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Victorian government hands control of transmission planning to VicGrid in new plan to allay community concerns and pave way for 95pct renewables target.

The post Victoria takes control of transmission planning to ensure it gets to 95 pct renewables appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Works have begun on what stands to be a 500MW wind farm and big battery in Queensland's Western Downs region, half owned by the state government.

The post Queensland breaks ground on massive Wambo wind and battery project appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Northern Territory has yet to connect its first solar farms to the grid, and now it wants to explore wind as a renewable balancing act.

The post NT looks to throw wind into energy mix as it wrestles with renewable future appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Newly released report from 2021 warned existing strategies not enough to stop uncontrolled spread of invasive species

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A strategic review of Australia’s efforts to control an outbreak of red fire ants warned almost two years ago that an “urgent change of strategy” was needed to prevent the uncontrolled spread of one of the world’s most invasive species.

The Queensland government on Thursday released the August 2021 review of the national fire ant eradication program, which warned pre-existing measures and funding “will not be able to eradicate or contain” the red fire ant outbreak in Brisbane and surrounds.

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Marine sediments are the world’s largest store of carbon, and fiords in particular are a massive sink. But New Zealand doesn’t even have an oceans policy to develop blue carbon climate policy. Rebecca J McLeod, Senior Research Fellow in Marine Ecology, University of Otago William Austin, Professor in marine geology, University of St Andrews Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Despite several cold snaps in May that brought early dustings of snow, a warmer start to winter has meant most of that has now melted

• Bureau of Meteorology puts Australia on ‘El Niño alert’
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Australia’s ski season will start with no skiing, no snowboarding, no snow – and a drying El Niño may be to blame.

Due to a “lack of snow,” Thredbo Resort has closed its mountain to skiing and snowboarding this long weekend, a spokesperson said – just as it kicks off its official winter season.

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ACT votes on law to ban new gas connections for homes and businesses, in a major coup for electrification and a new blow to the fossil fuel lobby.

The post ACT passes first law in Australia banning gas in new homes, as fossil empire strikes back appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Two states will soon end logging of native forests, but what about the other states? The federal government has powers to intervene but also faces obstacles to nationwide protection of these forests. Peter Burnett, Honorary Associate Professor, ANU College of Law, Australian National University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Spain expected to surpass 50% average renewables mark on its grid this year, beating neighbouring EU powerhouses to the milestone.

The post Spain on track to pass 50 pct renewable energy generation in 2023 appeared first on RenewEconomy.

ACT consumers face minimum rise in electricity bills thanks to its 100 pct renewable policy as households in other states blown away by soaring costs of fossil fuels.

The post Low cost wind and solar protect ACT consumers from bill shock once again appeared first on RenewEconomy.

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

The governor of Kenya's Kajiado has ripped up all carbon offset deals signed with projects in the county on grounds they were too opaque for local communities, local media reported, in another signal of growing government intervention in the global voluntary market.

Singapore-based carbon Climate Impact X (CIX) on Thursday launched its planned spot trading platform for voluntary carbon credits, CIX Exchange.

Wind and solar combined produced more electricity than fossil fuels in May across in the EU for the first time, a new report has revealed.

A Virginia regulatory board on Wednesday voted to rescind the state’s RGGI-linked cap-and-trade regulation after considering the legal implications of doing so during an unprecedented closed-door session of a public meeting, with the final repeal headed to Governor Glenn Youngkin’s (R) desk for review amid the spectre of probable lawsuits in the coming months.

Spot carbon credit prices under Alberta’s Technology Innovation and Emissions Reduction (TIER) regime inched down in May as the programme’s annual true-up neared, with newer vintage credits attracting a slight premium, according to a report published Wednesday.

When the rainforests burned, the leaf litter did too – and with it, billions of invertebrates vital to healthy ecosystems. Heloise Gibb, Professor, La Trobe University Nick Porch, Senior Lecturer in Environmental Earth Science, Deakin University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

A public survey found 86% of people want more space for nature in the city. The city council is already taking steps to add green space and increase biodiversity, which should boost public wellbeing. Matthew Selinske, Senior Research Fellow, RMIT University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

The EU’s flagship emissions trading scheme (ETS) led to a reduction of carbon emissions of around 10% between 2005-12 with no adverse impact on employment, according to a recent study.

The second current vintage auction of Washington state’s WCI-modelled cap-and-trade programme sold all allowances above the scheme’s lower reserve tier trigger price, though the first advance sale settled well below that, according to results published Wednesday.