Feed aggregator

Adam Bandt says deal puts ‘significant hurdles’ in the way of new coal and gas but Chris Bowen insists it will not kill off new investment

• Follow our Australia news live blog for the latest updates
• Get our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcast

The Albanese government’s signature climate bill targeting big polluters is a step closer to passing after a deal with the Greens including an absolute cap on emissions.

The Greens leader, Adam Bandt, announced the deal on the safeguard mechanism bill on Monday, taking credit for “a big hit on coal and gas” that could effectively block half of 116 proposed new fossil fuel projects.

Continue reading...

Supreme Court quashes challenge to 200MW Delburn Wind Farm, paving the way for the 33 turbine project to go ahead in Victoria’s Latrobe Valley.

The post Latrobe Valley wind farm beats court challenge, targets 2024 construction appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Labor and Greens agree to raft of changes to Safeguard Mechanism, including new measures the Greens say will put new coal and gas projects "on the ropes."

The post “Huge hit” to coal and gas as hard cap and pollution trigger added to Safeguard reforms appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Future of broken down Callide C coal plant in fresh doubt after a shareholder dispute sends its part owner into voluntary administration.

The post Fresh blow for Queensland coal, as shareholder dispute topples Callide C co-owner appeared first on RenewEconomy.

The Safeguard Mechanism passed the lower house of Australian parliament Monday and looks set to survive a Senate vote later this week after the Greens party announced it had negotiated with the Labor government a series of measures to strengthen the scheme, including putting a cap on absolute emissions and giving the climate minister broad powers to ensure projects don’t exceed the cap.

An Australian fund manager on Monday launched a carbon credit fund to offer investors exposure to global compliance carbon markets, with a goal to outperform market benchmarks by at least 2% per annum.

Very hot days in Western Sydney are typically 5 degrees hotter than parts of the city close to the coast and are becoming more common, but only in the west. Four climate drivers explain the difference. Milton Speer, Visiting Fellow, School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences, University of Technology Sydney Anjali Gupta, Lecturer, School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences, and Researcher, Centre for Forensic Science, University of Technology Sydney Joanna Wang, Senior Lecturer, School of Mathematics and Physical Sciences, University of Technology Sydney Joshua Hartigan, PhD Candidate, School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences, University of Technology Sydney Lance M Leslie, Professor, School of Mathematical And Physical Sciences, University of Technology Sydney Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

An Australian environmental tech company that uses drones to plant trees has partnered with an impact investment manager to establish a carbon sequestration fund seeking to raise A$200 million ($133 mln).

National Infrastructure Commission accuses ministers of ‘prevarication’ over installation of heat pumps

Ministers have made negligible progress in improving the energy efficiency of the UK’s homes even as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has underscored the need to cut the reliance on gas for home heating, according to the National Infrastructure Commission (NIC).

The independent infrastructure tsars’ annual report warned that the progress towards improving the UK’s infrastructure “stuttered further” last year, despite the need for increased investment to meet its economic and climate goals.

Continue reading...

About 200 barrels of reservoir fluid leak into the Dorset harbour, a site of special scientific interest

A major incident has been declared on Sunday following an oil leak from the UK’s largest onshore field into Poole harbour in Dorset.

The incident, which took place at Wytch Farm oilfield in Dorset, resulted in approximately 200 barrels of “reservoir fluid” being released.

Continue reading...

Businesses want to trawl for nickel, manganese and cobalt to build electric cars and windfarms

An investigation by conservationists has found evidence that deep-seabed mining of rare minerals could cause “extensive and irreversible” damage to the planet.

The report, to be published on Monday by the international wildlife charity Fauna & Flora, adds to the growing controversy that surrounds proposals to sweep the ocean floor of rare minerals that include cobalt, manganese and nickel. Mining companies want to exploit these deposits – which are crucial to the alternative energy sector – because land supplies are running low, they say.

Continue reading...

When my country, Pakistan, flooded last year, women faced particular suffering. That’s true around the world

Last summer, a third of Pakistan was underwater. My country, the fifth most populous in the world, was submerged. Two million homes were destroyed, thousands of acres of agricultural land were flooded and 90% of the crops in Sindh, a food belt, were damaged. Thousands of kilometres of roads were rendered unusable, a million livestock killed, hospitals and schools obliterated, and 30 to 50 million people – a number as large as the population of Canada or Spain – were displaced and dispossessed.

It was the climate crisis that brought this nightmare to Pakistan. Pakistan has the second largest number of glaciers after the Arctic poles and thanks to global heating, they are melting at unprecedented, unmanageable speeds. Glacial melt combined with another consequence of the Earth’s warming climate, erratic monsoon patterns, and together they created what was called a super-flood.

Continue reading...

There is no technically feasible way to draw down methane from the atmosphere, and no “like for like” offsetting is possible.

The post Methane from fossil fuels is a climate wrecker. Don’t let it wreck the safeguard mechanism, too appeared first on RenewEconomy.

The NSW Coalition loss means Australia's best performing energy minister is no longer running the show. What does that mean for the state's transition from coal?

The post Australia has just lost its best energy minister, lets hope Labor doesn’t trash his legacy appeared first on RenewEconomy.

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

A salon in Sydney is spearheading workshops for hairdressers on how to steer small talk about the weather into conversations about global heating

Inside this chic Sydney hair salon, the chat between stylists and clients could be much the same as in any other hairdressers around the world. Some small talk. The ubiquitous and occasionally mundane chat about holidays and traffic. For regulars, the conversation can move to the deeply personal before you can say semi-tint or shag cut.

In fact, there is only one easily missable clue in the front window that conversations inside Paloma might, when the occasion arises, be a bit different. A poster reads: “This salon chats about love, life & climate action.”

Continue reading...

Is it too soon to be nostalgic for all those soft, gentle Marches? Here’s hoping not

In the southern Australian cities where I’ve spent most of my life my birthday on the second day of autumn has always been synonymous with gentle seasonal transition.

It’s no coincidence that the beginning of autumn in March is my favourite time of year. First comes the softer light. The mornings grow darker and slightly crisper.

Continue reading...

In his series Fulu Act, Brussels-based documentary photographer Colin Delfosse captures street artists in Kinshasa, who craft striking costumes out of everyday objects found littering the streets, such as discarded wigs, wires, soda cans and bottle lids, to raise awareness of environmental issues facing the Democratic Republic of the Congo. “The statement behind their costumes is to condemn and inform about overconsumption and its side effects, namely pollution, poverty, lack of reliable investments and so on,” says Delfosse. “By capturing these images, I’m giving an echo to their crucial work.”

• Colin Delfosse is shortlisted in the Sony world photography awards 2023. An exhibition of the photographs is at Somerset House, London, 14 April-1 May

Continue reading...

The UN Water Conference in New York wrapped up late Friday with billions of dollars pledged by governments and companies and a Water Action Agenda counting over 700 global commitments on water, including nearly 300 related to biodiversity.

Emissions from stationary installations covered under the EU ETS probably rose marginally last year, according to a survey of analysts, as a rise in CO2 from dirtier power generation was partially offset by a drop in industrial output.