Around The Web

Brandon Lewis clarifies government stance after XR listed in counter-terrorism documents

The government does not consider Extinction Rebellion to be an extremist organisation, the security minister has said, after counter-terrorism documents featuring the climate emergency activists were revealed in the Guardian.

Brandon Lewis was forced to clarify the government’s stance on Extinction Rebellion and a wide range of non-violent protest groups in response to an urgent question tabled in the House of Commons.

Continue reading...

EUA prices lifted back above €25 early on Wednesday, clawing back the previous session's losses in an auction-free session.

Unsustainable use of resources is wrecking the planet but recycling is falling, report finds

The amount of material consumed by humanity has passed 100bn tonnes every year, a report has revealed, but the proportion being recycled is falling.

The climate and wildlife emergencies are driven by the unsustainable extraction of fossil fuels, metals, building materials and trees. The report’s authors warn that treating the world’s resources as limitless is leading towards global disaster.

Continue reading...

China’s coal-fired power generation rose 1.7% in 2019 and is set to grow further this year, according to the main power sector industry lobby group, paving the way for CO2 allocation in the national emissions trading scheme to be nearly triple that of the EU market.

The outlook for Australia to step up efforts on climate change in the wake of the massive forest fires is dimming as the government has shifted focus to hazard prevention and is blaming state government agencies for failing in their responsibilities.

Australia has implemented a new offset method that broadens the scope for pig and dairy farmers to earn carbon credits, the Clean Energy Regulator said Wednesday.

Country’s lack of meat processing facilities means livestock must be shipped to international markets – at a high cost to both shepherds and welfare

Gheorghe Dănulețiu, also known as Ghiță Ciobanul (Ghiță the shepherd), has more than 500,000 followers on Facebook after he featured in an advertising campaign that went viral, but he leads the modest life of a traditional shepherd.

Looking after 1,500 sheep in western Romania, Dănulețiu’s life changes with the seasons. During lambing in spring, he barely sleeps four hours a night while in winter he leads his sheep in a three- to four-week journey from the mountains down to graze in the valleys.

Continue reading...

Randomly selected 110-strong panel will try to come up with a plan to tackle global heating

Ordinary people from across the UK – potentially including climate deniers – will take part in the first ever citizens’ climate assembly this weekend.

Mirroring the model adopted in France by Emmanuel Macron, 110 people from all walks of life will begin deliberations on Saturday to come up with a plan to tackle global heating and meet the government’s target of net-zero emissions by 2050.

Continue reading...

South Australia's state energy minister says Infigen Energy has secrued contract to supply Tesla's national electric vehicle supercharger network.

The post Infigen tapped as retailer for Tesla Australia EV supercharger network appeared first on RenewEconomy.

2019 was a tough year for large-scale solar, but still managed to deliver a range of ground-breaking projects. Meanwhile, rooftop solar is "as cheap as it has ever been."

The post 23 solar farms added to grid in 2019 as PV costs fall to record lows appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Conservation group say the Norwegian energy giant refused to formally consult with affected groups

The Wilderness Society has launched legal action challenging the environmental approval granted to Norwegian energy giant Equinor to explore for oil in the Great Australian Bight.

The conservation group had flagged a possible court case after the proposal to deepwater drill in the Great Australian Bight Marine Park was approved by the federal offshore petroleum regulator in December. It was the second, and most significant, of four regulatory hurdles Equinor needs to clear before it can drill.

Continue reading...

The 2.2 billion-year-old asteroid impact may explain the end of an ice age, scientists say.

Canberra’s growing renewable sector will receive a boost with the second round of Renewable Energy Innovation Fund (REIF) Direct Grants and a new REIF co-funding scheme for clean tech, announced by the Minister for Climate Change and Sustainability Shane Rattenbury.

The post Boost for Canberra’s growing renewable sector appeared first on RenewEconomy.

A UK-led satellite aims to get an absolute measurement of the light reflected off Earth's surface.

To be clear, I'm not advocating compulsory population control, here or anywhere. But we do need to consider a future with billions more people, many of them aspiring to live as Australians do now. Mark Beeson, Professor of International Politics, University of Western Australia Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Prof Sandy Harrison tells the Liberal on his Facebook page that his misuse of her study should not go unchallenged

A leading UK climate scientist has used the Facebook page of the MP Craig Kelly to correct his “blatant misrepresentation” of a study she co-authored on a 70,000-year history of bushfires in Australia.

Kelly, a serial denier of climate change, has been using the 2011 study to claim rising CO2 in the atmosphere can’t be linked to Australia’s bushfire crisis, because the study had shown total area being burned was going down while CO2 is rising.

Continue reading...

Experts slam Morrison's comments on hazard reduction, showing the PM still does not understand the link between climate change and fire.

The post Experts slam Morrison’s false equivalence between emissions targets and hazard reduction appeared first on RenewEconomy.

As more renewables investors plead with AEMC to change "detrimental" marginal loss factor methodology, incumbents say they're happy with the status quo.

The post Incumbents seek status quo on MLF as newcomers plead for changes appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Five trillion dollars. ($5 trillion). That’s the cost, the Australian Financial Review would have you believe, of decarbonising Australia’s economy if we were to do it through renewables and storage, and saddle every Australian home with a “green loan” of some $100,000. The bushfires that have savaged large areas of eastern Australia, and shocked the...

The post $5 trillion? For a business daily, the AFR has a lousy grip on energy numbers appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Reports show China managed to install 30GW of solar PV in 2019 – an unsurprising decrease on previous years, but buoyed by an impressive 12GW installed in December.

The post China installed 30GW of new solar in 2019, 12GW in December alone appeared first on RenewEconomy.