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EUREC, the association of 36 European renewable energy research centres, is looking to fill the position of Secretary General for its Brussels-based representation office. We are looking for a proactive manager with leadership skills, a strong sense of responsibility and a good understanding of strategic issues, who is keen to work in the friendly and motivated environment.

You will be part of a team of three in Brussels and coordinate the shipping policy campaign with our partners at national level. Candidates with degrees in one of the following areas are strongly encouraged to apply though anyone with the relevant skills and interests will be considered: European law, EU governance, (EU or maritime) economics, environmental science.

Transport secretary’s disclosure of earlier target likely to rattle carmakers

The government could ban the sale of petrol and diesel cars in 2032, three years earlier than previously suggested, the transport secretary has said.

A consultation launched last week suggested all cars with internal combustion engines could be banned from 2035 but Grant Shapps told BBC radio on Wednesday the ban could come within 12 years.

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The Guangdong carbon exchange has postponed a CO2 allowance auction under its emissions trading scheme originally scheduled for Wednesday, with a new date yet to be set.

South Korean spot CO2 allowances rose to their highest levels since Dec. 26 on Wednesday, with prices reaching even higher in the monthly auction in the afternoon, pushing the 40,000 won threshold.

New Zealand carbon allowances have shed 4.3% this week, dipping below NZ$27 in Wednesday trade as emitters sold off permits, preparing to pay the NZ$25 fixed price option at the May compliance.

A report shows that when bike lanes are built, people cycle more and drive less

If you took a time machine back to John Dobson Street in central Newcastle in 2013, you’d be struck by its transformation in the years since.

An inhospitable dual carriageway has been replaced by a single carriageway with wider pavements and a 400m bike lane. The result: a fourfold increase in people cycling along the route.

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An expansive drilling plan has lured companies to pristine lands in the American west, despite a surplus in US oil supply

The Trump administration has offered oil companies a chunk of the American west that’s four times the size of California – an expansive drilling plan that threatens to entrench the industry at the expense of other outdoor jobs, while locking in enough emissions to undermine global climate policy.

Energy companies have leased 9.9m acres from the unprecedented 461m acres put up for rent by the Trump administration, according to a new analysis from the Wilderness Society.

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Coal, oil and gas companies trying to ‘buy political power’, says Australian Conservation Foundation

The fossil-fuel industry has doubled its donations to the major parties in the past four years, new analysis suggests.

A new Australian Conservation Foundation report examining last week’s dump of donations data suggests the coal, oil and gas industry gave $1.9m in 2018-19.

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As the sleep economy grows, online companies vie to sell us new mattresses, offering 100-day returns. This has helped create an impossible waste mountain – and a wild west of rogue recyclers

Mike Scollick and Richard Allsopp are talking about the worst things they ever found in a mattress. “We had one where I think a dog had been lying on it, and the whole thing was just jumping with fleas,” Allsopp says, shuddering. No one would touch it, so they had to use a cherry picker to move it. But that’s not the worst of it, Scollick says: “I stripped the cover off one once and it looked like somebody …” “Died,” interjects Allsopp.

It’s fair to say you need a strong stomach to be in the mattress recycling game. Which Scollick and Allsopp have, along with several million pounds’ worth of equipment in their Coventry warehouse. I have come to see Circom, their mattress recycling firm, at work. It’s a dirty but noble enterprise: Circom is one of only a handful of recyclers tackling the UK’s ever-growing mattress problem.

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Damage to environment could wipe £368bn a year from growth by 2050 and UK will be hard hit, WWF warns

Loss of nature will wipe £368bn a year off global economic growth by 2050 and the UK will be the third-worst hit, with a £16bn annual loss, according to a study by the World Wildlife Fund.

Without urgent action to protect nature, the environmental charity warned that the worldwide impact of coastal erosion, species loss and the decline of natural assets from forests to fisheries could cost a total of almost £8tn over the next 30 years.

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ANU’s Mark Howden explains why we have a climate crisis, not an emergency, and why we shouldn’t expect a “new normal” in climate change.

The post Energy Insiders Podcast: There’s no “new normal” in climate change appeared first on RenewEconomy.

The Chief Scientist argues that Australia should kick-start hydrogen industry with fossil fuels despite predictions using wind and solar will soon be cheaper

The post Finkel renews call for Australia to embrace hydrogen from coal and gas appeared first on RenewEconomy.

In the wake of devastation caused by wildfires, most recently in Australia, experts are seeking ways of limiting their impact by managing forests better

Vast waves of fire have torn through Australia in recent months, leaving forests of skinned trees in their wake. The wildfires have been one of the most damaging in the country’s history – more than 11m hectares (27m acres) have burned, killing 33 people and decimating wildlife populations.

But they are just the latest in a succession of destructive blazes that have been flaring across the planet – even in the Arctic circle – in the past five years. The response from authorities, in Australia, the Americas and the Mediterranean often seems scrambled and ineffective.

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Power baron questions whether there is sound business case for project, saying government would need to indemnify it

Politically connected power baron Trevor St Baker says there is no way a new coal-fired power plant will proceed at Collinsville unless the Morrison government agrees to shield the project from a change of climate policy.

A day after Scott Morrison left open the option of his government indemnifying a new coal plant in Collinsville from future carbon risk, St Baker told Guardian Australia no project at that scale could proceed without an indemnity from the commonwealth.

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No long summer break for rooftop solar, with another 206MW of residential and commercial systems registered in January – usually a quiet month on the solar calendar.

The post Rooftop solar makes flying start to 2020 with 33 per cent boost in January appeared first on RenewEconomy.

The combination of extreme weather events will have cascading impacts on fish, platypus and invertebrates, threatening some with extinction

Australia’s rivers are being hit by a “triple whammy” of impacts that will have serious and long-term effects on species and could push some to extinction, according to experts.

Drought, bushfires in river catchments and now widespread heavy rain in the east of the country have created a cascade of impacts on fish, invertebrates and platypus.

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Burning gas, coal and oil costs global economy $8bn a day and particularly harms children

Air pollution from burning fossil fuels is responsible for more than 4m premature deaths around the world each year and costs the global economy about $8bn a day, according to a study.

The report, from Greenpeace Southeast Asia and the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air, found that burning gas, coal and oil causes three times the number of deaths as road traffic accidents globally.

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Carbon emissions from facilities regulated by Australia’s Safeguard Mechanism have increased 60% above 2005 levels and are set to balloon further over the next decade as major emitters are not required to reduce output under the policy, analysts Reputex said Wednesday.

Grid scale batteries enjoy record revenues in fourth quarter, but pumped hydro storage struggles to deliver profits.

The post Big batteries enjoy record revenues, but pumped hydro struggles appeared first on RenewEconomy.