Around The Web

2021 is well underway and is already on track to be another year of climate policy shenanigans - here's what to watch out for this year.

The post 2021 is here: what to watch out for in Australian climate and energy politics appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Pennsylvania holds the legal authority to join the RGGI cap-and-trade scheme, according to public comments, but regulators should take steps to increase the stringency of the programme to avoid adversely impacting the Northeast US carbon market and align with possible federal climate mandates.

2020 confirmed as another year ranking amongst the hottest on record. The urgency of reducing emissions only gets higher every day.

The post 2020 among the top three warmest years on record, along with 2016 and 2019 appeared first on RenewEconomy.

The first carbon credit standard in the Middle East aims to issue 10 million offsets this year from carbon-cutting projects, including units that other standards won’t touch.

New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham (D) on Wednesday identified a low-carbon fuel standard (LCFS) as one of her priorities for the state’s 2021 legislative session, adding to the state’s roster of possible market-based climate policies.

RGGI Allowance (RGA) prices fell from all-time highs over the week while speculators opted to sell off positions amid limited compliance demand, as California Carbon Allowance (CCA) values rose slightly on the front end of the curve.

Quebec’s initial free allowance distribution for 2021 declined slightly from the previous year, with additional allocation due to industrial emitters by the end of 2022, according to data published by the province's environmental ministry.

For the past 50 years, international animal cognition research has focused on how tool use is related to animal intelligence. But new research casts doubt on long-held assumptions. Gisela Kaplan, Emeritus Professor in Animal Behaviour, University of New England Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

EUA prices recovered from an early drop below €33 on Thursday, finding buyers near a key technical support as gas prices continued their retreat from lofty highs seen earlier in the week.

Emissions from global energy systems will peak in 2023, but the speed of decarbonisation remains off pace to put GHG output on a path in line with a temperature rise of 1.5C above pre-industrial levels, according to a report released Thursday.

Due to different methods, US Noaa judged year as fractionally cooler than 2016 while UK Met Office put 2020 in close second place

Last year was by a narrow margin the hottest ever on record, according to Nasa, with the climate crisis stamping its mark on 2020 through soaring temperatures, enormous hurricanes and unprecedented wildfires.

The average global land and ocean temperature in 2020 was the highest ever measured, Nasa announced on Thursday, edging out the previous record set in 2016 by less than a tenth of a degree.

Continue reading...

Climate change: Cumbria coal mine "risks making Britain a laughing stock"

The US EPA this week will move to extend the 2019 and 2020 compliance deadlines for the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) as a result of an ongoing court case involving small refinery waivers and because the agency has not yet proposed blending quotas under the programme for this year.

Environmental groups blast state government for failure to penalise Chevron’s Gorgon plant for increased greenhouse gas emissions

Greenhouse gas emissions from Chevron’s Gorgon LNG facility have increased because the company’s carbon capture system is not working properly, meaning more carbon dioxide is being vented into the atmosphere.

Environment groups have blasted the Western Australian government for not imposing penalties on the energy company after documents revealed sand was clogging the injection system designed to bury up to 4m tonnes of carbon dioxide a year under Barrow Island.

Continue reading...

The years between 2011 and 2020 were the hottest on record, and 2020 was among the warmest of all.

The electric predators work in groups to herd and "zap" their prey in unison, scientists shocked to discover.

An audit of federal FOI requests finds environmental agencies amongst the worst at providing open access to government documents.

The post Federal environment departments suppressing access to information, audit shows appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Pollinators risk running short of food as wildflowers disappear in a "green desert", experts warn.

But researchers warn there is still a risk of catching and passing the virus on to others again.

Report says not enough funding is being made available to deal with effects of extreme weather

Millions of people around the world are facing disaster from flood, droughts, heatwaves and other extreme weather, as governments fail to take the measures needed to adapt to the impacts of climate breakdown, the UN has warned.

Nearly three-quarters of countries around the world have recognised the need to plan for the effects of global heating, but few of those plans are adequate to the rising threat, and little funding has been made available to put them into force, according to the UN environment programme’s Adaptation report 2020, published on Thursday.

Continue reading...