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As a former environment official, I've been involved with the EPBC Act for more than 20 years. But I was still shocked by the scathing report card. Peter Burnett, Honorary Associate Professor, ANU College of Law, Australian National University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Decarbonising the economy by investing in renewable energy, clean buildings, clean transport and manufacturing could help fight the recession

Hundreds of thousands of jobs could be created in Australia by hurrying the shift to zero greenhouse gas emissions, a study backed by business and investment leaders has found.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics estimates 835,000 jobs have been lost since the coronavirus pandemic shutdown began in March. A report by Beyond Zero Emissions, an energy and climate change thinktank, says practical projects to decarbonise the economy could create 1.78m “job years” over the next five years – on average, 355,000 people in work each year – while modernising Australian industry.

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Forums speak of hundreds of tonnes of plastic and other waste discarded by public

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Hundreds of tonnes of additional rubbish, including mountains of single-use plastic, is being discarded by the public in English parks each day as park managers warn of their fears for “Super Saturday” this week.

Officials in Bournemouth said they collected 50 tonnes of litter left by revellers and beachgoers on the beach on one day alone last week, compared to five tonnes on an average June day.

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Governments and carmakers are pressing on with net-zero hydrogen fuel cells to power cars, buses, trains and even aircraft

More than 50 years ago hydrogen fuel cells helped put Neil Armstrong on the moon, but mainstream usage of the technology has remained elusivesince.

Now there are signs that may be changing, with a spate of new investments even amid the coronavirus pandemic.

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Massive investment in wind, solar, housing, transport and manufacturing will deliver more than one million jobs, according to report launched by Mike Cannon-Brookes.

The post Zero emissions push will create more than one million jobs in Australia, BZE says appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Climate change campaigner said after UN summit, Angela Merkel queued up for a selfie with her

Environmental campaigner Greta Thunberg has hit out at world leaders for wanting to be pictured with her to “look good”.

The 17-year-old became a global star thanks to her activism, and gave a powerful speech at the United Nations climate change summit in September in which she told world leaders: “You have stolen my dreams and my childhood with your empty words … how dare you!”

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Scientists discover hundreds of different fungi in Amazonian soil, thought to play a vital role in nature.

The Corkman will lead a three-party coalition of Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Green Party.

Just three other well-preserved vessels from the period have been discovered in the Scandinavian country.

Filters can cut ocean-bound microplastics from washing machines, but more tests are needed, study finds.

A daily summary of our news plus bite-sized updates from around the world.

Virginia’s Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) released a revised RGGI regulation on Friday that installs state-run auctions, cuts the 2020 CO2 budget and makes other technical changes ahead of its scheduled adoption later this summer.

California should evaluate the future of refinery allocations under its WCI-linked carbon market if allowance prices are expected to remain near the floor price in the post-2020 period, a state watchdog said Friday, adding that regulators should also consider the impact of the supply surplus and possible auction changes.

California carbon offset (CCO) supply may have topped out in recent years as protocol changes, manufacturing trends, and transitions to other climate programmes reduce future credit issuances, a project developer said Friday.

If the ALP loses Eden-Monaro next Saturday, it will be a significant blow to morale and a green light for internal mischief

We are going to track back to the week’s developments on energy policy, but I want to open this weekend in Eden-Monaro, with voters in the seat heading to the polls next Saturday.

The truisms of federal byelections are well known. Governments don’t normally win. Usually, voters use these contests as an opportunity to “send a message to Canberra” – often the message is “up yours”.

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Audit of offsets to approve developments suggests usage is worsening impact of endangered species, not reducing it

The Morrison government is being urged to fix the use of environmental offsets to approve developments after an audit found major flaws in a system supposed to help protect threatened species from extinction.

Scientists said the scathing audit of how the federal environment department administered national conservation laws suggested the use of offsets was worsening the impact on endangered species, not reducing it.

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We must demand that our leaders are up to the challenge or we will lose what is most precious about this beautiful and fragile wide brown land

Next week, Prof Graeme Samuel, the former chair of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, will deliver interim findings of his review of the effectiveness of Australia’s national environment laws, the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act.

The review will be delivered in the context of a devastating critique by the auditor general of the effectiveness of the federal environment department in administering the laws and with a backdrop of the environmental devastation caused by years of drought and a horrific summer of bushfires.

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The US will opt out of the first three years of the CORSIA offset mechanism for global air travel if other countries do not agree to alter the programme’s emissions baseline next week, with other nations potentially following suit, a Dutch minister said Friday.

Four EU governments including Germany have co-signed a statement asking the European Commission to consider additional options in preventing carbon leakage besides a carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM).

The pick of the world’s best flora and fauna photos, including a perky grasshopper and a sleepy turtle

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