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Scientists will monitor the virus, but UK health chiefs say the risk to the public is very low.

A green hydrogen project that promises to be one of the first in Australia to produce at a commercial scale has signed up its first offtake partner.

The post First solar hydrogen project strikes offtake deal, to nearly double solar farm appeared first on RenewEconomy.

The UK hasn't seen a single named storm so far this autumn and winter. But why?

Solar panels can provide places for animals to rest, shelter and breed – potentially benefitting both the land and farmers. Eric Nordberg, Senior Lecturer (Applied Ecology and Landscape Management), University of New England Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Australian PV Institute launches new version of UNSW-developed online solar calculator, making it free to use for anyone seeking to install rooftop PV or a home battery.

The post UNSW rooftop solar mapping tool puts power in consumer hands – for free appeared first on RenewEconomy.

The Australian government has committed A$3 million ($2.1 mln) in grants to projects in the Christmas Island and Cocos Islands marine parks, which aim to protect some 745,000 square kilometres of ocean habitats and species.

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

ACT government switches on 10MW/20MWh Queanbeyan battery – one of at least two big batteries commissioned to aid the territory's shift to all-electric renewables.

The post ACT switches on its first big battery on path to full electrification appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Building too close to cliffs and slopes, weak soils, lack of vegetation and increased rainfall all played a part in the massive storm damage to Auckland. The city needs to change the way it uses land. Martin Brook, Associate Professor of Applied Geology, University of Auckland Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Two 10MW/1,000MWh multi-day iron-air battery storage systems will be deployed at two retiring coal plant sites in the US.

The post Retired coal sites to be transformed into multi-day iron-air batteries appeared first on RenewEconomy.

I am filled with grief at losing my friend at a time when we need his calm, direct voice more than ever

This week science lost one of its greatest Earth system experts, Australia lost a skilled, passionate communicator of climate science and the world lost a humble soul of the highest humanity, kindness and integrity. As did scores of others, I lost a colleague and friend when Will Steffen left us on Sunday after a battle with pancreatic cancer.

It is impossible to overstate Will’s impact on science. The many tributes to his work can only scratch the surface of his legacy. He led the effort to map the Great Acceleration of human impact on the physical and biological systems of our planet, culminating in consideration of the geological age of humans – the Anthropocene, first proposed by Nobel prize winner Paul Crutzen.

As the climate system continues to spiral towards a potentially uncontrollable state, I am struck with an increasing sense of both anger and apprehension. I’m angry because the lack of effective action on climate change, despite the wealth not of only scientific information but also of solutions to reduce emissions, has now created a climate emergency. The students are right. Their future is now being threatened by the greed of the wealthy fossil fuel elite, the lies of the Murdoch press, and the weakness of our political leaders. These people have no right to destroy my daughter’s future and that of her generation.

I’m apprehensive because the more we learn about climate change, the riskier it looks. Even at a 1 degree C rise in global temperature, extreme weather events are becoming more violent and dangerous than models have predicted. Over the last 5 years, our knowledge of tipping points in the Earth System has advanced rapidly, with many already showing signs of instability. Worse yet, they can interact like a row of dominoes to set off a tipping cascade, driving the Earth to hotter and more unstable conditions. That is my worst fear – that we may reach a ‘point of no return’ where we commit our children to a future of hell on Earth.

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In the final part of our Energy Transformed podcast series we look at Victoria’s ground-breaking path from brown coal to green energy, and the role that the new public utility will play in the transition.

The post Energy Transformed Podcast: Amping up – Victoria’s energy transition appeared first on RenewEconomy.

The forestry arm of a Japanese global trading company on Tuesday announced the launch of a US-based investment firm focused on nature-based carbon credits, with an eye to potential expansion outside of North America.

A report on Australia released by the International Monetary Fund Thursday has suggested the compliance cap on facilities covered by the Safeguard Mechanism is too generous to meet their proportional share of emissions cuts, and highlighted broader gaps in the government’s climate polices.

The pop-psychologist has turned his hand to exposing new audiences to old arguments from climate change deniers

Canadian psychologist and darling of conservatives and the alt-right, Jordan Peterson, has been on an all-out attack on the science of climate change and the risks of global heating.

Peterson has 6.3 million subscribers on his YouTube channel, and his videos also run as audio podcasts on platforms including Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Google Podcasts.

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New York Governor Kathy Hochul’s (D) budget presented Wednesday included a rebate fund for the state’s forthcoming economy-wide cap-and-invest programme, as the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) recently provided a timeline for when the administration could present draft regulations and begin holding auctions.

Power sector emissions in 2022 under the Massachusetts Global Warming Solutions Act (GWSA) cap-and-trade programme were above the adjusted cap for the third consecutive year as CO2 output in the fourth quarter increased year-on-year.

Ikea buys into $3 billion wind and battery project in Victoria as part of multi-billion dollar renewable spend.

The post Victoria’s biggest wind farm lures major new investor, with billions earmarked for renewables appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Concerns over the quality of carbon credits from Verra’s forestry projects are making headlines again, calling into question the validity of REDD+. This is a shame since ending deforestation is key to achieving a 1.5C world. But there is a solution, the UNFCCC REDD+ mechanism, write Kevin Conrad and Federica Bietta of the Coalition for Rainforest Nations (CfRN).

California files competing proposal on cutting water use of the river as hopes of western states reaching consensus fade

California filed a competing conservation plan for the Colorado River on Tuesday, just one day after opting out of a proposal put forward by six other western states, signaling a breakdown in negotiations over how to drastically cut water use from the imperiled waterway.

Officials with the Bureau of Reclamation had called on the states to come to a consensus on how to curb between 2 and 4m acre-feet or roughly enough water to supply 8m households for a full year.

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