour party donor

Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here.

Continue reading...

Regenerative farmers, philosophers, scientists and more offer their insights, from feeding your dog to finding your ‘enough’

• Change by Degrees offers life hacks and sustainable living tips each Saturday to help reduce your household’s carbon footprint
• Got a question or tip for reducing household emissions? Email us at changebydegrees@theguardian.com

“What is one habit all eco-enthusiasts should adopt?” After a year of asking this on my podcast, The Eco Enthusiast, I’ve gathered 10 memorable and effective habits from regenerative farmers, philosophers, scientists, CEOs, and sustainability directors.

Here are the best insights I’ve learned so far.

Continue reading...

Den trees used by the endangered species are off-limits to loggers so campaigners – among them former Treasury head Ken Henry and MP Sophie Scamps – register them to save them

• Get our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcast

Greater glider spotting is a meditative thing, says Bulga local Steve Fredericks.

“A bad night of glider spotting is better than a good night of television.

Continue reading...

The Indian government has released detailed compliance carbon market regulations, under the Carbon Credit Trading Scheme (CCTS) 2023, following months of extensive stakeholder consultations across all major cities in the country.

The abrupt resignation of the founder of Kenya’s National Rangeland Trust (NRT) amid claims of inappropriate behaviour by the Board has triggered an informal review by Verra on whether there are implications for a huge soil carbon project in the country, the standard body told Carbon Pulse Friday.

The voluntary carbon market is in a slump, characterised by low trade volumes and largely sluggish prices, as a consistent flow of bad press around projects has put off potential buyers.

European carbon was poised for a second weekly decline as the market fell to an 11-week low amid very light volume and in a less than €1 trading range, reflecting a calm day in energy markets as well as the onset of the peak holiday period.

Investors believe steel can be made cleanly and are willing to spend on it, whilst also being increasingly sceptical about the long-term financial viability of the metallurgical coal used to make the vast majority of steel, an Australian activist investor group said Friday in a report based on a survey of 500 respondents from 34 nations with cumulative billions of dollars under management.

The European Union’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) is in “clear violation” of the Paris Agreement’s principle of common but differentiated responsibilities (CBDR) and places the burden of decarbonising heavy industrial sectors on the Global South, panellists told a webinar this week.