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G7 leaders make new pledges to combat climate change, but campaigners say they lack detail.

Plastic bags, straws and cutlery, along with polystyrene, will be banned as part of a five-year $365m plan

Lightweight plastic bags, disposable plastic straws and cutlery, plastic cotton buds and microbeads will be banned in New South Wales from next year, as part of a state government push to reduce plastic litter by 30% by 2025.

Reducing plastic waste is part of a wider $356m five-year plan from the NSW government that will also see a new “green” bin for food and organic waste rolled out to homes across the state by 2030 – something the state’s environment minister Matt Kean says will help reduce emissions in landfill and allow greater extraction of biogas from waste.

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A moratorium on new thermal coal mining capacity is needed to avoid chaotic employment impacts.

The post NSW accepts thermal coal is set for major decline, now it needs to act appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Supporters say pesticides damage the environment, but farmers warn they could lose their livelihoods.

Sir David warns world leaders that humans may be "on the verge of destabilising the entire planet".

The mystery auction winner will be part of the the first human flight by space company Blue Origin.

Boris Johnson announces £500m for ‘blue planet fund’, but pledge was contained in 2019 Conservative manifesto

Boris Johnson has set out his intention to “build back better for the world”, to protect the natural environment and wildlife, and tackle the climate crisis, at the G7 summit in Cornwall. But he committed no new funds to the initiative, and other G7 leaders showed little sign of coming forward with the cash commitments that campaigners said were needed to help developing countries cope with the climate emergency.

Announcing £500m to be spent on a “blue planet fund”, for the protection of the oceans and coastal areas in poor countries, he said: “As democratic nations, we have a responsibility to help developing countries reap the benefits of clean growth through a fair and transparent system. The G7 has an unprecedented opportunity to drive a global green industrial revolution, with the potential to transform the way we live.

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Nasa has assembled the key elements of its powerful SLS rocket.

Photographer Kathryn Martin started working with wildflowers when she lived in London. Inspired by the copperplate engravings in 18th-century botanist William Curtis’s eight-volume Flora Londinensis, she digitally photographs native wildflowers against graph paper. The idea developed when she moved to the South Downs and collected flowers on her daily walks as a way to connect with the landscape. The resultant exhibition – called Come, See Real Flowers of this Painful World, after a haiku by Japanese poet Matsuo Bashō – is on show at London design shop Egg. “Wildflower habitats are in sharp decline, but are a vital source of food and shelter for countless species,” Martin says. “I want my photographs to show how beautiful these plants are, to encourage people to notice them, and perhaps even sow their own patch.”

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‘Premature austerity will threaten growth’ as world recovers from Covid-19, says climate economist

Wealthy nations must ignore calls to rein in public spending as the economic recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic gathers pace, or risk a fresh crisis, the climate economist Nicholas Stern has warned.

Leaders of the G7 industrialised countries are meeting in Cornwall this weekend, to discuss vaccines, the recovery from the pandemic, and the climate crisis.

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‘Queen of the Deep’ says it is not too late to reverse human-made damage to oceans and preserve biodiversity

The world has the opportunity in the next 10 years to restore our oceans to health after decades of steep decline – but to achieve that, people must wake up to the problem, join in efforts to protect marine areas and stop eating tuna, according to the oceanographer and deep sea explorer Sylvia Earle.

“We are at the most exciting time maybe ever to be a human, because we’re armed with knowledge,” said Earle, also known as the Queen of the Deep and “her Deepness”. Earle has also set numerous records for deep sea diving, and was the first woman to serve as chief scientist of the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

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Retired 79-year-old John Stimpson started making the boxes as a hobby and now does it full-time.

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Speculators’ California Carbon Allowance (CCA) positions sailed higher this week, with financial firms taking additional length on future vintage allowances, according to US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) data published Friday.

California Carbon Allowance (CCA) prices soared to a new all-time high on Friday morning, with traders attributing the gains to additional speculative demand coupled with few sellers on the secondary market.

A pair of Missouri-based dairy digesters previously registered under California’s compliance offset programme applied for fuel pathways under the Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS), with only one having previously generated compliance-grade credits, according to documents published Thursday.

EU energy ministers on Friday agreed their common position on the EU’s cross-border energy infrastructure regulation, leaving the door open to blending hydrogen with natural gas in a transitional phase despite opposition from several member states.

Switzerland’s updated climate plan is being put to a referendum on Sunday, with experts deeming the vote too close to call despite wide political support for proposals including less reliance on foreign offsets and innovative flight taxes.

A summary of legislative and regulatory action on carbon pricing, clean fuel standards, and clean energy at the US subnational and federal level this week, including developments in Colorado, the New England Independent System Operator, and North Carolina.

EUAs fell by more than €1 and UKAs shed £1 on Friday to give back some of the week's strong gains, as supply concerns mounted and confidence faded that prices might see a near-term return to their recent all-time highs.