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Investigation showing Brazilian beef industry tied to Amazon destruction prompts demands for firms to scrutinise supply chains

• Revealed: fires three times more common in Amazon beef farming zones
• World Bank urged to rethink investment in one of Brazil’s big beef companies

There is growing support in the UK and Europe for laws that would make due diligence on issues such as deforestation and human rights abuses mandatory for large businesses.

NGOs have been pushing for regulatory action for at least a decade. But this year governments and, more surprisingly, the private sector have swung behind the cause.

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UN experts say it is impossible to rule out that cattle raised on illegally deforested land end up in supply chain of Minerva

• Revealed: fires three times more common in Amazon beef farming zones
• Calls grow for laws requiring firms to reveal links to deforestation

The World Bank should reconsider its investment in one of Brazil’s biggest beef producers because of the industry’s links to deforestation and the climate crisis, according to two UN-appointed experts.

Minerva is Brazil’s second largest beef exporter, and some of its product is supplied, both directly and indirectly, by cattle farmers based in the Amazon rainforest.

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Investigation reveals 70% of Nasa fire alerts were in the estimated buying zones of beef companies, some of which export to UK

• Calls grow for laws requiring firms to reveal links to deforestation
• World Bank urged to rethink investment in one of Brazil’s big beef companies

Fires were three times more common in beef-producing zones than in the rest of the Amazon this summer, according to a new analysis.

The findings once again draw attention to the links between Brazil’s powerful beef industry and the deforestation of the Amazon rainforest, just as the world debates climate change at COP25.

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Dangerous smoke haze hangs over the city of Sydney as the New South Wales fire danger risk is raised from ‘very high’ to ‘severe’. Sydney air quality is 11 times the hazardous level due to the ongoing bushfires.

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Seventy-three years after the first underwater nuclear explosion, scientists return to map the site.

Sydney GP Dr Kim Loo says poor patients are worst affected as AMA warns of possible long-term increase in asthma cases

A Sydney GP working in the suburbs hardest hit by bushfire smoke plaguing NSW has said she is devastated for her patients, many of them unable to afford air filters, air-conditioning or masks.

Dr Kim Loo works in Rouse Hill, which along with Richmond and St Mary’s on Tuesday recorded some of the highest levels of ultra-fine PM2.5 particles, small enough to enter the lungs and bloodstream. On Tuesday afternoon the 24-hour average index for Rouse Hill stood at 430, with anything above 200 rated “hazardous”.

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Sea level rise, erosion and cruise ships are worsening Venice’s flood problem. But corruption nearly scuppered the solution. By Neal E Robbins

I was in Venice when the acqua alta struck on 28 October 2018. I noted in my diary: “It happened today. The first big acqua alta of the year, with a siren at 09.17, followed by two steady tones. One tone is for 1.1 metres, two 1.2 metres, three 1.3 metres and four 1.4 metres or more. The tidal chart says the level should peak just after noon. At 12.30 I put on my green rubber boots. Stepping out along the canals, I found the water above my ankles and immediately had to re-learn how to walk. Walking at normal speed causes the water to splash over your boots and on to your legs. I slowed down, finding I also needed to watch out for little waves from the boats on the canal, which rode up right over the submerged pavement.

“Tourists used bin bags or fluorescent pink plastic booties over their shoes, walked barefoot or just got their shoes wet. Judging by the laughs and picture taking, high water looked fun, but not for the tourists who held heavy suitcases to their chests to keep them dry as they walked. One woman, who had given up, was dragging hers through the water. They looked really stressed. People carried small dogs and children, while a man hefted an old woman on to one of the raised board walkways set up for pedestrians. Many shops are open, some with thigh-high ‘flood’ barriers at the door, even as clerks mop up, pushing water out with wiper blades on sticks or setting up pumps to spew water back out on to the street. In a pizzeria, waiters shuffled through the water to serve customers.

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Unprecedented fires are devastating koalas along Australia's east coast. These sudden drops in population put the survivors at risk of inbreeding. Ryan R. Witt, Conjoint Lecturer | Conservation Biology Research Group, University of Newcastle Chad T. Beranek, PhD candidate, University of Newcastle John Clulow, Associate Professor, University of Newcastle John Rodger, Emeritus Professor, University of Newcastle & CEO FAUNA Research Alliance, University of Newcastle Lachlan G. Howell, PhD Candidate | Conservation Biology Research Group, University of Newcastle Robert Scanlon, PhD Candidate in Restoration Ecology, University of Newcastle Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Atlassian co-founder says industry should be motivated by idea that $20bn Sun Cable project could supply Singapore power below Australian prices.

The post Some ‘crazy folks’ behind Mike Cannon-Brookes $20B Sun Cable project appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Working group comes as new federal drought coordinator Shane Stone refuses to be drawn on climate change’s impact on drought

Agriculture ministers have agreed to establish a new drought working group to better coordinate the country’s assistance to farmers, amid criticism that the current system is too confusing.

Following a meeting of state and territory agriculture ministers in Moree in NSW on Tuesday, federal drought minister David Littleproud announced the new working group would be set up and would report back to government in February.

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Turnbull says Morrison has bowed to Coalition climate deniers, and is setting Australia up for 'an even bigger mountain to climb' post-2030.

The post Turnbull says Morrison bows to climate deniers, Kyoto fudge will leave mountain to climb appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Environmental watchdog ditches proposed requirement for all new emissions-intensive projects in W.A. to be carbon-neutral, in new draft greenhouse gas guidelines.

The post W.A. EPA goes with fossil fuel-friendly version of carbon emissions guidelines appeared first on RenewEconomy.

United Kingdom wind power sets new record, allowing some households to get paid for using energy under innovative scheme to switch demand.

The post UK wind generation hits new record, households get paid to use energy appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Research that promises to halve the greenhouse gas emissions of steel-making by using heat from concentrated solar power wins 2019 AMP Amplify Ignite competition.

The post Solar steel production research scoops national innovation prize appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Just weeks after ASX-listed ClearVue won approval to market its solar integrated glass units in the US, the company has cleared the way for sales in Europe.

The post ClearVue clears way to sell Australian solar glass technology in Europe appeared first on RenewEconomy.

NSW energy minister Matt Kean says "we cannot allow ideology and politics to get in the way of our clear path" to renewables and economic prosperity.

The post NSW energy minister to renewables opponents: “enjoy your Kodak moment” appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Telstra in market for new wind and solar projects as Macquarie identifies more than 12TWh of corporate demand for renewables in Australia.

The post Telstra looking for more wind and solar as corporate demand booms appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Research on 378 killer whales finds those with grandmothers live longer and the older females help them when food is scarce

Doting killer whale grandmothers help their grand calves survive, particularly in times of food scarcity, scientists reported in a paper that sheds new light on the evolutionary role of menopause.

Orca females stop reproducing in their thirties or forties but can continue to live for decades more, a phenomenon known only to exist in humans and four other mammal species, all of which are whales.

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Indigenous people come to COP25 to protest plans to expand oil production in the western Amazon.

Climate change could make the problem worse, multiplying the misery for displaced people.