Around The Web

Panel head Ian Chubb compares ‘roadshow of Dr Ridd’ to tobacco industry strategy defending smoking

An expert panel led by the former chief scientist Ian Chubb has warned ministers that controversial scientist Peter Ridd is misrepresenting robust science about the plight of the Great Barrier Reef, and compared his claims to the strategy used by the tobacco industry to raise doubt about the impact of smoking.

The warning, in a letter to the federal environment minister, Sussan Ley, and the Queensland premier, Annastacia Palaszczuk, follows Ridd launching a lecture tour in which he has repeated his claim that farmland pollution does not significantly damage the natural wonder.

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Cites, the global wildlife trade regulator, approves ‘momentous’ decision after EU adds loophole

The regulator of global wildlife trade has decided to impose a near-total ban on sending African elephants captured from the wild to zoos.

After a heated debate at a meeting of parties to the convention on international trade in endangered species (Cites) in Geneva on Tuesday, the member countries approved a proposed text after a revision by the European Union included some exceptions to the ban.

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Clearer targets and a more consistent approach will help Britain achieve its ambitions, writes Dr Nina Skorupska and seven others

Innovation is transforming the way we generate and consume power, with future energy needs being met through subsidy-free renewables balanced by on-site battery storage.

The government has set out strong ambitions for the UK to be a world leader in flexible generation, most recently through the plans for a new Smart Export Guarantee.

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President Bolsonaro demands an apology from his French counterpart for calling him a liar.

1,114.8 sq km cut down this month, the same area as Hong Kong – on top of damage from fires

Deforestation of the Brazilian Amazon has hit the highest August level since the current monitoring system began in 2015, underscoring concerns about the weakening of forest protection under President Jair Bolsonaro.

The world’s biggest terrestrial carbon sink lost 1,114.8 sq km (430 sq miles) – equivalent to the area of Hong Kong – in the first 26 days of this month, according to preliminary data from the government’s satellite monitoring agency. The data does not include damage caused by fires currently sweeping parts of the Amazon.

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The international wildlife regulator bans the capture and export of baby African elephants.

Insect-based foods may be better for pets than prime steak, according to the British Veterinary Association.

Japan and the World Bank have signed an MoU on the Joint Crediting Mechanism (JCM), aiming to use the offset programme to pilot the emerging international carbon market under the Paris Agreement.

Energy regulator sues owner of gas plant for role in February 2017 blackouts in South Australia that conservatives had sought to pin on renewables.

The post Regulator sues South Australia’s biggest gas unit over role in blackouts appeared first on RenewEconomy.

EUAs dipped early on Tuesday as a weak economic outlook weighed on the energy complex to push prices back towards last week's non-week low.

We want to hear from people living or working on the frontline of the fires destroying forests in Brazil, Bolivia and across the region

Smoke from wildfires burning in the Amazon shrouded São Paulo in darkness earlier this month. The clouds covering the megacity, almost 2,000 miles from the fires, made it impossible for residents and the rest of the world to ignore the destruction taking place.

As international leaders, environmental groups and activists condemn Brazil’s president Jair Bolsonaro for weakening rainforest protections, we want to hear from those who have witnessed and been directly affected by these fires – in the Amazon and across the region.

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The body representing UK vets says pet food diets based on insects are a 'fantastic opportunity'.

China passed legislation this week allowing local governments to impose taxes on the mining and production of a wide range of natural resources, including fossil fuels.

Engineers in Stevenage, UK, finish building a robot that will search for life on the Red Planet.

Former fishermen in the Philippines are lifting their families out of poverty through whale shark tourism. Judi Lowe, PhD Candidate, Southern Cross University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Melbourne Girls’ College principal says she wants parents to buy items with less packaging

A Melbourne selective girls’ school is removing its rubbish bins and will force students to pack reusable lunch containers or take their rubbish home from next week.

Melbourne Girls’ College principal Karen Money hopes the move will encourage families to think more sustainably about school lunches and buy items with less packaging.

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The ACT government is finalising its shift to 100 per cent renewables and is now focused on decarbonising transport with a shift to electric vehicles.

The post ACT completes shift to 100% renewables, eyes EV transition appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Hawaiian Electric Companies group launches one of America's largest renewable energy procurement bids, as it works toward state goal of 100% renewables by 2045.

The post Hawaiian Electric launches tender for 900MW of renewables appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Victoria government approves three PV projects for development in Goulburn Valley, controversially dodging state's own updated guildelines to solar farm development.

The post Three “controversial” solar farms approved for Victoria’s Goulburn Valley appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Fires are raging across the world’s largest tropical rainforest as farmers, land-grabbers and loggers torch trees and clear land for crops or grazing. According to Brazil’s National Institute of Space Research, the number of fires detected by satellite in the Amazon region this month is the highest since 2010. Bowing to international pressure and a global outcry over the destruction of a vital resource in the fight against climate change, president Jair Bolsonaro authorised the deployment of Brazil’s armed forces to help combat blazes, with warplane dumping water on burning tracts of Amazon. Critics say the large number of fires this year has been stoked by Bolsonaro’s encouragement of farmers, loggers and ranchers to speed up efforts to strip away forest

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