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Carbon pricing will support Balkan coal phaseout, report finds
The Guardian view on summer holidays: mixed messages | Editorial
It is possible, as well as desirable, that some trips could be possible in the coming months. But ministers have created another muddle
The confusion dates back almost a month, to a press conference at which the health secretary, Matt Hancock, revealed that he has booked a summer holiday in Cornwall. In the following weeks other ministers made more cautious statements. But the seed was sown, and this week the contradiction at the heart of the government’s message to the public about summer 2021 burst into the open. On Wednesday, the same evening that Boris Johnson agreed with his more prudent colleagues that it was “just too early” to plot getaways, Mr Hancock was joking with colleagues on a Zoom call about why he had picked Cornwall over Devon.
The tension is natural enough, at a human level. Politicians, like other people who can afford it, are keen to travel again. Many of us are sick of our flats and houses and look forward to a change of scene. Christmas and other festivals have been sad occasions for some people, particularly those who live alone or far from loved ones. It feels almost too much to bear that another six months could pass before the pressure to stay indoors, and away from our friends and families, is eased. As we reported this week, plenty of people have taken the plunge and booked breaks in Britain, while recognising that foreign travel is off limits and cancellation a possibility.
Continue reading...Head of the Climate Change Centre, European Central Bank – Frankfurt
Climate Change: Government may review road-building policy
To safeguard future generations, we must learn how to be better ancestors | Roman Krznaric
Short-term thinking in politics and business is laying waste to the planet. But the fightback – led by young campaigners – is on
It’s hard to see history being made when you’re right in the middle of it – especially when life has our attention spans locked into minutes, days and weeks. But in the midst of a pandemic that understandably focuses our attention on the here and now, a new global movement is rising in the name of long-term thinking and intergenerational justice.
Their target is the tyranny of the now. The politicians who see only as far as the next election. The businesses fixated on their quarterly report. The nations bickering away in international negotiations while the planet burns and species disappear.
Continue reading...Coca-Cola company trials first paper bottle
Leeds Bradford Airport expansion plans approved
Data Architect, WCI Inc. – Sacramento/Quebec City
COMMENT: Brussels gets twitchy about EU ETS speculation
*Global Lead, Carbon Finance, Conservation International – Location Flexible
Australia Market Roundup: Shell, Terra Carbon projects collect ACCUs as fossil lobby embraces net zero
Revealed: no penalties issued under 'useless' UK farm pollution laws
Exclusive: Environment Agency has failed to prosecute or fine any of 243 documented violations since 2018
Campaigners have called legislation designed to reduce water pollution caused by agriculture in England “useless” as data reveals there have been no prosecutions or fines issued despite regular documented breaches of the rules.
The Environment Agency has documented 243 violations of the “farming rules for water” since they came into effect in April 2018, according to data the Guardian has obtained using freedom of information legislation.
Continue reading...Science Photographer of the Year winners revealed
Record number of beavers to be released in Britain this year
Industrious rodent to make a comeback in five counties where they have been extinct for centuries
A record number of beavers will be released by the Wildlife Trusts into Britain this year as the industrious mammal is restored to five counties where they have been extinct for hundreds of years.
The popular rodent, whose dams have been shown to boost hundreds of species of insects, amphibians, birds, fish and plants, is returning to Dorset, Derbyshire, Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, Nottinghamshire and Montgomeryshire.
Continue reading...Global green recovery plans fail to match 2008 stimulus, report shows
Just 12% of spending on economic rescue packages is going towards low-carbon projects, research finds
Efforts by governments around the world to forge a green recovery from the coronavirus pandemic are so far failing even to reach the levels of green spending seen in the stimulus that followed the 2008 financial crisis, new analysis has shown.
Only about 12% of the spending on economic rescue packages around the world is going towards low-carbon projects, such as renewable energy and clean technology, according to a report by Vivid Economics, published on Friday.
Continue reading...Covid-19: UK 'not learning lessons of Australia quarantine'
UK landfill tax seems to have incentivised fly-tipping, says watchdog
Government is told it must find better ways to measure effects of environmental taxes
An environmental tax imposed to cut the amount of landfill appears to have incentivised illegal waste disposal such as fly-tipping, Whitehall’s spending watchdog has discovered.
The National Audit Office also said the government was collecting too little information about the effect of environmental taxes, which it said needed to be monitored to help the government reach its climate goals.
Continue reading...Wind farms face “significant change” to turbine noise rules in Victoria
Wind energy projects in Victoria could soon be required to apply for turbine noise permits, in options being proposed for a tightening of environmental responsibilities.
The post Wind farms face “significant change” to turbine noise rules in Victoria appeared first on RenewEconomy.
Energy Insiders Podcast: AGL’s survival plan, and AEMO’s new boss
Can AGL survive the rapid energy transition? What does the new CEO mean for Australia’s grid, and more big batteries.
The post Energy Insiders Podcast: AGL’s survival plan, and AEMO’s new boss appeared first on RenewEconomy.
TransGrid secures $600m in loans to fund wind and solar grid connections
TransGrid secures backing of nine banks for a $600 million debt facility, as the company readies to connect more wind, solar and storage projects.
The post TransGrid secures $600m in loans to fund wind and solar grid connections appeared first on RenewEconomy.