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World’s largest wind turbines take big steps towards deployment, with GE’s mammoth 12 MW Haliade-X producing its first electricity.

The post World’s biggest wind turbines take big steps towards deployment appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Global energy watchdog issues warning in climate forecast for the next two decades

The world’s thirst for oil will continue to grow over the next two decades, with climate-damaging emissions climbing until at least 2040, the global energy watchdog has warned, pointing the finger at the growing appetite for gas-guzzling cars.

Growing demand for SUVs in the US, China, Europe and elsewhere could negate all the environmental benefits of the increased use of electric cars, the International Energy Agency (IEA) says. Because of their size, SUVs are harder to electrify than smaller vehicles.

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A pilot is in progress to see if invisible barcodes on packaging can improve recycling rates.

The rising carbon price is starting to have a real impact on coal generation in Europe, with coal output down sharply this year. Analyst Gerard Wynn paints the picture.

The post Energy Insiders Podcast: Carbon price takes toll on coal generators in Europe appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Urgent national action is needed to prevent serious declines in public health from climate change, the multi-institutional Countdown study says

The federal government’s lack of engagement on health and climate change has left Australians at significant risk of illness through heat, fire and extreme weather events, and urgent national action is required to prevent harm and deaths, a global scientific collaboration has found.

On Thursday, international medical journal the Lancet published its Countdown report, a multi-institutional project led by University College in London that examines progress on climate change and health throughout the world.

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Lancet Countdown tracks impacts of global heating covering disease, wildfires and malnutrition

The climate crisis will determine the lifelong health of today’s children, doctors have warned, noting that global heating was already causing harm.

Children are especially vulnerable and the global team of researchers say rising temperatures mean the bacteria causing deadly diarrhoea will thrive while poorer crop yields could lead to more malnutrition.

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

California handed out nearly 821,000 new compliance offsets this week, with the mine methane capture (MMC) and forestry protocols making up a bulk of that new supply, according to data released Wednesday.

A coalition of 23 former fire and emergency services chiefs will meet with the Federal Government next month demanding more support for firefighters and are calling for the Government to phase out fossil fuels.

Government working ‘round the clock’ to help deluged regions, prime minister says

Boris Johnson declined to apologise over his government’s slow response to the flooding across parts of the north of England, insisting that a huge amount of work was going on to help and compensate victims.

The prime minister faced difficult questions over whether enough had been spent on flood defences in deluged regions of Yorkshire, the east Midlands and Lincolnshire, after giving a speech on how he would give billions of pounds to research and development.

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The world’s biggest steelmaker ArcelorMittal has confirmed it will go ahead with previously announced production curbs at its Polish unit due to weak market conditions.

My father, a Fen farm manager, never forgot Tom Williams’ 1947 response to flooding, writes Gerrard Raven. And Chris Weeks wants to know why plans from a decade ago weren’t implemented

Re recent flooding (Johnson accused of lack of concern amid fears of further rainfall, 13 November), in March 1947, as a bitter, snowy winter gave way to spring, large areas of the Fens flooded. Attlee’s minister of agriculture, Tom Williams, rushed to the area and took personal charge.

He dispatched a thousand troops, sent in hundreds of naval and other pumps, had light-gauge railway tracks laid and brought in amphibious troop carriers to fill in the breaches in river banks. The operation succeeded and Fen cabbages and potatoes saved Britons from hunger that autumn.

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Switzerland’s Federal Council on Wednesday approved measures paving the way for the linking agreement between the country’s carbon market and the EU ETS to enter into force on Jan. 1, 2020.

The British supersonic vehicle trials its airbrake system after a weekend in the repair shop.

The fossilised tooth of a mysterious extinct ape is shedding new light on the evolution of great apes.

A second Ebola vaccine is to be offered to thousands of people in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The lying, the scheming and the intrigue puts storylines on The Bold and the Beautiful to shame

If this was a poll on which Australian bird is featured most frequently on homewares, superb fairy-wrens would win by a mile. Teacups, plates, tea towels and cushions across the country are adorned with their image. The combination of their tiny size (they weigh about the same as a 20c piece), pointing up tail and the way they cuddle together makes them pretty darn adorable. I’m going to argue though that there are many more reasons that you should vote for them in 2019 than simply “they look cute”.

It is not only the public that is drawn to this gorgeously sweet bird. Superb fairy-wrens are actually one of our most well-studied Australian birds (heck I did my PhD on them). The more we learn about them the more we realise that that image of a sweet happy family unit is far from reality.

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Italian utility Enel advanced its EU forward power hedging considerably over Q3 while its coal-based output fell away, giving a bearish signal for EUAs.

ASPI seeks a Senior Program Officer for ASPI’s sustainability projects, with a focus on development of carbon markets in Asia, in particular in China.

Bluesource seeks a Manager of Forest Carbon Modeling to play a role in the Bluesource forestry team’s carbon modeling efforts and support project implementation efforts in the forest carbon space.