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White House efforts to promote fossil fuels are set to be upstaged by investors moving away from coal.

The New Zealand government will announce a first set of decisions on reforming its emissions trading scheme on Dec. 12, it said Monday.

We asked readers for their thoughts on ‘non‑capitalist living’ and were deluged with replies. Here are their ideas for everyday ways to buck the system

As the new Amazon advert goes, can you feel it? Amid the encroaching dark and increasingly foul weather, December is synonymous with stampedes to the supermarket, endless online clicks and the massed roar of delivery lorries – or, to be reductive about it, capitalism at its most joyful and triumphant.

Clearly, though, such things are only part of who we are, even at this time of year. As the American activist Rebecca Solnit puts it in her short but brilliant book Hope in the Dark: “Vast amounts of how we live our everyday lives – our interactions with and commitments to family lives, friendships, avocations, membership in social, spiritual and political organisations – are in essence non-capitalist or even anti-capitalist, full of things we do for free, out of love and on principle.”

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Tony Abbott, my opponent for the seat of Warringah at the next federal election, thinks building new coal fired power stations will reduce power prices. He is sadly mistaken.

The post Forget “Big Sticks”, more competition will lower electricity prices appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Study shows contribution to grid from Australia's rooftop solar systems up 33% over 2018. At this rate, it could supply 14% of NEM demand within 5 years.

The post Rooftop solar could supply 15% of Australian demand by 2023 appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Steel magnate unveils more sensational details of Whyalla's renewable powered industrial revolution, including plans for an additional steel plant – "one of world's biggest."

The post Gupta doubles down on green industrial plans for Whyalla, powered by cheap renewables appeared first on RenewEconomy.

In a deadly diplomatic strike, big oil and gas nations took a key scientific report out of the Katowice text, replacing it with an ambiguous formulation that merely notes its existence.

The post Fossil nations sideline science at Katowice, even as emissions rise and warming accelerates appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Nexif reaches financial close on stage two of 212MW Lincoln Gap Wind Farm, near Port August in SA. The renewables hub will host the state’s third big battery, and possibly solar, too.

The post Nexif hits go on final 86MW of Lincoln Gap Wind Farm, with close of CEFC debt deal appeared first on RenewEconomy.

A scaled up ALP baseline-and-credit scheme for industry is modelled to be short from day one, with domestic offsets the marginal source of emissions reductions.

The post Labor “safeguard mechanism 2.0” likely to be short, but cheaper than EU ETS appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Students get involved in 'wombot' research; we make furniture from salvaged timber; meet a couple of rock farmers; and get your photo taken with Santa on the sand.

UN summit urged to end all coal burning and introduce substantial taxes on emissions

Global investors managing $32tn issued a stark warning to governments at the UN climate summit on Monday, demanding urgent cuts in carbon emissions and the phasing out of all coal burning. Without these, the world faces a financial crash several times worse than the 2008 crisis, they said.

The investors include some of the world’s biggest pension funds, insurers and asset managers and marks the largest such intervention to date. They say fossil fuel subsidies must end and substantial taxes on carbon be introduced.

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We already much have the technology we need for 100 per cent renewable energy. We just need to think differently about how we produce and consume electricity.

The post The technology, and new thinking, needed for 100 per cent renewable grid appeared first on RenewEconomy.

The National Waste Report 2018 is now available, and provides Australia’s waste and recycling data for the 2016-17 year.

The National Waste Report 2018 is now available, and provides Australia’s waste and recycling data for the 2016-17 year.

Museums including Washington’s Smithsonian have set out to digitally record specimens in their collection.

A global effort to digitally record millions of fossils is set to transform the study of evolution.

100 academics, authors, politicians and campaigners from across the world call for action to address climate change

In our complex, interdependent global ecosystem, life is dying, with species extinction accelerating. The climate crisis is worsening much faster than previously predicted. Every single day 200 species are becoming extinct. This desperate situation can’t continue.

Political leaders worldwide are failing to address the environmental crisis. If global corporate capitalism continues to drive the international economy, global catastrophe is inevitable.

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Environment minister will rule if Tasmanian forest that is home to the critically endangered parrot can be bulldozed

Tasmanian forest considered important for the survival of the critically endangered swift parrot may be bulldozed to build a dam for a fish farm and golf course development.

Glamorgan Spring Bay Council, on Tasmania’s east coast, wants to clear about 40ha of what scientists say is critical swift parrot breeding and foraging habitat to develop a 3,000m-litre-a-year dam near the town of Orford. The environment minister, Melissa Price, will now decide whether the proposal goes ahead.

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The group of 414 institutional investors with $31 trillion under management say governments must take serious steps to cut emissions

The largest ever group of institutional investors has called on governments around the world to urgently increase their efforts to meet the Paris climate change agreement goals.

The 414 global investors - which represent US$31 trillion of assets-under-management - say they are deeply concerned about the “ambition gap” that exists between governments’ commitments and what is needed to limit the global temperature increase to well below 2C above pre-industrial levels.

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Move shocks delegates at UN conference as ministers fly in for final week of climate talks

The US and Russia have thrown climate talks into disarray by allying with Saudi Arabia and Kuwait to water down approval of a landmark report on the need to keep global warming below 1.5C.

After a heated two-and-a-half-hour debate on Saturday night, the backwards step by the four major oil producers shocked delegates at the UN climate conference in Katowice as ministers began to fly in for the final week of high-level discussions.

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