Around The Web

Fast Cities Australia secures $7m to start work on a 42 station EV fast-charging "national backbone" which it says will "calatyse" Australia's electric vehicle industry.

The modelling for the National Energy Guarantee appears agenda driven, and should be released before the COAG meeting for the sake of clarity.

A pathogen is killing kauri trees in New Zealand and now threatens an ancient, sacred giant. The response to the biosecurity incursion pales in comparison to recent threats to agricultural crops. Matthew Hall, Associate Director, Research Services, Victoria University of Wellington Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Today, Goldwind, hosted a Local Industry Briefing event in Bothwell to share further details about local opportunities for the Cattle Hill Wind Farm project.

Numurkah solar farm, which will help power Laverton steel works and Victoria trams, reaches financial close, with developers Neoen wondering why Australia is not more ambitious about renewables.

Friday night's lunar eclipse will last longer than any in the 21st Century.

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

This position serves as one of the agency’s statewide experts in climate change mitigation policy; providing technical analysis, consultation, and policy development, in addition to interacting with other state and national experts in climate change policy, stakeholder groups, and elected officials. The successful candidate will evaluate and develop climate change policy recommendations for DEQ’s senior management team and director, as well as participate in the development of legislation and regulations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

California Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) prices overcame a slight retreat in prices this week to reach another record on Thursday, after market participants digested reports that the US federal government may end the state’s higher fuel economy and zero-emissions vehicle (ZEV) standards.

North American carbon prices and volumes rose modestly along both coasts this week as the WCI market shrugged off the introduction of a bill to rescind Ontario’s cap-and-trade programme, while increased buying helped lift RGGI allowances.

EU carbon prices held above €17 on Thursday, briefly dipping below that mark earlier in the session on a weak auction and sliding power prices before a late recovery sent EUAs back towards the previous settle.

Sudden weather change after weeks of drought could cause flooding and crop damage

Farmers across many parts of the UK are bracing themselves for thunderstorms and outbursts of heavy rain after weeks of drought and high temperatures.

The sudden change in the weather, expected to affect eastern areas hardest but spreading to the north and Midlands over Friday, is likely to cause problems of flooding and potential crop damage.

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As the northern hemisphere endures record breaking temperatures,  scientists and meteorologists are looking at the possible causes. Climate change is partly responsible, but the summer has also featured unusual jet stream activity, which is bringing the subtropical heat north 

• UK ‘woefully unprepared’ for deadly heatwaves, warn MPs

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Approval of Chinese nuclear technology in the UK would act as a springboard to the rest of the world

China wants to become a global leader in nuclear power and the UK is crucial to realising its ambitions.

While other countries have scaled back on atomic energy in the wake of the Fukushima disaster, state-backed Chinese companies benefit from the fact that China is still relying on nuclear energy to reach the country’s low-carbon goals.

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The remaining wilderness areas, mostly in the remote Pacific and at the poles, need urgent protection from fishing and pollution, scientists say

Just 13% of the world’s oceans remain untouched by the damaging impacts of humanity, the first systematic analysis has revealed. Outside the remotest areas of the Pacific and the poles, virtually no ocean is left harbouring naturally high levels of marine wildlife.

Huge fishing fleets, global shipping and pollution running off the land are combining with climate change to degrade the oceans, the researchers found. Furthermore, just 5% of the remaining ocean wilderness is within existing marine protection areas.

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Researchers have found that only 13% of the world's oceans remain mostly undisturbed by humans.

The week’s top environment news stories and green events. If you are not already receiving this roundup, sign up here to get the briefing delivered to your inbox

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German utility EnBW advanced its Y+2 hedging considerably over the second quarter, but this still left the company somewhat less hedged overall compared to a year earlier.

The black hole at the centre of our galaxy has helped astronomers confirm a key prediction of Albert Einstein's ideas.

China’s biggest provincial pilot emissions trading scheme released its 2018 allocation plan on Thursday, keeping CO2 caps at last year’s levels as the central government has urged stability in the pilot markets.