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Heavy rain and rising waters continue to take a deadly toll in countries including Nigeria, Thailand and Vietnam

It has been a drenched 2022 for many parts of the world, at times catastrophically so. A year of disastrous flooding perhaps reached its nadir in Pakistan, where a third of the country was inundated by heavy rainfall from June, killing more than 1,000 people in what António Guterres, the UN secretary general, called an unprecedented natural disaster.

While floods are indeed natural phenomena, a longstanding result of storms, the human-induced climate crisis is amplifying their damage. Rising sea levels, driven by melting glaciers and the thermal expansion of water, are increasingly inundating coastal areas, while warmer temperatures are causing more moisture to accumulate in the atmosphere, which is then released as rain or snow.

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Catastrophic floods around the world are triggering warnings of unprecedented natural disaster – and the human-induced climate crisis is amplifying the damage.

Floods are natural phenomena, a result of storms, but the climate crisis is amplifying their damage. Rising sea levels, driven by melting glaciers and the thermal expansion of water, are increasingly inundating coastal areas, while warmer temperatures are causing more moisture to accumulate in the atmosphere, which is released as rain or snow.

Scientists have said flash floods are becoming a problem in some countries, with short, severe bursts of rain causing anything from inconvenience to mayhem

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EUAs extended their rangebound trading in light trading early on Thursday as traders eyed technical signals that suggest the market is likely to break out of its month-long range, while energy prices rose for the first time in seven sessions amid signs of lower temperatures approaching the region.

ARENA backs AGL study to test new "thermal storage" technologies that could be used to retrofit its ageing coal and gas turbines.

The post AGL to study thermal battery options to retrofit ageing fossil fuel turbines appeared first on RenewEconomy.

A leading carbon project developer has partnered with three technology specialists to provide analysis into its forestry projects at a time of increased scrutiny into the quality of REDD+ and ARR credits.

EU regulatory efforts to spur the decarbonisation of shipping need to be strengthened to avoid the use of LNG as a transitional lower emissions fuel for vessels, a shift which would not only undermine efforts to realise climate goals for the sector but also mitigate the region’s energy security objectives, a non-profit think-tank has warned.

Europe’s largest coal-fired power plant could replace most of its lignite generation with renewables paired with batteries or lower-carbon thermal capacity, according to a report from a clean energy research group, outlining a strategy that would lower the overall power system costs in the Polish region where it is located while maintaining energy security.

Governments and companies across the Asia-Pacific plan to rely heavily on CCS to reach net zero, with annual storage expected in the several hundred million tonnes of CO2 by the early 2030s, most of it via cross-border projects, but so far regulators have been quiet about who would be earning the potential carbon credits for the activities.

Cultivating organic produce may be backbreaking, but it’s the most important thing I’ve ever done

In July 2016, I was sitting on the rooftop of a building in central London, listening to the gentle rumble of a nearby beehive, when I realised that my life had changed entirely. I didn’t intend to quit – quitting crept up on me. After eight years of working in the media, I was on a path to becoming an organic food grower, with a temporary side hustle of city beekeeping.

Not long before that point, I was just like the people in the office building below me. My work days were spent behind a desk or lugging around camera equipment, but now I am devoted to a life of nurturing the soil and growing the plants that end up on our plates.

Claire Ratinon is an organic food grower and writer

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The hugely popular Fully Charged Live "festival of electrification" will debut in Australia early next year, with a Sydney show supported by The Driven and RenewEconomy.

The post Fully Charged “festival of electrification” to debut in Australia appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Vena Energy confirms it plans a 2GW offshore wind farm in Victoria's Gippsland region with turbines up to 21MW each.

The post Vena Energy confirms plan for 2GW offshore wind farm in Victoria appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Participants in £33m scheme that improved 3,000 community spaces note confidence and wellbeing boost

Young people’s mental health, self-confidence and employability were boosted by participation in nature projects across the UK, according to a report on a £33m programme.

More than 128,000 people aged 11 to 24 took part in the Our Bright Future scheme. The 31 projects improved 3,000 community spaces and created 350 nature-rich areas, from a vandalised churchyard in Hull to a rewilded quarry in County Down. The programme was led by the Wildlife Trusts and funded by the National Lottery Community Fund.

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North Carolina reptiles showed extremely high levels of PFAS compounds and markers of immune disease in their blood

High levels of PFAS discharged into the Cape Fear River from a Chemours plant in Fayetteville, North Carolina, are likely making local alligators sick with autoimmune disorders that appear similar to human diseases like lupus, a new study finds.

The peer-reviewed study, published Thursday in the Frontiers in Toxicology journal, tested blood from alligators in the Cape Fear watershed that have been exposed to Chemours pollution for decades. The alligators showed extremely high levels of PFAS compounds and markers of immune disease in their blood.

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Global investment manager New Forests has partnered with three European development finance agencies to invest $200 million in a sustainable forestry fund for Sub-Saharan Africa, the Sydney-based company announced on Thursday.

Victoria’s new renewable plan is welcome - but it relies on building unsexy and challenging new transmission lines across the state. Tony Wood, Program Director, Energy, Grattan Institute Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Despite a climate-forward federal government and boosted targets, Australia is still heavily wedded to fossil fuels, both for energy and transport.

The post Fossil fuelled-Australia’s climate policies still don’t stack up against G20, says report appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Novonix has been tapped to get grant funding from the US Department of Energy as part of its strategy to build up America's battery supply chain.

The post Brisbane based battery innovator in running for $150m in US government funding appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Equis returns to Australia with a portfolio of 800MW of wind projects in Tasmania and a handful of bigger battery projects in four other states.

The post Equis returns to Australia with huge wind portfolio and five big battery projects appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Indonesian state-owned oil and gas company Pertamina has signed an agreement with the Indonesian Stock Exchange (IDX) to cooperate on carbon trading.

Solar thermal developer says it aims to establish a "CSP gigafactory" on Australian soil, after a successful trial at a pilot manufacturing plant.

The post Vast Solar plans “CSP gigafactory” for heliostats and receivers in Queensland appeared first on RenewEconomy.