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California Carbon Allowance (CCA) prices meandered for much of the week before a higher-than-expected February auction settlement sent values upward, as traders began to examine several factors that could influence the clearing price in next week’s inaugural Washington Carbon Allowance (WCA) sale.

Genex posts its first ever profit thanks to its two operating solar farms, as it works to bring first big storage project online.

The post Solar farms drive first profit for Genex as focus turns to battery and hydro storage appeared first on RenewEconomy.

A new Australian programme that offers subscription-based investments in fish habitat restoration and assisted breeding hopes to build on its current activities to eventually generate tradeable biodiversity credits.

The race to scale modular carbon capture is hotting up, with two separate announcements on Thursday seeing companies joining forces to scale technologies, with one such partnership actively targeting cost cutting and start-small options to help spur interest from small- and medium-sized industries.

The February California-Quebec current vintage carbon auction settled at the highest price since last spring and at a slight discount to prevailing secondary market levels, according to government data published Thursday.

Exclusive: Resolving congestion on main electricity grid will top agenda of ministers’ meeting on Friday

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Renewable energy plants are struggling to supply all their output to customers, with one plant in New South Wales wasting half of its output over a full year.

Resolving congestion on the main electricity grid will top the agenda on Friday at the first meeting of federal, state and territory energy ministers in 2023.

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Plans are underway to boost scientific research into the Congo Basin, the second largest rainforest and the most efficient carbon sink in the world, to the same level as the Amazon, a webinar heard Thursday.

Conservation is a government job, right? Not any more. Here’s why the enormous growth in land managed by conservation NGOs is a boon to our environment Hugh Possingham, Professor, The University of Queensland Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Developing countries suffer the most in the conflict between large carnivores and humans. We need better financial incentives for these communities to make sure these iconic predators are protected. Alexander Richard Braczkowski, Research Fellow at the Centre for Planetary Health and Resilient Conservation Group, Griffith University Christopher J. O'Bryan, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, The University of Queensland Duan Biggs, Professor and Chair, Southwestern Environmental Science and Policy, Northern Arizona University Sophie Gilbert, University of Idaho Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Will the return of buybacks in the Murray-Darling Basin trigger more water fights? Let’s hope not. Buybacks are the most efficient way to recover water for the environment and deliver the Basin Plan. Sarah Ann Wheeler, Professor in Water Economics, University of Adelaide Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Experts say more cities should join the growing legislative trend to reduce trash, save birds and protect against wildfires

Laguna Beach – the California city known for surfers, waves, rolling hills – grabbed headlines this week for enacting a strict ban on the sale and use of balloons. The city council passed the resolution on Tuesday night, citing wildfire risk and the fact that balloons are a huge source of marine trash. Beginning in 2024, balloons of all types will not be permitted to be used on public property or at city events, with violators facing fines of up to $500. Residential homes will be exempt.

The move is part of a growing trend. Maryland and Virginia banned intentional balloon releases in 2021, Hawaii followed suit in 2022, with New York and Florida now considering similar measures. And like plastic bags and other pollutants, experts say balloon bans could catch on more widely as awareness rises of the harms that the popular celebratory item causes to the environment.

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A technology company that helps reduce energy use in houses and offices has raised $30 million in a series B funding round led by an oil major-backed investment firm. 

More than 20 carbon dioxide removal (CDR) companies have formed an alliance to promote policies for the nascent industry that could become a trillion dollar market opportunity.

Conclusions from long-term survey in Sweden come days after 10th anniversary of Ella Kissi-Debrah’s death in London

Reducing air pollution could improve lung function development in children and cut the numbers of young people with significant pulmonary impairments, research suggests.

The impact of air pollution on health has become a topic of intense concern in recent years, with research suggesting it can affect every organ in the body and the World Health Orgazisation noting children’s developing organs and nervous systems are more susceptible to long-term damage.

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The UK government announced on Thursday its intentions to further reduce electricity-related costs for certain domestic industries, aiming to level the playing field with foreign competitors, but raising questions related to how short-term relief squares with longer-term decarbonisation objectives.  

We are seeing a leader emerge who doesn’t promise quick fixes, but is committed to the long-term revival of broken Britain

Aside from being 28% ahead in the polls, a sure sign that a party is on the threshold of power, is its leader receiving a ferocious roasting on the BBC’s Today show. Keir Starmer, laying out his “five missions” covering the economy, the NHS, crime, the climate crisis and education, was stress-tested in that boxing ring on Thursday morning. He stood up to it pretty well, as you’d expect of a former chief prosecutor.

The line of attack on him is the one that he will face through the next election: why had he broken the pledges he made in his leadership campaign? Pledges, the BBC’s Amol Rajan claimed, are for life, echoing attacks from right and left. The Tory chairman, Greg Hands, said that Starmer would “say anything if the politics of that moment suit him”. Momentum said: “His promises lie in tatters, ditched in favour of the reheated third-way Blairism typified by these latest, vapid ‘missions’.” Sky asked him after his speech: “Why should anyone believe a word you say?”

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Farming leader Minette Batters says government needs to take action to tackle worsening water shortages

New reservoirs are needed across England to cope with increasingly severe water shortages that are putting the UK at risk of not being able to grow the food consumers require, a farming leader has warned.

Minette Batters, the president of the National Farmers’ Union of England and Wales, said failure to manage the country’s water adequately was creating problems for farmers and threatening food supplies.

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The National Archives of Australia has restored and made public hundreds of rare and fragile images, digitised from glass plate negatives and lantern slides, of early 20th century British and Australian Antarctic expeditions

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Preventing heat waste largely being ignored as solution to energy crisis, say environmental campaigners

Excess heat produced across Europe could almost power the entire region but preventing this waste is largely being ignored as a solution to the energy crisis, say environmental experts.

“The global energy crisis is a wakeup call to stop wasting energy,” said Toby Morgan, senior manager for the built environment at Climate Group, an environmental not-for-profit. “Now, more than ever, we need to make better use of the energy we already produce, we simply can’t afford to let it literally escape out the window. Energy efficiency improvements, like capturing and recycling excess heat, are absolutely critical to lower fossil fuel demand and lower bills.”

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Data released by the International Energy Agency leads to renewed calls for more emission cuts and block on new projects

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Methane emissions from Australian coalmines and gas production could be more than 60% higher than federal government estimates suggest, according to satellite and ground data released by the International Energy Agency (IEA).

The results of the Paris-based energy organisation’s annual methane tracker, released this week, led to renewed calls for the Albanese government to require emissions cuts at existing local and gas mines using existing technology and to block new developments.

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