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Australian Automobile Association analysis notes hybrids are exempt from fringe benefits tax until 1 April 2025, which can save consumers thousands of dollars

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Battery-powered electric vehicle sales fell sharply last quarter and may have peaked as consumers increasingly turn to hybrid models that attract tax concessions, according to new analysis.

Quarterly vehicle sales data released by the Australian Automobile Association (AAA) on Monday reveals petrol-powered cars continued to decline in popularity, with sales falling by 9.16% in the three months to 30 September.

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A doubling in battery storage projects and a rebound in wind energy puts Australia back on track to meet its renewable energy target - if it can be sustained.

The post “Terrific news:” Battery boom and rebound in wind projects put renewables target back on track appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Crucial question for summit will be how to help developing countries cope with extreme weather caused by high temperatures

Cop29 officially opens on Monday 11 November in Baku, Azerbaijan, and the conference is scheduled to end on 22 November, although it is likely to run later. World leaders – about 100 have said they will turn up – are expected in the first three days, and after that the crunch negotiations will be carried on by their representatives, mostly environment ministers or other high-ranking officials.

The crucial question for the summit is climate finance. Developing countries want assurances that trillions will flow to them in the next decade to help them cut greenhouse gas emissions in line with the rapidly receding hope of limiting global heating to 1.5C above preindustrial levels, and to enable them to cope with the increasingly evident extreme weather that rising temperatures are driving.

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The COP29 presidency is pushing for an early endorsement of key carbon crediting standards under Article 6, Carbon Pulse has learned, though is facing resistance from several countries.

COP30 host Brazil has announced a new UN climate plan that aims to reduce net greenhouse gas emission by 59-67% in 2035, compared to 2005 levels.

Director sets out to unmask the secret underwater agent known as Hvaldimir in new documentary

When a white whale, mysteriously kitted out with covert surveillance equipment, was first spotted in icy waters around Norway five years ago it seemed like an improbable chapter from a spy thriller. But working out the true identity and secret objectives of this beluga, nicknamed Hvaldimir by the Norwegians, quickly became a real-life puzzle that has continued to fascinate the public and trouble western intelligence analysts.

Now missing clues have surfaced that finally begin to make sense of the underwater enigma. The makers of a new BBC documentary, Secrets of the Spy Whale, believe they have traced the beluga’s probable path and identified its likely mission.

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A proposal to protect part of rural Wales has sparked a furious debate over who the countryside is for

Plans to create a new Welsh national park stretching from the dunes of north-east Wales to the wild Berwyn mountains and the peaceful, wooded slopes of Lake Vyrnwy further south have captured the imagination of many ramblers, cyclists and other outdoor lovers.

But the Welsh government’s proposals to improve access to nature have been dismissed by an opposition group as creating “a play area for townies”, sparking a furious debate about who the countryside is for.

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Azerbaijan once led the world in oil production and now plays host to the UN's annual climate talks amid claims of greenwashing and civil society crackdowns.

The post Crucial climate talks begin in country that hails oil and gas as “gift of the gods” appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Energy secretary says Britain must work on vital alliances with other countries following victory of climate-denier Trump

The UK must ramp up its efforts on renewable energy to foster national security in an increasingly uncertain world, the energy secretary, Ed Miliband, has warned, on the eve of a fraught global summit on the climate crisis.

He pledged that the UK would lead efforts at Cop29 to secure the global agreement needed to stave off the worst impacts of climate breakdown, in talks that have been thrown into turmoil by the re-election of Donald Trump as US president.

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Australia will join other countries at Cop29 to discuss the escalating climate crisis, but some political and scientific leaders have been talking about it for decades

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Half a century ago, Richard Gun stood on the floor of parliament and became the first known Australian political figure to warn about the “sinister” threat posed by climate change. Todayhis maiden speech is a distant memory.

“I never thought of myself as the first politician to issue a warning about climate change,” he says. “At the time it seemed to me an existential threat to our civilisation and it seemed like a sufficiently important issue to mention.

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The lesson of his first term is that he does what he says he is going to do: the UK must prepare

Wednesday 9 November 2016: a misty, drizzly day in Washington DC, an overwhelmingly Democrat city in trauma after the shock victory of Donald Trump in the election the previous day. A Washington rarity, a declared Trump supporter, was among a group of guests for lunch in the residence that day. I took him aside and asked whether Trump would be as radical and disruptive as the giants of American political journalism were predicting. “Not at all,” he said: “I know the guy. All that red meat was just for the campaign. I expect him to govern as a mainstream Republican.”

Fast forward to London, Wednesday 6 November 2024. I’m speaking at a business dinner about the election outcome and what will come next. I mention Trump’s commitment to levy 20% tariffs on all imports into America. One participant says he has just spoken to a friend in Arizona who knows Trump personally. This friend has said: “It’s not about instant action. Trump will use the tariffs as a threat, to persuade countries to act to get trade flows into balance.” Another participant says: “Trump has won his second term now. So he doesn’t need to fight any more. Surely he’ll calm down and focus on his legacy?”

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After Donald Trump’s victory, brute force will prevail over geopolitics as authoritarians are appeased from Russia to Israel to China

Feelings are not the usual focus of a world dominated by macho strongmen, complex geopolitical challenges, wars and disasters. Yet every rule has exceptions. Following Donald Trump’s unexpectedly decisive US election victory, dark storm clouds seeded with powerful emotions overshadow the international landscape.

Feelings of shock and anger that this lying conman again seduced enough voters to win the presidency roil America’s friends and allies. There is incredulity that so very many people collaborated in their own seduction. And there is puzzlement at exit polls that show 45% of female voters backed a serial sexual predator while Latino and black men helped a shameless racist to prevail.

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Landscape and architecture photographer Vincenzo Pagliuca was always fascinated by the empty, isolated houses scattered around the Campania region of southern Italy where he grew up. Since 2016 he has travelled along the Apennine mountain range that runs almost the length of the country, photographing uninhabited rural houses and abandoned holiday homes linked to ski tourism – now unused due to lack of snow. These images, collected in the book Mónos, were shot during the winter months to capture the particular quality of the light. “A house immersed in a winter landscape, even more so in its isolated state, evokes an ancestral sense of shelter and protection,” says Pagliuca. “It becomes an archetypal image of intimacy, inviting us to reflect on the psychological significance of home for human beings.”

• Vincenzo Pagliuca’s Mónos is published by Hartmann Books (£28). To order a copy for £25.20 go to guardianbookshop.com. Delivery charges may apply.

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The Northern Taurids are at their peak on 11-12 November - but will the clouds part to let us see them?

German technology firm Pyreg, which specialises in carbonising organic waste into biochar and renewable energy, is set to make its debut in Australia through a collaboration with the North West Hub Alliance, an infrastructure group involving John Holland, KBR, and Stantec.

Gabriel Kay hopes his design can help tackle the problems caused by discarded electrical goods

Gabriel Kay really understands his target audience. As a student of industrial and product design at De Montfort University, he focused on the kettle.

“Everyone can relate to a kettle, right?” says the 22-year-old graduate. “It’s easy to understand and associated with comfort. It’s a friendly introduction to design.”

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Members of California’s ARB approved the Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) programme changes on Friday after hearing hours of public testimony, followed by several hours of debate, and a failed motion that sought to tighten provisions for avoided methane crediting.

Britain's oldest satellite is in the wrong part of the sky, but no-one's really sure who moved it.

Britain's oldest satellite is in the wrong part of the sky, but no-one's really sure who moved it.

Traders continue to build V25 California Carbon Allowance (CCA) open interest (OI), reducing V24 exposure over the last week, while also trimming Washington Carbon Allowance (WCA) net length ahead of a key programme repeal vote, according to data released Friday from the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).