Around The Web

Video footage posted on LinkedIn this week shows Lotus Energy's Melbourne solar panel recycling plant in action – is it Australia's first?

The post Australia’s first solar panel recycling plant swings into action appeared first on RenewEconomy.

An historical court ruling in Germany has translated into notably ambitious new targets. But does it have the tech, the will and the policy to get it done?

The post Germany forced by court ruling to set world-leading net zero targets: Can it reach them? appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Speculators continued to fuel bullish pressure for California Carbon Allowances (CCAs) on the secondary market this week, as RGGI allowance (RGA) prices hit a two-month high with an uptick in compliance demand.

The 7ft-long female lake sturgeon was released by a Fish & Wildlife Service team after being weighed and measured

The US Fish and Wildlife Service received quite a big surprise last week, when they caught a giant fish, estimated to be more than 100 years old, in the Detroit River.

The 240-pound lake sturgeon was caught by a three-person crew on 22 April, just south of Detroit near Grosse Ile. The agency described the huge fish, which measured almost 7ft long, as “a real life river monster”.

Continue reading...

In the red corner is the octopus with eight muscular, hyper-flexible arms. In the blue corner is the bird with killer vision and two sharp claws for catching prey with incredible speed and precision. Zoe Doubleday, ARC Future Fellow and marine biologist, University of South Australia Erica Durante, PhD Candidate, University of South Australia Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Post-pandemic shifts in travel habits could undermine the logic behind many infrastructure projects.

Nature United seeks a proven and dynamic Provincial Policy Advisor to work with the Director of Strategic Partnerships and conservation program leads to develop and implement strategies to advance provincial and territorial government relations and achieve Nature United’s conservation goals through public policy, funding, and programming. 

European utilities Enel and Uniper both reported a year-on-year rebound in power output for Q1 on Thursday, with last year’s generation levels disrupted by the start of the coronavirus crisis and dampened by warmer weather.

EUAs resumed their record-breaking run on Thursday, climbing back above €50 to extend the week's all-time high as bullish sentiment continued to hold sway.

Fossil fuels, cattle and rotting waste produce greenhouse gas responsible for 30% of global heating

Slashing methane emissions is vital to tackling the climate crisis and rapidly curbing the extreme weather already hitting people across the world today, according to a new UN report.

In 2020 there was a record rise in the amount of the powerful greenhouse gas emitted by the fossil fuel industry, cattle and rotting waste. Cutting it is the strongest action available to slow global heating in the near term, Inger Andersen, the UN’s environment chief, said.

Continue reading...

Steelmaker ArcelorMittal saw a substantial demand recovery in Q1, achieving the “strongest” quarterly results in a decade following the COVID-19 crisis, it said in financial results on Thursday that also unveiled new deals to reduce emissions at its European facilities.

Reducing methane emissions needs to play a much more important role in tackling global warming.

Sighting of two of UK’s resident orcas is ‘proof of the value of our coastal seas’, says expert

Two killer whales have been spotted off the Cornish coast.

Experts believe this is the first sighting of the UK’s only resident population of killer whales travelling this far south.

Continue reading...

Electrification of cars and home boilers best choice to fight the climate crisis, say scientists

Using hydrogen-based fuels for cars and home heating risks locking in a dependency on fossil fuels and failing to tackle the climate crisis, according to a new analysis.

Fuels produced from hydrogen can be used as straight replacements for oil and gas and can be low-carbon, if renewable electricity is used to produce these “e-fuels”. However, the research found that using the electricity directly to power cars and warm houses was far more efficient.

Continue reading...

Environmental markets platform IncubEx has hired a new director to further develop its European carbon and renewables certificates offerings.

California Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) rebounded towards a one-month high this week even after the programme posted its highest quarterly credit surplus in four years.

Unless actions by governments and corporations cut emissions in the here and now, a dose of scepticism is in order

So it’s goodbye climate deniers, hello – and you’ll pardon me for being blunt here – climate bullshitters.

The impacts of the climate emergency are now so obvious, only the truly deluded still deny them. Instead, we are at the point where everyone agrees something must be done, but many are making only vague, distant promises of ineffective action. As a result, we are currently on track for a 0.5% cut in global emissions from 2010 levels by 2030, when a 45% drop is needed to avoid climate catastrophe.

Continue reading...

Toby Willison has taken leading role at water firm due in court for sentencing after sewage dumping

A former chief of the environment watchdog has defended his move to take up a senior position at a water company that is under investigation by the regulator.

Toby Willison has taken a leading role at Southern Water, which this summer is due in court for sentencing after admitting dumping poisonous, noxious substances including raw sewage. The case followed a criminal investigation by Willison’s former employer, the Environment Agency.

Continue reading...

South Korean carbon allowances have rebounded 28% since hitting a 5-year low last month, though uncertainty is high in the market as the government has yet to announce the exact ETS emissions balance for 2020.

There are signs infections have slowed in some regions - but is India past the worst?