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Exclusive: Former environment minister calls for creation of ‘war’ cabinet committee to plot transition to zero carbon

The former environment minister Peter Garrett has urged an incoming Labor government to convene a climate emergency summit to plot a transition to zero carbon, and create a super department aligned to Treasury, like the Department of Post War Reconstruction after the second world war, to implement the transition.

In a speech overnight in New Zealand, Garrett – a former environment minister in the Rudd and Gillard governments – said Bill Shorten should create a standalone “war” cabinet committee, charged with the responsibility of overseeing the new initiatives and ensuring Australia meets its emission-reduction goals.

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At least £1bn a year needs to be spent on defences and some communities may have to move, a report warns.

There's a big difference between rehoming and abandonment. Bronwyn Orr, Veterinarian and PhD scholar, University of Sydney Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Australia rooftop PV installs still tracking 45% ahead of 2018 so far. But speed-humps could be looming, with policy hiccups in Victoria, Queensland.

The post Rooftop solar installs charge on – possible speed humps ahead appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Half the world's biggest airlines are not giving flyers the opportunity to offset the CO2 from their flights.

So you’ve got rooftop solar, and you’ve got an electric vehicle. But can you power both with the one PV system? And how many panels would it take?

The post How much rooftop solar do you need to charge your EV, too? appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Dried sewage from Europe's largest treatment works in east London is being turned into house bricks.

Leaves fall off trees when they aren’t doing their job any more. If there isn’t enough water, the leaf can be damaged and stop working. Matilda Brown, PhD, University of Tasmania Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Giving progesterone could to some women with early bleeding could save babies' lives, research suggests.

Aviation contributes to climate change, but there are ways to reduce your flight's impact on the planet.

Global sales of plastic and glass drinks bottles, cans and cartons are rising, report finds

People around the world are using almost 2tn plastic and glass drinks bottles, cans and cartons each year, according to research.

The findings, from the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE), reveal that global sales of drinks containers are set to reach 1.9tn in 2019 – up from 1.6tn in 2015.

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Environment Agency calls for urgent action to protect country from river and coastal floods

Entire communities might need to be moved away from coasts and rivers as the UK takes urgent action to prepare for an average global temperature rise of 4C, the Environment Agency warned.

The agency said on Thursday that difficult decisions would have to be taken in the coming years to make sure the UK was resilient amid flooding that would not be held back by higher land defences.

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"There's 10 times the amount of jobs in the clean energy space in California than there are coal mining jobs in the whole of America."

Coalition climate policies set to wipe billions off property values, and be major drag on Australian economy, new Climate Council report shows.

The post Climate change could wipe $571bn from property values by 2030 appeared first on RenewEconomy.

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Two US legislators unveiled a proposal on Wednesday to implement a federal Clean Energy Standard with an accompanying credit trading programme as they seek to almost fully decarbonise the country’s electricity sector by 2050.

The latest big battery in Australia's main grid was due to be commissioned this month, but now faces delays as connection issues are finalised.

The post Tesla big battery at Lake Bonney wind farm faces connection delays appeared first on RenewEconomy.

EUAs rose for the fourth straight day on Wednesday as bullish sentiment was stirred by the market comfortably absorbing the day’s bumper auction and buoyant gas prices.

The EU ETS has performed better in its environmental aims as prices have more than doubled over the past year in anticipation of agreed reforms, but many challenges remain if the policy is to remain a ‘cornerstone’ of the bloc’s climate policy, a report found Wednesday.

California legislators have called on regulator ARB to undertake an independent review of the state's cap-and-trade forestry offset protocol, amid concerns raised by an academic report that the protocol inflates emission reductions due to lenient leakage assumptions, according to a letter seen by Carbon Pulse.