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Campaigners hail EU move, and congressman says it gives fresh impetus to similar US plans

A groundbreaking EU deal to ban the import of goods linked to deforestation has set a global benchmark and will hasten the passage of a similar law in the US, American lawmakers have said.

A football pitch-sized tract of forest is lost every second somewhere around the world, mostly to agricultural expansion. From 2024, the EU will require firms working in deforestation hotspots to certify that their goods have not harmed forests after a cutoff date of 31 December 2020.

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Norway’s Equinor and Germany’s RWE plan to develop a large-scale hydrogen-based value chain to help transition Germany away from coal, the energy companies said on Thursday alongside a wider cooperation deal by their respective governments.

Data reveals hundreds of hours of discharges via storm overflows in some locations

The scale of raw sewage discharges into rivers by England’s biggest privatised water firm is revealed in a new interactive map showing real-time discharges.

After growing pressure from campaigners and the public, Thames Water has created an interactive map showing sewage dumping via storm overflows in real time.

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Without global heating, such warm temperatures would be expected only once every five centuries, Met Office says

The record-breaking heat in the UK in 2022 was made 160 times more likely by the climate crisis, indicating the dominant influence of human-caused global heating on the nation.

Last year has been confirmed as Britain’s hottest on record, with the average annual temperature passing the 10C mark for the first time. Scientists at the Met Office calculated that such heat is now expected every three to four years. Without the greenhouse gases emitted by humanity, such a warm year would be expected only once every five centuries.

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China‘s State Council has recommended studying the possibility of including carbon sinks generated from soil and water conservation projects in its national offset market, in a move backing the long-awaited relaunch of the Chinese Certified Emissions Reductions (CCER) programme.

An Indonesia-based investment firm that will help drive investments and provide strategic advice on early-stage nature-based businesses in Southeast Asia is having its soft launch this month.

The amount of money paid to farmers in England for environmental work will rise, the government says.

Environmental cash incentives part of government scheme to replace EU common agricultural policy

Farmers are to receive additional payments of up to £1,000 a year for protecting nature and the environment, as the government changes post-Brexit subsidies to agriculture.

The increased payments will come under the environmental land management schemes (Elms), the cornerstone of the government’s system for replacing the EU’s much-criticised common agricultural policy (CAP).

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The average annual temperature last year was more than 10C for the first time, the Met Office says.

Northern China's Shandong province has rolled out a work plan for the construction of its own offset programme, the latest move for regional authorities in the country to explore new options in the absence of a national offsetting mechanism.

A government-commissioned expert group has recommended that participants in Japan’s domestic voluntary carbon market, the GX League, should set a single target for the 2023-25 pilot phase of the scheme, with final regulations for the initial trading period to be released later this month.

Report says opportunities were missed last summer to improve the energy efficiency of homes and save money on gas.

Ministers missed crucial opportunities but should use energy windfall tax to speed up insulation efforts, committee says

A national “war effort” on energy efficiency is required to cut energy bills, reduce climate-heating emissions and ensure energy security, according to a cross-party committee of MPs.

Boosting efficiency in homes and businesses is the fastest way to cut energy use but the government missed a “crucial window of opportunity” last summer, the report from the environmental audit committee (EAC) said. The energy bills crisis was sparked by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, while political turmoil in the UK resulted in three prime ministers in office between July and October.

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Queensland Resources Council says industry would welcome restrictions easing but new long-term customers since found elsewhere in Asia

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Australia would benefit from a lifting of China’s ban on its coal but any gains would likely be modest as miners have largely redirected supplies elsewhere, analysts said.

Shares of ASX-listed coalminers shot up on Wednesday after reports China was considering lifting its restrictions on coal imports from Australia from April. The ban was imposed in mid-2020 amid deteriorating bilateral relations that have since begun to improve.

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A series of reports have found Australian forests are continuing to be cleared at globally significant levels, to the point where some could become net carbon emitters in the coming decades in the face of the ever-increasing impacts of climate change while putting domestic biodiversity under pressure.

The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) has picked four project proposals across Latin America and the Caribbean for an initiative seeking to find innovative ways to use digital assets to promote biodiversity conservation and climate change action.

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As a key member of the experienced Carbon team, you will be in charge of developing and managing carbon operations and expertise within PUR. In this role you will work with all our teams (Africa, Europe, Asia, North America and Latin America) and perform a wide range of activities.

As a key member of the experienced Carbon team, you will be in charge of developing and managing carbon models and forecasts within PUR. In this role you will work with our teams across the globe (Africa, Europe, Asia, North America and Latin America) and perform a wide range of activities.

The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) on Wednesday proposed amendments that would remove carbon allowances from auctions under the in-state Global Warming Solutions Act (GWSA) cap-and-trade system that are associated with supplying waste steam.