Legislation being debated in the Senate will create a market to encourage private spending on projects that protect and restore biodiversity
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The Albanese government and Greens have struck a deal to establish a nature repair scheme in exchange for fast tracking an expansion of the water trigger to all unconventional gas projects.
The deal would also prevent trades in a new nature market from being used as offsets for other destruction of habitat.
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Breaking Waves: Ocean News
12/05/2023 - 03:20
Committee chair raises concerns as Lib Dem leader describes company as ‘a slow moving car crash’
Troubled Thames Water is likely to be called back to be questioned by MPs over concerns raised by its auditors that its parent company could run out of money by April.
Sir Robert Goodwill, the chair of the environment food and rural affairs committee, said he would suggest to his fellow MPs that Thames Water be recalled to parliament over the financial concerns. The recall comes as the company released its interim results and as it is pushing the Water Services Regulation Authority (Ofwat) to allow it to raise customer bills by up to 40% to fund investment in crumbling infrastructure.
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12/05/2023 - 03:00
In 2018, sightings of these solitary, nocturnal animals were recorded in Kenya for the first time in half a century. Now conservationists are working with farmers to create space for them on the land
When Fred Telekwa settled on his farm inside Nyakweri forest, in western Kenya, four years ago, his main worry was how to prevent elephants and buffaloes from destroying his crops. The nearby Maasai Mara game reserve housed a huge amount of roaming wildlife.
“Two or three elephants can clear an acre of cabbages in one night. I had no choice but to put up an electric fence to ward off the animals,” he says.
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12/05/2023 - 02:19
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Record number of fossil fuel lobbyists get access to climate talks
Alok Sharma, an MP for the Conservative party in Britain and president of Cop26 that was held in Glasgow two years ago, has made some comments about Al Jaber’s presidency: “everyone should be questioned,” he says.
Environment ministers from Germany and Colombia have led an open letter calling for the inclusion of nature in the global stocktake outcome, which countries are negotiating at Cop28.
“The GST provides a critical moment to recognize the importance of just and inclusive means of implementation, and address the significant finance gap for nature-based solutions,” said Muhamad. “In particular, the involvement and respect for the rights of Indigenous Peoples and local communities is critical, in addition to the urgent need to align financial flows to enable the transformations required to deliver the Paris Agreement goals.”
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12/05/2023 - 00:01
Industry experts say electric cars sales figures could be higher if the government stops delaying fuel efficiency standards
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Sales of electric vehicles in Australia have more than doubled this year compared to 2022 but industry experts say the figure could be even higher had the government introduced long-promised fuel efficiency standards.
The year-to-date sales of battery electric vehicles (EVs) have hit 80,446 compared to 28,326 for the same period last year, an increase of 185%, according to figures from the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries. EVs made up 7.2% of all motor vehicle sales so far this year.
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12/05/2023 - 00:00
Projected rate of warming has not improved in past two years, analysis shows
Cop28 president forced into defence of fossil fuel phase-out claims
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Global carbon emissions from fossil fuels reached record levels again in 2023, as experts warned that the projected rate of warming had not improved over the past two years.
The world is on track to have burned more coal, oil and gas in 2023 than it did in 2022, according to a report by the Global Carbon Project, pumping 1.1% more planet-heating carbon dioxide into the atmosphere at a time when emissions must plummet to stop extreme weather from growing more violent.
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12/04/2023 - 17:30
Motion will force Tory MPs to say whether bonuses can still be paid despite poor state of English and Welsh waterways
Labour aims to embarrass the government by forcing Conservative MPs to vote on whether Ofwat should have the power to ban water bosses’ bonuses until they clean up waterways in England and Wales.
Water suppliers have been repeatedly criticised for paying out large sums to bosses who have presided over leaky infrastructure and sewage dumping. Senior executives from five of the 11 water companies that deal with sewage took bonuses this year, while the rest declined after public outrage.
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12/04/2023 - 17:02
As the climate warms, preserving forest cover will be increasingly important for wildlife conservation, finds a study of North American mammals.
12/04/2023 - 16:46
Altivia Chemicals said personnel have contained leak of phosgene as city lifts shelter-in-place order that affected nearby plants
Eight people were taken to a hospital for treatment on Monday after a toxic gas leak at Altivia Chemicals’ plant in La Porte, Texas, local officials said.
An update on their condition was not immediately available. The city canceled a shelter-in-place order in the afternoon that had affected several nearby industrial plants, officials said.
Reuters contributed to this report
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12/04/2023 - 15:28
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Third freed immigration detainee arrested after he allegedly breached bail conditions
RBA interest rates: Australian mortgage holders spared pre-Christmas rise from Reserve Bank
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Marles says Australians should express views on Israel-Hamas conflict ‘in a safe and a peaceful way’
The deputy prime minister, Richard Marles, is speaking to ABC RN. He is asked whether Australia is “a safe place for Jews right now”, amid a discussion of the Israel-Hamas war.
[I understand] many of the Jewish community are finding this to be a very difficult time and it’s really important for those in the Jewish community, or those in Islamic community, that Australians are looking after everyone.
That has to be the basis upon which everyone expresses their legitimate rights to freedom of expression, but to do that in a safe and a peaceful way.
It’s completely arbitrary. For many families, relying on two incomes to get by is no longer a luxury, but a necessity. Parents are trapped in a cycle of being unable to find a job without childcare, and unable to afford childcare without a job.
The fact that we have a policy that directly exacerbates the unaffordability of childcare and in turn prevents parents – predominantly women – who want to work from supporting their families and building their careers is unacceptable.
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