Around The Web

JinkoSolar a global leader in the solar industry, today announced that its wholly owned subsidiary, JinkoSolar (U.S.) Inc. has entered into a three-year agreement to supply 1.43GW of high efficiency modules to sPower, a leading renewable energy independent power producer.

The 10-week Basslink outage has had no meaningful impact on Tasmania’s energy security or finances.

Canada is on the verge of legalising marijuana for recreational use. The BBC visited a huge cannabis farm in British Columbia, which the operators say is the world's largest.

What is and isn’t being phased out?And how effective will the new policy be?

By the end of June, most of Australia’s major supermarkets will have stopped handing out single-use plastic bags.

Woolworths, Coles and the Queensland government are all phasing out lightweight shopping bags, potentially preventing billions of bags from finding their way into landfill or oceans.

Continue reading...

State and federal governments to confirm that 14 lake sites have been earmarked

Pumped hydro projects generating energy at twice the scale of the much-vaunted Snowy 2.0 scheme will be identified across Tasmania on Wednesday, with modelling suggesting the proposal could deliver thousands of jobs between now and 2028.

The Turnbull and Hodgman governments will confirm that 14 pumped hydro sites have been earmarked across the state with a combined potential generation capacity of up to 4,800 megawatts.

Continue reading...

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

New Jersey should adopt a 2020 RGGI cap of 12-13 million short tons in order for the state to achieve its climate goals, several environmental groups wrote in a letter published Tuesday.

BBC Science Editor David Shukman explains what happens to plastic once it gets into the sea.

Prices for Renewable Identification Numbers (RINs) sunk to levels not seen since 2013 on Monday, as the Trump administration was reportedly set to unveil sweeping programme changes to the US biofuels policy discussed last month.

The UK’s financial regulator has issued a warning about fraudsters using the details of a regulated London-based carbon trading firm to try to dupe investors.

EU carbon prices slid back below €16 on Tuesday amid falling energy prices after EUAs stormed to a fresh seven-year peak earlier in the day.

Washington DC lawmakers and an environmental coalition have delayed their plans to introduce a carbon fee bill, with price level and sectoral coverage cited as two key areas of dispute.

The plan to expand Heathrow still faces hurdles, including environmental impacts and whether the sums add up

Heathrow has long argued it is in effect full, with the number of flights capped on its two runways. Its contention is that only a major hub airport, with connecting flights adding passengers from around Britain, can sustain the long-haul route network that an island nation requires, particularly in regards to trade with emerging markets and the post-Brexit environment. It is a point of view shared by many business leaders and the Department for Transport. Most international airlines want to fly to Heathrow rather than other London airports, and most cargo goes the same way.

Continue reading...

Country will also introduce a campaign against marine litter and a pledge to make 100 national monuments litter-free

India will eliminate all single-use plastic in the country by 2022, prime minister Narendra Modi has announced.

The pledge is the most ambitious yet of the global actions to combat plastic pollution that are taking place in 60 nations around the world. Modi’s move aims to drastically stem the flow of plastic from the 1.3 billion people living in the fastest growing economy in the world.

Continue reading...

The World Bank will host at least one more reverse auction to buy €20 million in carbon credits from N2O abatement projects as part of a programme to encourage host developing countries to eventually regulate those emissions.

The government has approved a controversial plan to expand the London hub after years of delays and opposition from campaigners.

The transport secretary, Chris Grayling, said the announcement was a 'historic moment' that showed the government had a clear vision to build 'a Britain fit for the future'.

Critics say the creation of an additional runway will cause further harm to the environment and may end up costing the taxpayer billions

Continue reading...

Tory splits mean government may have to rely on Labour and SNP to win parliamentary vote

The government has finally given the green light to the controversial plan to build a third runway at Heathrow airport following years of delays and opposition from campaigners.

The transport secretary, Chris Grayling, said the announcement represented a “historic moment” that showed the government had a clear vision to build “a Britain fit for the future”. Critics claim it will damage the environment and could end up costing the taxpayer billions.

Continue reading...

Government has given the green light, but there are still many more potential obstacles

The cabinet has endorsed as official policy a revised national policy statement on aviation, whose key point is to enable Heathrow expansion, specifically a third runway to the north-west of the existing airport. A wider vote will now take place within 21 sitting days in parliament, or by 10 July.

Continue reading...

Early this year, the South African government announced that Day Zero was looming – a moment, after three years of unprecedented drought, when dam levels would be so low that taps would be turned off and people would have to fetch water at communal collection points.

After taking remedial measures, Capetonians managed to push back the date of Day Zero until next year. We visited the city to find out how the threat of an apocalyptic disaster has changed lives

Continue reading...

If approved, plans for a third runway are likely to be debated and voted upon in the coming weeks.