Environment news

• Great Barrier Reef bleaching made 175 times likelier by human-caused climate change, say scientists

  28-04-2016 23:47
  
  Such coral bleaching could be normal in 18 years, according to preliminary findings by leading climate and coral reef scientistsThe hot water temperature that drove the devastating bleaching on the Great Barrier Reef this year was made 175 times more likely by human-caused climate change, and could be normal in just 18 years, according to preliminary findings by leading climate and coral reef scientists. Related: Great Barrier Reef tourism operators refuse media and politicians access to bleache
  
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• Timeline - Main events in Brazil corruption probe

  28-04-2016 23:42
  (Reuters) - Brazilian prosecutors charged political strategist Joao Santana, the architect of President Dilma Rousseff's 2010 and 2014 election victories, with corruption on Thursday. Below are some of the main events in the investigation focused on state-run oil company Petroleo Brasileiro SA, or Petrobras. March 20, 2014 Federal police arrest the former head of Petrobras' refining and supply department, Paulo Roberto Costa, after noticing Costa was given a Range Rover car by convicted black ma
  
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• Unseasonably warm weather a clear sign of climate change, say scientists

  28-04-2016 22:13
  
  El Niño driving current spike in warm weather and May almost certain to be warmer than average from 1961 to 1990 Unseasonably warm weather across Australia, which is set to continue through the coming month, might be putting a spring in people’s step but is a clear sign of dangerous climate change, according climate scientists and meteorologists.Australia and the rest of the world have been reeling from a string of temperature records being smashed. February caused alarm when it was
  
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• U.S. urges ASEAN unity on South China Sea ruling; warns China on reputation

  28-04-2016 21:25
  By David Brunnstrom WASHINGTON (Reuters) - China risks "terrible" damage to its reputation if it ignores an impending international court ruling on the South China Sea, the United States said on Thursday, while urging Southeast Asian countries to rally behind the court decision. The Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague is expected to rule in coming weeks on a case the Philippines has brought against China's claim to virtually all of the South China Sea, a strategic route for a quarter of
  
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• Biden to meet Kurdish officials in unannounced visit to Erbil

  28-04-2016 21:15
  ERBIL, Iraq (Reuters) - U.S. Vice President Joe Biden made an unannounced visit on Thursday to Erbil, the capital of Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region, to show support for the Kurdish government. The Pentagon announced last week it would provide up to $415 million to Kurdish peshmerga forces, who have played an important role in pushing back Islamic State in northern Iraq. Erbil is also locked in disputes with Baghdad over an oil revenue-sharing deal and the region's contested borders including,
  
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• Sea lion that made strange, 50-mile trek to ranch found dead

  28-04-2016 21:14
  
  OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) — Washington state biologists are trying to determine what killed a sea lion that was captured and released after it was strangely found in the driveway of a cattle ranch about 50 miles from the ocean.
  
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• Equatorial Guinea's President Obiang wins re-election

  28-04-2016 21:14
  Equatorial Guinea's President Teodoro Obiang Nguema has won re-election, securing 93.7 percent of votes cast in an April 24 poll to extend his 37-year rule over the Central African oil producer, a government statement said on Thursday. Obiang, Africa's longest-serving leader, has ruled the former Spanish colony since 1979 when he staged a bloody military coup and ousted his uncle, who was later executed. Obiang's closest challenger in the polls was Avelino Mocache Benga, who won just 1.5 percent
  
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• Oil jumps 2 percent despite glut, hits 2016 peaks on weak dollar

  28-04-2016 20:58
  By Barani Krishnan NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil markets jumped 2 percent on Thursday, hitting 2016 highs for a third straight day as a weaker dollar had investors shrugging off record high U.S. crude inventories and relentless pumping by major producers. Oil prices have surged nearly 80 percent since hitting 12-year lows of around $27 a barrel for Brent in late January and about $26 for U.S. crude in mid-February.
  
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• Exclusive - Europe utilities, private equity jostle for Eni's $3.4 billion retail unit

  28-04-2016 20:55
  By Pamela Barbaglia and Stephen Jewkes MILAN (Reuters) - Three major European utilities are lining up rival bids for a big chunk of Italian oil major Eni's retail gas and power business, sources said, in a deal that could be worth up to $3.4 billion (2.3 billion pounds) and reshape the Italian retail energy industry. French power giant EDF's Italian unit Edison, Spain's Gas Natural and Britain's Centrica have all expressed interest in the asset, which would offer access to 10 million customers,
  
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• VIDEO: Gene therapy could reverse sight loss

  28-04-2016 19:44 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A pioneering new treatment is giving is new hope for those with macular degeneration, as Pallab Ghosh reports.
  
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• Brazil prosecutors charge Rousseff campaign strategist

  28-04-2016 19:34
  CURITIBA, Brazil (Reuters) - Brazilian prosecutors have filed unspecified charges against political strategist Joao Santana, the architect of President Dilma Rousseff's 2010 and 2014 campaigns, according to a statement delivered before a news conference on Thursday. Santana was arrested in February for allegedly receiving bribes in a scheme to divert funds from state-run oil company Petroleo Brasileiro SA, part of Brazil's largest-ever corruption investigation. (Reporting by Thais Skodowski, wri
  
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• Obama declares disaster as Marshall Islands suffers worst-ever drought

  28-04-2016 19:30
  
  The declaration will allow Fema to provide emergency relief to the archipelago, which received just a quarter of its usual rainfall during November to FebruaryBarack Obama has declared the severe drought in the Marshall Islands a disaster, opening the way for emergency US funding for the Pacific island nation.The disaster declaration, which follows a request from Marshallese president Hilda Heine on 1 April, will allow Fema to provide emergency relief to the archipelago, which is suffering one o
  
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• New EU radar satellite takes first image

  28-04-2016 18:42 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The EU's newest Earth observation satellite, Sentinel-1b, has returned its first radar imagery - of Svalbard, the Norwegian archipelago.
  
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• Richard Hedley obituary

  28-04-2016 18:30
  
  My dad, Richard Hedley, who has died aged 80, said he was lucky to have lived in two of God’s great counties. His childhood county of Northumberland inspired his love of the outdoors, but Hampshire, his home for nearly 60 years, was where he left a lasting legacy through his work in conserving a rare species of orchid.Born in Whitley Bay, to Francis, a clergyman, and Sybil, a teacher, Richard and his brother, Nicholas, enjoyed a childhood peppered with hill-walking and fishing, and which i
  
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• VW and Shell try to block EU push for electric cars

  28-04-2016 18:09
  
  Industry giants’ call for biofuels over electric and fuel-efficient cars puts Europe’s carbon emissions targets at risk, say expertsVW and Shell have united to try to block Europe’s push for electric cars and more efficient cars, saying biofuels should be at heart of efforts to green the industry instead.The EU is planning two new fuel efficiency targets for 2025 and 2030 to help meet promises made at the Paris climate summit last December. Continue reading...
  
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• VW and Shell accused of trying to block EU push for electric cars

  28-04-2016 18:09
  
  Industry giants’ call for biofuels over electric and fuel-efficient cars puts Europe’s carbon emissions targets at risk, say expertsVW and Shell have been accused of trying to block Europe’s push for electric cars and more efficient cars, by saying biofuels should be at heart of efforts to green the industry instead.The EU is planning two new fuel efficiency targets for 2025 and 2030 to help meet promises made at the Paris climate summit last December. Continue reading...
  
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• Six charts that show how public support for UK renewables is at record levels

  28-04-2016 18:04
  
  Public support for the UK's renewables revolution has reached an all-time high, with the latest Public Attitudes survey from the Department of Energy & Climate Change (DECC) revealing that eight in 10 Brits support the uptake of clean technology.
  
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• Six charts that show how public support for UK renewables has reached record levels

  28-04-2016 18:04
  
  Public support for the UK's renewables revolution has reached an all-time high, with the latest Public Attitudes survey from the Department of Energy & Climate Change (DECC) revealing that eight in 10 Brits support the uptake of clean technology.
  
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• Islamic State turns to selling fish, cars to offset oil losses - report

  28-04-2016 17:52
  By Stephen Kalin BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Islamic State earns millions of dollars a month running car dealerships and fish farms in Iraq, making up for lower oil income after its battlefield losses, Iraqi judicial authorities said on Thursday. Security experts once estimated the ultra-radical Islamist group's annual income at $2.9 billion (£2 billion), much of it coming from oil and gas installations in Iraq and Syria. The U.S.-led coalition has targeted Islamic State's financial infrastructure
  
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• Swaziland unveils plan to legalise rhino horn to pay for anti-poaching efforts

  28-04-2016 17:40
  
  Leaked document shows proceeds from the sale of 330kg stockpile would be used to protect country’s 73 white rhinos from poachingThe kingdom of Swaziland has made a surprise proposal to legalise the trade in rhino horn in order to pay for anti-poaching measures.In a leaked document addressed to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (Cites), Swaziland’s anti-poaching body said it wanted to sell the country’s 330kg stockpile of horn collected from naturally d
  
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• DHL unveils new reverse logistics model to deliver circular supply chains

  28-04-2016 16:58
  
  Delivery services company Deutsche Post DHL has collaborated with Cranfield University and the Ellen MacArthur Foundation to develop a new 'reverse logistics' business model that will allow organisations to map out and develop closed-loop product supply chains.
  
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• Oil hits 2016 peaks again as weak dollar trumps global glut

  28-04-2016 16:56
  Oil prices have risen 75 percent in about three months or less since hitting 12-year lows of around $27 a barrel for Brent in late January and about $26 for U.S. crude in mid-February. U.S. crude's West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures rose 15 cents to $45.48, after hitting a 2016 high at $45.71.
  
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• Rowan Williams calls on Cambridge University to divest from fossil fuels

  28-04-2016 16:48
  
  Former archbishop of Canterbury says the university should withdraw its £5.8bn fund from from oil, coal and gas on ethical and financial groundsRowan Williams has called on the University of Cambridge to divest from fossil fuels, arguing that climate change is “a life-and-death question”.
  The former archbishop of Canterbury and master of Magdalene college made his comments in a foreword to a 74-page report on divestment by student campaign group Cambridge Zero Carbon Society. C
  
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• UK government faces second court battle over air pollution plans

  28-04-2016 16:37
  
  High court to hear case against government’s ‘woefully inadequate’ plans to tackle air pollution, just a year after losing in the supreme court The UK government is to be sued in the high court over its air pollution plans, just a year after losing at the supreme court and being ordered to fulfil its legal duty to cut pollution rapidly.
  A request for a new judicial review by environmental lawyers at ClientEarth was granted by a judge on Thursday.Continue reading...
  
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• Hawaii's last sugar harvest paves the way for a fight over the land's future

  28-04-2016 16:00
  
  As the industry winds down, a new generation of activists are dreaming of replacing sugar with a new agricultural model – and a new political settlement For one last season, luscious, green fields of sugarcane are animating Maui’s landscape.Hulking trucks are loading pre-burned cane from the Hawaiian Corporate and Sugar Company (HC&S)’s 144th crop into the rust-colored factory where it will be rolled, shredded, squeezed and boiled into molasses. Passenger jets rumbling over
  
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• Shareholder pressure mounts on downgraded ExxonMobil

  28-04-2016 15:04
  
  Aviva among latest investors to declare support for climate change resolution at next month’s AGM, reports Climate HomeA growing list of major investors is backing calls on ExxonMobil to acknowledge climate risk, after its credit rating was downgraded on Tuesday.British insurer Aviva and Seattle’s public pension fund are among the latest to declare their support for a shareholder resolution to be considered at next month’s AGM. California’s CalPERS, New York City Pension
  
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• Two of the world's top three insecticides harm bumblebees – study

  28-04-2016 15:00
  
  Different types of neonicotinoid pesticide have varying effects on colonies with one showing no bee decline, say scientistsTwo of the world’s most widely used insecticides cause significant harm to bumblebee colonies, a new study has found, but a third had no effect.The work shows the distinct effects of each type of neonicotinoid pesticide, from cuts in live bees and eggs to changed sex ratios and numbers of queens. Previously, the different types of neonicotinoids have often been treated
  
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• Get moving for heart health

  28-04-2016 14:51 via feedproxy.google.com
  Cardiologists at UT Southwestern Medical Center have found that sedentary behavior is associated with increased amounts of calcium deposits in heart arteries, which in turn is associated with a higher risk of heart attack.Researchers at UT Southwestern have previously shown that excessive sitting is associated with reduced cardiorespiratory fitness and a higher risk of heart disease. The latest research – part of UT Southwestern’s Dallas Heart Study – points to a
  
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• German opposition wants inquiry into government response to dieselgate

  28-04-2016 14:16
  German opposition parties called on Thursday for a parliamentary committee to investigate the government's response to Volkswagen's diesel emissions scandal, saying Berlin had been too lax in its treatment of the car industry. Volkswagen, the world's second-biggest automaker, admitted in September it had used sophisticated secret software to cheat exhaust emissions tests, deceiving regulators and customers about pollution from its diesel engines. "The federal government has remained extremely ti
  
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• Carbon dioxide fertilization is greening the Earth

  28-04-2016 14:08 via feedproxy.google.com
  From a quarter to half of Earth’s vegetated lands has shown significant greening over the last 35 years largely due to rising levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide, according to a new study published in the journal Nature Climate Change on April 25.
  
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• UK support for fracking hits new low

  28-04-2016 13:33
  
  Just 19% of people back fracking while public support for renewables has surged to 81%, government poll showsPublic support for fracking in the UK has fallen to a new low, according to government polling, at the same time as backing for renewable energy has hit a record high.The survey, which is repeated every few months, shows that public enthusiasm for the controversial energy extraction method has fallen steadily in the past two years while opposition to it has risen dramatically. Continue re
  
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• 'Radical action' needed to push towards zero-carbon future

  28-04-2016 13:26
  
  The implementation of "radical action" will be necessary to drive the transition to zero-carbon energy systems and to keep global temperature rise below 2°C, according to a newly formed coalition of global commissioners.
  
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• Workers face 'epidemic of heat-related injuries' due to climate change

  28-04-2016 12:19
  
  Major UN report warns heat stress suffered by factory and field workers will devastate health and reduce productivity Workers in fields and factories face an epidemic of heat-related injuries that will devastate their health, income and productivity as climate change takes hold, a major UN report has warned.Productivity losses alone could rise above $2tn by 2030, as outdoor employees in many regions slow their pace, take longer breaks and shift their work to cooler dusk and dawn hours. Continue
  
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• Can the Republican Party solve its science denial problem? | Dana Nuccitelli

  28-04-2016 12:00
  
  Evolution and climate science denial are predominant on the political right; there is no equivalent on the left
  There’s a widespread misconception about science denial – that on issues like the safety vaccines and genetically modified foods (GMOs), denial is found predominantly on the political left, mirroring the denial of evolution and climate science on the political right. This assumption has even been presented onThe Daily Show, but it’s supported by precious little eviden
  
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• Crude oil prices steady after hitting 2016 highs

  28-04-2016 11:58
  By Ahmad Ghaddar and Henning Gloystein LONDON/SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Oil futures steadied after setting a 2016 high on Thursday as traders locked in profits, though analysts said supply disruptions, strong investor appetite and a weakening dollar could push prices higher soon. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures were down 2 cents at $45.31 a barrel.
  
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• Tullow Oil trims spending and agrees loans with banks

  28-04-2016 11:19
  By Karolin Schaps LONDON (Reuters) - Oil and gas producer Tullow Oil has cut its annual capital expenditure plans by $100 million (69 million pounds) to $1 billion and may reduce spending further as it adjusts its balance sheet to cope with weak oil prices. Tullow said that as of the end of April, its net debt was about $4.5 billion and that it had unused debt facilities and free cash of roughly $1.3 billion. Cutting costs has been the main defense of oil firms against a 60 percent drop in oil p
  
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• Weir sees 70 percent of North American fracking fleet idle

  28-04-2016 10:59
  Oil equipment maker Weir Group reported a 47 percent fall in first-quarter oil and gas orders on Thursday and estimated some 70 percent of North America's fracking fleet is currently idle as low crude prices slow investment in the sector. "The U.S. rig count decline over the course of Q1 was over and beyond everyone's expectations," Chief Executive Keith Cochrane told analysts. "As a result, we expect first half profits to be slightly ahead of market expectations," Cochrane said.
  
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• Volvo's driverless cars are heading for London to reduce pollution

  28-04-2016 09:30
  
  Swedish car manufacturer Volvo Cars has revealed it will be trialling an ambitious autonomous driving (AD) system in the UK next year, representing the "largest and most extensive AD testing programme on Britain's streets".
  
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• Great Barrier Reef tourism operators refuse media and politicians access to bleached reefs

  28-04-2016 08:48
  
  Several major operators refuse to take Greens’ senators to bleached reefs as a backdrop for policy announcements, fearing potential impact on tourism North Queensland tourism operators are routinely refusing to take media and politicians to see coral bleaching on the Great Barrier Reef for fear the attention will trigger a collapse in visitor numbers, it has been claimed. Related: Great Barrier Reef: Greens call for new tax on mining to pay for damageContinue reading...
  
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• Tullow Oil cuts deeper as banks agree to amend loan terms

  28-04-2016 08:40
  Oil and gas producer Tullow Oil has reduced its annual capital expenditure budget by another $100 million (69 million pounds) to $1 billion and may cut spending further as it adjusts its balance sheet to weak oil prices. The Africa-focused company also said its lenders had agreed to amend terms on its $3.5 billion Reserve Based Lending (RBL), showing banks were willing to continue to support oil companies during the market downturn. Tullow reiterated that it would have to reduce its annual produ
  
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• Great Barrier Reef: Greens call for new tax on mining to pay for damage

  28-04-2016 08:17
  
  Greens leader Richard di Natale says Australia needs to plan for a future without coal, not a future without the reefThe Greens want coal companies to start paying “for the damage they are doing” to the Great Barrier Reef, announcing a new plan to tax miners heavily and use the money to revitalise the reef and to invest in clean energy projects and jobs. Related: Great Barrier Reef: aerial survey reveals extent of coral bleachingContinue reading...
  
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• Assessment of BP’s Bight oil drill plan secretive and weak, Senate told

  28-04-2016 06:53
  
  The government’s ‘one-stop-shop’ devolution of approval for the project lowers environmental standards and reduces transparency, senators toldRisky deepwater drilling for oil in the Great Australian Bight is being assessed under a weak and secretive regulatory regime, the Senate has heard. Senators were also told the project would have a much smaller economic benefit than the industry had suggested.BP, the company responsible for the world’s biggest oil spill in the Gulf
  
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• Down came a blackbird her nest to compose | Country diary

  28-04-2016 06:30
  
  Sandy, Bedfordshire A beak full of moss showed the female bird was at the soft furnishing stage of nestingAll through this spring I have stood at the kitchen sink, waited for the kettle to boil, and looked idly out of the window at fragments of a life. She was there again early in the evening. Perched on a post, this blackbird was evidently nervous, flicking her wings as if she was trying to row through sand, lifting her tail to say go, dropping it to say no, not yet.Related: Cats killing huge n
  
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• Black lung in Queensland coalminers caused by 'perfect storm' of factors

  28-04-2016 05:39
  
  Report blames governments and mining companies, citing regulatory failure, industry indifference, poor dust control and irregular health monitoring A “perfect storm” of regulatory failure, indifference from the mining industry, poor dust control and patchy health monitoring is responsible for the re-emergence of black lung disease among Queensland coalminers.An interim report from a Senate select committee on health has placed the blame for the re-emergence of the disease – whi
  
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• Germany to give €1bn subsidy to boost electric car sales

  28-04-2016 04:13
  
  Electric car buyers will receive €4,000 when they choose a purely electric vehicle and €3,000 for a plug-in hybridGermany will subsidise electric car purchases to give a jolt to sluggish growth in the sector and help meet national climate goals with zero-emission mobility, the government said Wednesday.
  Car buyers will receive €4,000 ($4,500) when they choose a purely electric vehicle and €3,000 for a plug-in hybrid, with the cost shared 50-50 between the public purse and car
  
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• Scientists say oilfield wastewater spills release toxins

  28-04-2016 01:45
  
  Brine spills from oil development in western North Dakota are releasing toxins into soils and waterways, sometimes at levels exceeding federal water quality standards, scientists reported Wednesday.
  
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• Could carbon farming be the answer for a 'clapped-out' Australia?

  28-04-2016 01:27
  
  Farmers signing up for the carbon emissions reduction fund have to meet strict guidelines but there is significant profit and energy savings to be made This week the Clean Energy Regulator (CER) will hold the third emissions reduction fund auction and farmers across Australia will move to the forefront of efforts to rescue a “clapped-out” country.Australian farmers have long bought and sold their wares at auction. Sale yards were the hub of country towns and the din of a moleskin-cla
  
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