Environment news

• Ending land clearing would compete with renewables for carbon abatement, analysis finds

  31-05-2017 23:47 via theguardian.com
  
  RepuTex says ceasing all land clearing by 2030 would save between 300m and 650m tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions Ending land clearing in Australia by 2030 would cut Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions by about as much as completely shifting the entire electricity sector to renewable energy for a year, a new report has found.Queensland has been clearing about 300,000ha of land a year since the Newman government weakened restrictions on land clearing there and the Palaszczuk government fa
  
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• Ending land clearing by 2030 equivalent to complete shift to renewables, analysis finds

  31-05-2017 23:47 via theguardian.com
  
  RepuTex says ceasing all land clearing would save between 300m and 650m tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions each yearEnding land clearing in Australia by 2030 would cut Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions by about as much as completely shifting the electricity sector to renewable energy, a new report has found.Queensland has been clearing about 300,000ha of land a year since the Newman government weakened restrictions on land clearing there and the Palaszczuk government failed to tighten t
  
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• Paris climate deal: EU and China rebuff Trump

  31-05-2017 23:19 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The statement backing the Paris climate agreement is seen a snub to Trump, who is mulling a pullout.
  
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• Antarctic ice crack takes major turn

  31-05-2017 19:44 via bbc.co.uk
  
  One of the biggest icebergs ever seen is a step closer to forming on the edge of the Larsen C shelf.
  
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• China and EU strengthen commitment to Paris deal with US poised to step away

  31-05-2017 19:31 via theguardian.com
  
  Beijing and Brussels to set up new alliance to reduce global carbon emissions‘Now is the time to further strengthen these ties’ – EU climate commissionerChina and the EU will forge an alliance to take a leading role in tackling climate change in response to Donald Trump’s expected decision to pull the US out of the historic Paris agreement.
  Amid growing fears that the US will soon join Nicaragua and Syria on the small list of countries refusing to back the climate accord,
  
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• Shareholders force ExxonMobil to come clean on cost of climate change

  31-05-2017 19:28 via theguardian.com
  
  ‘Historic’ vote by nearly two-thirds of shareholders will force annual ‘stress test’ to measure how regulation will affect assetsExxonMobil, the world’s biggest oil company, was compelled by shareholders to be more open about the impact of climate change on its business in a “historic” surprise vote on Wednesday.The public rebuke came as Donald Trump reportedly prepared to pull out of the Paris climate accord, the agreement forged by close to 200 countri
  
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• Exxon shareholders back 'historic' vote on climate

  31-05-2017 19:26 via bbc.co.uk
  
  For the first time, Exxon Mobil will have to consider the impact of climate change on its business.
  
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• Nasa renames Sun skimming mission

  31-05-2017 19:24 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The space agency re-brands its mission to "touch the Sun" after a living scientist.
  
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• Survival of coral reefs requires radical rethink of what conservation means, say scientists

  31-05-2017 19:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Reef conservation must not be an attempt to restore reefs of the past, but to identify the parts essential to their continued existence, and protect thoseThe survival of coral reefs requires a radical rethink of what conservation means, as well as embracing some of the changes they are undergoing, according to a paper by leading coral reef scientists.“Helping coral reefs to safely navigate the Anthropocene is a profound challenge for multiscale governance,” the scientists say in a pa
  
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• Donald Trump ready to withdraw from Paris climate agreement, reports say

  31-05-2017 16:09 via theguardian.com
  
  Trump tweets that he will be announcing decision ‘over the next few days’Withdrawal would sorely weaken landmark deal by nearly 200 countriesDonald Trump is poised to withdraw from the Paris climate accord, according to multiple reports on Wednesday, in a move that would profoundly undermine the landmark agreement by nearly 200 countries to curtail global warming.Trump tweeted on Wednesday that he would reach a final decision in a few days, shortly after a wave of reports that he was
  
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• Trump to deliver verdict on Paris climate deal as world fears US pullout

  31-05-2017 14:04 via theguardian.com
  
  The president has reportedly made his decision on the landmark climate deal, as exasperated world leaders get ready to move on with or without the USDonald Trump’s Twitter pledge to make a decision on whether to remain in the Paris climate agreement this week promises resolution to months of fevered lobbying over US involvement in the global accord.Related: The top five worst things Trump has done on climate change – so farContinue reading...
  
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• Paris climate deal: exasperated world leaders prepare to move on without US

  31-05-2017 14:04 via theguardian.com
  
  Trump is reportedly poised to pull out of Paris – prompting murmurings that the world would be better off without American involvementDonald Trump’s Twitter pledge to make a decision on whether to remain in the Paris climate agreement this week promises resolution to months of fevered lobbying over US involvement in the global accord.But while America’s traditional allies and environmental groups continue to urge Trump to stay within the Paris deal – in which nearly 200 n
  
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• ‘Faceless’ fish rediscovered in Australian waters – video report

  31-05-2017 14:02 via theguardian.com
  
  A ‘faceless’ fish has been rediscovered by scientists on an expedition in the depths of a massive abyss in waters south of Sydney. The 40cm fish was found 4km below sea level. It was last seen in waters off Australia in 1873‘Faceless’ fish missing for more than a century rediscovered by Australian scientists
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• UK government sued for third time over illegal air pollution from diesels

  31-05-2017 13:24 via theguardian.com
  
  Environmental lawyers who have defeated ministers twice return to court in a bid to remove ‘major flaws’ from air quality plansEnvironmental lawyers are taking the government to the high court for a third time in a bid to remove “major flaws” from minister’s plans to tackle the UK’s illegal levels of air pollution.ClientEarth has inflicted two humiliating defeats on the government over previous plans, which were ruled not to meet legal requirements. Lawyers fr
  
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• Trees talk to each other, have sex and look after their young, says author

  31-05-2017 13:17 via theguardian.com
  
  Peter Wohlleben’s book has become bestseller in Germany but he tells Hay festival audience it has annoyed scientists Trees are social creatures that mother their young, talk to each other, experience pain, remember things and have sex with each other, a bestselling author has said.If that persuades you to go and hug the nearest tree, then great, said Peter Wohlleben. Just avoid a birch: “It is not very sociable. Try a beech.” Continue reading...
  
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• How did early ejector seats work?

  31-05-2017 12:49 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Nearly seven decades ago, Jo Lancaster became one of the first pilots to eject from a plane in an emergency.
  
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• Roadkill rescue

  31-05-2017 12:37 via bbc.co.uk
  
  One of the world's worst hotspots for roadkill in Canada is helped by a project that cuts animal deaths by almost 90%.
  
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• 'Faceless' fish missing for more than a century rediscovered by Australian scientists

  31-05-2017 09:01 via theguardian.com
  
  Expedition leader says the deep-sea fish had not been seen in waters off Australia since 1873A “faceless” deep-sea fish not seen for more than a century has been rediscovered by scientists trawling the depths of a massive abyss off Australia’s east coast, along with “amazing” quantities of rubbish.The 40cm fish was rediscovered 4km below sea level in waters south of Sydney by scientists from Museums Victoria and the Australian government’s Commonwealth Scienti
  
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• The top five worst things Trump has done on climate change – so far

  31-05-2017 09:00 via theguardian.com
  
  As the US president weighs up whether or not to withdraw from the Paris climate agreement, we look at his most frightening actions on global warmingIn March, Scott Pruitt infamously said about carbon dioxide that “I would not agree that it’s a primary contributor to the global warming that we see”, in contradiction to climate scientists, including those at his own agency. Trump’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) chief has deep ties to fossil fuel interests and joined
  
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• Unfurling ferns dominate the dripping woods

  31-05-2017 06:30 via theguardian.com
  
  St Dominic, Tamar Valley Pennywort and mosses add to the verdure of the shadiest lanes, now green tunnels overhung by ash flowersRain enhances the growth of luxuriant ferns that dominate hedge banks and undergrowth in the woods. Beside narrow lanes, fronds of male ferns and soft shield ferns overwhelm the pink, white and blue of campion, stitchwort and bluebell, masking the eroded earth of rabbit burrows. Foxglove, sorrel and bracken emerge through the leafy tops of these old banks, where, despi
  
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• Michaelia Cash says Donald Trump should keep US in Paris climate deal

  31-05-2017 05:20 via theguardian.com
  
  Minister says Australia’s view clear to US although departmental secretary unable to point to ‘particular discussion’The employment minister, Michaelia Cash, says Australia’s national interest is best served if Donald Trump stays the course with the Paris climate agreement.
  With the US president expected to make a decision this week about whether America will pull out of the Paris accord, officials were asked during Senate estimates hearings whether Australia had made dip
  
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• UN chief Guterres says climate deal is essential

  31-05-2017 02:48 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Antonio Guterres was speaking after Donald Trump refused to back the Paris climate accord.
  
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• Quitting Paris climate deal would threaten US security, UN chief warns

  31-05-2017 01:06 via theguardian.com
  
  António Guterres says exiting landmark accord would threaten US economy and society: ‘If someone leaves a void, I guarantee someone will fill it’ The UN secretary general, António Guterres, warned on Tuesday that if the US exits the Paris climate agreement, there could be negative economic, security and societal consequences for the country.Continue reading...
  
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