Feed aggregator

Move is among bloc’s latest environmental concessions to farmers as protests continue across Europe

The European Commission is shelving plans to cut pesticide use and is taking the pressure off agriculture in its latest emissions recommendations, as farmers around Europe continue protests demanding higher prices for their products and an easing of EU environment rules.

The original proposal to halve chemical pesticide use in the EU by the end of the decade – part of the EU’s green transition – “has become a symbol of polarisation”, said the commission president, Ursula von der Leyen. She added that she would ask the commission to withdraw the proposal.

Continue reading...

Swedish state-owned utility Vattenfall reported a significant drop in generation from ETS-covered fossil power in 2023 in annual results on Tuesday, as well as a fall in profit due to sliding electricity prices during what it described as a "turbulent" year.

Proposal is part of European Commission’s aim to become world’s first climate-neutral continent

The EU aims to slash its net greenhouse gas pollution by 90% by 2040 as part of its push to become the world’s first climate-neutral continent, the European Commission has announced before elections in June.

Under a landmark proposal laid out by its executive body on Tuesday, the bloc will have to pump 90% less planet-heating gas into the air by 2040 than it did in 1990, a figure which includes the carbon it removes from the atmosphere.

Continue reading...

BP has ploughed more profits into buying back shares while spending less on clean energy in 2023, the company revealed Tuesday in annual results.

Parisians have voted to triple parking charges for these behemoths. Let that be the start of a much wider crackdown

Paris has developed a taste for better city living. Its vote to begin pricing sports utility vehicles (SUVs) off its streets by tripling parking charges is part of a diet for reversing autobesity – the trend by car manufacturers towards larger, more dangerous and polluting cars.

It’s not difficult to see what has driven Parisians’ ire: the reasons to dislike SUVs form a tailback so long it’s hard to see the front of the queue.

Andrew Simms is an author, co-director of the New Weather Institute, coordinator of the Badvertising campaign and the Rapid Transition Alliance, assistant director of Scientists for Global Responsibility and a research associate at the University of Sussex

Continue reading...

Some SUVs and utes could cost more unless they clean up their act, while EVs could get cheaper under the new standards

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

Carmakers are crunching the numbers on the federal government’s new vehicle efficiency standard (NVES) to make plans for what is shaping up to be a very different new car market by the end of the decade.

Some models could be discontinued or get more expensive, while more fuel efficient vehicles and EVs look set to be cheaper – and we’ll almost certainly have a broader range of hybrid and electric models to choose from.

Continue reading...

Biodiversity offsetting is failing to protect nature while enabling companies to carry out environmental destruction and human rights violations, a report has warned.

A carbon management platform has partnered with a biochar developer for the purchase of 4,500 tonnes of removals from a project in India.

North America’s largest carbon project developer will launch a digital marketplace where it will exclusively sell its own carbon credits, the company announced on Tuesday.

Emissions fall 3.5% from 2021 but experts say government not doing enough to reach net zero

Greenhouse gas emissions fell slightly in 2022, new government figures reveal, with homes and transport remaining the highest emitting sectors.

The emissions for the territorial UK were equivalent to 406.2m tonnes of CO2, down 3.5% from 2021 and 50% from 1990.

Continue reading...

The Welsh government is consulting on whether to introduce a duty for ministers to protect biodiversity, through embracing targets such as becoming nature positive.

European carbon allowance prices were firmer at midday after the market reacted sharply to the day's auction, rising to test recent psychological and technical levels as traders anticipated the first gap of the year in the programme of daily EUA sales and weekly Commitment of Traders data.

Carbon Pulse has hired two biodiversity market and policy correspondents to strengthen its coverage ahead of what will be a busy and critical year for this beat, while also adding to the team of reporters covering carbon markets and climate policy in the EMEA region.

The Global Environment Facility (GEF) Council has approved a $916-million spending package on efforts to tackle biodiversity loss, nature degradation, climate change, and pollution, as its meeting in Washington is now set to open discussions on the governance of the Global Biodiversity Framework Fund.

A producer of components for highly efficient electrolysers says that those able to use renewable energy more effectively will be greatly valued as access to clean energy becomes increasingly constrained.

A European accelerator for innovative carbon dioxide removal (CDR) technologies has moved eight startups to its next phase, it said Tuesday.

China is planning to conduct research on offset methodologies for projects implemented in the railway sector, as the government aims to reduce transport emissions through market-based mechanisms. 

The price for Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs) has crept higher after a flurry of spot trades, however the market is expected be awash with credits until the late 2020s according to a bank’s analysis.

Tanzania has received applications for the launch of 35 carbon credit projects and expects to earn some $1 billion from the market, a senior government official has said.

Researchers, managers and Traditional Owners are joining forces to understand and combat climate threats to Australia’s many unique World Heritage sites. Jess Melbourne-Thomas, Transdisciplinary Researcher & Knowledge Broker, CSIRO Brenda Lin, Principal research scientist, CSIRO Lance Syme, Secretariat at the International Indigenous Peoples Forum on World Heritage, Indigenous Knowledge Mandy Hopkins, Adjunct industry fellow, University of Southern Queensland Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.