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China’s Shenyang to launch ETS in September
A Scottish Green-SNP alliance could transform the country, and the climate | Caroline Lucas
It’s not enough for Greens to have bold ideas, to deliver them we need to be in power. This deal could be a turning point
- Caroline Lucas is the Green MP for Brighton Pavilion
No one gets into politics to be in opposition for ever, especially people in a hurry. And the Greens have every reason to hurry. We believe other parties have neither the ideas nor the resolve to handle the interlocking crises we face. Crucially, we understand that – as the environmentalist Bill McKibben once said – “winning slowly is the same as losing”.
The impacts of the climate emergency that we feared might occur in the second half of this century are happening now. But the other parties are still only prepared to tinker around the edges of what is needed. The British government’s policies on the climate emergency and the biodiversity crisis fall far short of what’s needed to avert environmental breakdown or mass extinction.
Continue reading...Feeding birds in our gardens is a joy – but it may be harming weaker species | Alexander C Lees
By boosting dominant species such as great tits, human-provided food can make life harder for many woodland birds
Feeding birds is hard-wired into our national psyche. The apocryphal Victorian “tuppence a bag” for seed for the Trafalgar Square pigeons has morphed into a national pastime, with an estimated 17m households spending £250m a year on more than 150,000 tonnes of bird feed – enough to feed the entire breeding population of the 10 most common feeder-using bird species year-round three times over.
The habit has been enthusiastically encouraged by environmental NGOs, which recognise it as a way for people to connect with nature. This was brought into sharp relief during the pandemic, with many of us discovering the joy of attracting birds to our own gardens after losing access to wildlife and wild spaces. So we know that bird-feeding can be good for humans, but what about for birds?
Continue reading...China coal capacity growth collapses, but provinces keep pushing -report
Is democracy getting in the way of saving the planet? | Kate Aronoff
Our climate is in crisis, but authoritarians and technocrats don’t have the answers
What the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s report confirmed this month is that the stable climate many of us grew up with is gone and has been replaced by a fundamentally unstable one. Sea levels will almost certainly rise and storms will get more intense. Amid a drumbeat of depressing news and decades of inaction, there’s a sort of folk wisdom emerging that liberal democracy might just be too slow to tackle a problem as urgent and massive as the climate crisis. It’s an enticing vision: that governments can forgo the messy, deliberative work of politics in favour of a benign dictatorship of green technocrats who will get emissions down by brute force. With a punishingly tiny budget of just 400 gigatonnes of CO2 left to make a decent shot of staying below 1.5C of warming, is it time to give something less democratic a try?
It would be easy to look at the longstanding stalemate around climate policy in the US, the world’s second biggest emitter and embattled superpower, as evidence that something more top-down is needed. Yet the failure isn’t one of too much democracy but too little. The US Senate empowers West Virginia’s Joe Manchin – a man elected by fewer than 300,000 people – to block the agenda of a president elected by more than 80 million. Climate-sceptical Republicans, backed by corporate interests, have attempted to gerrymander their way to electoral dominance, halting progressive climate action in its tracks. The fossil fuel industry can engulf lawmakers with lobbyists and virtually unlimited campaign donations to sway their votes. And as the Republican party’s leading lights flirt with authoritarians like Hungary’s prime minister, Viktor Orbán, comprehensive bipartisan climate action remains a pipe dream.
Continue reading...Profits from wind and solar farms fall, as APA keeps wary eye on Copperstring
APA reports mixed earnings from its wind and solar farms, but is keeping wary eye on the proposed Copperstring project in Queensland.
The post Profits from wind and solar farms fall, as APA keeps wary eye on Copperstring appeared first on RenewEconomy.
Specieswatch: run rabbit – why they are disappearing from the countryside
They are blamed for damage to crops but numbers are falling due to predators and disease
The European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) is perhaps the most often seen mammal in the British countryside. It is also a favourite food for foxes, badgers, weasels, stoats and various birds of prey, especially buzzards, whose numbers often fluctuate depending on rabbit populations.
Yet the rabbit is classed as an invasive species. It was first imported by the Romans from its native habitat in the Iberian peninsula in about AD43. It did not thrive and was reintroduced again by the Normans before becoming established in England. It was so valued as a winter food source that the landed gentry had to have special permission to create a carefully guarded warren and the peasants were kept well away.
Continue reading...Beavers to make ‘cautious’ return to England with legal protection
The government is launching a consultation on more reintroductions to the wild after a successful trial in Devon
Beavers will be released into the wild under government proposals to support a “cautious” return of the semi-aquatic mammals to English rivers.
The native animals will also be given legal protection in England, making it an offence to deliberately capture, kill, disturb or injure them, or damage their breeding sites or resting places, as part of efforts to support their recovery.
Continue reading...Labor to target Taylor’s role in grants given to gas company with Liberal Party links
Labor to ramp up scrutiny of energy minister's involvement in $21 million Beetaloo gas grants, but won't back Greens call to abolish the program altogether.
The post Labor to target Taylor’s role in grants given to gas company with Liberal Party links appeared first on RenewEconomy.
Lessons from the US, where politically boosted renewables leave coal and gas in dust
Up to $US68 billion of US coal and gas assets could end up stranded as mix of federal and state policy incentives drive rapid shift to renewables.
The post Lessons from the US, where politically boosted renewables leave coal and gas in dust appeared first on RenewEconomy.
Meridian confirms possible exit from “highly politicised” Australian energy market
Announcing its annual result, NZ renewables gen-tailer confirms ongoing review of Australian businesses, due to significant political and regulatory uncertainty.
The post Meridian confirms possible exit from “highly politicised” Australian energy market appeared first on RenewEconomy.
“Backward step:” Industry warns VPPs could be killed by AEMO metering changes
Vast majority of big utilities, battery storage, inverter and software suppliers say AEMO's proposed reforms could kill market for virtual power plants.
The post “Backward step:” Industry warns VPPs could be killed by AEMO metering changes appeared first on RenewEconomy.
What Greenland's record-breaking rain means for the planet
China’s MingYang unveils “world’s largest” offshore wind turbine, a 16MW colossus
China's MingYang Smart Energy unveils 16MW, 264-metre tall offshore wind turbine which now rates as the world’s largest.
The post China’s MingYang unveils “world’s largest” offshore wind turbine, a 16MW colossus appeared first on RenewEconomy.