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The UN global plastic treaty could be as important as the 2015 Paris accords, if negotiators can stand up to industry lobbyists

Last week, in an enormous convention centre in downtown Ottawa, I joined delegates who have been negotiating over the most important environmental deal since the 2015 Paris agreement on climate change.

The global plastic treaty has a mandate to agree on a legally binding, international agreement to tackle plastic pollution across the entire plastics life cycle, from the initial extraction of fossil fuels for plastics production to the end-of-life disposal of plastic waste. The current meeting is the fourth of five scheduled negotiations and is critically important – without agreement on the objectives, structure and key measures, the prospect of agreeing on the final treaty text by the end of 2024 seems ambitious.

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China's top legislature is reviewing a draft energy law that could give additional clout to the development of renewable energy and hydrogen in the country. 

A regional director at project developer South Pole has left the company to found his own carbon market firm.

Australia’s Emissions Reduction Assurance Committee (ERAC) has added a new member to its ranks to better undertake its work ensuring the integrity of Australia’s carbon credit scheme, the government announced Monday.

An emissions accounting platform for Australia’s agriculture, fisheries, and forestry sectors is expected to go live in May, its developer announced Monday.

Market interest in biodiversity projects led by Indigenous Peoples is surging as local leaders in the Amazon rainforest strive to scale up funding through voluntary credits, according to a project developer.

Australia’s fleet of coal-fired power stations will retire in the early 2030s, but a new signal on carbon emissions will be required for the electricity sector to reach net zero, a report published Monday said.

The federal government of Pakistan is setting up a committee that will seek counsel from the provincial governments on the country’s draft carbon credit policy, as part of preparations for a national market launch and greater involvement in the international market.

All the trees are dying. Yet we go about our lives

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Yes we need land for solar panels, wind farms, batteries, pumped hydro, transmission lines and so on. But the amount of land is surprisingly small, when you do the sums. Here’s why. Andrew Blakers, Professor of Engineering, Australian National University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Macquarie's Eku to build a four hour big battery in Japan, its first project in that country.

The post Macquarie’s battery storage offshoot to build its first four hour project in Japan appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Akaysha lands "first of its kind" debt finance from seven banks to kick start construction at two new big battery projects in Australia.

The post Akaysha lands “first of its kind” debt finance for two new Australian battery projects appeared first on RenewEconomy.

The construction sector accounts for 62% of waste: that could be drastically cut if we chose refurbishment over demolition

My first phone was a Nokia 3210, a cute grey brick with just enough computing power to run Snake. Compared with today’s sleek 5G touchscreen devices it was pretty pants, except in one way: I could repair it. The case, keyboard and battery could, without any special tools, be disassembled and replaced when they cracked or wore out. Unlike iPhones, which arrived on the market as impressive but inscrutable hermetic black boxes – impossible for customers to fix at home – my old Nokia was designed for repair.

Today, however, many manufacturers deliberately discourage mending by making their products hard or confusing to tinker with. This inevitably means more rubbish, with the UN estimating that the volume of electronic waste is rising five times faster than recycling rates. Though on paper, the UK government has set ambitious targets to halve the amount of waste Britons produce by 2042, in practice less mending means more demand for more new products, stimulating consumption and fuelling economic growth. For politicians more anxious about growing GDP than wellbeing, repair has simply not been a priority.

Phineas Harper is a writer and curator

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Australia needs better standards for home energy appliances.

The post SwitchedOn Podcast: Australia needs better standards for home energy appliances appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Singapore will spend S$60 million ($44 mln) on a new institute to study various decarbonisation techniques, from new fuels to carbon capture and storage, with a focus on cutting the emissions of its energy and chemical sectors.

Chelsea flower show to focus on water reuse as gardeners prepare for shortages caused by climate crisis

Rain gardens and bathwater are becoming gardening trends, the Royal Horticultural Society has said, as gardeners battle predicted water shortages caused by climate breakdown.

At the Chelsea flower show this year, many of the gardens will be focused on reducing water usage. Rain gardens will be on show, including in the Water Aid garden, which includes a rainwater harvesting pavilion designed to slow its flow, collecting and storing it for irrigation of the garden and filtering it for use as drinking water.

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Real estate investor proposes first stage of a giant renewable hub south of Townsville, next to an existing solar farm with similar aspirations.

The post Howdy neighbour! First-timer wants to plant huge renewable hub next to existing solar project appeared first on RenewEconomy.

At current installation rates, solar will pass fossil gas in 2024 and coal in 2025. Technologies like nuclear would require "magical growth rates" to compete.

The post Solar is now being installed faster than any technology in history appeared first on RenewEconomy.

The battery, which only switched on in December, is the star of what Genex describes as a "very solid" third quarter of revenue.

The post New big battery trumps solar farms to become top earner for Genex as it cashes in on market volatility appeared first on RenewEconomy.

California's 10 GW of big battery capacity is now dominant player in evening peaks, and soaking up solar in middle of the day.

The post Batteries smash more records as they shift solar to evening peak in one of world’s biggest grids appeared first on RenewEconomy.