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The movie adaptation of Tim Winton’s novel Blueback is out this week. It focuses on a friendship with a big friendly fish – the blue groper; and the powerful response to humans threatening the animal. As with My Octopus Teacher, it’s a highly emotive story, and seen by most people as unusual or unique. Because humans only befriend domestic animals such as cats and dogs. Or do they?

Let’s start with the blue groper. This is a charismatic Australian native, with many interesting characteristics. They are protogynous hermaphrodites, starting life as juveniles with the potential to be male or female; and always starting as green-coloured females. The dominant male has a harem and, if he dies, the largest female will become male and adopt the striking blue hue which gives the fish its name. These fish can live up to 70 years and are the state emblem of New South Wales.

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California Carbon Allowance (CCA) prices began 2023 by eating into the end-of-year run-up, as Washington Carbon Allowance (WCA) prices continued to accelerate ahead of the official launch of the cap-and-trade system on Sunday, jumping more than 20% over December.

The number of entities awaiting approval by California regulator ARB to participate in the state’s cap-and-trade programme more than doubled in the fourth quarter, according to analysis by Carbon Pulse, as authorisations are reportedly taking as long as 12 months to complete.

Around 90% of the Sierra Madre, which protects the Philippines from the worst of climate change, is gone.

The vaccine targets a disease known to weaken colonies by attacking bee larvae.

A British technology company and a Toronto-based ESG investment firm on Thursday announced a merger that they said will pave the way for a broader roll out of a blockchain-based environmental credit platform for creating and trading international offsets.

If the situation doesn’t change, Africa – indeed, the world – may lose one of its most iconic animal species. Rachael Gross, PhD Scholar in Applied Conservation Ecology, Australian National University Rob Heinsohn, Professor of Evolutionary and Conservation Biology, Australian National University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

There would be no life on Earth without invertebrates, but they are understudied and underappreciated. The Bug of the Year competition aims to change that, so have your say and vote! Jennifer Jandt, Senior Lecturer in Ecology, University of Otago Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

If global heating continues at current rate of 2.7C, losses will be greater with 68% of glaciers disappearing

Half the planet’s glaciers will have melted by 2100 even if humanity sticks to goals set out in the Paris climate agreement, according to research that finds the scale and impacts of glacial loss are greater than previously thought. At least half of that loss will happen in the next 30 years.

Researchers found 49% of glaciers would disappear under the most optimistic scenario of 1.5C of warming. However, if global heating continued under the current scenario of 2.7C of warming, losses would be more significant, with 68% of glaciers disappearing, according to the paper, published in Science. There would be almost no glaciers left in central Europe, western Canada and the US by the end of the next century if this happened.

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Temperature records have toppled across the continent. Governments must not delay any longer

Warm winter days do not instinctively feel like an extreme weather event. Unlike the freezing bomb cyclone endured by the US at Christmas, or the floods that swept through the Philippines, they are unlikely to cause immediate widespread death and devastation. At a time when soaring energy costs have pushed so many into poverty, many will have welcomed the warmth that has been felt across Europe, especially the millions in Ukraine suffering due to Russia’s attacks on its power infrastructure.

Yet the heatwave should alarm us all. Though it may have been less punitive to experience than last summer’s record temperatures, which led to thousands of deaths, it has spread across many more countries. “We can regard this as the most extreme event in European history,” said one climatologist. Poland, where the average January temperature is around 1C, saw the thermometer climb to 19C on New Year’s Day. At least seven more European countries have seen record highs. Ski resorts closed slopes or resorted to artificial snow. Though the weather might seem mild, it is disrupting crops and wildlife, and of course sudden thaws can lead to avalanches or floods.

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Europe's record-breaking winter weather has closed ski slopes after temperatures exceeded 20C in parts of Switzerland and southern Germany. Footage from across the continent shows people braving the sea in Spain and resorts opening summer trails for skiers as eight countries recorded their warmest January day in history. 

In the UK, the Met Office confirmed 2022 was the UK's hottest year on record, with the average annual temperature exceeding 10C for the first time. The record-breaking heat was made 160 times more likely by the climate crisis, indicating the dominant influence of human-caused global heating on Britain

• UK’s record hot 2022 made 160 times more likely by climate crisis
• Record warm winter in parts of Europe forces closure of ski slopes

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Why I remain bullish on the verified carbon markets, writes Melissa Lindsay, founder of Emstream and Emsurge.

The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), which bought a 24.9% stake in Austrian oil refining group OMV in December, has earmarked $15 bln for decarbonisation projects to help towards a goal of reducing carbon intensity by 25% by 2030.

Exclusive: England plan will omit aim of reducing area used for animal farming, key to cutting emissions

The government has been accused of being “pathetically nervous” about encouraging the public to eat less meat after excluding the aim from a key strategy.

The Guardian can reveal that the government’s upcoming land use strategy will not include a reduction in area used for animal agriculture in England.

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European carbon prices rose 1.7% on Thursday morning, rebounding after two heavy loss-making sessions, though fundamentals remain weak as gas prices continued to fall as warm winter weather has driven a return to incentivised coal-to-gas- fuel switching.

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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