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Bright Blue calls for zero VAT on electric cars and rewards for reporting idling vehicles

Vehicle fuel taxes should rise to combat the air pollution crisis in the UK, with an extra charge on diesel, according to the conservative thinktank Bright Blue.

A report calls for VAT to be abolished on electric cars and for citizens to be able to report idling vehicles and receive a share of fines levied. It also proposes that the speed limit in all urban areas is cut from 30mph to 20mph and that local authorities should be able to profit from pollution charging schemes to fund clean-air projects.

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Appalachia’s main industry is dying and some workers are looking to a new economic promise after Trump’s proves empty

Set in a wooded valley between the Tug Fork river and the Mate creek, Matewan, West Virginia was the site of the 1920 Matewan Massacre, a shoot-out between pro-union coal miners and coal company agents that left 10 people dead and triggered one of the most brutal fights over the future of the coal industry in US history.

The coal industry in Appalachia is dying – something that people there know better than anyone. Some in this region are pinning their hopes on alternative solutions, including rising Democratic star Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s Green New Deal.

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Macquarie set to acquire a 'substantial' stake in huge off-shore wind farm in the UK, in a deal worth a reported A$1.8 billion.

The post Macquarie buys $1.77 billion stake in mammoth UK offshore wind farm appeared first on RenewEconomy.

CER calls out Murdoch media for “inaccurate” reporting on the standard and safety of rooftop solar installations, based on its latest solar panel inspections data.

The post Clean Energy Regulator slams Murdoch solar scare campaign appeared first on RenewEconomy.

For the threatened and endangered native animals in breeding programs at the Aussie Ark wildlife sanctuary at Barrington Tops, New South Wales, the weekend’s unusually cold snap proved quite a curiosity. The sanctuary is home to Tasmanian devils, eastern quolls, parma wallabies, brush-tailed rock wallabies, long-nosed potoroos, rufous bettongs, southern brown bandicoots and Manning river turtles

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Bango Wind Farm near Yass will use some of the largest wind turbines deployed in Australia, as developer CWP land finance for project.

The post Huge Bango wind farm gets underway, to provide cheap power to Snowy Hydro appeared first on RenewEconomy.

New analysis finds shift to EVs and driverless autonomous vehicles could boost Australia's GDP by up to $92bn by 2050, by boosting productivity and cutting insurance costs.

The post Electric vehicles and “robo-taxis” could deliver $92bn boost to Australia economy appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Alinta sees a quick pay-back for its ground-breaking grid-scale battery at Newman, where it is backing up the gas generators, saving fuel costs and lifting reliability.

The post Alinta sees sub 5-year payback for unsubsidised big battery at Newman appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Alinta CEO Jeff Dimery on record profits, record low prices for wind energy, the economics of battery storage and the early exit of coal generators.

The post Energy Insiders Podcast: Alinta’s vision of a rapid transition to clean energy appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Labour raises environmental concerns ahead of the four-month grouse shooting season from Monday.

The world needs to move towards sustainable agriculture – but what is that, exactly? Australia urgently needs coherent policy. Jacqueline Williams, Senior Research Fellow & Lecturer, School of Environmental and Rural Science, University of New England Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Emma Kennan hopes her #MellowYellowMonday hashtag will encourage people to flush less and save water.

An enormous logistics warehouse in the Netherlands is helping to power 750 households a year.

Researchers are developing a new technique that can hear what is going on below a patient's bandages.

Alinta ramps up renewables push, says falling costs will force coal to close early and that change in coming rapidly to the grid.

The post Stunning low costs inspire Alinta to ramp up renewables push, sees early coal exit appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Swallowing oil can kill the Little Penguin but remarkably, specially knitted jumpers can help them survive an oil spill.

Party points to environmental impact of driven shooting as well as £3m a year subsidy to largest moors

Labour has called for a formal review into driven grouse shooting to examine its environmental and economic impacts, as well as possible alternatives such as simulated shoots and wildlife tourism.

Under such shoots, beaters drive the birds towards the shooters in an organised way. With a four-month season starting from the “glorious 12th” of August, it is a highly managed commercial process.

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A group of scientists want a new Geneva Convention to safeguard the environment during wars and conflicts. We already have such rules, but they're inadequate, inconsistent and unclear. Shireen Daft, Lecturer, Macquarie Law School, Macquarie University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

As the International Congress of Youth Voices kicks off in San Juan, Puerto Rico, the Guardian invited young delegates to write about their fight against the climate crisis

Teenagers speak with a directness and a moral clarity that is desperately rare in our elected leaders, and perhaps in the adult species as a whole. That’s why we created the International Congress of Youth Voices. It’s an annual gathering of young writers and activists, ages 16 to 22, who speak and live with urgency.

The first conference was last summer in San Francisco, where almost a hundred delegates from twenty-six countries gathered, and were mentored by the likes of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Khaled Hosseini, and congressman John Lewis. One of our most inspiring young delegates in that first conference was 15-year-old Salvador Góomez-Colón from Puerto Rico, who created his own non-profit to help the island’s recovery after Hurricane Maria.

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The 16-year-old climate change activist has galvanised young people to read more about saving the planet

Some seek to convey the wonder of endangered animals while others give tips on how to tackle waste or tell tales of inspirational environmental activists.

All are part of what children’s publishers are calling “the Greta Thunberg effect”: a boom in books aimed at empowering young people to save the planet.

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