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Commonwealth, State and Territory Ministers, the President of the Australian Local Government Association and the New Zealand Associate Minister for the Environment met today and put forward a proposed timetable for the progressive phase out of...

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

ADB grant to install rooftop solar, storage and ground mounted PV across Tuvalu promises to take daytime electricity supply to 35%, and 100% at times.

The post Tuvalu heads for 35% renewables with $6m solar and storage grant appeared first on RenewEconomy.

New Zealand passes landmark legislation enshrining its zero-carbon target into law with bipartisan support, although concerns linger about plans to tackle agricultural emissions.

The post New Zealand passes historic zero carbon bill with near unanimous bipartisan support appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Much at stake for Australia at upcoming UN climate talks, but no word on who will lead the small negotiating team tasked to defend its use of Kyoto credits.

The post Australia silent about climate talks that will discuss its “dodgy” credit plans appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Lazard's annual analysis shows wind and solar costs continue to fall, and now match even the "marginal" costs of coal and nuclear, and are a fraction of their overall costs.

The post Wind and solar kill coal and nuclear on costs, says latest Lazard report appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Continent is set for massive urbanisation but can avoid relying on fossil fuels, says IEA

Africa is poised to lead the world’s cleanest economic revolution by using renewable energy sources to power a massive spread of urbanisation, says an IEA report.

The IEA, or International Energy Agency, predicts that solar energy will play a big role in supporting the continent’s growing population and industrialisation over the next 20 years.

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Finance ministers from nine EU nations are calling on the incoming European Commission to ease the path for their countries to impose taxes on flight emissions.

RGGI allowance (RGA) prices rose to a five-month high this week as market participants reacted positively to Democrats sweeping the Virginia legislature, while California Carbon Allowances (CCAs) rose slightly following the linked WCI programme's publication of 2018 emissions data.

The galah and the wedge-tailed eagle are locked in a battle for the final spot in the top 10. Which will go forward to the second round?

Cast your vote for the Australian bird of the year

Full story podcast: what’s the big deal about bird of the year?

10.29pm GMT

There is huge, huge buzz for the cassowary. It’s now only 14 behind the carnaby’s! half an hour ago, it was 38 behind. Social media is lighting up.

It’s surging, and it’s coming for 12th. The only issue – 12th is still over 300 votes away from 10th. Is it too little too late?

10.24pm GMT

If you’re a parrot or galah voter, email me or tweet on the #birdoftheyear hashtag.

I want to know how confident you’re feeling, your last-minute campaign tactics. And, if worst comes to worst, who you will be voting for in round 2 if your candidate doesn’t get up.

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Hours of torrential rain in parts of northern England have caused a stream to burst its banks, engulfing nearby cars. The heavy downpour has left the streets of Sheffield flooded and earlier trapped hundreds of people in a shopping centre

• North of England floods: trapped shoppers allowed to leave mall

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EcoSecurities, one of the most iconic developers of the offset project boom of the 2000s, is being relaunched by a team of its alumni and co-founders, Carbon Pulse has learned, who are gearing up to trailblaze once again in a new era of international carbon markets.

Continent is embarking on a huge expansion of power stations, most of which will burn coal

Last week the UN secretary general, António Guterres, called for an end to new coal-fired power plants. Many European countries including the UK and Germany are decreasing their dependence on coal, but this is not the case everywhere. Across Africa many people rely on standby diesel generators to supplement erratic electricity supplies, leading to local air pollution problems and high emissions of climate-heating carbon dioxide.

Although Africa is in a unique position to leapfrog dependence on fossil fuels and utilise abundant renewable sources such as wind and solar, the continent is embarking on a massive expansion of fossil fuel electricity. More than 200 new power stations are planned, the majority of which will burn coal. Power ships – vast floating power stations, some burning highly polluting bunker oil – are already moored in Ghana, Sierra Leone and Mozambique.

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Climate and energy advisor Professor Ross Garnaut believes Australia has the potential to become a global energy superpower in a post-carbon world economy.

The messages from Labor’s 2019 election post-mortem are clear. Have a better strategy. Have a stronger narrative, fewer policies, greater emphasis on economic growth. Have a better leader.

The post Grattan: Labor’s post-mortem leaves the hard work still to be done appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Shoppers in a Sheffield mall told not to leave by police and many trains cancelled after heavy rain

Hours of torrential rain in parts of northern England caused a stream to burst its banks, engulfing nearby cars and causing a Christmas lights switch-on to be cancelled.

Motorists were warned to avoid flooded roads as Blackburn Brook, a tributary of the River Don in South Yorkshire, overflowed into nearby streets with people abandoning their cars.

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Groups say hundreds of millions of dollars in funding required along with stipulation public agencies use recycled material

Environment ministers have been told Scott Morrison’s promise to introduce a waste export ban is doomed to fail unless they change tack and back it with hundreds of millions of dollars in funding and a requirement that public agencies use recycled material.

Federal, state and territory environment ministers meet on Friday in Adelaide, where they are due to announce a timetable to end the export of waste plastic, paper, glass and tyres. The prime minister has said he expected the ban to start next year.

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The Oregon Clean Fuels Program (OCFP) recorded a nearly 15,000 credit surplus during the second quarter of 2019 after posting its largest-ever deficit over the previous three months, state data showed Wednesday.

The objective of this role is to track the progress of climate policy at the subnational, national, and international levels, outside Europe and North America, where it is of significant relevance to BP, and to work with local businesses and C&EA teams to develop appropriate positions and advocacy strategies based on group principles.

Bird suffers 51% decline over five years but some species show signs of recovery

The turtle dove, Britain’s most endangered bird, continues to plummet towards extinction, its numbers having halved over five years, according to the latest data.

The turtle dove’s 51% decline from 2013 to 2017 is the most drastic of a continuing slump for a quarter of farmland bird species.

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