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Fridays for Future to publish letter urging reform of common agricultural policy ahead of European commission meeting

The EU’s farming sector needs radical reform, and the common agricultural policy (CAP) must be rewritten if the climate crisis is to be tackled, a group of young climate activists will urge.

Fridays for Future, founded by teenagers in the wake of Greta Thunberg’s school strikes, will confront the European commission’s vice-president, Frans Timmermans, online to call for new plans to cut greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture, and replace subsidies based on the amount of land farmed with payments for farmers supplying public goods, such as clean water, clean air and lower carbon emissions.

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National Grid may ask suppliers to stop generating electricity due to record low consumption

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Hundreds of renewable energy projects may be asked to turn off this weekend to avoid overloading the grid as the UK’s electricity demand plummets to record lows.

Britain’s demand for electricity is forecast to tumble to a fifth below normal levels due to the spring bank holiday and the shutdown of shops, bars and restaurants mandated by the coronavirus lockdown.

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Particles may outnumber zooplankton, which underpin marine life and regulate climate

The abundance of microplastic pollution in the oceans is likely to have been vastly underestimated, according to research that suggests there are at least double the number of particles as previously thought.

Scientists trawled waters off the coasts of the UK and US and found many more particles using nets with a fine mesh size than when using coarser ones usually used to filter microplastics. The addition of these smaller particles to global estimates of surface microplastics increases the range from between 5tn and 50tn particles to 12tn-125tn particles, the scientists say.

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Labor, Greens and Independent MPs called for transparency around federal government's economic response to Covid-19, as it looks set to embrace fossil fuels at expense of green recovery.

The post Morrison’s lack of transparency is undermining green recovery, MPs say appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Better understanding of Covid-19's impact on the immune system gives hope an existing drug might aid recovery.

China looks unlikely to launch a carbon-intensive spending spree to recover from COVID-19 after the government on Friday said it has decided to not set a GDP growth target for this year, though continued support for “clean” coal and infrastructure projects means carbon emissions will likely rebound, according to observers.

Meridian proposes to build a two-part 130MW wind plus battery storage project in NSW New England region, 40km south of Glen Innes.

The post Meridian proposes new wind and battery “energy park” for northern NSW appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Picking winners and playing favourites has always been poor policy, but the technology roadmap shows us that this is what the Morrison government intends to do.

The post Coalition’s Technology Investment Roadmap: Poor policy in practice appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Gas industry tries to throw a live grenade into Australia's economic bunker. But it is the sheer range and scale of proposed government subsidies that beggars belief.

The post Gas lobby seizes Covid moment, and declares war on Australia’s future appeared first on RenewEconomy.

The long-awaited paper sets a positive tone. But it's not clear if the government grasps the sheer scale or urgency of the emissions reduction task. Jake Whitehead, Advance Queensland Industry Research Fellow & Tritum E-Mobility Fellow, The University of Queensland Chris Greig, Professor Simon Smart, Associate professor, The University of Queensland Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

The 200MW Silverton wind farm finally reaches full output after two years of delays and constraints caused by grid congestion in the area.

The post Silverton wind farm reaches full output after two years of delays and constraints appeared first on RenewEconomy.

New 105MW Australian solar farm announced as part global roll-out as Amazon works to source renewables for 100% of its electricity needs by 2030.

The post Amazon to build new 105MW solar farm in NSW – its second in Australia appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Australian researchers achieve major milestone for durability of next generation perovskite solar cells, a key step towards commercialisation of ultra low cost solar panels.

The post Australian researchers pass major milestone for next-gen solar cells appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Epho Commercial Solar demonstrates how “tens of gigawatts” of potential for solar generation could be tapped from Australia’s industrial rooftops.

The post Sydney 1.7MW rooftop solar “power station” switched on and playing both sides of meter appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Plastic pollutants in UK rivers are finding their way into wildlife and moving up the food chain.

Off river pumped hydro sites using old mines or reservoirs are likely to deliver lower cost energy storage than other pumped hydro options.

The post Off-river pumped hydro could provide lower costs for energy storage appeared first on RenewEconomy.

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US-based Nodal Exchange will launch two Oregon Clean Fuels Program (OCFP) contracts and three new renewable energy certificate (REC) offerings next month, product development firm and bourse partner IncubEx announced Thursday.

California Carbon Allowance (CCA) prices hit a two-month high this week as they edged above the WCI auction reserve price on thin activity, while RGGI allowances (RGAs) stagnated on the secondary market as no volume transacted.

Entities may surrender fewer offsets for the WCI cap-and-trade programme's third compliance period as the COVID-19 pandemic slashes emissions, but market participants anticipate the utilisation rate will remain relatively unchanged.