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Australian mining entrepreneur Andrew Forrest criticises ‘clickbait’ fossil fuel plans as others say Britain has lost credibility

A billionaire global investor has led international condemnation of the UK’s new oil rush, saying he would pull his major investment from the country if the prime minister pursued “clickbait” fossil fuel policies.

The Australian iron ore entrepreneur Andrew Forrest, who also runs the Minderoo Foundation philanthropic organisation, threatened to move his investments out of the UK over Rishi Sunak’s swivel towards new oil and gas drilling.

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Nordic nations dominate the top of a green technology index produced by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Review published on Tuesday and ranking 76 nations and territories on their progress toward a sustainable and low-carbon future.

The European Commission has adopted rules that will eventually require all listed companies operating in the EU to disclose their impact on the environment and how the climate affects their operations.

Despite grave new warnings about the depth of the climate crisis, plutocrats are fighting to keep their profits – and our PM is with them

To understand this moment, we have to recognise that there is an existential struggle on both sides. While environmental scientists and activists fight for the very survival of the habitable planet, the fossil fuel, meat and internal combustion industries are fighting for their economic survival. Either they are regulated out of existence or human society across much of the world will fail. We cannot all win: either these industries survive or we do. But we can all lose, because, eventually, they will go down with the rest of us.

But “eventually” counts for nothing in their spreadsheets and annual reports. “Eventually” has no effect on share prices and dividends. “Eventually” has little traction in a four- or five-year political cycle. So, as the evidence of climate breakdown becomes undeniable to all but the most deluded, the pollutocrats must fight as never before. There was once a widespread belief (which some of us cautioned against) that governments would step up when – and only when – disaster struck. But it is precisely because disaster has struck, visibly and undeniably, that they are stepping down.

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Bulgaria’s supreme court deferred a decision on Tuesday that could have shut down one of the biggest coal power plants in the EU ETS, according to green groups frustrated that their long-running air pollution battle is now set to continue.

A signal sent in error left Voyager 2's antenna tilting the wrong way, severing contact with Earth.

The Philippines was hit with torrential rain over seven days, brought by Typhoon Doksuri and intensified by Typhoon Khanun. Low-lying villages to the north of the country were the worst affected, houses were left submerged in water and residents were forced to travel by small wooden boats and roads were inundated. The Philippines is an archipelago of more than 7,600 islands, vulnerable to high winds and torrential downpours

• Philippines: 26 people killed after overloaded ferry capsizes amid Typhoon Doksuri winds

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European carbon began the month of August on a mixed note on Tuesday, with early strength giving way to sustained selling that drove prices to a new 11-day low even as the first of the month's reduced-volume auctions took place, while UK Allowances dropped to their lowest in two years as the outlook for demand continued to worsen.

A collective of more than 150 companies and associations has called on the French government to make the regeneration of nature the focal point of its laws regarding development, in a column in Le Monde published Tuesday.

The founders of a carbon exchange are counting on an upswell of compliance carbon pricing to drive demand for carbon credits in the coming years, with the EU's carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM) expected to speed a global expansion and ratcheting up of carbon pricing schemes and the eventual convergence of the voluntary and compliance markets.

A Luxembourg-based ocean fund has increased its funding target after attracting €30 million from an insurance company, while investing in a Norwegian tech firm specialising in harvesting seafood from the seabed without harming ecosystems.

Naturalists decry extinction of species as loss of habitat, poaching and illegal hunting take toll

For centuries, wolves have roamed the mountain ranges of Andalucía in southern Spain, but after years of decline the creature has been officially declared extinct in the region.

Since 2003, the regional government has carried out a census of the wolf (Canis lupus signatus) population in an effort to monitor the species and reduce conflict with the local population, farmers in particular.

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Exclusive: Long list of ‘sensitive’ topics for petrostate include oil and gas production, emissions and Yemen war crimes

A comprehensive list of “touchy and sensitive issues” for the United Arab Emirates, which is running the next UN climate summit, has been revealed in a document leaked to the Guardian.

The document sets out the government-approved “strategic messages” to be used in response to media requests about the issues, which range from the UAE’s increasing production of oil and gas to people trafficking.

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German utility Uniper's EU ETS-covered power production fell by over one fifth in the first six months of 2023 compared to 2022, as it announced plans to triple its green investments in the coming years, in quarterly results published Tuesday.

British lawmakers have opened a consultation to scrutinise whether the UK government’s policies to promote natural capital and investment in biodiversity protection are adequate, focusing on greenwashing risks as well as how best to scale private finance to achieve the goals of imminent biodiversity net gain legislation. 

At least 11 people have been killed in Beijing after four days of torrential downpours, according to Chinese state media. A further 27 people have been reported missing since Typhoon Doksuri triggered widespread flooding in the north of the country.

Authorities in the capital have closed more than 100 mountain roads and evacuated at least 52,000 people from their homes in recent days. The military is coordinating rescue missions and delivering aid to residents in the worst-hit suburbs amid one of the strongest storms to hit China in years. Meteorologists have warned of further flooding as heavy rain continues

• China: 11 killed in Beijing as heavy rains hit city for a fourth day

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A power company in Japan has introduced a self-consignment service for businesses to generate domestically issued J-Credits from solar projects, the first of its kind in the country, aiming to streamline the credit creation process.

Stepping up efforts to protect and restore seagrass in Indonesia, as well as counting it in its climate change monitoring and reporting frameworks, could drastically mitigate the country’s CO2 emissions, according to new research.

A daily summary of our news plus bite-sized updates from around the world.

Incrementalism and politics as usual cannot save the Barrier Reef from the largest threat it faces – the heat ramping up from climate change Ove Hoegh-Guldberg, Professor, The University of Queensland Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.