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An oil and gas industry body representing the world’s largest oil companies on climate policy launched on Tuesday an initiative to eliminate its members' methane emissions by 2030.

Hydrogen will play an increased role in decarbonisation as the fuel receives a boost in Europe from regulatory and policy support, greater cost competitiveness, as well as enhanced efforts to realise energy security goals, a conference heard this week.

The EU Commission outlines an ambitious roadmap to cut imports of Russian gas by two thirds in a year.

Michael Gove welcomes launch of commission to explore scheme that could meet 7% of UK’s power needs

A major infrastructure project harnessing the vast tidal power of the Severn estuary is back on the agenda after the UK government said the Russian invasion of Ukraine had highlighted the need to find more secure sources of energy.

An independent commission was launched on Tuesday to explore using the Severn estuary, which has the second largest tidal range in the world, to create energy.

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European carbon clawed back all of Monday's losses on Tuesday after a burst of buying drove the market up by more than €5 in less than 30 minutes, while energy markets shed some of their recent extraordinary gains after an early spike as Ukraine indicated it was prepared to undertake more negotiations with Russia.

EPA to approve plan for four types of neonicotinoid chemical to be used on US farmland – despite being banned in Europe

The US Environmental Protection Agency is poised to allow the use of four of the most devastating chemicals to bees, butterflies and other insects to continue in America for the next 15 years, despite moves by the European Union to ban the use of toxins that have been blamed for widespread insect declines.

The EPA is widely expected to confirm a proposed plan outlined last year that will extend the use of imidacloprid, thiamethoxam, clothianidin and dinotefuran on US farmland for the next 15 years, even though the agency has noted “ecological risks of concern, particularly to pollinators and aquatic invertebrates”.

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Creatures seen using discarded items for shelter or to lay eggs, highlighing ‘extreme ability to adapt’

Whether it’s mimicking venomous creatures, or shooting jets of water at aquarium light switches to turn them off, octopuses are nothing if not resourceful. Now, an analysis of underwater images suggests octopuses are increasingly using discarded bottles, cans, and other human rubbish as shelter or as a sanctuary for their eggs.

The study – the first to systematically evaluate and characterise litter use by octopuses using crowdsourced images – analysed hundreds of underwater photos posted on social media platforms and image databases, or collected by marine biologists and diving interest groups.

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Exclusive: Toxic air pollution kills thousands of people in city every year but higher fines not being levied

Just one in every 1,000 drivers reported for unnecessary idling of their engines were fined in central London, data has revealed.

Toxic air pollution kills about 4,000 people every year in the capital and councils have targeted parked drivers who do not turn off their vehicles.

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Use of heat, steam and suffocating foam to slaughter sick animals is condemned as bird flu epidemic threatens poultry stocks

Vets and animal advocates in the US are calling for restrictions on “cruel” methods of culling birds, as farmers face killing millions of poultry due to a highly virulent avian flu tearing through the country.

In 2020, millions of farm animals were killed across the US after the Covid-19 pandemic shut down slaughterhouses and left animals stranded on farms. Now, bird flu, which has already led to the slaughter of millions of birds in Europe, is likely to result in another mass depopulation.

More than 50 million chickens and turkeys were killed after an aggressive bird flu outbreak in the US in 2015.

However, two commonly used methods to cull animals on-farm are attracting increasing backlash. The use of firefighting foam to suffocate animals and ventilation shutdown, in which animals are killed with extremely high heat and steam, are still permitted in the US, despite being effectively banned in the EU and labelled “inhumane”.

Poultry flocks sickened with avian flu are commonly killed with carbon dioxide poisoning or firefighting foam, where birds are smothered with a blanket of foam.

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) says the method involves “drowning in fluids or suffocation by occlusion of the airways” and is “not accepted as a humane method for killing animals”.

It is also not listed as a method of killing animals for disease control by the main animal health body, the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE).

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Australian carbon credits fell another 15% on Tuesday as traders continued to reconsider the value of their ACCU positions after regulators decided to let project developers with offsets contracted to the government sell them on the market instead.

Tens of thousands of Sydney residents have been forced from their homes as deadly floods unleashed chaos across Australia’s largest city

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The Gold Standard remains open to partnerships in the fast-moving space of web3, but it is important to be mindful about which decentralised approaches to deploy in carbon markets, and how to deploy them, writes Sarah Leugers.

New Zealand carbon allowances fell to their lowest level since mid-January in Tuesday trade, with international disruptions outweighing bullish signals from government policies.

Australia's biggest wind and solar hybrid facility to begin production in coming days after getting green light from market operator.

The post Australia’s biggest hybrid wind and solar farm about to start production appeared first on RenewEconomy.

The weather system that caused flooding in Queensland and northern NSW has now reached Sydney, with flooding affecting the northern beaches. Manly Dam began spilling, potentially impacting some 2,000 people and 800 homes. Residents in low-lying areas were urged to evacuate. Some 40,000 people across the state were subject to evacuation orders. Dean Narramore from the Bureau of Meterology says, 'A tough 24 hours or even 48 hours ahead and even if the rain does stop on Wednesday and Thursday ... there's still a lot of water in these rivers'

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• Sydney residents evacuated from homes overnight as heavy rain brings fresh flood risks
• Australia news live update: Sydney floods wreak havoc; Manly dam begins to spill as NSW flood waters rise
• Peter Dutton says Australians should look at ‘positives’ of flood response as Dominic Perrottet apologises
  

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Councils are trying to balance competing priorities in urban development, with limited resources and stretched budgets. Nicky Morrison, Professor of Planning, Western Sydney University Patrick Harris, Senior Research Fellow, Deputy Director, CHETRE, UNSW Sydney Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

FFI and Airbus form new partnership to accelerate development of a "green revolution" in the aviation industry.

The post Fortescue teams up with aero giant Airbus to accelerate green hydrogen planes appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Snowy Hydro’s Gordon Wymer on the need for more transmission, plus latest on AGL and offshore wind.

The post Energy Insiders Podcast: Snowy Hydro and the missing links appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Northern German port city paves way for large-scale imports of green hydrogen from Scandinavia and even Australia via pipelines and ships.

The post City of Hamburg wants to become EU green hydrogen hub, import from Australia appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Angus Taylor has handed billions in value back to carbon traders following his decision to make changes to the Emissions Reduction Fund.

The post How Angus Taylor handed a $1.3 billion windfall to carbon traders appeared first on RenewEconomy.