Environment news

• Vegetation matters

  30-08-2016 23:59 via feedproxy.google.com
  In California's Sierra Nevada mountains, as more precipitation falls in the form of rain rather than snow, and the snowpack melts earlier in spring, it's important for water managers to know when and how much water will be available for urban and agricultural needs and for the environment in general.While changing precipitation patterns can have a significant impact on stream flows in the Sierra Nevada mountains, a new study by UC Santa Barbara researchers indicates that shifts in vegetation typ
  
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• Cows in glass tanks help to reduce methane emissions

  30-08-2016 23:44 via feedproxy.google.com
  In the future, the breeding of the climate-friendly cow can be speeded up by using genetic information. A recent study identifies areas in the cow's genotype which are linked to the amount of methane it produces. Cows subjected to study did not unnecessarily chew their cuds when being placed in glass cases.Of the greenhouse gases produced by humans, 16 per cent consists of methane, of which one third originates in cattle production: more than one billion cattle graze the planet, and each of them
  
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• Coalition environment committee chairman takes aim at solar subsidies

  30-08-2016 22:01
  
  Craig Kelly says he wants wind and solar funding to be redirected to research into ‘technological breakthroughs’ because existing renewables had ‘little effect’The Liberal chairman of the Coalition’s environment policy committee, Craig Kelly, has questioned solar and wind power subsidies and would like a cost-benefit analysis of future emission reductions policy, due to be reviewed next year.Kelly was named chairman of the environment and energy committee at the par
  
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• Breastfeeding, air pollution and sudden infant death syndrome | Letters

  30-08-2016 20:50
  
  It was disappointing that there was no reference to the strong protective effect of breastfeeding in the prevention of sudden infant death syndrome (Sids) in the commentary on Peter Fleming’s important and seminal work on this topic (Safety in slumbers, 27 August).Where a baby is formula-fed there is an increased risk of Sids. Given this, and when considering the huge additional financial impact of low breastfeeding rates in the UK (if nothing else, the other hot topic of obesity), I canno
  
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• More than wildlife is under threat by cuts | Letters

  30-08-2016 20:49
  
  Your report (Farming rethink demanded as wildlife suffers, 27 August), mentioning the fact that the “amount of time given by conservation volunteers has fallen”, reveals a hidden effect of austerity hurting people as much as the planet. In the first round of austerity cuts one nearby local authority reduced its grants to environmental bodies. For my learning-disabled son the budget cut meant the conservation volunteers’ organisation could no longer offer the free pick-up servic
  
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• Pemex eyes refinery partnerships in bid to boost efficiencies

  30-08-2016 20:34
  Mexico's Pemex will seek partnerships with other companies to make its refineries more efficient, the head of the state oil giant said on Tuesday, citing its successful joint venture with Royal Dutch Shell in Texas. Pemex [PEMX.UL], which is grappling with a complex financial situation, has six refineries in Mexico with a combined capacity to process 1.6 million barrels per day (bpd). Pemex Chief Executive Officer Jose Antonio Gonzalez Anaya said the company is evaluating options to optimise pro
  
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• Two female Asiatic cheetahs remain in wild in Iran, say conservationists

  30-08-2016 20:11
  
  Iranian Cheetah Society says situation is critical as numbers of the subspecies continue to dwindleConservationists say only two female Asiatic cheetahs are known to be alive in the wild in Iran, which hosts the last surviving population. Asiatic cheetahs, also known as Iranian cheetahs, are a subspecies of the fastest animal on earth and classified as critically endangered, with fewer than 40 believed to remain in Iran.Continue reading...
  
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• Only two female Asiatic cheetahs remain in wild in Iran

  30-08-2016 20:11
  
  Iranian Cheetah Society says situation is critical as numbers of the subspecies continue to dwindleConservationists say only two female Asiatic cheetahs are known to be alive in the wild in Iran, which hosts the last surviving population. Asiatic cheetahs, also known as Iranian cheetahs, are a subspecies of the fastest animal on earth and classified as critically endangered, with fewer than 40 believed to remain in Iran.Continue reading...
  
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• New Solar System objects revealed

  30-08-2016 19:51 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Astronomers in the US have uncovered previously unknown objects in the outer reaches of the Solar System.
  
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• Gabon condemns Ping, warns French officials against 'interference'

  30-08-2016 19:26
  By Gerauds Wilfried Obangome LIBREVILLE (Reuters) - Gabon's government accused presidential challenger Jean Ping on Tuesday of trying to destabilise the country, and warned French ruling party officials against "interference" in its affairs. Ping, a former foreign minister, African Union Commission chairman and lifelong political insider, is the main challenger to President Ali Bongo, whose family has ruled the oil-producing central African nation for half a century. Bongo's supporters say he is
  
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• Oil falls on strong dollar, crude glut; storms limit losses

  30-08-2016 18:50
  By Barani Krishnan NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices fell more than 1 percent on Tuesday as the dollar strengthened and investors worried about crude oversupply, bracing for an expected weekly build in U.S. stockpiles as Iran said it was on target to reach peak production. Warnings of a tropical storm system developing around the oil-and-gas hub in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico limited some of the downside in crude prices, as energy companies announced some production suspensions there. Brent crude futu
  
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• Tasmanian devil DNA shows signs of cancer fightback

  30-08-2016 18:39 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A genetic study uncovers signs that wild Tasmanian devils are rapidly evolving to fight back against the infectious face cancer threatening them with extinction.
  
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• More than 300 million at risk of life-threatening diseases from dirty water - UN

  30-08-2016 18:17
  By Magdalena Mis LONDON (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - More than 300 million people in Asia, Africa and Latin America are at risk of life-threatening diseases like cholera and typhoid due to the increasing pollution of water in rivers and lakes, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) said. Between 1990 and 2010, pollution caused by viruses, bacteria and other micro-organisms, and long-lasting toxic pollutants like fertiliser or petrol, increased in more than half of rivers across the th
  
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• World's largest canmaker updates sustainability goals to account for Rexam acquisition

  30-08-2016 18:07
  
  The world's largest canmaker Ball Corporation, has outlined a new sustainability agenda which will see it adopt science-based carbon targets and lead the field in next-generation spacecraft propulsion systems.
  
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• Militants attack pipeline in Nigeria's Delta as others pursue talks

  30-08-2016 17:51
  A militant group said on Tuesday it attacked a pipeline operated by a subsidiary of Nigeria's state oil company in the country's southern Delta region, just a day after the most prolific rebel group in the restive energy hub said it had halted hostilities. OPEC member Nigeria has seen its oil output fall by around 700,000 barrels a day to 1.56 million bpd due to attacks on oil pipelines in the southern energy hub, home to much of the country's oil and gas wealth, since the start of the year. The
  
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• Iraq to support oil output freeze at OPEC meeting - PM

  30-08-2016 17:48
  Iraq would support a decision by OPEC to freeze oil output to prop up prices, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi told a news conference in Baghdad on Tuesday. "We are with freezing production at the OPEC meeting," he said, in the clearest indication yet about the position Iraq will support when the oil exporters' group meets next month. Members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries are due to meet informally in Algeria on the sidelines of the International Energy Forum (IEF)
  
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• Tasmanian devils rapidly evolving to resist contagious cancer, study finds

  30-08-2016 17:00
  
  Finding gives hope that the carnivorous marsupials could survive devil facial tumour disease, which was predicted to make them extinct in the wildWithin just a handful of generations, Tasmanian devils appear to have evolved resistance to an unusual contagious cancer that was widely expected to make the ill-tempered carnivorous marsupials extinct in the wild.The remarkable finding gives hope that the unique animals could survive the disease, which has already wiped out 80% of the animals in just
  
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• Oil falls as dollar rallies again; storm fears limit downside

  30-08-2016 16:56
  By Barani Krishnan NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices fell for a second day in a row on Tuesday as the dollar rose on stronger U.S. economic data, but the downside was limited by production suspensions in the U.S. Gulf due to an expected tropical storm. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude slid 20 cents, or 0.4 percent, to $46.78. The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of currencies, hit session highs after the U.S. Consumer Expectations Index hit its highest since Octo
  
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• Is a Blue Fire Tornado the Future of Oil Spill Cleanup?

  30-08-2016 16:35
  
  A blue fire tornado sounds like it could be an alarming natural disaster, but this phenomenon could actually offer a way to burn fuel with reduced carbon emissions, a new study finds. A fire tornado, or fire whirl, can occur during urban and wildland fires, threatening life, property and the surrounding environment. Traditional, yellow fire whirls gain their color from radiating soot particles, according to study co-author Elaine Oran, a professor of engineering at the University of Maryland.
  
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• Emissions from new diesel cars are still far higher than official limit

  30-08-2016 16:24
  
  Several manufacturers have launched models that produce more pollutants when driven in real-world conditions New diesel cars are still emitting many times the official limit for polluting nitrogen oxides when driven on the road, almost a year after the Volkswagen emissions scandal broke.Renault, Mercedes-Benz, Mazda and Hyundai have all launched diesel models in 2016 with NOx emissions that are far higher than the official lab-based test when driven in real-world conditions, according to tests b
  
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• DNA sequenced in space for first time

  30-08-2016 16:24 via bbc.co.uk
  
  DNA has been successfully sequenced in space for the first time.
  
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• In a world of 7 billion people how can we protect wildlife?

  30-08-2016 16:00
  
  With the planet at a crossroads, September will bring two crucial global conferences on the urgent issue of how best to protect endangered species Consumers and collectors want sturgeon caviar, snakeskin bags, shark meat and fins, wild snowdrop bulbs, precious rosewood furniture, and quality agarwood oil, as well as rare birds, reptiles, cacti and orchids. But they rarely stop to think about their origins. There are now over seven billion people consuming biodiversity every day in the form of me
  
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• Council leaders press Theresa May over delayed flood defence review

  30-08-2016 15:20
  
  Report was expected in July and concerns have been raised that there will not be time to implement recommendations before winterMPs and council leaders have written to Theresa May seeking assurances after a delay in the publication of a government report on the UK’s flood defences.The national flood resilience review was established to assess how the country can be better protected from flooding and increasingly extreme weather events, and its report had been expected in July. Continue rea
  
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• Militants say attacked pipeline in Nigeria's southern Delta state

  30-08-2016 14:46
  A militant group on Tuesday said it attacked a pipeline operated by the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC), a subsidiary of Nigeria's state oil company, in the country's restive southern Delta region. The Niger Delta Greenland Justice Mandate said in a statement that it attacked the Ogor-Oteri pipeline in Delta state, operated NPDC and Nigerian energy company Shoreline, at around 03:00 a.m. (0200 GMT) on Tuesday.
  
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• Saudi Arabia signs initial deals with China on prince's visit

  30-08-2016 14:32
  Saudi Arabia signed 15 preliminary agreements with China on Tuesday in sectors from energy to housing on a trip headed by Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman aimed at bolstering relations with a top energy customer and trade partner. The visit is part of a broad reform drive championed by the powerful prince to cut the kingdom's reliance on oil exports and showcase Saudi Arabia as a dynamic international nation with diverse promising opportunities for global investors. Prince Mohammed met Ch
  
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• Obama Creates the World's Largest Marine Reserve

  30-08-2016 14:12 via feedproxy.google.com
  The Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument, first named a national monument by President George W. Bush in 2006, is a massively important marine nature reserve.Designated a World Heritage site, the region surrounding the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands teems with more than 7,000 marine and land species — some of which are unique to the area, including endangered whales and sea turtles. As a result, the region has been deemed irreplaceable by scientists.
  
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• SES company first to use 'second-hand' SpaceX rocket

  30-08-2016 14:10 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Luxembourg-based SES says it is going to be the first satellite operator to launch a spacecraft on a "second-hand" rocket - a Falcon 9 that previously sent supplies to the space station.
  
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• France's Hollande says Paris climate agreement far from implemented

  30-08-2016 14:10
  An international agreement on climate change struck in Paris last year is still far from being implemented, French President Francois Hollande said on Tuesday, and he urged countries to ensure it was ratified by year-end. The agreement obligates states to take concrete measures to curb emissions that contribute to climate change.
  
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• Thousands of Homes Keep Flooding, Yet They Keep Being Rebuilt Again

  30-08-2016 14:06 via feedproxy.google.com
  The U.S. National Flood Insurance Program, which holds policies for more than 5 million homes, is $23 billion in debt after a string of natural disasters this century. As climate change further strains the program, analysts say it is time to shift its focus from rebuilding to mitigating risk.More than 2,100 properties across the U.S. enrolled in the National Flood Insurance Program have flooded and been rebuilt more than 10 times since 1978, according to a new analysis of insurance data by
  
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• Olam gains water certification for plantation as Fairtrade warns of climate-driven coffee decline

  30-08-2016 14:02
  
  With a new report from Fairtrade warning that climate change could stunt global coffee production by 50%, supplier Olam International has become the first agri-business globally to achieve the Alliance for Water Stewardship (AWS) Standard - for it's coffee plantation in Tanzania.
  
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• England continues to fall behind UK nations in recycling performance

  30-08-2016 14:02
  
  England has fallen to the bottom of an index that ranks England, Wales and Northern Ireland on carbon reductions from recycling, after Northern Irish councils displayed a 4.5% increase in CO2 emission reductions in 2014/15.
  
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• World heritage in the high seas: oceanic wonders explored

  30-08-2016 13:57
  
  A report launched on 3 August by Unesco’s World Heritage Centre and International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) explores the importance of marine life in the open ocean, which covers more than half the planetContinue reading...
  
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• Oil prices rise on U.S. weather fears, OPEC speculation

  30-08-2016 13:54
  By Ahmad Ghaddar LONDON (Reuters) - Oil futures rose on Tuesday supported by production suspensions in the U.S. Gulf due to an expected tropical storm and speculation that producers meeting in Algeria next month will act to prop up prices. Brent crude futures were trading at $49.53 per barrel at 1142 GMT, up 27 cents from the previous close. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was up 36 cents at $47.34 a barrel.
  
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• World's first grid-connected tidal array deployed in the Shetlands

  30-08-2016 13:49
  
  Scotland's efforts to become a fully-renewable nation received another boost this month, after a tidal array off the coast of the Shetlands Islands became the world's first to connect to the grid.
  
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• Oil fires cast black cloud over Iraqi town retaken from Islamic State

  30-08-2016 13:39
  By Stephen Kalin QAYYARA, Iraq (Reuters) - It gets darker earlier these days in the northern Iraqi town of Qayyara, which Islamic State militants abandoned about a week ago after setting fire to many of the region's oil wells. The Iraqi military's recapture of Qayyara, along with a nearby airbase in July, is the latest and most significant advance in a U.S.-backed push to Mosul, the largest city under Islamic State control anywhere in its self-proclaimed caliphate. Baghdad wants to retake Mosul
  
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• Drone captures stunning view of Uluru

  30-08-2016 13:39 via bbc.co.uk
  
  One of Australia's best-known landmarks, Uluru, has been filmed from a new perspective.
  
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• Badger cull extended to more English counties

  30-08-2016 12:32 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Badger culling is rolled out to more parts of England, in a bid to tackle bovine TB.
  
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• Nasa: Earth is warming at a pace 'unprecedented in 1,000 years'

  30-08-2016 12:00
  
  Records of temperature that go back far further than 1800s suggest warming of recent decades is out of step with any period over the past millennium
  The planet is warming at a pace not experienced within the past 1,000 years, at least, making it “very unlikely” that the world will stay within a crucial temperature limit agreed by nations just last year, according to Nasa’s top climate scientist.This year has already seen scorching heat around the world, with the average global
  
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• Leading insurers tell G20 to stop funding fossil fuels by 2020

  30-08-2016 11:52
  
  Aviva, Aegon and Amlin issue joint statement urging leaders to build on previous commitments and end subsidies within four years, reports Climate HomeThree of the world’s biggest insurers have called on G20 leaders to implement a timeframe for ending fossil fuel subsidies when they meet in China this week.The G20 has already committed to phase out “inefficient fossil fuel subsidies that encourage wasteful consumption” over the “medium term”. In May, the G7 nations p
  
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• Iraq's Qayyara oil fields won't return to production before Mosul retaken - spokesman

  30-08-2016 11:42
  Iraq doesn't expect to resume production from the northern Qayyara oil region before the capture of nearby Mosul from Islamic State, an oil ministry spokesman said on Tuesday. The region's two main fields, Qayyara and Najma, used to produce up to 30,000 barrels per day of heavy crude before it fell under control of the ultra-hardline militants two years ago. It has also a small refinery to process some local oil.
  
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• Uganda awards production licences to Tullow Oil, Total

  30-08-2016 11:27
  KAMPALA (Reuters) - Uganda granted on Tuesday eight production licences to France's Total and UK-listed explorer Tullow Oil , clearing a major hurdle as the east African country seeks to move faster towards commencing production. The licenses cover exploration Area one (EA1), operated by Total and Exploration Area Two (EA2) which is operated by Tullow, Energy Minister Irene Muloni told reporters. (Reporting by Elias Biryabarema and; George Obulutsa, editing by Louise Heavens)
  
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• Badger cull areas more than triple under new government licences

  30-08-2016 11:16
  
  Ten areas now licensed for culling, with Herefordshire, Cornwall and Devon added to Gloucestershire, Somerset and DorsetThe number of areas where badgers will be culled to stop the spread of bovine tuberculosis is to more than triple under licences issued by the government on Tuesday.Licensed shooters could begin killing badgers within days in Herefordshire, Cornwall and Devon, which have been added to the culling already taking place in recent years in Gloucestershire, Somerset and Dorset. Cont
  
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• Geologists search for Anthropocene 'golden spike'

  30-08-2016 10:49 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Scientists investigating whether we have entered a new geological age are seeking a suitable "spike" in the environmental record that betrays significant human influence.
  
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• South Africa’s traditional fishers buoyed by data-logging app

  30-08-2016 10:46
  
  Small-scale fishers hope technology will convince ministers that there are enough stocks to feed communities sustainablyA smartphone app that logs data on fish catches is giving small-scale fishers in South Africa hope they can persuade the government to allocate them more of what they regard as their traditional fishing rights.Abalobi, the app which is named for the isiXhosa phrase abalobi bentlanzi, meaning “someone who fishes”, aims to give small-scale fishers the data to empower
  
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• Philippines may open mothballed Marcos-era nuclear power plant

  30-08-2016 09:56
  The Philippines is looking into operating the country's only nuclear power plant, built four decades ago at more than $2 billion (1.53 billion pounds) but never used, to ensure the long-term supply of clean and cheap electricity, its energy minister said. The Southeast Asian country is joining more than two dozen other countries looking to add nuclear power to their energy mix, including neighbours Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia and Thailand. Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi said on Tuesday reviving
  
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• Climate authority split is no surprise – Australia has fought the same battle for 10 years | Lenore Taylor

  30-08-2016 09:53
  
  Australia’s climate debate is dominated by the the clash between what is necessary and what is possible, but the new report might permit a compromiseThe split in the Climate Change Authority is a rerun of the climate policy fight Australia has been having for the past 10 years – the clash between what is undeniably necessary and what is politically possible.The CCA report, to be released on Wednesday, lands exactly on the spot where the major parties might, just might, be able to rea
  
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• India Ganges floods 'break previous records'

  30-08-2016 09:07 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Monsoon floods in the Ganges river have broken previous records in four locations in northern India, officials tell the BBC
  
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• UK air quality shows little improvement over past 20 years, says study

  30-08-2016 08:32
  
  Academics say planners are concentrating on reducing road deaths and promoting growth at expense of environmentThere has been little improvement in air quality over the past 20 years as transport planners concentrate on preventing road deaths, according to a study. Two university academics set out to try to understand why there has been little improvement in air pollution concentrations from road transport since the UK signed up to international air quality standards in 1995, as part of the Envi
  
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• Climate Change Authority splits over ETS report commissioned by Coalition

  30-08-2016 08:24
  
  Exclusive: Top climate advisers divided over report, which recommends a policy that could break the political gridlock over climate changeA Climate Change Authority review charged with advising the government on how to meet its climate change commitments has led to an unprecedented split in its top ranks, with two of the body’s 11 members writing a dissenting “minority report”.Guardian Australia understands the official Climate Change Authority report will recommend Australia a
  
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