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Mature trees found in UK forests play a critical role in fighting climate change, a study suggests

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

Federal Energy and Climate Minister Chris Bowen discusses the stream of new announcements in the last month, and what’s in store for 2023.

The post Energy Insiders Podcast: Chris Bowen on gas, batteries, EVs, wind and targets appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Chris Bowen dismisses gas as transition fuel, says focus is on batteries and pumped hydro. And he discusses major new legislation on capacity, EVs, safeguards and climate targets.

The post Chris Bowen: Gas is neither a transition fuel, nor low emissions. But at least it’s flexible appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Victoria's grid has recorded a new operational demand low thanks to solar power generated on rooftops.

The post Rooftop solar takes biggest bite yet out of brown coal’s Christmas lunch appeared first on RenewEconomy.

The planet is entering its sixth mass extinction event. This global nature summit is our best change to stop this tide of destruction. Sarah Bekessy, Professor in Sustainability and Urban Planning, Leader, Interdisciplinary Conservation Science Research Group (ICON Science), RMIT University Brendan Wintle, Professor in Conservation Science, School of Ecosystem and Forest Science, The University of Melbourne Jack Pascoe, The University of Melbourne James Fitzsimons, Adjunct Professor in Environmental Sciences, Deakin University Rachel Morgain, Senior Research Fellow, School of Ecosystem and Forest Sciences, The University of Melbourne Rebecca Spindler, Adjunct Professor, UNSW Sydney Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Backed by philanthropical funders, the 116 nations in the High Ambition Coalition for Nature and People (HAC) are restructuring the group’s governance system to better equip it to help nations implement the Kunming-Montreal Agreement on biodiversity.

The Albanese government launches consultation on putting emissions reductions into the objectives of the national energy laws, a long-overdue reform.

The post Bowen takes first step to put environment back into energy market rules appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Fortescue signs another MoU to produce green steel on a commercial scale without burning fossil fuels.

The post Fortescue signs deal to produce hydrogen-fuelled green steel appeared first on RenewEconomy.

As bans on elephant ivory are tightened, poachers are killing hippos for their teeth, experts warn.

The effect of a weather phenomenon causing cooler temperatures is due to end next year.

UN secretary general, António Guterres, during his final press conference this year said, 'This is not a time to sit on the side-lines, it is a time for resolve, determination, and – yes – even hope.' Speaking to journalists in New York, Guterres said, 'Despite the limitations and long odds, we are working to push back against despair, to fight back against disillusion and to find real solutions.' Despite his outlook on global heating, one positive development, he pointed out, was that on Monday at 3am, 'delegates at the Cop15 UN biodiversity conference in Montreal agreed on a new global biodiversity framework'

• Climate goal of 1.5C is ‘gasping for breath’, says UN head
• The Guardian view on the Cop15 agreement: nations must do more for nature

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The New York Climate Action Council overwhelmingly adopted the state’s final Scoping Plan on Monday, recommending that regulators implement an economy-wide cap-and-invest programme and consider a clean transportation standard in order to hit the state’s GHG reduction targets.

Two more African nations have introduced guidelines and regulations to govern carbon trading, with a view to selling forest credits and other types of offsets to foreign buyers.

The “breathing space” given to emitters in the just-agreed EU carbon market reform package is only set to last until 2027, lawmakers said on Monday, warning that the bloc's industries will face huge difficulties with higher prices if they don’t invest in decarbonisation before then.

CEFC makes biggest project finance deal for large scale solar as it seeks to help renewables overcome economic headwinds

The post CEFC jumps back into solar market as cost hikes put 82 pct renewable target at risk appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Democratic Republic of the Congo’s environment minister says country has not agreed to ‘30 by 30’ deal

The Democratic Republic of the Congo’s environment minister has said her country has not agreed to a deal to halt the destruction of the Earth’s ecosystems, prompting behind-the-scenes diplomatic efforts to keep the agreement alive just hours after it was adopted.

Ève Bazaiba, the DRC’s environment minister, said her country would be writing to the UN secretary general, António Guterres, and the Convention on Biological Diversity to express the DRC’s position on the final text. It comes after the Chinese Cop15 president, Huang Runqiu, appeared to force through the agreement in the final plenary just moments after the DRC negotiator had said did not support the deal, which is typically negotiated by consensus. His interventions prompted further objections from Uganda and Cameroon.

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International cooperation is the only way to halt biodiversity losses. But the action promised so far isn’t enough

The 23 targets in the Cop15 biodiversity agreement announced in Montreal on Monday are insufficient to prevent further irrecoverable losses, including among the many species threatened with extinction. The deal is not legally binding, leading to concerns about the prospects for implementation. The track record of global biodiversity plans is terrible. Every one of 20 targets set at Aichi in Japan in 2010 was missed.

The new agreement was finalised despite complaints from African countries including the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), home to one of the world’s largest rainforests, which is threatened by oil and gas exploration. The description of the US’s role as “an interesting asterisk” by the Canadian prime minister, Justin Trudeau, was too mild. It is shaming and alarming that the US was at the talks as an “influencer” and not a participant, because the Senate has refused to ratify the UN convention on biological diversity.

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Fixed limits are set for household energy exports because of the uncertain impacts of so many variable generation sources on the network. New energy data and simulation systems may offer an answer. Richard Bean, Research Fellow, Centre for Energy Data Innovation, The University of Queensland Neil Horrocks, Professor and Director, Centre for Energy Data Innovation, The University of Queensland Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Several of the world’s largest banks are gearing up to enable customers to quickly trade voluntary offsets by early next year after piloting new blockchain fintech that aims to be the carbon market equivalent of the SWIFT network, which links financial institutions around the world.