CondaValueError: The target prefix is the base prefix. Aborting

You need to use

conda env create -f environment.yml

Notice the extra env after conda and before create.

For more information check the documentation.

You can use:

conda create --name nameOfEnv

Very tricky, see the difference between the two:

conda create –-name my_env 

and

conda create --name my_env 

The first dash before name is slightly different (– instead of -). It takes me 15 mins to notice.