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Why have politicians outsourced the most important issue of our time to private agencies and individuals? We can’t do it all - this way lies disaster

There are several services and assets I would like to see nationalised. But at the top of my list is neither water, nor trains, nor development land, much as I’d like to see them brought under national or local public ownership. Above all, I want to see the nationalisation of my own business: environmental persuasion. I love my job. But I’m not very good at it. None of us is.

We face the greatest predicament humankind has confronted: the erosion and possible collapse of our life-support systems. Its speed and scale have taken even scientists by surprise. The potential impacts are greater than any recent pandemic, or any war we have suffered. Yet the effort to persuade people of the need for action has been left almost entirely to either the private or voluntary sectors. And it simply does not work.

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Australia's largest gas infrastructure business says it plans to spend most of its capex on bespoke renewables in the Pilbara over the next two years.

The post Gas giant says bundled renewables in Pilbara will unlock billions in growth appeared first on RenewEconomy.

New research examines how citizen science data contributes to decisions by governments and conservation organisations about which species are at risk of extinction, and how they can be conserved. Erin Roger, Sector Lead, Atlas of Living Australia, CSIRO Jasmin G Packer, Research Fellow in Wildlife Conservation, University of Adelaide Jodi Rowley, Curator, Amphibian & Reptile Conservation Biology, Australian Museum, UNSW Sydney Rachael Gallagher, Associate Professor, Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, Western Sydney University Thomas Mesaglio, PhD candidate, Evolution & Ecology Research Centre, UNSW Sydney Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

More than 150 councillors join 15,000 members of the public calling for urban areas to be free of the chemicals

The UK should copy Paris and ban pesticides in urban areas, campaigners and local councils have said.

Drawing attention to how the capital city of France still looked pristine while hosting the Olympics, the Pesticide Action Network (PAN) has said the same can be true of UK towns and cities.

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Madrid study finds people from below-average income groups more likely to die in heatwaves

Scorching temperatures across Europe have killed tens of thousands of people in recent years. But as fatalities rise, researchers are finding that one group is disproportionately bearing the brunt of extreme heat: those living in poverty.

“It’s common sense,” said Julio Díaz Jiménez, an investigative professor at Madrid’s Carlos III health institute. “A heatwave is not the same when you’re in a shared room with three other people and no air conditioning, as when you’re in a villa with access to a pool and air conditioning.”

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The Australian government has said its work to strengthen the integrity of the country’s carbon crediting scheme is well in hand in its response to both the 2023 and 2020 review of the market by the Climate Change Authority (CCA).

Snowy Hydro confirms that its new "fast-start, on demand" Hunter Power Plant will begin operations, not on hydrogen, not on gas, but on costly and polluting diesel fuel.

The post Snowy confirms controversial and costly NSW gas plant will start operations fuelled by diesel appeared first on RenewEconomy.

The cameras that made the falcons a social media phenomenon are rolling again for a new breeding season, capturing a new female falcon incubating an egg atop Melbourne's Collins Street skyscraper. There are high hopes for this season after last year’s eggs were unable to hatch after the female stopped incubating, likely due to a territorial dispute

• New peregrine in town: female falcon becomes latest to nest atop Melbourne skyscraper

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It seems less and less likely an energy only market is the right design for a heavily renewables grid.

The post Australia’s energy only market is setting up a lose-lose situation for new wind and solar appeared first on RenewEconomy.

The Colombian Ministry of Environment will present a resolution this week for a public consultation aimed at establishing its long-awaited emissions trading system (ETS), according to local media.

Colorado commenced a series of workshops on Tuesday to inform forthcoming rulemaking to reduce methane pollution from municipal solid waste landfills.

The New York GOP unveiled a proposal Friday to delay emissions reduction targets under the state's climate law, arguing more time is needed for clean energy projects to develop at affordable rates.

A New York state retirement fund announced Tuesday that it had reached climate-related agreements with several companies within its portfolio, while also boosting its investments in a climate index fund by another $2 billion.

Two public authorities in Brazil launched last week a R$6 billion ($1.1 bln) joint call providing R$6.6 billion ($1.1 bln) in funding for sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and maritime biofuel projects.

A global consulting firm has partnered with a direct air capture (DAC) project developer to help inform the design of large-scale CO2 removal plants, the companies announced Tuesday.

A Canadian nuclear science and technology laboratory won federal funding to develop two low-carbon transportation fuel projects, the firm announced last week.

A property and land surveyor with global operations released a satellite and AI-driven tool to map landscapes for forest carbon projects.

The Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) on Wednesday launched sector-specific guidance for companies and financial institutions in the buildings value chain to set emissions reduction targets in line with a 1.5C future.

Australia is headed for a future where solar is on every rooftop. The electricity market must be redesigned to see this as a resource to slash consumer bills – and not a risk. 

The post Solar saturation: Seven changes to the electricity market needed to put consumers first appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Beth Bridge is working to create the conditions which will let these endangered mammals thrive again.