Environment news

• Steep emissions reductions targets won't drive up power bills, modelling shows

  17-09-2018 20:00 via theguardian.com
  Exclusive: Research finds claims emissions targets make electricity more expensive are misguidedEmissions reduction targets, even relatively ambitious ones, will not drive up power prices for Australian consumers, according to new research from the Australian Council of Social Service (Acoss) and the Brotherhood of St Laurence.While the Morrison government has abandoned the national energy guarantee because conservatives complain that emissions reduction policies drive up power prices, the new r
  
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• Abandoning fishing lockouts from NSW marine parks is 'gutless tragedy' | James Woodford

  17-09-2018 20:00 via theguardian.com
  State government’s decision has appalled scientists and conservationists, and widens divide between city and country When the Batemans marine park, not far from my home on the New South Wales south coast, was first created, fishing on a beach next to my property was illegal. Then, under immense pressure from recreational fishers, the zoning throughout the marine park was changed. A few hundred metres offshore stayed a no-take zone but line fishing and spearfishing is now allowed from my lo
  
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• Johnny Kingdom obituary

  17-09-2018 18:05 via theguardian.com
  Unlikely television star who presented the BBC Two series Johnny Kingdom: A Year on ExmoorOnce in a while, someone comes along on our television screens who breaks all the usual rules of television presenting. Like Barbara Woodhouse, Sister Wendy Beckett and Fred Dibnah before him, Johnny Kingdom was one such unlikely star. And like them, he was taken to the nation’s hearts.Johnny, who has died in an accident on his land aged 79, first came to national fame in 2006 when he presented the BB
  
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• Coal comeback could drive up UK energy emissions – report

  17-09-2018 17:54 via theguardian.com
  Extra coal-burning may lead to problems meeting binding international carbon targetsBritain’s ability to meet its emissions targets is being challenged by a comeback for coal power stations that threatens to drive up the energy sector’s carbon emissions for the first time in six years.Coal plants have become more economic to run than their gas counterparts in the past month because wholesale gas prices have hit 10-year highs. A report by Imperial College London said the extra coal-bu
  
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• Coal comeback could drive up UK carbon emissions – report

  17-09-2018 17:54 via theguardian.com
  Extra coal-burning may lead to problems meeting binding international targetsBritain’s ability to meet its emissions targets is being challenged by a comeback for coal power stations that threatens to drive up the energy sector’s carbon emissions for the first time in six years.Coal plants have become more economic to run than their gas counterparts in the past month because wholesale gas prices have hit 10-year highs. A report by Imperial College London said the extra coal-burning h
  
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• UK's wind generation capacity surpasses 20GW milestone

  17-09-2018 16:39
  The UK's total wind generation capacity has reached 20GW for the first time, following the opening of the world's largest wind farm off the Cumbrian coast earlier this month.
  
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• Contribute to a podcast on extinction

  17-09-2018 16:21 via theguardian.com
  In our next We Need to Talk About podcast, we’ll examine the fauna and flora vanishing from the world around us, and what can be done to conserve those that remain. What are your thoughts and experiences? We want Guardian supporters to help us better understand the changes taking place in the natural world, and how we might combat the demise of some of the plants and creatures with whom we share the planet. Which local species of fauna and flora are disappearing from your local area? What
  
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• Germany launches world's first hydrogen-powered train

  17-09-2018 16:20 via theguardian.com
  Two trains built by the French train maker Alstom are now operating on a 62 mile stretch of line in northern GermanyGermany has rolled out the world’s first hydrogen-powered train, signalling the start of a push to challenge the might of polluting diesel trains with costlier but more eco-friendly technology.Two bright blue Coradia iLint trains, built by French TGV-maker Alstom, on Monday began running a 62 mile (100km) route between the towns and cities of Cuxhaven, Bremerhaven, Bremervoer
  
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• ING to align £450bn investment portfolio with Paris Agreement goals

  17-09-2018 14:38
  ING has revealed that it will work with the companies covered by its £456m ($600bn) green investment portfolio to help align their respective sustainability strategies with the aims of the Paris Agreement.
  
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• Marston's achieves zero-waste-to-landfill goal

  17-09-2018 13:46
  Pub chain and brewer Marston's has revealed that it has hit its 2020 zero-waste-to-landfill goal two years ahead of schedule, after sending more than three-quarters (77%) of its waste to be recycled this year.
  
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• Blockchain platform hosts first capacity market trade

  17-09-2018 13:43
  EDF Energy and UK Power Reserve have completed the first exchange of a capacity market obligation using the blockchain-based energy trading platform being developed by Electron.
  
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• The North Face expands 'Climate Beneficial' clothing line

  17-09-2018 13:02
  Outdoor clothing brand The North Face has expanded its line of carbon "net-negative" products to include scarves and jackets, after successfully designing a "Climate Beneficial" wool beanie earlier this year.
  
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• Big-name investors call on food industry to tackle supply chain deforestation

  17-09-2018 12:20
  A group of 44 global investors have called on food companies which source beef from South America to mitigate and eliminate deforestation risks from their supply chains.
  
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• California plans to show the world how to meet the Paris climate target | Dana Nuccitelli

  17-09-2018 12:00 via theguardian.com
  Governor Jerry Brown signed an executive order for statewide carbon neutrality by 2045
  Last week, California Governor Jerry Brown signed State Senator and US Senate candidate Kevin de León’s SB 100, which mandates that the state obtain all of its electricity from zero-carbon sources by 2045. That in itself was a big deal, but Brown didn’t stop there; he also issued an executive order calling for the entire California economy to become carbon-neutral by 2045. That’s a hug
  
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• Country diary: Hoy sea eagles fledge two chicks

  17-09-2018 11:59 via theguardian.com
  Hoy, Orkney: The unmistakable, broad-winged adults soared majestically high above. Now there are fourA couple of weeks ago a welcome email arrived from the RSPB announcing that the only pair of sea eagles (Haliaeetus albicilla) on the island of Hoy in Orkney had fledged two chicks. Hooray! The great erne (Anglo-Saxon for sea eagle) is back where once it reigned supreme.Mesolithic and bronze-age tombs hold stark evidence of the white-tailed eagle’s former omnipresence in the archipelago. In
  
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• Waitrose to use home-compostable bags in produce aisles and phase-out 5p carrier bags

  17-09-2018 11:40
  Waitrose & Partners has announced that it will stop offering single-use plastic bags in its fruit and vegetable aisles and remove 5p carrier bags from its stores, a move that will cut its plastic usage by 134 million bags each year.
  
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• Seven endangered species that could (almost) fit in a single train carriage

  17-09-2018 07:00 via theguardian.com
  Some species are so close to extinction, that every remaining member can fit on a New York subway carriage (if they squeeze).All estimates come from the IUCN Red List, 2018. Continue reading...
  
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• Endangered species on a train

  17-09-2018 07:00 via theguardian.com
  Some species are so close to extinction, that every remaining member can fit on a New York subway carriage (if they squeeze).All estimates come from the IUCN Red List, 2018. Continue reading...
  
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• Is banning cage diving actually bad for sharks?

  17-09-2018 06:30 via theguardian.com
  New Zealand has ruled the practice illegal after mounting public pressure – but it can be a valuable and effective conservation toolEarlier this month the New Zealand court of appeal ruled that shark cage diving is illegal, and as a result cage diving tourism will soon cease in the country.But is a ban an appropriate course of action when shark population numbers are declining globally? Continue reading...
  
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