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This year’s spring temperatures would be ‘virtually impossible’ without human greenhouse emissions, according to new report

Australia’s hottest spring on record, which saw temperatures more than 2C above average, would have been “virtually impossible” without human-caused climate change, new analysis has found.

A spring as hot as the one Australians just experienced would come along only once every half a million years without the extra greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, climate scientist Dr David Karoly told the Guardian.

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The mass of human-made objects will for the first time likely exceed that of living things in 2020.

Production of concrete, metal, plastic, bricks and asphalt greater than mass of living matter on planet, paper says

The giant human footprint stamped across the world in 2020 is greater than the impact on the planet of all other living things, research suggests.

The amount of plastic alone is greater in mass than all land animals and marine creatures combined, the study estimates.

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Officials say coastal dunes should no longer be part of site of special scientific interest

Conservation officials in Scotland said on Wednesday that the coastal sand dunes at Donald Trump’s Aberdeenshire golf resort have lost their special status as a protected environmental site.

NatureScot, Scotland’s nature agency, said that following construction of the Trump International Golf Links course at Menie, north of Aberdeen, the dunes no longer “merit being retained as part of the site of special scientific interest”.

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Exclusive: António Guterres says key promise of $100bn funding will be missed, damaging trust in Paris deal

Rich countries will miss a key promise they made to the poor world on the climate crisis by failing to provide the money necessary for them to cope with its effects, damaging the prospects for global action, the UN secretary general has said.

Developing countries were supposed to receive at least $100bn (£75bn) in financial assistance from public and private sources this year and in future years to help them cut greenhouse gas emissions and deal with the ravages of extreme weather. The promise was one of the cornerstones of the 2015 Paris agreement and will be a key element of next year’s Cop26 climate talks.

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New Zealand’s biggest thermal power generator on Wednesday announced new climate targets that could eliminate more than 2% of annual NZU demand by 2025.

With unique access to remote communities in the snow-capped landscape of Norway, this film follows characters on either side of a fierce debate on whether to cull the wolf population. For decades the topic has split political parties, families and communities across the country, with environmentalists world-wide criticising Norway for how it handles its tiny population of critically endangered wolves.  Here, a group of hunters await news from the government on whether their yearly hunt will be permitted, while the environmentalists anticipate the worst.  With angry threats on both sides, the film takes a deep dive into what’s at stake for both groups, as well as the wider world

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World still on course for catastrophic 3.2C of warming by end of century, emissions gap report finds

The direct climate impact of the coronavirus lockdown has lowered 2050 temperature projections by a “negligible” 0.01C, the UN has revealed.

A green economic recovery from the pandemic could, however, make a substantial difference, according to the UN Environment Programme (Unep) annual emissions gap report, potentially reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 25% over the next decade and putting the world on track to meeting the Paris agreement’s goal of keeping temperatures within 2C of pre-industrial levels.

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One of the biggest companies due to participate in China’s national emissions trading scheme has announced it aims to peak its CO2 emissions seven years ahead of schedule, as major companies ramp up voluntary pledges in line with President Xi Jinping’s carbon neutral commitment.

The world's wealthiest will need to limit emissions if the world is to avoid dangerous warming.

Brazil says it can reach net zero emissions by 2060 without needing to lift its near-term Paris Agreement emissions pledge, though campaigners questioned the credibility of goals set by an administration that has allowed Amazon deforestation to rise.

Multiple sources say summit organisers have told Australia the PM won’t get to speak on the weekend

Scott Morrison is unlikely to win a last-minute speaking slot at a global leaders’ climate ambition summit as his government has failed to meet the demands set by the event organisers, a long-time advisor at international talks says.

As Guardian Australia revealed on Monday, the prime minister has not yet been confirmed to give a speech at the weekend summit, which is being hosted by Britain, France and the UN in a bid to boost climate commitments ahead of a major conference in Glasgow next year.

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With crises like Covid, it’s comforting to point the finger away from ourselves – but we don’t learn by doing so

“It’s the last I’ve got, love,” said the man selling Christmas trees in our local market when I asked to see a larger specimen. “It’s 2020, you know. People want to see the end of it.”

This was mid-November. Like many people, I started the countdown to the end of the year some time in mid-July. I panicked when I read reports from the British Christmas Trees Growers Association that some farms had already sold out, and took immediate action when I discovered that companies selling lights and decorations were struggling to meet customer demand.

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South Korea sold 92% of the CO2 allowances on offer in Wednesday’s monthly auction, but the settlement price rose over 4% from the November sale amid a firmer secondary market.

I had resigned myself to brief glimpses but he landed, and lingered, nearby

I don’t usually take binoculars on my early-morning bike ride; if I did, I would stop too often to get any benefit. But after a swift circuit around the levels, I picked them up and headed down the lane behind my home to look for a stonechat I’d seen the day before.

The stonechat had moved on; possibly because of the presence of a male merlin – the first I’d seen here in Somerset for a decade. I first noticed the bird as he flew away from me, and resigned myself to the usual brief views. But moments later, he landed on top of a tall hedgerow.

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CCC recommendation includes half of cars being electric by 2030, gas boilers phased out and 10,000 wind turbines

• What does the UK’s climate plan entail?

The world’s first detailed route map to ending a nation’s use of fossil fuels is both “ambitious and affordable”, according to the UK government’s official advisers, and would see half of the cars on the road being electric by 2030 and 10,000 giant wind turbines in the North Sea.

The Climate Change Committee’s analysis found that the future cost savings from no longer having to buy oil and gas almost offsets the £50bn-a-year investment needed in low-carbon power, transport and home heating across the next three decades.

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McGowan government unveils 'Just Transition' plan for coal centre of Collie, as next step in 10 to 15-year process to prepare for exit of coal generators.

The post W.A. maps “just transition” for Collie as renewables hasten coal industry decline appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Southern California Edison signs four long-term contracts totalling 590MW of battery energy storage projects, including three utility-scale projects. 

The post California utility signs another four big battery contracts, taking total to 2GW appeared first on RenewEconomy.

BHP says switching diesel for electricity, and hydrogen for coal, will be key to a transition to carbon neutral resources sector.

The post Renewables, EVs and hydrogen key to zero-carbon mining, BHP says appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Oz Minerals says latest study gives tick to $1 billion nickel mine that could be one of world's biggest off-grid renewable projects.

The post OzMin’s $1 billion nickel mine could be one of world’s biggest off-grid renewable projects appeared first on RenewEconomy.