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The European Parliament gave its blessing on Thursday to plans aimed at producing 40% of the bloc's annual needs for net-zero technologies domestically by 2030, thanks to funds partially coming from emissions trading revenues.

Proposed global treaty to curb production represents challenge to producers of fossil fuels, from which most plastics are made

The number of fossil fuel and petrochemical industry lobbyists at UN talks to agree the first global treaty to cut plastic pollution has increased by more than a third, according to an analysis.

Most plastic is made from fossil fuels, via a chemical process known as cracking, and 196 lobbyists from both industries are at the UN talks in Ottawa, Canada, where countries are attempting to come to an agreement to curb plastic production as part of a treaty to cut global plastic waste, according to analysis by the Center for International Environmental Law (Ciel).

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A set of 50 metrics for investors to measure corporate progress on biodiversity action has been released by Nature Action 100 (NA100) in its benchmark.

Carbon removals based on nature-based solutions are generally preferred to engineered approaches amongst the general public in 22 countries, according to a study published on Wednesday.

The Saudi Arabian company set up to drive voluntary carbon market growth has selected Xpansiv, the owner of the CBL marketplace, to provide the technology infrastructure for its carbon credit exchange.

Scheme for plastic bottles and cans put back to 2027 while environment minister says glass recycling ‘unduly’ complex

A UK deposit return scheme for recycling drinks bottles has been delayed to 2027, meaning it will not be in place until almost a decade after it was proposed.

Campaigners say the delay is a “huge disappointment”, adding they are doubly dismayed that the plan will not include glass bottles.

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New EPA directive will cut pollution equivalent to the emissions of 328m cars, but industry group decries it as a ‘reckless plan’

Coal-fired power plants would be forced to capture smokestack emissions or shut down under a rule issued on Thursday by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

New limits on greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuel-fired electric plants are the Biden administration’s most ambitious effort yet to roll back planet-warming pollution from the power sector, the nation’s second-largest contributor to the climate crisis. The rules are a key part of Joe Biden’s pledge to eliminate carbon pollution from the electricity sector by 2035 and economy-wide by 2050.

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Energy watchdog warns pace must accelerate to hit targets after new batteries increased capacity by 130%

The rollout of batteries across the global electricity industry more than doubled last year but will need to be six times faster if the world hopes to meet its renewable energy targets, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA).

A report from the global energy watchdog found that new batteries totalling 42 gigawatts (GW) were plugged into electricity systems around the world last year, increasing total capacity by more than 130% from the year before to 85GW.

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A Chennai-based developer is planning to invest $150 million in several carbon offset projects in India and Sri Lanka within the next 12-18 months, it announced at a conference this week.

As the climate crisis has deepened, protesters have become more confrontational – and their ambitions have grown

The head of ExxonMobil told to “eat shit” as he was about to receive an award. A US senator and coal boss called a “sick fuck”, almost sparking a brawl. Theatre shows interrupted. As the climate crisis has deepened, protests aimed at those deemed responsible are becoming starkly personal, and often confrontational.

At the vanguard of this new style of in-your-face activism is Climate Defiance, a group of just a handful of core staffers now marking its first birthday following a year of disrupting, often crudely, the usually mundane procession of talks, speeches and panels that feature Joe Biden administration officials, oil company bosses and financiers.

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A Singapore-based tech company has partnered with a Japanese biofuel developer to create agriculture-based carbon credits from sorghum production.

Clean heating should become a political priority for the next European legislative cycle, starting work next autumn, according to a report published on Thursday.

Authorities are rushing to save more than 150 whales from a mass stranding at a beach in Western Australia’s south-west. Four pods have spread across roughly 500 metres at Toby Inlet near Dunsborough and 26 of these have died, Parks and Wildlife Service Western Australia confirmed. Wildlife officers, marine scientists and veterinarians are on site assessing the conditions of the whales that have become stranded

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• Mass pilot whale stranding on WA beach sparks rescue

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Green Finance Institute report said further pollution could cut 12% off GDP by 2030s

The destruction of nature over the rest of the decade could trigger a bigger economic slump in Britain than those caused by the 2008 global financial crisis and the Covid pandemic, experts have warned.

Sounding the alarm over the rising financial cost from pollution, damage to water systems, soil erosion, and threats from disease, the report by the Green Finance Institute warned that further breakdown in the UK’s natural environment could lead to a 12% loss of gross domestic product (GDP) by the 2030s.

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Finance chiefs say higher taxes for the super-rich are key to battling global inequality and climate crisis

• Billionaires should pay minimum 2% wealth tax, say G20 ministers

When the governors of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund convened for the spring meetings last week, it was all about the really big questions. What can the international community do to accelerate decarbonisation and fight climate change? How can highly indebted countries retain fiscal space to invest in poverty eradication, social services and global public goods? What does the international community need to do to get back on track towards reaching the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)? How can multilateral development banks be strengthened to support these ambitions?

There is one issue that makes addressing these global challenges much harder: inequality. While the disparity between the richest and poorest countries has slightly narrowed, the gap remains alarmingly high. Moreover, in the past two decades, we have witnessed a significant increase in inequalities within most countries, with the income gap between the top 10% and the bottom 50% nearly doubling. Looking ahead, current global economic trends pose serious threats to progress towards higher equality.

Svenja Schulze is Germany’s minister for economic cooperation and development; Fernando Haddad is the minister of finance in Brazil; Enoch Godongwana is the minister of finance in South Africa; Carlos Cuerpo is the minister of economy, trade and business and María Jesús Montero the minister of finance in Spain

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Indonesia has begun preparing its second Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) to submit to UNFCCC, the government announced in a press conference this week, adding that it would seek to incorporate the marine sector, with a focus on managing coastal and marine ecosystems.

Illnesses such as dengue and malaria to reach unaffected parts of northern Europe, America, Asia and Australia, conference to hear

Mosquito-borne diseases are spreading across the globe, and particularly in Europe, due to climate breakdown, an expert has said.

The insects spread illnesses such as malaria and dengue fever, the prevalences of which have hugely increased over the past 80 years as global heating has given them the warmer, more humid conditions they thrive in.

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Up to 160 pilot whales have beached themselves at Toby Inlet near Dunsborough, more than 250km south of Perth

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Authorities are rushing to save more than 150 whales from a mass stranding at a beach in Western Australia’s south-west. Four pods have spread across roughly 500m at Toby Inlet near Dunsborough and 26 of these have died, Parks and Wildlife Service Western Australia confirmed.

“There are 20 whales in a pod about 1.5km offshore. Another pod of about 110 animals are together closer offshore,” a spokesperson said.

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Rooftop solar's stunning growth continues, thanks to sunny conditions in two unlikely states.

The post The two unlikely states leading Australia’s stunning growth in rooftop PV output appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Climate experts are calling on Italy to support stronger commitments for renewables as G7 nations prepare to meet over the weekend to discuss climate action for the first time under the country's leadership.