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Gulf-based carbon standard eyes 2022 issuance of 25 mln credits as pipeline clears
Southern EU nations push for power price cap despite doubts over impact
NA Markets: RGGI prices drilled 8% on reported compliance selling
US private equity firm puts up $200 mln for nature-based carbon offset platform
Johnson announces aim for UK to get 25% of energy from nuclear power
PM meets industry bosses to discuss new power stations, with several reactors slated for closure as energy demand rises
Boris Johnson has told nuclear industry bosses that the government wants to the UK to get 25% of its energy from nuclear power, in a move that would signal a significant shift in the country’s energy mix.
Johnson on Monday met executives from major nuclear utilities and technology companies including the UK’s Rolls-Royce, France’s EDF, and the US’s Westinghouse and Bechtel to discuss ways of helping to speed up the development of new nuclear power stations.
Continue reading...New solar tracking tech promises to cut costs – and ease the land wars
Nextracker's latest technology allows for optimisation of solar farms on sub-optimal sites, minimising both costs and environmental impacts.
The post New solar tracking tech promises to cut costs – and ease the land wars appeared first on RenewEconomy.
US climate risk disclosure rule provides inclusion of Scope 3 emissions, offsets
The Guardian view on fuel duty cuts: expediency over the environment | Editorial
If he goes ahead, Rishi Sunak would be handing money to people in proportion to how much they drive and how fuel-inefficient their car was
Raising taxes on petrol and diesel is an important policy that governments can use to put the brakes on runaway climate change. However, it appears that the chancellor, Rishi Sunak, wants to accelerate rather than slow the pace of planetary damage. In this week’s mini-budget, he looks likely to announce a temporary 5p per litre reduction on fuel duty. This could cut the cost of filling an average family car by around £2.75 and might help some who have suffered as pump prices jumped in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. However, this is a false economy. Even with the pandemic lockdowns, transport remained the largest emitting sector, responsible for 24% of all UK greenhouse gas emissions.
Cutting fuel duty flies in the face of the government’s claim to be a green leader. It is also a regressive measure. The New Economics Foundation says that only 7% of the savings from cutting fuel duty will go to the poorest fifth of households – while one-third will go to the richest fifth. If he were to go ahead with the policy, Mr Sunak would be handing money to people in proportion to how much they drive and how fuel-inefficient their car was. Labour has supported Mr Sunak. This is a triumph of political expediency over the environment. Neither party thinks it can afford to upset a significant number of voters. Polls suggest that an election held today would result in a government without a parliamentary majority.
Continue reading...UN ocean treaty summit collapses as states accused of dragging out talks
Conservationists despair at ‘glacial pace’ of negotiations to protect wildlife and oversee fishing amid high seas’ ‘governance vacuum’
UN member states have failed to agree on a treaty to protect the high seas from exploitation, with scientists, environmentalists and conservation organisations blaming states that were “dragging their feet” for the “glacial pace” of talks.
The longer the negotiations took, the more wildlife would be lost from the ocean, they warned, urging ministers and heads of state to work together with the president of the UN high seas conference to speed up a further round of negotiations to close a “governance vacuum” on the high seas.
Continue reading...VCM Report: Nature-based carbon credits consolidate losses amid uncertain market
‘It’s not supposed to be white’: one of the Great Barrier Reef’s healthiest reefs succumbs to bleaching
Widespread bleaching during the cooler temperatures of La Niña has left scientists dreading the damage that could be caused by the next El Niño
Through a snorkel mask, the corals struggling for survival in the heat are easy to spot. Some have turned white while others are pouring out a fluorescent pigment into their flesh – it’s spectacular, but it’s also a sign of a coral in deep distress.
This is John Brewer Reef about 70km off Townsville in Queensland – the centre of a widespread coral bleaching event. For hundreds of kilometres in either direction, reefs are going through the same battle.
Continue reading...Australian government ‘aggravating extinction’ through land-clearing approvals, analysis finds
Campaigners say the pace at which native species habitat is being cleared for mining is accelerating despite warnings of an endangered species crisis
The pace at which the Australian government is approving the destruction of habitat relied on by threatened species has increased in recent years, despite scientists warning of an escalating extinction crisis, according to an environment group analysis.
The Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF) compiled publicly available information on federal decisions that gave the green light to developments that involved clearing of forests and other areas relied on by threatened species.
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Continue reading...OneWeb to fly on competitor SpaceX's rockets
Euro Markets: Midday Update
Better use of groundwater could transform Africa, research says
Studies ‘debunk the myth that Africa is running out of water’ but say resource needs to be better managed
Groundwater resources in sub-Saharan Africa are enough to transform agriculture in the region and provide people with adequate safe water for their drinking and hygiene needs, if the resource can be better managed, researchers have said.
Groundwater – found underground in aquifers, rocks and soils – makes up about 99% of all liquid freshwater on earth, and is abundant in much of Africa, but a lack of investment has left it untapped or poorly managed, two major studies have found. The reserves could be used for irrigation and to supply clean and safe water, but there is also a danger that if used unsustainably they could be rapidly depleted or polluted.
Continue reading...Indian developer woos EU partners for massive cookstove programme
Singapore, Indonesia ink MoU on climate change, sustainability cooperation
Chinese province eyes international blue carbon market with new exchange
Microplastics found deep underground in UK waters
Fears for water quality as swimmers discover invisible microfibres in samples 400 metres underground
Invisible microplastics have been found almost 400 metres underground in UK water streams, according to the results of a citizen science project conducted by wild swimmers.
More than 100 outdoor swimmers in the UK became “waterloggers”, collecting water samples from their favourite place for a dip using empty glass wine bottles.
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