Feed aggregator

The Washington state and Canadian governments are working to soon publish data regarding credit prices and generation data for their low-carbon fuel standard (LCFS) programmes, a conference heard Tuesday.

Researchers have uncovered vital data that underlines the crucial role of soil moisture conditions in determining the size and distribution of carbon stocks within boreal forests, which are home to a third of the world’s terrestrial carbon pool.

A study shows 60 environmental activists were killed in Colombia in 2022 out of 177 murdered worldwide.

Colombia was the deadliest country and a fifth of the 177 recorded killings took place in the Amazon rainforest, says Global Witness

At least 177 people were killed last year for defending the environment, according to new figures, with a fifth of killings taking place in the Amazon rainforest.

Murdered by organised crime groups and land invaders, environmental defenders were killed at a rate of one every other day in 2022, figures from the NGO Global Witness show. Colombia was the most deadly country, recording 60 murders.

Continue reading...

An official from California regulator ARB alluded on Tuesday to more stringent carbon intensity (CI) targets in its upcoming proposal for the Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) rulemaking package and forecasted the role of biomethane and credit pricing amidst the agency’s timeline for decision making.

Brazilian senators over the past week proposed eight amendments to Brazil's emissions trading system legislation to integrate the voluntary carbon market (VCM) and set offset usage limits, give credits to firms for transitioning to renewable energy sources, and narrow down the list of regulated sectors.

Party announces it will vote against Conservative bid to scrap river nutrient neutrality rules for housebuilders

Labour is set to oppose plans to rip up EU laws prohibiting housebuilders from polluting England’s most sensitive rivers.

Angela Rayner and Steve Reed, the new shadow levelling up and environment secretaries, have vowed that Labour will try to protect the EU-derived environmental legislation.

Continue reading...

Health professionals want NSW to follow lead of ACT and Victoria and ban new gas connections, citing multiple dangers from pollutants such as nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide and benzene.

The post Seven reasons why using gas appliances in homes is unhealthy appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Investments in clean electricity and other climate solutions funded by the US government's Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) will spur greater CO2 emissions reductions from the power sector and across the economy, found an EPA report released Tuesday.

The California legislative Assembly on Monday passed a bill requiring large companies doing business in the state to publicly report their Scope 1–3 emissions, with the bill headed back to the Senate for final approval.

The Washington Department of Ecology (ECY) on Tuesday announced a forthcoming rulemaking to consider adding new offset protocols and updating existing ones under the state's cap-and-trade programme.

Net zero is achievable in the construction sector by 2050, and moving aggressively to decarbonise the built environment is critical, the UN said Tuesday in a report outlining key steps that the sector can take.

Stakeholders are still eyeing a November release for the European Commission’s carbon management strategy, despite concerns about the effectiveness of a recently-closed consultation and the impact of new appointments within the EU's executive. 

Financial institutions can no longer claim a lack of data means they can’t track their impact on forests for net zero and TNFD processes, according to a new report released by a US-government-backed initiative.

France’s state-owned utility EDF has set up a new carbon credit business to develop a portfolio of nature-focused projects at home and abroad, it said on Tuesday.

The risk of having to pay hefty third-party liability charges due to operational failure with carbon capture and storage networks will be significantly reduced by using digital twin technology to predict potential integrity breaches, according to a digital services company positioning for a role in the sector.

Biotech companies are the laggard of the industrial world for corporate climate action, with a collective emissions trajectory equivalent to warming the world by 3.3C above pre-industrial levels, according to a new analyst indictor model that found no business sector was on track with the Paris Agreement goal to limit warming to 1.5C.

More should be done to prepare for the impact of heating, Climate of the Nation survey suggests, but certainty about the cause of extreme events falls

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

A majority of Labor voters think the Albanese government is not doing enough to prepare for or adapt to the impacts of the climate crisis, according to a long-running national poll.

The Climate of the Nation survey of voters, now in its 16th year and managed by the progressive thinktank the Australia Institute, found 52% of ALP supporters think the government should be doing more to prepare for the impacts of climate-related extreme events. Only 26% said it was doing enough, 10% too much and 12% were unsure.

74% supported a “polluter-pays tax” applied to businesses based on how much they emit had 74% support

66% supported a tax on the windfall profits of the oil and gas industry 66%, up from 61% last year.

59% supported levy on fossil fuel exports to fund climate adaptation programs.

Answers on coal and gas mining were contradictory. Two-thirds of people said governments should plan to phase them out, and 53% supported a moratorium on new coalmines. But 46% said the benefits of coal and gas outweighed the negative impacts.

70% wanted coal-fired power plants to be phased out, compared with 79% a year ago. About a third – 34% – said they should be phased out by 2030.

An overwhelming majority (75%) suggested they were concerned the climate crisis would make insurance more expensive and disrupt supply chains so that it became harder to buy necessities.

Continue reading...

Process of consulting experts and industry could mean important habitat areas would be left without protection until 2025

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

The New South Wales Greens and community groups have raised concerns about a Minns government plan to suspend logging operations in just 5% of its promised great koala national park while it consults experts and industry about the proposal.

The Greens environment spokesperson, Sue Higginson, has also warned that the more than 12-month process announced by the environment minister, Penny Sharpe, on Tuesday could leave important habitat areas without any protection until 2025.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Who will take the crown this year? That will be for you to decide

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

It’s that favourite time again for many of our readers – Australian bird of the year is back, with polls to open on 25 September.

In the last Guardian Australia/Birdlife Australia poll in 2021, the superb fairywren was voted the winner, narrowly beating the tawny frogmouth and gang-gang cockatoo in a nail-biting competition.

Continue reading...