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Network operator Ausgrid seeking proposals to expand its virtual power plant, targeting the estimated 5,000 batteries within its network and help defray investment costs.

The post Ausgrid seeks to expand virtual power plant to cut back on network costs appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Analysis in north-west England linked to evidence of UK’s vulnerability to climate crisis

The floods of 2009 and 2015 in north-west England were the worst for more than 550 years, according to groundbreaking analysis of lake sediment in the region.

Residents have long suspected that the devastating floods were the worst in living memory, but this confirmation – from an analysis of lake sediment layers – provides a unique window on to the history of flooding in one of the wettest parts of England, and reveals the global climate crisis.

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Government confirms ban on sale and use of items from April next year

Plastic straws and drink stirrers, and cotton buds with plastic stems will be banned from sale and use in England from next April, the government has confirmed.

The move, which has been in the offing for more than a year, is hoped to vastly reduce the litter and other environmental impacts of the nearly 5bn plastic straws currently used each year in the UK, along with more than 300m plastic stirrers and close to 2bn cotton buds with plastic stems.

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The Labor leadership contest shapes up as a battle for the future of climate policy and as contest between pragmatism and ambition.

The post Battle for Labor leadership is a battle for Labor’s future climate policy appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Gold miner GBM Gold plans 60MW solar farm, including a floating solar element, on old evaporation ponds near Bendigo.

The post Bendigo gold miner plans 60MW solar farm on old evaporation ponds appeared first on RenewEconomy.

In a bid to limit ocean pollution, the government will introduce new controls on single use plastic items.

Deloitte seeks expressions of interest for three large solar and battery storage projects owned by Lyon Group companies.

The post Deloitte seeks offers for Lyon Group’s solar and storage projects appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Filmmaker Damon Gameau is challenging public perceptions about the environment with his new documentary, 2040.

People with lung conditions describe the impact air pollution has on their health.

The UK should deploy sectoral carbon pricing rising to as high as £160/tonne ($204, €183), including breaking up pricing for EU ETS-covered industries, to meet a net zero 2050 goal, prominent academics said in a report on Wednesday.

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

Environmental organisations are calling on the technical advisor for the CORSIA global aviation offsetting mechanism to disclose more details in the coming weeks about its operating procedure and announce a call for programme applications.

There's no end in sight to the severe drought gripping parts of New South Wales with unseasonably high temperatures and a forecast dry winter.

Under the new law, people can choose to have their body turned into soil after their death.

Its number have crashed by an estimated 40 per cent in the last decade and conservationists are warning climate change could drive it to extinction along Australia's Great Dividing Range over the next 60 years.

While many farmers suffer through the trade war with China, US garlic growers benefit because they rely on domestic sales

Unlike millions of other US farmers, garlic growers are profiting from the trade war with China and have cheered Donald Trump’s latest economic attack accordingly.

Sales of California-grown garlic are now increasing after decades of losing ground to cheaper Chinese imports. Sales are poised to get even better as Chinese garlic faces even higher tariffs, with no end to the trade war in sight.

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Trade associations representing many EU ETS-covered sectors have shied away from backing a 2050 bloc-wide net zero goal and instead are engaging in subtle lobbying that is increasingly at odds with some of the companies they represent, a report found on Tuesday.

EU carbon prices lifted slightly for a second straight day on Tuesday as the energy complex rebounded, traders eyed a sharp drop in auction supply ahead, and British Prime Minister Theresa May offered MPs a chance to vote on a second Brexit referendum.

The Western Australian coral reefs may not be as well known as the Great Barrier Reef, but they're just as large and diverse. And they too have been devastated by cyclones and coral bleaching. James Paton Gilmour, Research Scientist: Coral Ecology, Australian Institute of Marine Science Rebecca Green, Postdoctoral research associate, University of Western Australia Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Far more megafauna species use coastal wetlands than we thought. And it affects the way we need to address the extinction crisis. Michael Sievers, Research Fellow, Global Wetlands Project, Australia Rivers Institute, Griffith University Rod Connolly, Professor in Marine Science, Griffith University Tom Rayner, Science Communicator, Griffith University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.