Around The Web

Why do billions of cicadas emerge from below ground every 17 years? And why are they so loud?

A photo of an orangutan reflected in water has won the Nature TTL Photographer of the Year competition.

IEA outlines major shortfall in investment in clean energy, energy efficiency and other decarbonisation measures at a critical moment for climate.

The post Renewables dominate investment, but needs to triple by 2030: IEA report appeared first on RenewEconomy.

A Land of Lincoln-headquartered financial firm opened a second RGGI account this week ahead of the Q2 auction, with the registration marking the first new speculative account in the power sector cap-and-trade programme in more than two months, CO2 Allowance Tracking System (COATS) data showed.

The “perfect storm” of bullish factors that drove EU carbon prices to a record high last month has lost momentum, analysts said Wednesday, but warned that any correction would likely be temporary.

I look at fragments of the Earth's mantle under a microscope to learn how fast molten rock moves from deep in the Earth to the surface. This can help us prepare for future volcanic eruptions. Heather Handley, Honorary Associate Professor in Volcanology and Geochemistry, Macquarie University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Analysts at Morgan Stanley have nudged up their long-term EU carbon price forecasts, but they are expecting allowances to pull back during the second half of this year.

EUAs lost nearly 2% on Wednesday as the market again struggled to absorb the day's two auctions, though they avoided the sharp sell-off triggered by the UK's inaugural sale two weeks earlier, while trading data on UKA holdings was published for the first time ever.

Commitments to a greener and healthier environment would have been a reasonable price to ask

When the government reacted to the coronavirus pandemic in 2020 with unprecedented rescue funds, ministers were urged to attach strings before the money disappeared out the door.

The strings would have forced employers to adopt policies they had resisted for years, most obviously cutting carbon emissions and promoting a healthier environment.

Continue reading...

US biofuel credit (RIN) values rose this week on the back of higher agricultural commodity prices, while market participants questioned whether other refiners besides a Delta Air Lines subsidiary were trimming back on Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) purchases amid near-record high levels.

Duck hunting has been practised as a recreational sport in Australia since colonisation. In Victoria alone, an average of 400,000 birds are killed during hunting season. South Australia, Tasmania and the Northern Territory are also yet to ban the practice. But recent changes in Victoria, including a cut to the season’s length, have made the hunt less accessible for shooters, and with growing community dissent the hunt could soon come to an end

Continue reading...

The European Commission and Bill Gates’ climate venture Breakthrough Energy Catalyst will mobilise $1 billion (€820 million) to scale up clean energy technology, the EU’s executive announced on Wednesday.

The upcoming revision of the EU’s renewable energy directive will not include any measures to promote low-carbon fuels, a European Commission senior official said Wednesday, partly as a result of pressure from green groups and progressive EU lawmakers.

The Q2 RGGI auction is expected to settle closer to the secondary market after notching a wide discount in March, with some market participants foreseeing the quarterly sale settling at a premium due to deferred compliance demand.

Falling oxygen levels harming already struggling wildlife and drinking water supplies, say scientists

The climate crisis is causing a widespread fall in oxygen levels in lakes across the world, suffocating wildlife and threatening drinking water supplies.

Falling levels of oxygen in oceans had already been identified, but new research shows that the decline in lakes has been between three and nine times faster in the past 40 years. Scientists found oxygen levels had fallen by 19% in deep waters and 5% at the surface.

Continue reading...

The head of European power and carbon analytics at ICIS is leaving for a boutique consultancy, Carbon Pulse has learned.

Tulip-shaped ‘eco-art’ turbines address common complaints about noise, danger to wildlife and ugliness

Tulips and flowers could help harness the power of the wind, after a green energy company came up with its own spin on wind power in an “eco-art” design.

Flower Turbines, based in the US and the Netherlands, has installations across Rotterdam, Amsterdam, parts of Germany, Israel and Columbia. The company aims to democratise green energy for everyone and make small windfarms a leading player in the green energy industry.

Continue reading...

Eight major government agencies and institutions have encouraged Beijing to set up an offset trading platform in its pilot free trade zone to act as the centre for the Chinese carbon credit market.

The £150m project to build a 50m deep pool would be used for deep sea and space research.

A major project aims to overcome a barrier to electricity grids wholly supplied by renewable energy.