Around The Web

European carbon prices plummeted by almost 7% on Thursday, with traders dumping length on what market participants said was a myriad of contributing factors.

China has successfully landed on the far side of the moon, but that is not the limit of its ambitions.

A former park service director says leaving parks open without key staff is equivalent to leaving the Smithsonian open with priceless artefacts unattended

When I was a ranger at Crater Lake national park in the 1980s, the average snowfall at headquarters was 500in a year, and snow could accumulate at 2in an hour. One of my jobs as ranger was to shovel out the fire hydrants every day, so that if there was a fire in the hotel, headquarters or housing, we’d be able to fight it. Our maintenance staff plowed roads for safe visitor access and rangers patrolled on skis, regularly performing rescues. This was all part of ensuring that, in accordance with the National Park Service’s founding charter, the parks are “unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations”.

Leaving the parks open without these essential staff is equivalent to leaving the Smithsonian museums open without any staff to protect the priceless artefacts. Yet as a result of the government shutdown, which furloughed most park staff, this is what has happened. It is a violation of the stewardship mandate, motivated only by politics. While the majority of the public will be respectful, there will always be a few who take advantage of the opportunity to do lasting damage.

Continue reading...

A former carbon trader at PetroChina’s London desk has joined Engie as head of carbon and power trading in the Greater China region.

Workers known as guajeros descend daily to search for recyclable items at one of the biggest rubbish dumps in Guatemala City. Hundreds carry out the work, which is dangerous due to mudslides and collapses but can earn them nearly twice the minimum daily wage

Continue reading...

Do we need a new frame of reference to truly understand our environmental emergency?

Plant set to boost local jobs and supply growing global demand for lithium, which is used in renewable energy storage

Earthworks for a new lithium hydroxide factory in Western Australia are expected to begin this month after the $1bn project received federal environmental approval.

The plant owned by the world’s largest lithium producer, the US chemical company Albemarle, was approved by the WA government in October and is estimated to create up to 500 jobs in construction, with another 100 to 500 operational jobs once it is operational.

Continue reading...

New Zealand’s whale whisperers worry that manmade changes in the ocean are behind the spike in beachings

Whale whisperer Hori Parata was just seven years old when he attended his first mass stranding, a beaching of porpoises in New Zealand’s Northland, their cries screeching through the air on the deserted stretch of sand.

Seven decades later, Parata, 75, has now overseen more than 500 strandings and is renowned in New Zealand as the leading Māori whale expert, called on by tribes around the country for cultural guidance as marine strandings become increasingly complex and fatal.

Continue reading...

Guardian environment correspondent Sandra Laville explains why we can’t recycle our way out of the plastics problem, and suggests ways to reduce your footprint

Plastic has become perhaps the most demonised material of the last 12 months, as the scale of pollution in the oceans becomes increasingly apparent.

With dire predictions that if nothing is done there will be more plastic in the seas by weight than fish by 2050, it has become evident that we cannot recycle our way out of the plastic problem.

Continue reading...

A daily summary of our news plus bite-sized updates from around the world.

New images of Anak Krakatau, which erupted last month and caused a deadly tsunami, are revealed.

Energy efficiency is more important in the battle against climate change than wind and solar power, research shows

Energy efficiency and changing economy cut generation by 1% in 20018 as renewables supplied record 33% of electricity

The output of British power stations fell this year to levels last seen almost a quarter of a century ago, while renewables achieved a record share of the UK electricity supply.

Electricity generation in 2018 was the lowest since 1994, when Tony Blair became the leader of the Labour party.

Continue reading...

The Washington Department of Ecology (ECY) will ask the state Supreme Court this spring to overturn a lower court’s block of Governor Jay Inslee’s (D) market-based regulation for large emitters, potentially offering the state a fresh chance to put a price on carbon after multiple failed attempts in recent years.

California regulator ARB is considering changes to its forestry offset protocol and potentially adding a grassland methodology as it looks to increase the supply of credits with a direct environmental benefit to the state, a registry source said.

County of San Diego housing projects relying on out-of-jurisdiction carbon offsets to nullify the impacts of urban sprawl may not proceed because the plan violates prior guidance and lacks environmental integrity, a California Superior Court judge ruled last week.

Pattern Energy is looking for an natural resources environmental associate for their Houston-based office.

Natural Resources Defense Council is seeking a Climate Advisor to work with Washington, DC as part of the American Cities Climate Challenge (ACCC).

European carbon allowances closed higher following a choppy session on Wednesday, flirting with last September’s 10-year high during the first trading day of 2019.

Evolution Markets has lost its US Carbon Americas Director and experienced broker from its New York City office, several sources confirmed to Carbon Pulse.