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A certifier expects to issue its first credits in the voluntary carbon market (VCM) this month, it revealed Tuesday as it rolled out a new methodology for forestry conservation that will quantify greenhouse gas removal.

One of the world's few urban forestry offset projects to date has been awarded high marks by a ratings agency this week, while two cookstove schemes have had their ratings reaffirmed.

Integrating carbon removals into the EU ETS will be essential to meet the current near-zero emissions goal by 2040, describing them as a "blind spot" in light of their current lack of attention ahead of crunch reforms due by the end of the year, an event heard on Tuesday.

Few in Somerset MP’s constituency share his enthusiasm but some do agree with need for ‘unpopular measures’

The sun was shining and the wind blowing steadily across Jacob Rees-Mogg’s manicured garden and the Somerset hills beyond.

“It’s obvious on a day like this, isn’t it?” said Gary Marsh, a stonemason and a neighbour of the business secretary and Conservative MP for North East Somerset. “We should be putting more money into solar and wind energy. Plus tidal power on the coast at places like Burnham-on-Sea and Weston-super-Mare. Not fracking, messing with the earth and water.”

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The methane leaks from the Nord Stream pipelines may escape EU emissions coverage amid uncertainty surrounding the alleged sabotage, experts suggested this week, meaning GHGs estimated as equivalent to the annual emissions of Denmark may evade accountability.

Report commissioned by Wave Swell Energy says the machines would make a future clean electricity grid more stable and more reliable

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Deploying wave energy machines at a handful of locations on Australia’s south coast would make a future clean electricity grid more stable, more reliable and would dramatically cut the costs of buying batteries to store renewable energy, according to a new CSIRO report.

The report was commissioned by Wave Swell Energy, an Australian company that has just finished a 12-month trial of its pilot plant on a beach at King Island, north of Tasmania.

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Advocates deride $224.5m funding pledge given one study suggests $2bn a year needed to recover 2,000 threatened plants, animals and ecological communities

• Australia announces plan to halt extinction crisis and save 110 species
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The federal government will need to drastically increase funding for nature conservation in this month’s budget if it wants to prevent further extinction of native wildlife, conservationists say.

The environment and water minister, Tanya Plibersek, announced the zero extinctions target on Tuesday as part of a revamped action plan for threatened species, prioritising conservation efforts for 110 plants and animals and 20 places.

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Nasdaq’s carbon removals platform Puro.earth has opened a consultation on a methodology to earn carbon credits from accelerating the process of CO2 being stored by rocks, while it also this week announced a new removals insurance partnership.

Its enzymes degrade polyethylene within hours at room temperature and could ‘revolutionise’ recycling

Enzymes that rapidly break down plastic bags have been discovered in the saliva of wax worms, which are moth larvae that infest beehives.

The enzymes are the first reported to break down polyethylene within hours at room temperature and could lead to cost-effective ways of recycling the plastic.

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New report reveals flawed regulations have delivered billions of dollars in "supernormal" profits to poles and wires companies, at the expense of consumers.

The post “Another fail” as Australian energy consumers overcharged by $10 billion appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Plastics campaigners call it ‘astounding’ that multinational they say is world’s top polluter has sponsored key UN climate meeting

A sponsorship deal between this year’s UN climate conference and Coca-Cola, which has been described as the “world’s top polluter” by an environmental group, has been branded “greenwash” by campaigners.

Cop27, to be held in the Egyptian coastal resort of Sharm el-Sheikh from 6-18 November, is the world’s primary forum for governments, businesses and environmental organisations to tackle the climate emergency.

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The call followed news that King Charles will not attend COP27 in Sharm el-Sheikh in November.

EU carbon prices wiped out early gains to stand broadly unchanged at midday Tuesday as the market was pushed in different directions by reports that suggest EU institutions remain at odds over how to fund the REPowerEU initiative.

EU finance ministers on Tuesday endorsed a unified stance to partly finance the REPowerEU strategy by sourcing the greatest chunk of the €20 billion from the Innovation Fund and the remaining portion from frontloaded member state auctions, in turn finally discarding the idea of MSR-held sales.

German utility RWE on Tuesday confirmed plans to end its lignite-based power generation in 2030, reaching a deal with Berlin to align with the government’s coal phaseout date even as the company receives state funding to bring coal operations out of reserve in the meantime.

The award recognises advances in quantum mechanics which describes nature at the sub-atomic scale.

Traded volumes in Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs) surged in the September quarter, while the carbon credit price came off as the market waits for the outcome of the government review and Safeguard Mechanism reforms.

Efforts to decarbonise the power sector by shifting away from coal-fired generation are at risk due to an apparent pivot towards gas, with nearly 90 GW of gas plant capacity in the global development pipeline being coal-to-gas conversions or replacements, according to a report released on Tuesday.

Several African leaders at last month’s UN general assembly left dismayed after their calls for action on the climate crisis were overshadowed by the Ukraine war. One was Kenya’s new president, who writes here about why priorities must change

There is almost no facet of society that will be left untouched by the ravages of the climate crisis and how we respond to it. The crisis poses fundamental questions for the economy; it affects public health and jobs, and its threats range from food security to national security. That is why it will be among the central concerns of my government and why I believe any responsible world leader must make it a priority.

Climate change drives the droughts that affect the provision of water; destroys lives and livelihoods; cripples food production, and destroys our homes and infrastructure. Extreme temperatures affect migration patterns and exacerbate conflicts as hundreds of thousands flee to seek alternative livelihoods for survival.

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An industry body has called on the Australian government to prepare its carbon market for greater activity and demand, while at the same time emphasising it should be treated as just one integral piece of the larger puzzle of cutting emissions.