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While governments at COP16 make glacial progress on protecting nature, what billions of people choose to do individually can add up to make a big difference. Jim Radford, Associate Professor, Ecology and Environment, La Trobe University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Not enough has been done so far at COP16 to address exploitation of minerals for the green energy transition, especially in Indigenous Peoples’ lands, a group of NGOs said Thursday.

A Brazilian organisation is set to market its first biodiversity credits generated through three separate projects across the country, with a philanthropic institution already committed to buying them.

Decline over 2023, helped by switch to renewable power, means greenhouse gas pollution is now 37% below 1990 levels

The EU’s greenhouse gas emissions fell 8% last year, the European Environment Agency (EEA) has found, as the continent continues to close down coal-fired power plants and make more electricity from sun and wind.

The steep drop in planet-heating pollution in 2023 is close to the fall recorded in Europe at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, when travel restrictions grounded planes and shuttered factories.

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A Ghana-based producer of biochar from coconut husks has received investment from a development finance institution to expand its business and to launch a carbon removal project in West Africa.

Businesses still see carbon credits as a high-risk investment, citing limited policy guidance and a market rife with controversy, speakers told a webinar this week, but corporate offsetting is key to reaching net-zero goals and could soon become mandatory.

More companies than ever are disclosing their plans for transitioning to net zero emissions and aligning their strategies accordingly, with financial institutions increasingly using these plans to drive investment towards sustainable solutions, the Transition Plan Taskforce (TPT) found in its final report as it closed shop on Thursday.

Emissions in the EU fell significantly in 2023, but clear and predictable policies are essential to maintaining momentum, according to two separate reports released on Tuesday. 

An alliance of large asset owners committed to reaching net zero has so far cut emissions by an average 6% per year since launching, with most members setting decarbonisation targets for 2025 in line with the Paris Agreement goals, according to the group's latest progress report.

Campaigners say car park extension at Manningtree station inhibits access to Dedham Vale and threatens habitats

A commuter car park in Essex is to be one of the first test cases of whether the government will enforce new legislation aimed at protecting national parks and landscapes in England.

Dedham Vale is a designated “national landscape” on the border of Essex and Suffolk, home to increasingly rare species including hazel dormice and hedgehogs. Within it is Manningtree station, where the train operator Greater Anglia built an extension to the car park to cope with increased traffic.

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TotalEnergies emitted more direct greenhouse gasses in the third quarter because of increasing gas-fired power plant use in the US and Europe, the energy company revealed Thursday.

African giant pouched rats trained to alert their handlers when they find illegally trafficked wildlife products

Rats could be the latest weapon deployed in the fight against endangered wildlife trafficking, according to a study of rodents trained to sniff out pangolin scales, rhino horns, elephant tusks and hardwood.

Researchers trained eight African giant pouched rats to sniff out the contraband, even when it was hidden among items commonly used to hide trafficked goods, including peanuts, leaves, wigs and washing powder.

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Limiting global warming to 1.6C will be a monumental task but achievable, as renewable capacity installations are smashing records and the costs of clean technologies are falling rapidly, according to an energy consulting firm.

Environmental groups warn that next year's farm payments budget will not be enough to protect nature.

The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the World Bank on Oct. 29 announced new guidelines for Amazonia Bonds, a capital markets instrument aimed at financing projects that benefit biodiversity, local communities, and zero-deforestation initiatives across the Amazon.

Shell’s dash for gas reaped dividends in the third quarter, but a green activist shareholder group warned backtracking on renewable investments was jeopardising the future of the company.

European carbon prices weakened on Thursday morning, dragged lower by falling natural gas and breaking below a key technical support mid-morning, as the market continued to occupy the €60-€68 range for a ninth week.

UK government offers undisclosed sum in compensation to Rosamund Adoo-Kissi-Debrah for daughter’s untimely death

The mother of a nine-year-old girl who became the first person in the UK to have air pollution cited on their death certificate will receive an undisclosed settlement from the government in compensation for her daughter’s untimely death.

Settling a legal case, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the Department for Transport and the Department of Health and Social Care issued a statement expressing sincere condolences to the family of Ella Kissi-Debrah, from south-east London, who had a fatal asthma attack in 2013 after being exposed to excessive air pollution.

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Papua New Guinea is closer to a carbon market but is waiting on a few key steps, a senior official said this week, as news comes the nation has confirmed it will boycott this year’s COP29 summit in Baku, Azerbaijan.

Macao this week unveiled a voluntary carbon exchange backed by a leading Chinese private equity firm, which aims to help China link up with international markets.