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As the world battles the Covid-19 pandemic, more and more protective equipment is ending up in the sea.

As somebody who held a senior position at Defence until very recently, the latest strategy update is incredibly disheartening to read. It barely mentions one of Australia’s greatest security challenges – climate change.

The post Federal government’s defence strategy update the weakest on climate in a decade appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Decarbonising Europe’s remaining coal-reliant countries could pave the way for a vital green recovery from the global COVID-19 pandemic.

The post Rapid coal phase-out could drive European green recovery: Bloomberg appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Electric vehicles are still relatively expensive but a trial to help them power the national grid in times of need could see owners being paid. That could make them a lot more attractive. Bjorn Sturmberg, Research Leader, Battery Storage & Grid Integration Program, Australian National University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

A new European energy and emissions trading platform is preparing to launch with committed participants representing more than 50% of the continent’s traded volumes.

EUAs came within a few cents of last year's peak near €30 on Tuesday but collapsed back in late trade to pause a six-week rally that has defied fundamentals amid a wave of 'speculative mania'.

Three quarters of WA's Stirling Ranges national park now experience fire cycles twice as frequent as species recovery rates. Kingsley Dixon, John Curtin Distinguished Professor, Curtin University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

The last time global carbon dioxide levels were around 400ppm was four million years ago. On average, the world was 3℃ warmer, but in high northern latitudes, it was up to 14℃ warmer than today. James Shulmeister, Professor, University of Canterbury Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

The Ukrainian energy ministry is working on a proposal to create an energy efficiency modernisation fund for its heavy industries using revenues from the country's carbon tax.

Germany favours adding new sectors to the EU ETS, but recommends waiting for an EU study on the effects of a higher 2030 emission target before discussing new bloc-wide policies, its environment minister told lawmakers on Tuesday.

Halting Huawei hurts 5G rollout and Sino-British ties, but stopping a Chinese nuclear power plant in Essex has virtually no fallout

Get ready for the “new Huawei” is the word from Westminster, meaning another flare-up in UK-China business and political relations, this time over Chinese involvement in the UK’s nuclear power programme.

Ditching state-owned China General Nuclear Power Group (CGN) would indeed be a political development on a political par with a Huawei exclusion. The 2016 agreement, which imagined CGN’s “progressive entry” into the UK’s “resurgent” nuclear ambitions, was given maximum hype at the time by both Beijing and David Cameron’s government.

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If Boris Johnson wants to permanently shift the UK on to a trajectory to meet its climate targets, he must deliver a new zero-carbon infrastructure. There’s no sign of that yet

Boris Johnson does not want a crisis to go to waste. The coronavirus-induced recession is widely accepted as an opportunity to reset and rebuild the economy to take the environmental challenge seriously. Radical green policies that once seemed impossible – such as shutting down airports and closing off roads – have been implemented overnight with public support. Now that the economy is reopening, Mr Johnson’s political goal is to produce policies that chime with the nation’s mood. He says he will “build back greener”. What Mr Johnson’s phrase means for the country will only become clear when his policies emerge.

His government’s first big announcement is a small step in the right direction. Rishi Sunak, the chancellor, will incentivise home insulation with a £2bn grant scheme so that homeowners can decrease the amount of heat lost through roofs, walls and floors. This will bring jobs back to local economies, with companies providing a labour-intensive service in a post-Covid-19 world suffering from extremely high levels of unemployment.

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Switzerland’s emissions from transport fuels were little changed for the second straight year in 2019, while CO2 output from heating decreased by 2.5%, according to figures published Tuesday.

Single classification system could end centuries of disagreement and improve global efforts to tackle biodiversity loss

A plan to create the first universally recognised list of species on Earth has prompted hopes of an end to centuries of disagreement and confusion over how to classify the world’s library of life.

The 10-point plan aims to finally bring order with an authoritative list of the world’s species and a governance mechanism responsible for its quality. Researchers hope a single recognised list would improve global efforts to tackle biodiversity loss, the trade in endangered wildlife, biosecurity and conservation.

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California regulator ARB published an application this week for out-of-state offset projects to qualify as providing direct environmental benefits to the state (DEBs), aiming to help the agency make a final determination on the post-2020 designation.

Aligning polar satellites will enable the first ever reliable maps of Antarctic sea-ice thickness.

The EU is re-examining its climate policy for airlines, including a potential return to covering foreign flights in its carbon market after the UN’s CORSIA international aviation offsetting scheme was effectively put on ice last week.

The Northeast US RGGI carbon market will make 16.2 million allowances available for its September auction, the programme administrator announced Tuesday.

The spot price in Beijing’s pilot emissions trading scheme rose to a record price of 100 yuan/tonne ($14.26) on Tuesday, though traded volumes remain low.

Exclusive: Campaigners say £3bn scheme fails to comply with Paris accord and is just ‘a fig-leaf for polluters’

Boris Johnson’s much-vaunted green recovery plans are inadequate and “clearly unlawful” as they do not match up to the government’s legal obligations under the Paris climate agreement and the UK’s own net zero emissions target, green campaigners have said.

On Tuesday, a letter threatening court action was sent to the prime minister and the chancellor, Rishi Sunak, by the pressure group Plan B, which successfully took the government to the appeal court this year over its green light for the expansion of Heathrow airport.

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