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Higher EU carbon prices will set Germany’s coal power phase-out in motion, but the country risks inducing power price spikes in determining an end-date for the fuel’s use, analysts said on Monday.

S&P Global Ratings says government intervention to prop up existing coal power, and underwrite the development of new, would be "credit negative" for the energy sector.

The post Building new coal, and propping up old, not the answer: S&P appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Victorian Greens call for an end to coal fired generation and a transition to 100 per cent renewables by 2030.

The post Greens call to phase out coal in Victoria, 100% renewables by 2030 appeared first on RenewEconomy.

As Coalition ramps up attack on wind and solar, new report finds new renewable generation coming online the “only thing” currently helping lower electricity prices in Australia.

The post New solar and wind the “only thing” pushing down power prices appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Energy minister Angus Taylor says high levels of renewables cause "de-industrialisation" and will wreck the economy.

The post Taylor launches extraordinary and ill-informed attack against wind and solar appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Interview with Greg Bourne on Climate Council’s report on transport emissions, and Deloitte’s John O’Brien on the overwhelming case for renewables

The post Energy Insiders Podcast: EVs, transport emissions and the overwhelming case for renewables appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Parkes Observatory (ACT) and Yalangbara (NT) have been added to the Finalised Priority Assessment List for the 2018-19 assessment period for the National Heritage List. No new places were added to the Australian Heritage Council’s existing list of...

Parkes Observatory (ACT) and Yalangbara (NT) have been added to the Finalised Priority Assessment List for the 2018-19 assessment period for the National Heritage List. No new places were added to the Australian Heritage Council’s existing list of...

Gas demand is falling as consumers turn away from expensive gas and find cheaper and cleaner renewable options in their homes and businesses.

The post The switch is on: Consumers are turning away from gas appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Virtual power plants will change the energy landscape - but they are not just about rooftop solar and battery storage.

The post Why your pool pump and solar hot water system could be market operator’s best friend appeared first on RenewEconomy.

The bee product industry is booming and in unregulated markets, there is a strong economic incentive to cheat. Self regulation combined with legal deterrence could help clean up the sticky mess. Samuel Becher, Associate Professor of Business Law, Victoria University of Wellington Hongzhi Gao, Senior Lecturer, International Business; PhD, Victoria University of Wellington Jessica C Lai, Senior Lecturer in Commercial Law, Victoria University of Wellington Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

The people of the French and Belgian cities enjoy a rare traffic-free day. Guardian Cities wants to hear your experiences of urban walking – good and bad.

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Mike Hawes on industry action, Zofia Dymitr on charge points for electric cars, and Robin Morris on claims of ‘no toxic filth’ being emitted

Your editorial (13 September) accuses motor manufacturers of inaction on electric cars. This is based neither on evidence nor on understanding of the decades it takes to develop such technologies.

Industry is committed to a zero-emission future and is investing heavily in electrified and other technologies. But while it can deliver the technology, it can’t determine the pace of uptake. Increasing consumer confidence, addressing infrastructure accessibility and overcoming range anxiety are vital. As with any new technology, this is expensive, so long-term government support will be essential.

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Accusation comes only weeks before the UK’s first fracking in seven years

The shale gas explorer Cuadrilla has accused the Labour party of being divided on its proposed fracking ban and of unnecessarily politicising the search for shale gas.

Francis Egan, the chief executive of Cuadrilla, which is only weeks away from beginning the UK’s first fracking in seven years, said the prospect of a Labour government coming to power was a risk that he would be “silly to ignore”.

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New research shows direct evidence that toxic air – already strongly linked to harm in unborn babies – travels through mothers’ bodies

Scientists have found the first evidence that particles of air pollution travel through pregnant women’s lungs and lodge in their placentas.

Toxic air is already strongly linked to harm in foetuses but how the damage is done is unknown. The new study, involving mothers living in London, UK, revealed sooty particles in the placentas of each of their babies and researchers say it is quite possible the particles entered the foetuses too.

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This project focuses on the health of the seas, the impact of fishing and pollution on our vast oceans and their connections to climate change, and global efforts to drive forward conservation

This series draws attention to the dramatic changes taking place in our oceans, and the innovations under way to tackle them. It is supported, in part, through a grant to theguardian.org by the David & Lucile Packard Foundation, which is dedicated to improving the lives of children, enabling the creative pursuit of science, advancing reproductive health, and conserving and restoring the earth’s natural systems.

All of the journalism is editorially independent, commissioned and produced by our Guardian journalists. You can read more about content funding on the Guardian here.

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The all-British NovaSAR spacecraft will monitor big stretches of ocean for suspicious shipping activity.

The catastrophic prospect of 300m tonnes of carbon a year appears to have been averted, but even 25m poses a danger to the climate

The recent announcement by Adani that it will halve the costs of its rail line to the proposed Carmichael coalmine by building a shorter, narrow-gauge line raises an obvious question: if such a massive cost-saving is feasible, why didn’t Adani go that way in the first place?

The short answer is this is the latest in a string of changes that have massively downsized both the Carmichael project and the bigger plans to develop the Galilee Basin. The longer answer is that, despite optimistic talk about a long-term future for coal, the writing is on the wall. The only way to make money out of coal is to do so quickly, before the present gradual decline turns into a collapse.

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‘We need to stick to the Paris agreement, we need to stop burning coal and we need to commit to more renewable energy,’ Longreach farmer says

“This drought has really hit our family hard,” says Longreach farmer Jody Brown. “Climate change is making the droughts more severe.”

Those two sentences are the opening lines to a new advertisement challenging the federal government’s stance on climate change and the drought in Australia’s eastern states.

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ICESat-2 will use laser beams to measure ice levels on Earth as it orbits 500km above the planet.