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Natascha Engel says the government's approach to fracking has created a de facto ban on it.

Critical scientific assessment of humanity's impact on nature to be released after Paris negotiations.

Natascha Engel says developing the industry would be ‘an impossible task’

The government’s fracking tsar has quit the post after just six months, claiming policy relating to the controversial process means there is “no purpose” to her job.

Natascha Engel told the business secretary, Greg Clark, that developing the industry would be “an impossible task” despite its “enormous potential”. In her resignation letter, she said environmental activists had been “highly successful” in encouraging the government to curb fracking.

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We must draw on our history to find a way through the environmental crisis that faces us

Where I grew up, visits to Manchester’s Science and Industry Museum were a staple rainy-day activity. I remember the clanking of the huge, iron waterwheel and being amazed by its power. It was the plentiful rain, I was told, and the ingenuity of those behind the technology that powered the mills that ushered in the first industrial revolution, bringing Manchester and Salford into existence.

I remember thinking: if this is how far we’ve come in 200 years, what’s the future going to look like?

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Fred Pearce’s book Fallout is a fascinating insight into a few of the disastrous episodes which took place during the hasty and ill-informed projects of the nuclear age, Dr Helen Caldicott says.

Labour will attempt to force Commons vote as it is revealed that the government has failed to spend anti-pollution cash

Labour will this week force a vote in parliament to declare a national environmental and climate change emergency as confidential documents show the government has spent only a fraction of a £100m fund allocated in 2015 to support clean air projects.

Jeremy Corbyn’s party will demand on Wednesday that the country wakes up to the threat and acts with urgency to avoid more than 1.5°C of warming, which will require global emissions to fall by about 45% from 2010 levels by 2030, reaching “net zero” before 2050.

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Single-Column Responsive Email Template Melbourne Event / Webinar - 7th May 2019 The Sustainable Hydrogen / Ammonia Economy This event will be live webcast for members in other capitals and regional areas. Webinar option available when registering. Level 31, 600 Bourke Street Melbourne 5.30 pm for 6.00 pm Tuesday 7th May REGISTER FOR THIS EVENT Clean hydrogen is a versatile energy carrier and feedstock that can enable deep decarbonisation across the energy and industrial sectors. Australia has the resources and skills to build an economically sustainable domestic and export Hydrogen/Ammonia industry using electrolysers powered by renewable electricity. Hydrogen can help meet emissions targets by replacing fossil fuels in transport, mining and power generation, and provided energy security. Ammonia produced from Hydrogen can be stored and transported internationally, and converted back to Hydrogen to power trains, heavy transport ,mining machines, ships and industrial processes. The seminar will discuss the current production technologies and costs, and the Engineering profession’s role in influencing Government, Industry, and the community to ensure rapid transition to an economically sustainable domestic and export Hydrogen energy system. Presenters will focus on: The National Hydrogen Roadmap - Pathways to an economically sustainable hydrogen industry in Australia.. Hydrogen for Australia’s future - Brief for COAG Energy Council by Hydrogen Strategy Group and opportunities for Australia for hydrogen exports. Presenters: Dr. Patrick Hartley Research Director, Oil Gas and Fuels, CSIRO. Mr Martin Hablutzel, Head of Strategy, Siemens Ltd. Mr Tim Forcey, Climate and Energy College, University of Melbourne Patrick Hartley is the research director of the Oil, Gas and Fuels research program within CSIRO's Energy Business Unit. The program comprises 85 research staff and students working on applied research projects which span the energy resources value chain, with a particular emphasis on the sustainable development of Australia’s petroleum resources and on the associated challenges of large scale carbon dioxide storage. In 2018, he established CSIRO’s Hydrogen Energy Systems Future Science Platform. This major initiative focusses on addressing research challenges which underpin the development of hydrogen energy value chains in Australia. During this time, he co-led the formulation of CSIRO’s ‘National Hydrogen Roadmap, and, with the Chief Scientist of Australia, the briefing paper ‘Hydrogen for Australia’s Future’ which was presented to the Council of Australian Government’s (COAG) Energy council in August 2018. Martin Hablutzel has worked across all divisions from electricity generation, transmission, distribution and smart grid to the efficient application of electrical energy through automation and digitisation. Martin began his career at the (then) Hydro Electric Commission in Tasmania, joining Siemens in 1997 as a protection and control engineer. Subsequent roles in project engineering, project management, asset management, sales, marketing and executive management have given Martin broad exposure to the deployment of electrification, automation and digitalisation in diverse industries including utilities, resources, infrastructure, transportation and manufacturing. Martin holds a degree in electrical engineering from the University of Tasmania and an MBA from Deakin University. Martin will present “Water, the Coal of the future” (Jules Verne 1874) covering the technology and performance of Silyzer Proton Exchange Membrane electrolyser, cost of hydrogen, energy balance, water supply, applications and current projects. He will cover the management and use of hydrogen in power stabilisation, remote power, and heavy transport and the scalability of PEM’s for large export facilities. Tim Forcey is a Chemical Engineer with over 30 years experience in the oil and gas and petrochemical industries. He has acted as the Queensland Gas Pipeline commercial manager for Jemena, as Facilities and Operations Advisor for BHP in the Esso Bass Strait joint venture, and as Gas Principal for the Australian Energy Market Operator (known as AEMO).amongst other roles. More recently he has acted as an energy researcher and commentator with the University of Melbourne where he has investigated the climate impacts of, and alternatives, to fossil gas. His presentation Two faces of Hydrogen Blue or Green? will cover the huge opportunity for Australia in production and use of renewable hydrogen, but also warn of the efforts underway by the fossil fuel industry to co-opt the idea of hydrogen to sustain its business as usual… If you can't view this email click here to view online Click here to unsubscribe from this newsletter S

Single-Column Responsive Email Template Melbourne Event / Webinar - 7th May 2019 The Sustainable Carbon / Hydrogen Economy This event will be live webcast for members in other capitals and regional areas. Webinar option available when registering. Level 31, 600 Bourke Street Melbourne 5.30 pm for 6.00 pm Tuesday 7th May REGISTER FOR THIS EVENT Clean hydrogen is a versatile energy carrier and feedstock that can enable deep decarbonisation across the energy and industrial sectors. Australia has the resources and skills to build an economically sustainable domestic and export Hydrogen/Ammonia industry using electrolysers powered by renewable electricity. Hydrogen can help meet emissions targets by replacing fossil fuels in transport, mining and power generation, and provided energy security. Ammonia produced from Hydrogen can be stored and transported internationally, and converted back to Hydrogen to power trains, heavy transport ,mining machines, ships and industrial processes. The seminar will discuss the current production technologies and costs, and the Engineering profession’s role in influencing Government, Industry, and the community to ensure rapid transition to an economically sustainable domestic and export Hydrogen energy system. Presenters will focus on: The National Hydrogen Roadmap - Pathways to an economically sustainable hydrogen industry in Australia.. Hydrogen for Australia’s future - Brief for COAG Energy Council by Hydrogen Strategy Group and opportunities for Australia for hydrogen exports. Presenters: Dr. Patrick Hartley Research Director, Oil Gas and Fuels, CSIRO. Mr Martin Hablutzel, Head of Strategy, Siemens Ltd. Mr Tim Forcey, Climate and Energy College, University of Melbourne Patrick Hartley is the research director of the Oil, Gas and Fuels research program within CSIRO's Energy Business Unit. The program comprises 85 research staff and students working on applied research projects which span the energy resources value chain, with a particular emphasis on the sustainable development of Australia’s petroleum resources and on the associated challenges of large scale carbon dioxide storage. In 2018, he established CSIRO’s Hydrogen Energy Systems Future Science Platform. This major initiative focusses on addressing research challenges which underpin the development of hydrogen energy value chains in Australia. During this time, he co-led the formulation of CSIRO’s ‘National Hydrogen Roadmap, and, with the Chief Scientist of Australia, the briefing paper ‘Hydrogen for Australia’s Future’ which was presented to the Council of Australian Government’s (COAG) Energy council in August 2018. Martin Hablutzel has worked across all divisions from electricity generation, transmission, distribution and smart grid to the efficient application of electrical energy through automation and digitisation. Martin began his career at the (then) Hydro Electric Commission in Tasmania, joining Siemens in 1997 as a protection and control engineer. Subsequent roles in project engineering, project management, asset management, sales, marketing and executive management have given Martin broad exposure to the deployment of electrification, automation and digitalisation in diverse industries including utilities, resources, infrastructure, transportation and manufacturing. Martin holds a degree in electrical engineering from the University of Tasmania and an MBA from Deakin University. Martin will present “Water, the Coal of the future” (Jules Verne 1874) covering the technology and performance of Silyzer Proton Exchange Membrane electrolyser, cost of hydrogen, energy balance, water supply, applications and current projects. He will cover the management and use of hydrogen in power stabilisation, remote power, and heavy transport and the scalability of PEM’s for large export facilities. Tim Forcey is a Chemical Engineer with over 30 years experience in the oil and gas and petrochemical industries. He has acted as the Queensland Gas Pipeline commercial manager for Jemena, as Facilities and Operations Advisor for BHP in the Esso Bass Strait joint venture, and as Gas Principal for the Australian Energy Market Operator (known as AEMO).amongst other roles. More recently he has acted as an energy researcher and commentator with the University of Melbourne where he has investigated the climate impacts of, and alternatives, to fossil gas. His presentation Two faces of Hydrogen Blue or Green? will cover the huge opportunity for Australia in production and use of renewable hydrogen, but also warn of the efforts underway by the fossil fuel industry to co-opt the idea of hydrogen to sustain its business as usual… If you can't view this email click here to view online Click here to unsubscribe from this newsletter S

Action by 12 protesters in Colne Valley highlights damage they say is being done by rail project

Twelve Extinction rebellion activists have scaled trees in the Colne Valley nature reserve in west London to prevent HS2 operatives from chopping them down.

The activists have joined forces with Stop HS2 and Green party campaigners, along with local residents, to raise concerns about the destruction they claim the HS2 development is causing to the environment.

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

With grain stores ruined and many fields still under water from last month’s extreme weather, producers are facing devastating losses

Five weeks after historic flooding in the midwest, waters still cover pasturelands, corn and soybean fields. Much of the water has receded, but rivers still run high and washed out roads force people to take long detours. Residents in Missouri are putting their ruined possessions on the street and corn stalks heaped by floodwaters look like snowdrifts in the fields.

In March, more than 450,000 hectares (1.1m acres) of cropland and 34,000 hectares of pastureland flooded, according to an analysis of government and satellite data, prompting governors from Nebraska, Iowa, Missouri, Wisconsin and Minnesota to declare states of emergency.

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Tim O’Hara trawled the deep-sea floor and shows his catch to Matt Smith.

Its brain occupies just 1% of its brain case. John Long suggests development of the brain is arrested to allow growth of the rostral organ which is the basis of the animal sensing its food.

As sea level rises, economic impacts are being felt. A carpark in the tourist area of Annapolis floods more now at high tide. Visitor numbers are down. And turnover is drifting lower.

California Carbon Allowance (CCA) prices continued to surge despite transacted volume dipping amid an industry event this week, while RGGI Allowance (RGA) saw little activity after Virginia officials finalised their cap-and-trade emissions.

Cameco did not have to show if WA mine would lead to extinction of tiny fauna before its approval on 10 April

A multinational uranium miner persuaded the federal government to drop a requirement forcing it to show that a mine in outback Western Australia would not make any species extinct before it could go ahead.

Canadian-based Cameco argued in November 2017 the condition proposed by the government for the Yeelirrie uranium mine, in goldfields north of Kalgoorlie, would be too difficult to meet.

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California Carbon Allowance (CCA) prices need to quadruple to help support more ambitious carbon reduction policies, a state senator said Friday.

A Canadian government official on Friday revealed more details about Ottawa's development of a federal offset programme under its ‘backstop’ output-based pricing system (OBPS) for large emitters, though a change in government this fall could impact its future roll-out.

Questions raised over $80 million of water buybacks in 2017; The National Farmers Federation has joined forces with the red meat industry to launch advice for primary producers if they encounter trespassers; crop insurance hits a snag.

Professor Peter Waterhouse and the wonder plant Nicotiana benthamiana.