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German utility RWE may be forced to close its remaining lignite-burning power plants earlier than planned, saying on Thursday it is “conceivable” that the next German government will ratchet up its coal phaseout to meet tougher EU emissions goals.

EUAs were slightly weaker in Thursday morning trading as the daily auction cleared at the largest discount to spot prices for more than three weeks, while energy prices were largely stronger

Heavy rains have triggered severe floods and mudslides in northern Turkey, killing at least one person and leaving others missing or injured. Turkey has been grappling with drought and a rapid succession of natural disasters that scientists believe are becoming more frequent and violent because of the climate crisis. The floods hit the Black Sea coastal provinces of Bartin, Kastamonu, Sinop and Samsun

• Turkey battles fresh disaster as floods hit country’s north

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Infrastructure bill includes $8bn to develop ‘clean hydrogen’ but study finds large emissions from production of ‘blue’ hydrogen

The large infrastructure bill passed by the US Senate and hailed by Joe Biden as a key tool to tackle the climate crisis includes billions of dollars to support a supposedly clean fuel that is potentially even more polluting than coal, new research has found.

The $1tn infrastructure package, which passed with bipartisan support on Tuesday, includes $8bn to develop “clean hydrogen” via the creation of four new regional hubs. The White House has said the bill advances Biden’s climate agenda and proponents of hydrogen have touted it as a low-emissions alternative to fuel shipping, trucking, aviation and even home heating.

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Just when we must be rejecting new drilling, fracking and pipeline infrastructure, Biden isn’t just tolerating fossil fuels - he’s uplifting them

The latest report from the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change paints a stark and sobering picture: a global future of extreme weather events that are guaranteed to become more frequent and more intense over coming decades. The horrific flooding that has recently shocked Europe will become more common. The unrelenting fires that have engulfed the western United States and Canada will intensify and widen. And some island nations, it seems, may already be doomed to eradication by inevitable sea level rise.

The only glimmer of hope offered in the IPCC report is that immediate, aggressive action by world leaders could still prevent a future of assured climate chaos from being even worse. As devastating as a 1.5C global temperature increase will be, a 2.5C increase would be unfathomable.

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Chinese investments in green bonds more than doubled in the first half of 2021 compared to the same period last year, a report said this week, with clean energy and transport the main beneficiaries.

Genesis, one of the biggest emitters covered by the New Zealand ETS, has signed a long-term agreement with Contact Energy on geothermal electricity delivery that will see its NZU demand drop.

Academics warn ‘fugitive’ emissions from producing hydrogen could be 20% worse for climate than using gas

The government’s plan to replace fossil gas with “blue” hydrogen to help meet its climate targets could backfire after US academics found that it may lead to more emissions than using gas.

In some cases blue hydrogen, which is made from fossil gas, could be up to 20% worse for the climate than using gas in homes and heavy industry, owing to the emissions that escape when gas is extracted from the ground and split to produce hydrogen.

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Just as inequality fuelled the pandemic, it could wreck plans to cut emissions

The message from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change could hardly be clearer. Business as usual means global temperatures will rise by more than 1.5C above pre-industrial levels within two decades. Preventing that happening will require a massive and rapid drop in the amount of greenhouse gases being emitted.

Diagnosis is the easy bit. The question is not whether human beings are on a collision course with nature but how to use the time left to bring about the far-reaching economic changes required to avoid catastrophe.

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Rewilding on marginal land could bolster employment without halting traditional agricultural activities, data shows

• Cairngorms crofters: ‘We don’t follow a capitalist grow-grow-grow model’

Rewilding 5% of England could create nearly 20,000 jobs in rural communities and increase employment by 50% compared with intensive farming, figures show.

Related: Cairngorms crofters: ‘We don’t follow a capitalist grow-grow-grow model’

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Australia's biggest solar farm signs deal with Fluence to use its trading platform and help it maximise revenue and dodge negative prices.

The post Fluence lands automated trading deal with Australia’s biggest solar farm appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Just £145m of budget went on environment with £40bn spent on emissions-increasing measures, says charity

The UK government is spending many times more on measures that will increase greenhouse gas emissions than on policies to tackle the climate crisis, according to an analysis of the spring budget.

Only £145m in the March 2021 budget was devoted to environmental spending, most of it on the post-Brexit emissions trading scheme for industry, according to an analysis by the conservation charity WWF. But the cost of tax breaks to companies to encourage investment came to more than £34bn, while maintaining the fuel duty freeze – for an 11th consecutive year – is costing about £4.5bn in lost revenues.

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The only hope for improved profits for Australian coal generators are a series of catastrophes: Natural ones, mishaps, and Angus Taylor's policies.

The post Floods, fires and Angus Taylor: Coal plants don’t have much else going for them appeared first on RenewEconomy.

AGL hit by muitli-billion dollar write downs, as Australia's largest emitter tries to catch up with accelerating energy market transition.

The post AGL hit by huge losses as it scrambles to catch up with switch from baseload appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Snowy Hydro's response to submissions to its controversial Kurri Kurri gas generator is riddled with obvious and important errors.

The post Snowy Hydro and its consultants get so much wrong in Kurri Kurri defence appeared first on RenewEconomy.

The IPCC report has laid out some alarming sea level projections for the future. But the relationship between sea level rise and real-world risk is complex. Shayne McGregor, Associate professor, Monash University Nerilie Abram, Chief Investigator for the ARC Centre of Excellence for Climate Extremes; Deputy Director for the Australian Centre for Excellence in Antarctic Science, Australian National University Ruth Reef, Associate Professor, School of Earth Atmosphere and Environment, Monash University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Australia cannot afford another election campaign that views the science of climate change as something we can ignore

The latest IPCC report released on Monday essentially lets the world know just how big a hole it has gotten itself into. The good thing is it also lets us all know how we can get out. The problem of course is that when you are in a hole, the first thing you have to do is stop digging.

Lest there still be any misunderstanding – whether it be through ignorance or due to listening to those in the media and politics who seek to mislead – the climate right now is warmer than it has been in modern human history.

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Climate misinformation campaigns are often backed by corporate interests which stand to lose in a clean energy transition.

The post Fossil fuel misinformation may sideline IPCC’s most important climate reports appeared first on RenewEconomy.

With climate action more crucial than ever, the IPCC needs to communicate clearly and strongly to as many people as possible. So how is it going so far? Simon Torok, Honorary Fellow, School of Earth Sciences, The University of Melbourne James Goldie, Senior Knowledge Broker, Monash University Linden Ashcroft, Lecturer in climate science and science communication, The University of Melbourne Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

The conservation group WWF says the UK government must keep its promises on climate change.