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A row over how much it would cost to increase Australia’s emissions ambition and the impact of using international offsets dominates the country's newspaper headlines ahead of the May 18 election, as the nation’s decade-old climate wars show no sign of receding.

The move has been likened to putting the country on a "war footing", with climate and the environment at the very centre of all government policy, rather than being on the fringe of political decisions. Chris Turney, Professor of Earth Science and Climate Change, ARC Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage, UNSW Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

The Climate Strike movement shows us loud and clear that youth not only care about climate change, but that it needs to be brought to the table to cement their vote. Hannah Feldman, PhD Researcher in Science Communication, Australian National University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Emission of greenhouse gases has fallen, but environmental issues are still ‘an emergency’

Should the UK declare a “climate emergency” that would inform public policy and the national budget? The question was been debated in parliament on Wednesday, with the Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn declaring the government should “embrace hope” through stronger actions on greenhouse gas emissions, and the environment secretary, Michael Gove, calling the problem of climate change “an emergency”.

Outside parliament, the activist group Extinction Rebellion has brought London motor traffic to a standstill on several occasions, and the youth activist Greta Thunberg has held meetings with leading politicians, including Gove and Corbyn but excluding the prime minister.

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Gulf nation economies are built around energy exports. Climate change means they will have to look beyond fossil fuels in order to keep their economies afloat.

The post Why the new “solar superpowers” are likely to be the Gulf petro-states appeared first on RenewEconomy.

W.A.'s $315m Badgingarra Wind Farm officially opened. To be co-located with $40m 17.5MW Badgingarra Solar Farm, which is under construction.

The post WA’s 130MW Badgingarra wind farm officially opens appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Shorten unveils $75m Renewables Training Package, extends establishment of Renewable Energy Zones to Tasmania, where it makes down-payment on Battery of Nation.

The post Labor pledges funding for renewable jobs, support for Tasmania Battery of the Nation appeared first on RenewEconomy.

AEMC gives final approval for market operator to retain its emergency reserve mechanism, on condition it provides more visibility on contracts and costs.

The post Rule-maker gives operator OK to continue with emergency reserves appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Angus Taylor has been waging scare campaigns since before he entered parliament, but even he must be stunned by the media's complicity and gullibility with his latest efforts.

The post Why does media fall for Angus Taylor’s ridiculous scare campaigns? appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Power systems expert Bruce Miller questions why new wind and solar plants are required to install synchronous condensers, and questions other regulatory thinking about frequency and voltage.

The post Energy Insiders Podcast: Have regulators gone too far on “system strength”? appeared first on RenewEconomy.

The two biggest solar farms switch off in South Australia as market prices go negative. Anyone got a solar sponge?

The post South Australia solar farms switch off as prices fall below zero appeared first on RenewEconomy.

The recreational drug ketamine also turned up in samples of wildlife examined in Suffolk

Researchers have found cocaine in all samples of shrimp tested in a rural area of eastern England, with ketamine also widespread.

Scientists from King’s College London, in collaboration with the University of Suffolk, made the “surprise” discovery after taking samples from 15 locations across the mostly rural county of Suffolk.

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It could be done at no added cost from previous estimates, and reduce GDP by just 1-2%, a report says.

The UK should adopt a 2050 net zero greenhouse gas emissions target and meet it without resorting to buying any international credits, the government’s independent expert body said on Wednesday.

Committee on Climate Change sets out how UK can reach net zero carbon emissions by 2050

“Make no mistake, this report will change your life,” says Prof David Reay at the University of Edinburgh. “If the meticulous and robust expert advice here is heeded it will deliver a revolution in every facet of our lives, from how we power our homes and travel to work to the food we buy.”

The government’s official advisers the Committee on Climate Change (CCC) said on Thursday that the UK’s net greenhouse gas emissions should fall to zero by 2050, emphasising that the transformation is necessary, affordable and desirable.

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Committee says legally binding target is necessary, achievable and could spur global action

The UK government must immediately set a legally binding target to cut greenhouse gas emissions to zero by 2050, its official advisers have said, signalling an end to the nation’s role in driving climate change.

Doing so will be challenging, said the Committee on Climate Change, meaning the end of petrol and diesel cars and gas boilers, less meat on plates, quadrupling clean electricity generation and planting an estimated 1.5bn trees.

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

The French government has put before its parliament a plan to achieve net zero GHG emissions by 2050 and launched a citizen-led process on Wednesday that aims to decide many of the steps needed to reach the goal.

The Welsh and Scottish governments have also declared an emergency - along with dozens of towns and cities.

EUAs slipped below €26 on Wednesday as gas prices weakened and trade thinned due to a public holiday across much of the bloc.