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Australia announces a new stretch cost target for solar power of just $15/MWh, to help cut cost of green energy, green hydrogen, and green steel.

The post Australia aims for “ultra-low cost” solar to drive green energy transition appeared first on RenewEconomy.

The brutal arithmetic behind the prime minister’s carbon reduction plan leaves no place for coal. John Quiggin, Professor, School of Economics, The University of Queensland Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Every part of the region affected with extreme temperatures displacing millions of people

Asia suffered its hottest year on record in 2020, the United Nations has said ahead of the CoP26 summit, with extreme weather taking a heavy toll on the continent’s development.

The mean temperature pushed 1.39C above the 1981-2010 average, according to a report by the UN’s World Meteorological Organization.

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A Lords amendment sought to stop water companies dumping raw sewage – and 265 Tories voted against it. This faecal matter has become a powerful symbol of modern Britain

I remember the good ol’ days, when we weren’t always lurching from one crisis to another and we had time to wonder why the EU’s clean-beach legislation hadn’t done more for its popularity. Maybe people just didn’t care about sewage, one way or the other?

That was possibly the working assumption of Conservative MPs, who are now experiencing mounting unease – lobby-speak for freaking the hell out – over the environment bill that is ping-ponging through parliament. It’s a rangy piece of legislation, of which the faeces element is only a small part. A Lords amendment sought to put a duty on water companies not to dump raw sewage into the waterways – and 265 Tories voted against it. The website Evolve Politics published the list in full and thus crashed itself, so urgent was public interest in the names. Querulous Tories are taking to Twitter crying fake news, puzzled by the strength of public feeling.

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The Guardian has partnered with the Alycats, award-winning photographers who devote their time to fighting illegal wildlife hunting and poaching in Africa in support of the Singita Conservation Foundation. The Alycats have curated six prints exclusively for the Guardian Print Shop. As part of our collaboration, we will donate 50% of all print sales to support the foundation’s unswerving work

• Buy your exclusive print here

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How should the government approach the issue, and how are they willing to change their own lives?

• Climate crisis ‘needs same urgency seen at start of pandemic’

Forty people have kept diaries about their evolving attitudes to the climate crisis and the pursuit of net zero emissions after hearing from experts across the spectrum and reading UK party manifestos. Here some of the participants detail how they expect the government to deal with the issue, and how they are willing to change their own lives.

Sharif, 46, is a homeowner from Leeds who worked for HSBC but lost his job during the pandemic

Conscious of climate change, including saying he has watched the edge of a campsite lose 2 metres to erosion in 10 years

Installed solar panels to power appliances

Cutting down meat consumption

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UK report on public attitudes to net-zero target also finds widespread support for nationalisation

• Net zero diaries: three people on the climate crisis and the UK’s response

Ministers must tackle the climate crisis with the same urgency seen at the start of the Covid pandemic, according to in-depth research that also found widespread support for nationalisation and scepticism over the role of the private sector.

The Net Zero Diaries, a project run by the consultancy Britain Thinks to examine evolving attitudes to the pursuit of a net-zero emissions target, found support for strong-arm tactics from the government even among those who said they had low engagement with environmental issues.

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Owners of what would be world's biggest solar project welcomes Singapore plan to import up to 4GW of low-carbon electricity by 2035.

The post Sun Cable welcomes Singapore plan to import 4GW of electricity by 2035 appeared first on RenewEconomy.

The first big battery in NSW is registered and ready for testing and to accelerate the shift away from traditional fossil fuel technologies.

The post First Tesla big battery in NSW ready for testing and trials as “virtual machine” appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Despite the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic, global greenhouse gas emissions surged to new highs last year, UN-backed agency says.

The post World “way off track” as global emissions surge to new highs, WMO says appeared first on RenewEconomy.

The indirect losses from one heatwave in Western Australia caused A$4.14 billion per year worth of damage. Alistair Hobday, Senior Principal Research Scientist - Oceans and Atmosphere, CSIRO Dan Smale, Research Fellow in Marine Ecology, Marine Biological Association Kathryn Smith, Postdoctoral Research Assistant, Marine Biological Association Thomas Wernberg, Professor, The University of Western Australia Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

The 2050 target controversially omits new short-term goals and cuts to fossil fuel industries.

The HumeLink debacle highlights why transmission projects need far more scrutiny, far earlier in the development process.

The post Eleven lessons from the blow out in costs for HumeLink transmission line appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Morrison commits Australia to net zero emissions by 2050 that will not be law but will depend on unknown technologies, offsets and no new policies.

The post “A joke:” Morrison’s net zero plan has net zero detail, and no change to policies appeared first on RenewEconomy.

As more people try to live environmentally friendly lives, how do we make sex more sustainable?

His space company Blue Origin hopes its venture will replace the International Space Station.

Australia on Tuesday committed to reaching net zero emissions by mid-century while keeping its 2030 target unchanged, relying on technology developments and offsets to meet its ambition rather than new policies.

China’s environment ministry has ordered regional authorities to re-examine all ETS emissions data for 2019 and 2020 with just weeks to go before the first compliance deadline, amid revelations of reporting fraud this summer.

Small changes to our lifestyles and choices could limit our personal carbon footprint.

Hypernova hopes that its thruster technology will be adopted on thousands of future small satellites.