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Using acoustic monitoring devices to collect data about ecosystem health based on the sounds of different animals living in an area is a powerful and cost-effective way of measuring biodiversity and should be one of the primary data collection methods in new biodiversity crediting systems, say industry sources.

It’s durable, resilient and lower-maintenance than natural grass – but there’s still many downsides and unknowns to artificial turf

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Two years ago the Northern Beaches council replaced the worn-out synthetic turf from a council oval, replacing natural grass with the product sometimes known as astroturf. The council had included in its contract a requirement that it be recycled and not sent to landfill – but federal legislation passed in 2020 meant that it was more difficult to export plastic waste to overseas facilities.

A permit was not granted, so the rolls of old turf sat for nearly 18 months until they were removed earlier this year. They are now in a container in a railway siding, awaiting the completion of a recycling plant capable of separating the various components that make up the product.

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Derbyshire and South Yorkshire MPs say agency ‘not up to the task’ after people received warnings too late

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MPs in areas of England worst hit by Storm Babet have called for a review of Environment Agency (EA) failings after reporting that some residents received flood alerts only after their homes were flooded.

Toby Perkins, the Labour MP for Chesterfield, said some people at Tapton Terrace in the Derbyshire town, where 83-year-old Maureen Gilbert was found dead in flood water, only received a phone call from the early warning system after their houses had been deluged.

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Rather than racing to extract natural gas, those who caused the climate crisis should help Africa harness its wind and sun

• Vanessa Nakate is a Unicef goodwill ambassador and youth climate activist

It’s official: we’re about to reach peak fossil fuels. New figures from the International Energy Agency (IEA) show that the shift to renewable energy is now unstoppable – and that demand for oil and gas should begin to decline by the end of this decade. This decline is not fast enough to prevent our climate warming irreversibly, but it is a death knell for fossil fuels.

In response, leaders of rich countries will be showing off wind turbines on their coasts and pointing to shiny electric cars on their streets. But they’ve spent the past few years persuading African countries to increase their gas expansion instead. There’s $245bn of gas infrastructure planned in Africa, and gas-rich countries such as Mozambique have faced an onslaught of foreign companies fishing for contracts to extract their gas.

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A roadmap for implementing a forest partnership between the EU and the Republic of Congo has been signed by the European Commission's environment chief Virginijus Sinkevicius.

The government of British Columbia has launched a “unique” crowdfunding initiative for protecting old growth forests with C$300 million ($217 mln) of initial capital.

European carbon prices traded within Thursday's high-low range on Friday morning, reflecting a lack of momentum or conviction in either direction as traders took to the sidelines ahead of the weekend, while energy markets were modestly firmer even as fundamentals remained broadly unchanged.

South Pole has pulled out of the troubled Kariba REDD forest protection project in Zimbabwe with immediate effect, it said on Friday, following earlier news that certifier Verra was halting credit issuances and launching an investigation into the project amid allegations of trophy hunting and financial malpractice.

Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanisms, or CBAMs, are one of the key drivers of carbon pricing development across Asia as nations increasingly seek to cooperate with the EU on its policy slated to enter into force in 2026, a conference heard Wednesday.

California otter known for harassing Santa Cruz surfers and eluding capture, seen floating with her baby laying on her belly

A sea otter who captured hearts and surfboards this past summer has become a mother, according to the US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS).

The sea otter known as 841, rose to national prominence this past summer after reports and photos of an aquatic mammal harassing surfers and swimmers became national news. Now, she’s making headlines again as images of her floating on her back with a small otter laying on her belly are circulating.

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Researchers say discovery of at least 11 new kinds of PFAS in water near Chemours plant indicates more contamination than thought

At least 11 new kinds of PFAS “forever chemicals” are polluting the water around a North Carolina Chemours plant that manufactures the toxic substances, new research finds.

The discovery, made by researchers using a novel testing method, is evidence that the environment around the plant is more contaminated with PFAS than regulators have found, the researchers said.

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Document used to target top EU officials over environmental and health policies but climate experts view it as propaganda

A public statement signed by more than 1,000 scientists in support of meat production and consumption has numerous links to the livestock industry, the Guardian can reveal. The statement has been used to target top EU officials against environmental and health policies and has been endorsed by the EU agriculture commissioner.

The “Dublin Declaration of Scientists on the Societal Role of Livestock” says livestock “are too precious to society to become the victim of simplification, reductionism or zealotry” and calls for a “balanced view of the future of animal agriculture”. One of the authors of the declaration is an economist who called veganism an “eating disorder requiring psychological treatment”.

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Exclusive: campaigners fear less rigorous methods could lead to more pollution in rivers and waterways

The UK government is to diverge from the EU’s standards for monitoring water quality in England, it can be revealed.

Campaigners fear the change of approach could lead to more pollution in England’s rivers and waterways if the new measuring methods are less rigorous.

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China's national carbon market saw prices remain stable over the past week with a relatively high trading volume, while voluntary trading volume ticked up as sentiment has been lifted by the multiple regulatory updates recently.

Standardisation and scale are the watchwords of the growing removal industry, seen as key by its proponents and the IPCC in the path to net zero but getting it into compliance markets will be essential, a conference heard this week.

Australian Carbon Credit Unit (ACCU) transactions have largely been bilateral over the counter (OTC) deals in recent months as the brokered secondary market has been trading sideways, according to analysis.

More government guidance is needed to unleash demand for carbon credits from Japanese companies, despite Tokyo's recent efforts to support the development of the country's voluntary market, a conference heard Thursday.

The best of this week’s wildlife photographs, including a sandwich-eating bear, an unexpected aerial invasion of the pitch at the cricket World Cup, and the rarest ape in the world

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The operator Tepco says the workers came in contact with the wastewater when a hose came off accidentally and have been taken to hospital as a precaution

Four workers at the Fukushima nuclear plant were splashed with water containing radioactive materials, with two of them taken to hospital as a precaution, according to the plant operator.

The incident, which took place on Wednesday, highlights the dangers Japan still faces in decommissioning the plant. The reactor was knocked out by an immense tsunami in 2011 in the world’s worst atomic disaster since Chornobyl in 1986.

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Solar energy combined with storage is expected to become the cheapest option for generating electricity in nearly all regions worldwide by 2030.

The post Solar will dominate grids around the world – even without ambitious new climate policies appeared first on RenewEconomy.