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There are fewer than 30 breeding pairs in Britain, and the one I saw at a Scottish loch was at its springtime finest

Chestnut flanks and neck. Ruby-red eyes. Dagger-like bill. And, on either side of its matt-black head, golden plumes shimmering in the Speyside sunshine. All wrapped up in a buoyant waterbird, gliding across the silky-smooth surface of the loch, before disappearing beneath, then yo-yoing into view again, with a tiny fish as its prize.

The Slavonian grebe’s splendour is enhanced by its rarity: there are fewer than 30 breeding pairs in Britain, spread out across the Scottish Highlands. Being relatively unknown, it might not win a competition for Britain’s most beautiful bird. But it would certainly give any other contenders a run for their money.

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‘Massive biodiversity gains’ to be made, says letter signed by academics and public figures

More than 100 academics, experts and public figures have signed a letter calling on the royal family to rewild their lands as a public commitment to help tackle Britain’s biodiversity crisis and to show climate leadership.

Organised by the rewilding campaign group Wild Card, the letter’s 120 signatories include the broadcasters Chris Packham, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall and Anita Rani as well as the leading environmental scientist Prof Sir Robert Watson.

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Humpback whales 'bubble-net feeding' in Australian waters has been captured on video for the first time. The drone video was taken at the end of 2020, but researchers have studied the whales' behaviour, confirming they were using the technique. With an estimated 33 whales participating, it is also the largest humpback whale congregation ever observed in Australian waters. Bubble-net feeding, where whales deliberately blow bubbles to form a type of net around their prey, has been witnessed mostly in the northern hemisphere. The video was taken off the Sapphire Coast in southern New South Wales

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Tasmania, thanks to its hydro and forests, has reached 100 pct renewables. Now it can show the world what the other side of net-zero emissions should look like.

The post Tasmania reaches 100 pct renewables – but climate action doesn’t stop there appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Daniel Bleakley on why his Coal miners in Teslas video series has been such a hit, and how his Model 3 performance EV is helping to reduce fears about the future.

The post The Driven Podcast: Coal miners in Teslas appeared first on RenewEconomy.

A brown coal generator in Germany is to close six years early because of high carbon prices.

The post German brown coal generator to close six years early due to high CO2 price appeared first on RenewEconomy.

The best way to keep premiums down is to prevent climate change and the disasters it causes

No matter how much you pay for your home or car insurance, if your property is damaged by mouse plague, nuclear radiation, war or rising sea levels you are almost certainly on your own.

If you’re lucky, your insurance might cover you against storms but maybe not against floods (you know the difference, right?). Likewise, your insurance almost certainly doesn’t cover you against storm surges or a dam bursting.

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New Zealand carbon allowances soared past NZ$40 ($28.81) to new record high levels on Wednesday, following the release of the independent Climate Change Commission’s final advice to the government on the country’s carbon budgets out to 2035.

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

Federal Court rules in favour of Greenpeace, finding the group can use AGL logo and branding in 'parody' campaigns.

The post Greenpeace claims legal win against AGL over “Australia’s Greatest Liability” campaign appeared first on RenewEconomy.

The ban this year would help to cut 1.26 million tonnes of carbon emissions a year, the government says.

EU carbon allowances may soon "break loose" from their correlation to utility coal-to-gas switching levels and gravitate towards the higher prices of €75-100 thought needed to continue decarbonising the bloc’s economy, analysts said this week.

The Northern Isles followed by Lochinver are expected to have the country's best view of the moon partially obscuring the sun.

California regulator ARB will not incorporate climate programme cost analysis recommendations from a recent state audit in its Scoping Plan update, with officials on Tuesday instead saying long-term GHG reduction goals and emissions trends would inform this process.

California Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) prices inched down in recent days as utility Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) prepared for its next credit solicitation, according to participants in the transportation sector programme.

Instead of focusing on reducing emissions, Australia's government is putting great effort into greenwashing and twisting statistics. Here's how.

The post Your G7 greenwashing guide: How Australia will feign climate ambition appeared first on RenewEconomy.

New research looked at wave conditions over the past 40 years, and found wave power has increased since at least the 1980s, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere. Thomas Mortlock, Senior Risk Scientist, Risk Frontiers, Adjunct Fellow, Macquarie University Itxaso Odériz, Research assistant, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM) Nobuhito Mori, Professor, Kyoto University Rodolfo Silva, Professor, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM) Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Germany favours the rapid end to free EU carbon allowances for airlines, according to a leaked document, increasing the pressure on the sector as it slowly recovers from the pandemic.

Cevian’s call for more capital to be returned is beyond what most City analysts think possible

An activist investor would have been very useful at Aviva for most of the insurer’s 20-odd years of existence, frustrated shareholders will feel. Outside the banking sector, it’s hard to think of a major UK financial services company that has disappointed its investors so often, or showered such large rewards for failure on its chief executives. The share price is less than half what it was at the time of formation via a three-way merger at the turn of century.

The activist that Aviva has finally attracted is Cevian Capital, which has turned up with an £800m, or 5%, stake just at the moment when Amanda Blanc, chief executive since last July, seems to be the first boss with a decent plan.

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US biofuel credit (RIN) values are set to retrace from record levels as gasoline demand recovers and more Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) policy certainty emerges for the second half of the year, analysts at a major investment bank said.