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Gideon Henderson says debate needed on GM crops and gene editing of plants and animals

Gideon Henderson, chief scientist at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, believes the time is ripe for a new public debate on biotechnology, the science of manipulating genes in crops and animals.

“The last time we had an extensive public discussion was in the 1990s,” he notes. Then, public outrage at the idea of ‘Frankenfoods’ centred on fears of what might result from newly available techniques that allowed the introduction of genes from one species into a completely different species. Lurid stories of tomatoes altered with fish genes grabbed the headlines.

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Far-right Trump supporters are afraid American democracy has been overturned by their left-leaning 'opponents', even as they themselves actively undermine liberal democratic values and institutions. Jordan McSwiney, PhD Candidate, University of Sydney Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

The end of coal-fired generation in Australia is inevitable. But the federal government can do more to ensure an orderly transition to renewables – avoiding price spikes and supporting workers. Daniel D'Hotman, DPhil Candidate, University of Oxford Steven Hamilton, Visiting Fellow, Tax and Transfer Policy Institute, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

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

The work on market reform by the ESB mostly illustrates the need for an even more forward looking structure for the future.

The post ESB’s market vision fall short of what’s needed for renewable grid appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Six principles that have helped Elon Musk become one of the richest people on the planet.

New York and Washington Democrats pre-filed low-carbon fuel standard (LCFS) bills ahead of the start of each state’s legislative sessions, building on increased subnational momentum in recent months to enact the market-based clean fuels programmes.

California gasoline and diesel consumption fell in September as the COVID-19 pandemic continued to temper demand across the Golden State, likely leading to lower fuel sector emissions under the WCI-linked carbon market, according to state data.

Romania's president has requested a criminal investigation be launched against a former environment minister accused of bribery and instigating embezzlement, in a case involving the exchange of free EU carbon allowances for metal products.

Coastal plain was up for sale as part of the Trump administration’s plan to pay for Republicans’ tax cuts with oil revenue

The Trump administration’s last-minute attempt on Wednesday to auction off part of a long-protected Arctic refuge to oil drillers brought almost zero interest from oil companies, forcing the state of Alaska into the awkward position of leasing the lands itself.

The coastal plain of the Arctic national wildlife refuge was up for sale to drillers as part of the Trump administration’s plan to pay for Republicans’ tax cuts with oil revenue. Conservatives argued the leases could bring in $900m, half for the federal government and half for the state.

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Environmental campaigners say failure to call in West Cumbria Mining planning application ‘jaw-dropping’

Environmental campaigners and a local MP have criticised the government’s “jaw-dropping” decision not to block the building of a “climate-wrecking coal mine”.

The communities secretary, Robert Jenrick, decided on Wednesday not to challenge the planning application for a new coal mine in Cumbria, despite opposition from Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth, and the MP for Westmorland and Lonsdale, Tim Farron.

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EUAs jumped back above €33 on Wednesday, defying weaker energy prices in a late surge coinciding with wider markets rising in anticipation that Democrats would gain control of the US senate.

The government rejects holding an inquiry into plans for a coal mine, meaning it can progress.

The Northeast RGGI cap-and-trade scheme has shifted Q1 auction volume for the programme's upcoming five-year surplus bank adjustment, with more than 18 million allowances withheld from quarterly sales, according to a Carbon Pulse analysis.

The Trump administration pushes ahead with first oil lease sales in an Arctic wildlife refuge.

Workers on farms supplying world’s biggest meat firms allegedly paid £8 a day and housed in shacks with no toilets or running water

Brazilian companies and slaughterhouses, including the world’s largest meat producer JBS, sourced cattle from supplier farms that made use of workers kept in slavery-like conditions, according to a new report.

Workers on cattle farms supplying slaughterhouses earned as little as £8 a day and lived in improvised shacks with no bathrooms, toilets, running water or kitchens, according to a report from Brazilian investigative agency Repórter Brasil.

Since 1995, the report said, 55,000 Brazilian workers have been rescued by government inspectors from “situations similar to slavery”. While the number of investigations has fallen in recent years – 118 workers were freed in 2018, compared with 1,045 a decade earlier – that does not mean the situation has improved, just that inspections have been reduced, it noted.

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What do eclipses look like on Mars? Nasa rovers see the planet's moons pass in front of the Sun.

Setting a carbon border tax on imports is the preferred option among respondents to a key consultation on the EU carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM), the results of which are meant to inform the European Commission’s design and implementation of the measure.

Swiss-based commodities trader Trafigura set its first emissions reduction target on Wednesday, aiming to cut its scope 1 and 2 emissions by at least 30% under 2020 levels by the end of its 2023 financial year.

Volunteers led the rescue effort to save the young 11ft-long stranded orca in Orkney.