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The classic cars being converted to electric vehicles
Living on a ship next to 174 North Sea wind turbines
Better building standards are good for the climate, your health, and your wallet. Here's what the National Construction Code could do better
Austria unveils German-inspired carbon levy in tax overhaul
‘Rogue’ paddleboarders and kayakers threaten seabird sanctuary
Human activity disturbs nesting of puffins and rare roseate terns at Coquet Island in Northumberland
A bird sanctuary island in Northumberland, home to Britain’s rarest nesting seabird, is being threatened by an influx of “rogue” paddleboarders and kayakers who are causing major disturbances.
Dr Paul Morrison, the site manager of Coquet Island, said in his 37 years in the job he had seen a lot of changes, but “this is one of the most serious ones”.
Continue reading...Fuel crisis and supply shortages are a product of the UK’s economic model
Rising prices and lack of goods are what happens when just-in-time economy collides with skin-of-the-pants government
It all seems to have happened so fast. Only a few months ago, the government was congratulating itself for the speed at which Britain was emerging from the pandemic. But as the nights have lengthened, there have been empty shelves at supermarkets, spiralling energy prices and queues snaking back from petrol stations.
If there is a general sense of bemusement at all this, then there really shouldn’t be. This is what happens when just in time production methods collide with just in time government and turn a problem into a crisis.
Britain now has just 1% of Europe’s storage capacity, enough to cope with four or five cold winter days.
Continue reading...Pandemic forces BBC into new approach for David Attenborough’s The Mating Game
BBC One natural history series relied on local film-makers to be in the right place at the right time
African bullfrogs converging on pools in South Africa and fighting like bar room brawlers; a school of ghostly-looking manta rays assembling off the Australian coast; vivid images of amphibious snot otters working co-operatively in a cold north American river.
These are all scenes from the new BBC One David Attenborough blockbuster series The Mating Game, filmed during the Covid crisis using a markedly different approach to the 50-year-old tried-and-tested way of doing things.
Continue reading...Heatwaves, sewage, pesticides: why England’s rivers need a ‘new deal’ to avert crisis
A water industry group is calling for legislation and planning controls to protect waterways from climate change and pollution
England’s rivers are facing a crisis from climate change, agricultural pollution and lack of effective planning controls. That is the key warning of Water UK, the industry group that represents the nation’s water suppliers.
In a report to be published this week, the authority will call for the government to set up a national rivers plan and enact a rivers act to ensure the health of the country’s waterways. “We are calling for a new deal for rivers in England,” it states.
Continue reading...Tax flights and ditch gas boilers: ‘blue wall’ voters back green policy
A majority of voters in the Conservative party’s key 41 constituencies believe the UK should be a world leader on climate
Voters in Tory heartlands want the government to do more to tackle the climate crisis, and support measures that many backbench Conservative MPs have balked at, from ditching gas boilers to taxing flights, new polling shows.
The government has delayed or dialled back key measures in recent weeks. There is no sign of the long-awaited heat and building strategy,the net zero strategy has been postponed to later this month, while the environment bill is stuck in parliament as ministers rejected strengthening amendments from the Lords.
Continue reading...What climate scientists can teach us about dealing with climate change doom
Climate change: Stop smoke and mirrors, rich nations told
I’ve finally sold my old VW diesel – so how do I bolt when I need to now? | Rachel Cooke
Last Monday, I sold my car. This had to be done. Later this month, the mayor of London will extend his low-emission zone; my old VW being a diesel, every journey was about to cost me £12.50. But as I kept telling myself, there were other, more virtuous reasons for this mournful visit to the Shoreditch branch of the Philip Schofield theme park that is webuyanycar.com. Whatever else I might have done wrong in my life, at least I’m now no longer contributing to the city’s congestion and pollution.
Travelling home on the tube, however, I was overcome by sudden sadness. As a teenager, nothing was more important than passing my test; even now, I still feel weirdly proud of the fact that I can drive and weirdly disdainful of those who can’t. I regard driving as a feminist act. It has saved my bacon so many times; locking my car door from the inside late at night has always represented safety to me.
Continue reading...From Corrie to car ads, carbon literacy training pushes climate to the fore
Project has trained more than 21,000 staff and pupils, aiming for changes on whole-organisation level
The cobbled streets of Coronation Street may not be the most obvious platform for conversations about the climate crisis, but the UK’s longest-running soap opera has increasingly turned its attention to the environment in recent years.
From smaller plot points such as Sally Metcalfe discussing climate change with her partner over dinner, to 10-year-old Liam Connor collapsing on the street from an asthma attack caused by air pollution, environmental issues frequently crop up on the show.
Continue reading...Poor countries must not be forced to take on debt to tackle climate crisis
A Cop26 insider from a developing nation on why the richer world needs to meet its funding targets
One of the biggest issues at Cop26 is climate finance, the funding that is supposed to be provided by the rich world to developing countries to help us cut greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to the impact of the climate crisis.
Back at the Copenhagen Cop in 2009, we were promised at least $100bn (£74bn) a year in climate finance by 2020 and every year after that to at least 2025. But that target has been missed. Recently, we saw an OECD report which found that in 2019 only about $80bn was provided.
Every week we’ll hear from negotiators from a developing country that is involved in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change negotiations and will be attending the Cop26 climate conference.
Continue reading...Solar meets all of South Australia demand, and more
Solar meets up to 106.1 pct of state demand in South Australia on Saturday morning, and later in the day rooftop solar alone reached 88.7 pct.
The post Solar meets all of South Australia demand, and more appeared first on RenewEconomy.
CP Daily: Friday October 1, 2021
Replace UK climate policies with a single carbon tax, think-tank recommends
US lawmaker deal to boost carbon capture and storage tax credit to $85/tonne -reports
Speculator WCI net length sees largest draw in 18 months, CFTC data shows
Coalition approves plan to award carbon credits to CCS fossil fuel projects
Decision follows lobbying by oil and gas company Santos, who have said they would not start a CCS project without access to carbon credit revenue
The Morrison government has increased support for controversial fossil fuel projects that promise to capture and store carbon dioxide emissions by approving a plan to award them carbon credits.
It followed the oil and gas company Santos saying a proposed carbon capture and storage (CCS) project at its Moomba gas well in South Australia hinged on whether it had access to carbon credit revenue.
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