Around The Web

Mandatory environmental labels would change how we produce and consume in three far-reaching ways.

• Huge reduction in meat-eating ‘essential’ to avoid climate breakdown

If you buy a washing machine, a fridge or a television in Europe, it comes with a sticker. Thanks to a 1992 EU directive, all appliances must be labelled with their energy efficiency.

So why has our food system – which threatens 10,000 species with extinction, emits about 30% of greenhouse gases, and drives 80% of our nitrogen and phosphorus pollution – only ever had voluntary ecolabels?

Continue reading...

Major study also finds huge changes to farming are needed to avoid destroying Earth’s ability to feed its population

• We label fridges to show their environmental impact – why not food?

Huge reductions in meat-eating are essential to avoid dangerous climate change, according to the most comprehensive analysis yet of the food system’s impact on the environment. In western countries, beef consumption needs to fall by 90% and be replaced by five times more beans and pulses.

The research also finds that enormous changes to farming are needed to avoid destroying the planet’s ability to feed the 10 billion people expected to be on the planet in a few decades.

Continue reading...

Two former senior UK ministers from opposing parties on Wednesday urged Britain to install a carbon tax to replace its EU ETS obligations post-Brexit, bolstering support for the option.

The German space agency releases a spectacular 3D map of the Earth's land surfaces.

Top climate adviser says UN warnings will force the government to act in ways that will be controversial and politically fraught

The UK’s obligations in response to this week’s warnings from the UN over global warming will be controversial and politically fraught, taking the country into “uncharted territory” and testing the political consensus on climate change, the its top climate adviser has warned.

The government will have to regulate industry and intervene in the market in ways that will prove controversial in parliament, predicted Chris Stark, chief executive of the Committee on Climate Change (CCC). He is charged with advising ministers on how swift and how deep cuts in emissions should be and how they can be achieved, and his committee will start work on the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) advice shortly.

Continue reading...

Australia’s rising emissions could add to carbon credit demand from emitters regulated by the Safeguard Mechanism, but a repeat of last year’s price spike is unlikely as the market is better prepared this year, according to observers.

A global poaching epidemic is threatening the existence of countless species including rhinos, tigers, savannah elephants - and the lesser-known pangolin.

Indonesia will next month weigh four carbon pricing options to help meet its Paris obligations, including a full-fledged emissions trading scheme for its power and industry sectors.

Tritium signs up new investor as it ramps up production of ultra fast chargers to meet increasing demand.

The post Tritium to expand into EU, US in new EV charging partnership appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Tesla not only has two different charging plugs for different markets, but they also differ to the ones chosen by the other EV manufacturers. But why?

The post Electric vehicle charging: Why is Tesla different? appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Plans for network of ultra-fast EV chargers could be on hold as proponents discover potential threat from hidden network cost.

The post Could hidden network costs derail ultra-fast EV charging? appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Exclusive: UN group responds to Scott Morrison’s statement that Australia won’t be ‘throwing money’ into fund

An official United Nations grouping of 47 of the world’s poorest countries has urged Australia to “honour its international commitments” after the prime minister, Scott Morrison, said the country would not be “throwing money” into a key international climate change fund.

Australia has previously pledged $200m to the Green Climate Fund (GCF), set up through the UN’s climate convention to help developing countries adapt to the impacts of climate change and cut their own greenhouse gas emissions.

Continue reading...

Networks have gone from raising the drawbridge to lowering it, inviting new technologies and ideas on to their platform. Soon they'll be competing for the consumer.

The post Ausgrid looks to community batteries, getting “closer” to consumers appeared first on RenewEconomy.

As energy minister Angus Taylor continues his campaign for "fair dinkum" power, AEMO boss Audrey Zibelman points to the 6.5 solar panels being installed every minute and the falling cost of renewables, and says Australia has no choice but to embrace the future.

The post Two visions of Australia’s energy future – flexible vs fair dinkum appeared first on RenewEconomy.

The Coalition's energy policy looks stupid, and the election can't come quick enough. But there are some important things happening in grid investments and regulatory tests.

The post Know your NEM: Coalition looks stupid to anyone with an education appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Spanish government agrees to scrap much-reviled tax on solar self-consumption, brings in new rules removing all costs and barriers to self-consumed power.

The post Spain scraps “sun tax,” moves to boost solar self-consumption appeared first on RenewEconomy.

1MW plant signals new beginning for Chernobyl, where as much as 100MW of PV generation is expected to be built at the site of the world's worst nuclear disaster.

The post Solar brings new energy to Chernobyl nuclear disaster zone appeared first on RenewEconomy.

‘This is not good news,’ Bureau of Meteorology says, warning drought conditions could get worse

Heatwaves and bushfires are predicted in southern Australia thanks to a 70% chance of El Niño weather conditions, the Bureau of Meteorology has warned. Although cyclones may ease up in the north by the end of the year, the outlook for drought-hit areas is not good, according to the bureau.

“Between the [above average] temperature and the lack of rainfall, this is not good news,” climatologist Robyn Duell said. “This outlook on the back of such little rainfall and dry conditions makes it such a worry for people.”

Continue reading...

Seattle residents had hoped to use ‘necessity defense’ in Minnesota court, arguing threat to planet was so great they had no choice

A Minnesota judge abruptly dismissed charges against three climate change activists during their trial on Tuesday, saying prosecutors had failed to prove that the protesters’ attempt to shut down two Enbridge Energy oil pipelines caused any damage.

The Clearwater county district judge Robert Tiffany threw the case out after prosecutors rested their case and before the protesters could use their defense: that the threat of climate change from using crude oil drilled from Canadian tar sands was so imminent that the activists’ actions were not only morally right, but necessary.

Continue reading...

Could targeting profits linked to the illegal wildlife trade help protect threatened species?