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

Research shows that house plants don't make much difference to air quality.

Astonishing aerial footage reveals sharks are closer to us than we think – and usually leave us alone.

An Ohio-based climate-tech firm that reduces building energy leaks has secured $67 million in a Series B fundraise.

Expectations ahead of next week’s WCI cap-and-trade public rulemaking workshop have continued to fuel California Carbon Allowance (CCA) prices higher, while Washington Carbon Allowances (WCAs) picked up at the end of another week of light transaction activity.

Gavin Schmidt of Goddard Institute for Space Studies warns of likelihood of new high as heatwave bakes large parts of planet

July will likely be Earth’s hottest month in hundreds if not thousands of years, Gavin Schmidt, the director of Nasa’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies, told reporters on Thursday, as a persistent heatwave baked swaths of the US south.

Schmidt made the announcement during a meeting at Nasa’s Washington headquarters that convened agency climate experts and other leaders, including Nasa administrator Bill Nelson and chief scientist and senior climate adviser Kate Calvin.

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A Canadian carbon credit streaming company announced an 8.3 million hectare avoided deforestation project in Bolivia as part of a partnership with a private equity firm on Thursday, using a methodology the company claims will better meet the Core Carbon Principles than REDD+.

European cities could harness nature-based solutions (NBS) to cut urban carbon emissions by up to 25%, a new study has found.

Deep sea metallic nodules could help us shift to clean energy. But we don’t know how much damage it will do to ecosystems Claudio Bozzi, Lecturer in Law, Deakin University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Foulden Maar is one of only two sites in New Zealand that preserve fossils showing ecological interactions and features such as eyes, skin, stomach contents and original colour patterns. John G Conran, Senior Lecturer in Evolutionary Biology, University of Adelaide Daphne Lee, Honorary Associate Professor in Geology/Paleontology, University of Otago Uwe Kaulfuss, Geologist (PhD), Georg-August-Universität Göttingen Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Xpansiv will host a new carbon standard that specialises in the certification of small-scale forestry and nature restoration projects, it announced in a release Thursday.

Our planet faces ecological catastrophe – and 50% of aviation carbon emissions are caused by private flights. That’s untenable

Last Friday, I was arrested along with a group of climate activists for blocking the entrance to the East Hampton airport in New York and stopping private jet arrivals and departures. Many people have asked me why.

The truth is I am terrified of the future of our climate, and I believe that non-violent civil disobedience is the best way to create transformative change. I have covered disruptive protest and social issues in my films, and supported movements through philanthropy. So, at 63, I decided it was time for me to stand in protest with other activists, to put my body on the line.

Abigail E Disney is an Emmy-winning documentary film-maker and activist and the great-niece of Walt Disney

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Fears about a rise in 'greenhushing' are unfounded with the downturn in carbon credits retirements  largely pinned on just two airlines dropping out of the voluntary market to meet their climate targets, a webinar heard on Thursday.

Detailed analysis finds plant diets lead to 75% less climate-heating emissions, water pollution and land use than meat-rich ones

Eating a vegan diet massively reduces the damage to the environment caused by food production, the most comprehensive analysis to date has concluded.

The research showed that vegan diets resulted in 75% less climate-heating emissions, water pollution and land use than diets in which more than 100g of meat a day was eaten. Vegan diets also cut the destruction of wildlife by 66% and water use by 54%, the study found.

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In a cost of living crisis, heat pumps and electric cars are out of reach for most. Britain needs to fund a genuinely fair transition – and fast

It can’t be easy being Barbie. As if life wasn’t tough enough for an ageing doll with a decorative dimwit for a boyfriend, this week she suffered the indignity of being dragged into a byelection.

Or more precisely, her bright pink classic Corvette did. In easily the most excruciating moment of an already awkward attempt to cling on to Boris Johnson’s old Uxbridge seat, Tory HQ briefly tried to enliven its main line of attack by suggesting to friendly newspapers that if Barbie for some unexplained reason rocked up in the suburbs, she might have to pay £12.50 for breaching mayor Sadiq Khan’s ultra-low emission zone (Ulez), due to be extended to the capital’s outer fringes from August. At the time of writing, the voters’ verdict on this one is still hotly awaited. But whatever the outcome, hiding behind a dolly feels like the kind of political low point nobody gets over in a hurry.

Gaby Hinsliff is a Guardian columnist

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A new Oxford University study pinpoints for the first time how high- and low-meat diets impact the planet.

At Everland we are looking for a talented Senior Research Associate to join our rapidly growing international team. The individual will be part of the Impacts team that focuses on researching, evaluating and communicating the climate mitigation, biodiversity conservation and community development impacts of REDD+ projects supported by Everland.

Post-menopausal killer whales protect their adult sons from fights, research shows.

Climate campaigners complain to ACCC over Appea ad that claimed gas was ‘50% cleaner’ than coal

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Environmental campaigners have asked Australia’s consumer watchdog to investigate an oil and gas industry public relations campaign that critics claim is misleading the public on the climate effects of fossil fuel.

The Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association (Appea) last month dropped a claim in its “Future of Gas” advertising campaign that gas was “50% cleaner” than coal.

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Operators warn long-haul routes to nation risk being ‘priced out’ of international aviation when carbon pricing takes effect over next decade

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International airlines could cut back flights to Australia in coming years because the high-polluting long haul routes stand out as low-hanging fruit to meet future environmental commitments, the country’s parliament has been warned.

Mandatory emissions reductions schemes for global aviation are still being negotiated. However, Australia risks being “priced out” of the international aviation network when carbon pricing and other binding targets begin taking effect over the next decade, the Australian Airports Association (AAA) said in a submission to a parliamentary inquiry.

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