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Five mayors warn their towns could run out of water within weeks and call for their needs to be prioritised over irrigators

The mayors of several western New South Wales councils have warned their townships face major water crises within weeks and have urged the state government to impose a one-month embargo on irrigators pumping from the upper part of the Darling River system.

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Subsidies for coal, oil and gas are not falling despite EU pledges to tackle climate change

The UK leads the European Union in giving subsidies to fossil fuels, according to a report from the European commission. It found €12bn (£10.5bn) a year in support for fossil fuels in the UK, significantly more than the €8.3bn spent on renewable energy.

The commission report warned that the total subsidies for coal, oil and gas across the EU remained at the same level as 2008. This is despite both the EU and G20 having long pledged to phase out the subsidies, which hamper the rapid transition to clean energy needed to fight climate change.

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Statkraft to supply 3,000GWh of renewable electricity for large industrial consumers in steel, cement, metallurgy, chemical, paper, and industrial gases sectors in Spain and Portugal.

The post Statkraft signs 3,000GWh renewables PPA to power industry in Iberia appeared first on RenewEconomy.

France and Spain reject controversial STEP gas pipeline, a move which protestors hope will starve investment, and perhaps scrap the pipeline altogether.

The post France and Spain nix international gas pipeline
 appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Around 1GW of coal-fired power generation goes missing in Victoria ahead of summer heatwave – and as federal government prepares short-list of proposals for subsidised “reliable” power generation to shore up the national grid.

The post Coal units cut out as report warns ‘HELE’ plants “just as unreliable” appeared first on RenewEconomy.

First of 56 turbines being installed at Bulgana Green Power Hub – Neoen Australia's ground-breaking wind power and battery storage project in Victoria.

The post First turbine goes up at Neoen’s wind and battery hub in Victoria appeared first on RenewEconomy.

New science funding initiatives are accused of pandering to political imperatives.

Works are underway on Maoneng's 255MW Sunraysia Solar Farm near Balranald in New South Wales.

The post Construction begins on 255MW Sunraysia solar farm in NSW appeared first on RenewEconomy.

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

The violent Manaro Voui volcano forced the people of Vanuatu’s Ambae island to flee their home numerous times over the last year. After living in makeshift camps on surrounding islands, the displaced residents are now anxious to return to their ash-covered homes, even if the danger has not yet passed

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Oregon can improve the environmental and economic performance of its planned cap-and-trade programme by freely allocating carbon allowances to the industrial sector rather than exempting those companies from the scheme entirely, according to a study released Tuesday.

Is using timber for furniture, decks and building houses sustainable? To what extent is timber carbon neutral?

The pending bankruptcy filing of California utility Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) is raising new questions about the future of the state’s lone nuclear power plant slated to close in the next decade and how the plant could influence future emissions.

Oil major BP purchased offset credits from two of the largest projects in the WCI cap-and-trade programme, a company official confirmed last week, but data suggests the fuel supplier is reselling many of those Alaska-sourced units on the secondary market.

The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, Inc. (“RGGI, Inc.”) seeks to hire a Program Associate to be based in New York City.

Sir David Attenborough has urged world leaders to treat the natural world with respect. During an interview by Prince William at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland, he was asked why those in key positions had taken so long to address climate change. The 92-year-old broadcaster said the connection between the natural world and urban societies had been ‘remote and widening’ since the industrial revolution. Humans did not realise the effect their actions have on the global ecosystem, he said, but it was ‘difficult to overstate’ the urgency of the environmental crisis.

David Attenborough and Prince William take world leaders to task on environment

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European carbon prices resumed their recent rally on Tuesday, climbing by as much as 3.6% to a three-week high above €25.

Dumping your closet debris on a charity shop just means giving volunteers the cost of sorting out your landfill. Jenni Downes, Senior Research Consultant, Institute for Sustainable Futures, University of Technology Sydney Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Thinktank says not enough is being done to cut coal burning and end fossil fuel subsidies

Removing coal from the global energy mix is taking too long, too many forests are still being destroyed, and fossil fuel subsidies are ongoing despite their distorting effect on the market, a study has found.

There has also been insufficient progress in agriculture to stop harmful practices that increase carbon dioxide production, and heavy industry is not doing enough to use energy more efficiently, according to analysis carried out by the World Resources Institute thinktank.

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Total of 72% polled now say global warming is personally important to them, Yale said, as 73% accept it is happening

Americans’ concerns about climate change have surged to record levels, new polling shows, following a year marked by devastating storms, wildfires and increasingly dire warnings from scientists.

Related: Greenland's ice melting faster than scientists previously thought – study

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