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Government advisers call for radical changes, including turning farmland into forests

Tree planting must double by 2020 as part of radical changes to land use in the UK, according to the government’s advisers on climate change.

New forests would lock up carbon but also help to limit the more frequent floods expected with global warming.

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Major research also shows charging polluting trucks had no effect on health

Pollution from diesel vehicles is stunting the growth of children’s lungs, leaving them damaged for life, a major study has found.

The research, conducted with more than 2,000 school children in London, is the first such study in a city where diesel pollution is a significant factor, and has implications for cities around the world. It also showed that charges to deter polluting trucks from entering the city did reduce air pollution a little but did not reduce the harm to children’s lungs.

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

Fossil fuel companies including Chevron and ExxonMobil ‘knowingly caused harm’ by contributing to warming, group says

For the fourth-generation crab fisherman John Beardon, the warming of Pacific waters off the coast of California has meant toxic crabs, shortened fishing seasons and a near decimation of his livelihood as a crab boat captain. Now he would like to see the industry he says is responsible pay for the damage.

On Wednesday, associations representing California crab fishermen like Beardon filed suit against 30 fossil fuel companies seeking to make the companies pay for the harm global warming has caused to California’s fisheries. The suit demands that petroleum interests finance the changes that will be needed to sustain the crab fishing industry in the future.

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Energy Estate and MirusWind propose 4GW wind and solar project with storage in NSW - the largest single renewable energy project in Australia's main grid.

The post Energy Estate, MirusWind propose 4GW wind and solar project in NSW appeared first on RenewEconomy.

The UK government’s cabinet of senior ministers has backed a Brexit text crafted by negotiators, Prime Minister Theresa May said late Wednesday, increasing the chances that lawmakers will endorse the EU divorce deal that keeps the country in the EU ETS until the end of 2020.

California regulator Air Resources Board (ARB) issued more than 835,000 offsets over the past three weeks, including roughly 51,000 credits before the WCI market's Nov. 1 compliance deadline, state data showed Wednesday.

EU carbon prices slipped back below €20 in another wavy session on Thursday, closing down nearly 2% despite a bullish auction result.

A mounting allowance surplus spurred by declining fuel sales in the WCI cap-and-trade programme should result in smaller price gains than previously expected following Wednesday’s auction and into the next decade, according to analysts.

Scientists find evidence that an iron asteroid slammed into the Earth deep inside the Arctic Circle.

European carbon allowances are forecast to remain above €20 even in the case of a massive sell-off by the investors who helped prices triple in the past year, analysts said.

Anti-fossil fuel activism is gaining ground where previous climate campaigns have failed, largely because it resonates better with people. Fergus Green, PhD Candidate in Political Theory, Department of Government, London School of Economics and Political Science Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Astronomers have discovered a planet around one of the closest stars to our Sun.

Hurricane rainfall could increase by a third and wind speeds boosted by up to 25 knots if global warming continues

Climate change worsened the most destructive hurricanes of recent years, including Katrina, Irma and Maria, by intensifying rainfall by as much as 10%, new research has found.

Related: 'It's hyped up': climate change skeptics in the path of Hurricane Florence

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RGGI prices and trading activity increased significantly on the secondary market during the third quarter, but the ETS saw fewer transfers between unaffiliated companies, according to a report published Wednesday.

The Nova Scotia environment ministry published regulations Wednesday that outline the annual emissions cap for its carbon market that would begin in Jan. 2019 and auction sale procedures that would start the following year. 

The European Commission has cautioned stakeholders over their suggestion that the EU carbon market is being manipulated, as participants called for more transparency.

With only 12 years to limit climate change catastrophe, according to a UN report, a group of activists called Extinction Rebellion ​have launched a campaign of civil disobedience across London in an attempt to provoke action

• Today in Focus podcast: George Monbiot says climate crisis requires civil disobedience
  

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Consulting engineer known for his work on nuclear safety who was never afraid to take on such a powerful industry

John Large’s working life was split into two halves, the first spent designing civil and military nuclear reactors and the second trying to make sure the industry was kept safe from accidents, nuclear waste and security threats. In this later role as a consulting engineer John was a dangerous opponent for the secretive nuclear establishment because his inside knowledge gave him the ability to ask difficult questions and expose weaknesses. He was never afraid to speak truth to power, although it took courage to take on such a powerful industry.

Despite his chosen role as an outsider, John’s abilities meant he had an astonishing list of clients ranging from the Russian Federation, the British government, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and Greenpeace International. He was invited by the IAEA to China, North Korea and Iran, and by others to the US and Japan, to give advice on their nuclear programmes and the risks they posed.

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