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Plans to repurpose California gas plant as world's biggest Tesla “big battery” storage facility take shape with PG&E 182.5MW/1.2GWh project given final go-ahead.

The post World’s largest Tesla megapack battery project approved for California appeared first on RenewEconomy.

These Aussie diggers boost the health of our soils. But up until recently, we didn't know just how much soil they can turn over (hint: it's a lot). Euan Ritchie, Associate Professor in Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Life & Environmental Sciences, Deakin University Amy Coetsee, Threatened Species Biologist, University of Melbourne Anthony Rendall, Associate Lecturer in Conservation Biology, Deakin University Duncan Sutherland, Deputy Director of Research, Phillip Island Nature Parks; Research Fellow, University of Melbourne Leonie Valentine, Research Associate, School of Plant Biology, University of Western Australia Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Environmentalists could try to block new road plans if they fail to take climate targets into account.

Angus Taylor seeks to replicate expensive brown-coal to hydrogen project as Morrison government shuts the door on support for wind and solar.

The post Taylor shift focus to coal hydrogen and CCS in “technology roadmap” appeared first on RenewEconomy.

It's a leap year which means there's an extra day in the calendar - 29 February 2020. But why do we need it?

Longi has been assigned AAA-Rated status (the highest grade awarded) by the market research division of leading London-based PV-Tech

The post LONGi achieves AAA ranking status in latest PV ModuleTech Bankability Ratings appeared first on RenewEconomy.

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

California Carbon Allowance (CCA) prices rose after the Q1 WCI auction bucked previous trends to settle above the secondary market level, while RGGI allowances (RGAs) this week slid below next year’s supply-curbing Emissions Containment Reserve (ECR) trigger price.

California environmental group says much of the tons of plastic in the oceans can be traced back to the 10 companies they are suing

Coke, Pepsi, Nestle and other large companies are being sued by a California environmental group for creating a plastic pollution “nuisance” and misleading consumers about the recyclability of plastic.

The suit, filed in San Mateo county superior court on Wednesday, argues that companies that sell plastic bottles and bags that end up polluting the ocean should be held accountable for damaging the environment.

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UK utility Drax said on Thursday that it will cease coal-fired generation in March 2021, years in advance of the country's planned 2024 phaseout.

US biofuel credit (RIN) prices fell from new highs on Thursday after the EPA said it has not yet decided how it will address a court decision that questioned the agency’s issuance of compliance waivers under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS).

EU member states want Brussels to propose an EU carbon border adjustment tax earlier than 2021 to help safeguard the bloc's heavy industry, several national ministers said on Thursday.

Big batteries likely to get inside running in Victoria's push to fast-track expansion of transmission link to NSW grid.

The post Big batteries eye unique opportunity to get inside running on grid upgrades appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Recent rains have not eliminated the threat of a repeat of last summer's mass fish deaths. Lee Baumgartner, Professor of Fisheries and River Management, Institute for Land, Water, and Society, Charles Sturt University Max Finlayson, Adjunct Professor, Charles Sturt University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

A court ruling that airport expansion plans are illegal could be the shock that the system needs

It’s not often that climate activists get to punch the air. News about the environment is alarming far more frequently than it is cheering. So campaigners were understandably jubilant on Thursday when the court of appeal issued its surprise ruling that the government’s plans to build a third runway at Heathrow are illegal.

Not only does the ruling make it increasingly unlikely that the controversial project, approved by the House of Commons in June 2018, will go ahead (Heathrow has said it will appeal, while the government has said it will not). The judges set an extraordinary precedent. This is because they made their ruling on grounds that the policy of expanding the airport is incompatible with commitments made by the government in the Paris climate agreement. While the law says that national policy must take account of the UK’s climate commitments, the 2018 airport statement didn’t.

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Bank of England governor warns City about need for businesses to fully disclose climate impact

• Analysis: poor countries need clear finance pledges

Businesses must improve how they disclose their impact on the environment or risk failing to meet climate targets, the Bank of England governor, Mark Carney, warned the City on Thursday.

Without disclosure rules that allow investors to compare how businesses are meeting the climate challenge, the world risks missing targets to be carbon neutral by 2050, Carney said.

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The court of appeal has ruled that plans for a third Heathrow runway are illegal on environmental grounds. Grant Shapps, the transport secretary, said the government would not appeal the ruling, as 'our manifesto makes clear any Heathrow expansion will be industry-led'. He said while the government supported airport expansion, it was also committed to net zero emissions by 2050

• Heathrow third runway ruled illegal over climate change
• Heathrow third runway judgment 'bitterly disappointing'

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Cyclone is temporarily cooling distressed corals but experts say parts of reef that previously escaped bleaching are at risk

The Great Barrier Reef is still at risk of a widespread outbreak of coral bleaching despite a cyclone to the far west helping to temporarily cool stressed corals, according to US and Australian science agencies.

Clearer skies, weak tides and above-average ocean temperatures are combining to create stressful conditions for corals along much of the world’s largest reef system.

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The landmark high court judgment will resound around the world and show Britain can lead in tackling the climate crisis

By some strange quirk of fate, it is exactly 12 years to the day since I, alongside fellow climate activists, climbed on to the roof of the House of Commons to protest against plans for a third runway at Heathrow. Today’s high court judgment is a vindication of everything climate activists have been saying for more than a decade: Britain cannot honour its national commitment to tackle climate change at the same time as building a new runway at one of the busiest airports in the world.

To be precise, the court did not quite say this. It ruled that ministers’ failure to take the UK’s climate change commitments into account rendered the Airports National Policy Statement (ANPS) – which effectively gave the green light to a third runway – unlawful. In order to be lawful, the ANPS would have to be rewritten to include a credible plan for squaring expansion with our commitment under the Paris Agreement to seek to limit global temperature rise to no more than 1.5C. The court was careful to clarify that it has no opinion on whether or not this is possible.

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Officials says move reflects bond between pets and people – ‘the consensus of all human civilisation’ – rather than coronavirus fears

Shenzhen is set to become the first city in mainland China to ban the eating of dogs and cats, if a draft regulation released by the municipal government in a wider push to restrict the consumption of wild animals is approved.

On Monday, China’s National People’s Congress issued an order to ban all consumption of wild animal meat and further restrict the wildlife trade nationwide. The measures are expected to be enshrined in the country’s wildlife protection law later this year.

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