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The blade, which is encrusted with marine organisms, is believed to be about 900 years old.

Anne-Marie Trevelyan urges firms to encourage shift to heat pumps, amid criticism of limited £5,000 grants

• What are heat pumps and why is the government pushing them?

Gas boilers could be banned in future but the government believes the market should drive changes to home heating systems, the cabinet minister Anne-Marie Trevelyan has said, amid criticism of the limited grants system for heat pumps.

Ministers had been under pressure to set a date to ban the installation of new gas boilers in existing homes, but on Tuesday announced the installation of low-carbon heat pumps would be encouraged with a grant system of £5,000 for up to 90,000 homes in England and Wales.

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The Guardian's environment editor, Damian Carrington, examines exactly how the climate crisis is fuelling devastating floods – and what we can do to help protect ourselves and our planet

• Why are wildfires getting worse? – video explainer
  

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With weeks to go until the UK hosts a global climate summit, is the government on track to meet its own commitments?

It’s vital that unions and employers join forces to ensure staff can transfer their skills into low-carbon businesses

• Paul Clarke is a former engineer in a coal-fired power station

In the past, industrial change was poorly managed, leading to skilled staff being made redundant, withdrawing from work or drifting into less skilled employment. Anyone who remembers the dole queues after the closure of our country’s coalmines in the 1980s may be rightly wary of promises of a “just transition” for fossil fuel workers as we move into a net-zero future. But, it doesn’t have to be this way, and I’d like to share my story as a testament to what is possible when we come together to properly prepare for the future.

Three years ago, I worked at Cottam, an EDF coal-fired power station in Nottinghamshire, as a professional engineer. I was proud of my job. My skills kept the country’s lights on and kettles boiling. It was more than a career for me, it gave me a sense of purpose.

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Researchers find plunging costs of solar – even factoring in "petawatt-hours" of battery storage – could allow China to dramatically slash its coal use.

The post Stunningly cheap solar to power China’s pivot away from coal appeared first on RenewEconomy.

The solar industry is facing serious shortages of hardware as well as labour. Rami Fedda from Solar Juice discusses what’s causing the supply problems and how you can minimise your risk as a result.

The post Great Solar Business Podcast: The big solar supply crunch appeared first on RenewEconomy.

The failure of fresh attempts to cancel out Angus Taylor's much criticised ARENA regulations means a court challenge will be the likely next step.

The post “Unlawful” ARENA regulations destined for court, after further failed repeal attempts appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Māui dolphins are at risk of extinction. With a marine mammal sanctuary in place since 2008, the risk from fisheries is now largely under control. It’s time to take other threats more seriously. Rochelle Constantine, Associate Professor of Marine Biology, University of Auckland Wendi Roe, Professor, Massey University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Clean Energy Regulator seeks feedback on new scheme to improve transparency around corporate emissions pledges and the use of offsets.

The post Regulator seeks input into new corporate emissions transparency reporting scheme appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Andrews government launches consultation into whether an online platform could remove some barriers to PPAs and bring businesses and renewable developers together.

The post Victoria seeks to “de-risk” corporate PPAs, reduce barriers appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Woodside firms up plans with Heliogen, whose solar heat and power technology is tipped to play a key supporting role the gas major's green hydrogen and ammonia plans.

The post Woodside firms up solar thermal plans with Bill Gates-backed start-up appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Nations must work with their neighbours to manage and protect species and human rights. An international environmental deal called the Escazú Agreement shows what’s possible. Rebecca K. Runting, Lecturer in Spatial Sciences and ARC DECRA Fellow, The University of Melbourne Leslie Roberson, Postdoctoral research fellow, The University of Queensland Sofía López-Cubillos, Postdoctoral research fellow, The University of Queensland Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Danish wind giant named as prefered supplier to for massive 2.1GW Empire offshore wind project, planned for development off the coast of Long Island, New York.

The post Massive offshore wind project taps “world’s largest” Vestas turbines appeared first on RenewEconomy.

A daily summary of our news plus bite-sized updates from around the world.

New materials are making body armour lighter but nanotechnology could provide a breakthrough.

Compliance obligations under the Canadian ‘backstop’ output-based pricing system (OBPS) will plummet next year as provinces depart the federally imposed large emitter programmes and implement their own alternatives, an analyst said Monday.

Western Europe is being credited as the highest contributor to global clean energy innovation, while the US and China lag behind, and the UK sets its sights on nuclear innovation.

Oil major Shell expects trading in the voluntary carbon market to increase by around threefold to 1.1 billion tonnes of CO2e a year by 2030, though rising corporate demand could exceed supply within a few years due to a lack of high-quality projects.

Summer seems a long time ago now. Back in August and September, EU carbon was setting almost weekly records, European gas was nicely positioned at the top of the merit order, the European Commission was talking about climate ambition, and all was right with the world. And just three weeks later, the EU ETS finds itself in a time of high volatility and of high anxiety.