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In the years after Black Saturday, climate adaptation research was in full swing, creating knowledge in how to deal with the risks. But a series of funding cuts have left this research in decline. Rod Keenan, Professor, University of Melbourne Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Victoria's Country Fire Authority was founded in the aftermath of a previous bushfire tragedy – the 1939 Black Friday blazes. But its creation was a bigger political saga than many people realise. James (Jim) McLennan, adjunct professor, School of Psychology & Public Health, La Trobe University, La Trobe University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Climate change is making Tasmania more vulnerable to brutal fire conditions. Nick Earl, Postdoctoral associate, School of Earth Sciences, University of Melbourne Peter Love, Atmospheric Physicist, University of Tasmania Rebecca Harris, Climate Research Fellow, University of Tasmania Tomas Remenyi, Climate Research Fellow, Climate Futures Group, Antarctic Climate and Ecosystems CRC, University of Tasmania Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Climate scientist predict that the combined effect of ice loss in Greenland and Antarctica will be more extreme weather, with impacts on agriculture, infrastructure and human life itself. Nick Golledge, Associate Professor of Glaciology, Victoria University of Wellington Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

EUAs gained 2.3% after briefly topping €24 on Wednesday to continue this week’s choppy rally amid supportive power prices and a gap in the auction calendar.

Study says honeybees can learn to carry out exact numerical calculations

Honeybees can learn to add and subtract, according to research showing that while the insects have tiny brains, they are still surprisingly clever.

Researchers behind the study have previously found that honeybees can apparently understand the concept of zero, and learn to correctly indicate which of two groups of objects is the smaller.

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Scottish ecologist, conservationist and mountaineer who was a leading authority on the Cairngorms

Adam Watson, who has died aged 88, honed his exemplary skills as a field scientist and conservationist on the snowy and windswept tops of the Cairngorms, in the eastern Highlands of Scotland.

Obsessive, authoritative, energetic and compelling in his approach, he spent decades in scholarly observations on nature and natural phenomena in mountain environments. Studying birds and mammals, soil erosion and snow patches, and developing unrivalled datasets on longterm changes in nature, Adam amassed a treasure trove of vital information on the impacts of climate change and human land use.

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A Belgian minister quit this week amid a scandal resulting from mass climate protests, lifting global warming up the country's political agenda ahead of an election for which issues such as carbon pricing have been largely taboo.

The world is in the middle of what is likely to be the warmest 10 years since records began in 1850 say scientists.

• World 1.5F hotter than average set between 1951 and 1980
• Current five-year stretch the warmest since records began

Global temperatures in 2018 were the fourth warmest on record, US government scientists have confirmed, adding to a stretch of five years that are now collectively the hottest period since modern measurements began.

The world in 2018 was 1.5F (0.83C) warmer than the average set between 1951 and 1980, said Nasa and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa). This means 2018’s average global temperatures were the fourth warmest since 1880, placing it behind 2016, 2017 and 2015.

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Lowest Paris agreement target may temporarily be surpassed for first time between now and 2023

Global warming could temporarily hit 1.5C above pre-industrial levels for the first time between now and 2023, according to a long-term forecast by the Met Office.

Meteorologists said there was a 10% chance of a year in which the average temperature rise exceeds 1.5C, which is the lowest of the two Paris agreement targets set for the end of the century.

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Top scientists condemn State of the Union address and say future presidents must confront climate change as urgent priority

A climate scientist and a former government expert in the audience for Donald Trump’s annual address to Congress said this will probably be the last administration that can forego talking about climate change in the State of the Union speech.

Trump did not mention rising temperatures or extreme weather, although he did tout the country’s status as the top producer of oil and gas and boast about how quickly his officials have moved to cut regulations.

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Only 5% of shale gas company’s Blackpool well is fracked and it seeks lighter regulation

The shale gas firm Cuadrilla has expressed frustration that it was only able to frack a tiny section of its gas well near Blackpool because of the UK’s rules on minor earthquakes, suggesting it will only be able to resume fracking if the regulations are relaxed.

The company became the first to frack in the UK for years when it started operations last October at its Preston New Road site but was repeatedly forced to pause work because of the seismicity rules.

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Greece has received two bids for some of state-controlled utility PPC’s lignite assets, advancing the EU-mandated sale that has been under pressure from rising EUA prices and legacy costs.

Follow the journey of science reporter Jo Chandler as she chases the remarkable Queen Alexandra birdwing butterfly.

Offset crediting from projects set to deliver nearly 100 million carbon credits to the Australian government should be subject to discounts due to doubts about their environmental integrity, according to the nation’s top scientific body, CSIRO, and the New South Wales state government.

As a group of animal rights protesters roast a very realistic-looking fake dog on the streets of Sydney, butchers in France are attacked and campaigners in the UK hold noisy protests in supermarkets and restaurants, we look at whether vegan protests have become too extreme

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Simec Energy obtains licence to retail in Victoria, extending its reach to offer its “baseload renewable energy” product to businesses and large energy users.

The post Gupta’s Simec pushes into Victoria, says “baseload” renewables to “change the game” appeared first on RenewEconomy.

This week, SunWiz looks at Australia’s top solar PV retailers in each market segment in the bumper year that was 2018, based on data gathered from STC and LGC creation.

The post In record year for rooftop solar, who were Australia’s top PV retailers? appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Major parties under pressure to produce a plan for energy transition as new data highlights growing failures of ageing fossil fuel generators.

The post NSW under pressure to move quickly on renewables, as coal clunkers fail appeared first on RenewEconomy.