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It is Day 9 of the COP28 climate conference, and weary (or wary) negotiators are returning from Thursday's rest day. Carbon Pulse correspondents are back on the scene at Expo City, having celebrated the break in negotiations by returning to our regularly scheduled programming: uploading non-COP news. With rumours of the Russian President in town, and the mood in negotiation rooms being described as "toxic", the UAE hosts have a big job on their hands. In our daily running blog, Carbon Pulse will report relevant or useful updates throughout the day. Timestamps are in local time (Gulf Standard Time, GMT+4).

Researchers warn of one of ‘largest ecological disasters of modern times’ if the highly contagious disease reaches penguin colonies

Bird flu is spreading in the Antarctic, with hundreds of elephant seals found dead, and fears it could bring “one of the largest ecological disasters of modern times” if the highly contagious virus reaches the remote penguin populations.

The virus was first reported among brown skua on Bird Island, off South Georgia. Since then, researchers and observers have reported mass deaths of elephant seals, as well as increased deaths of fur seals, kelp gulls and brown skua at several other sites. Cases have been confirmed 900 miles (1,500km) west of South Georgia, among southern fulmar on the Falkland Islands.

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RWE is proposing to install 145 turbines on around 14,000 hectares of farmland at Campbells Bridge in the Northern Grampians and Yarriambiack shires.

The post German energy giant RWE seeks social license for 1GW wind project in western Victoria appeared first on RenewEconomy.

UN climate chief calls for ‘highest ambition’ as nations wrangle over draft agreement

Negotiations on how the world can slash greenhouse gas emissions and stave off the worst impacts of the climate crisis will reach a fresh intensity over the next few days, with nations wrangling over whether to phase out or phase down fossil fuels.

For the remaining five negotiating days of the Cop28 UN climate summit in Dubai ministers will hold a series of meetings to try to break the impasse and present a text that sets out a roadmap for staying within a rise of 1.5C of global heating above preindustrial levels.

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COP28 host inaugurates world's largest concentrated solar power project, featuring the world’s tallest solar tower, at the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park.

The post World’s biggest CSP plant, with tallest solar power tower, inaugurated in Dubai appeared first on RenewEconomy.

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

The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality's (DEQ) policy board appointed a new deputy director and approved an amendment to its recent climate rulemaking to clarify the language for covered fuel suppliers at a special meeting on Thursday.

Amid all the doom and gloom on climate change, there are some good reasons for cautious optimism.

Vic SEC boss Chris Miller on the state-owned corporation’s first big battery play, and what’s next. Plus: All the news of the week.

The post Energy Insiders Podcast: Victoria’s SEC and its first big battery play appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Canada released the first progress report on its 2030 Emissions Reductions Plan (ERP), showing the country poised to reach an interim target in 2026, and expecting additional mitigation actions to help achieve the 2030 goal.

A US-based carbon management company recently enrolled 1.65 million acres (688,000 ha) of industrial American forestlands into its carbon projects, and has rebranded to reflect plans to advance its decarbonisation efforts through land conservation, the firm announced Monday.

Vast's concentrated solar plans have attracted another big-name backer, with EDF Australia pledging €10 million towards "multiple" CSP projects.

The post “Fantastic validation:” Vast solar thermal plans win backing of global energy giant appeared first on RenewEconomy.

El Niño looms large as we head into the Australian summer. But can everyone expect hot and dry weather? What drives the weather in your state? Kimberley Reid, Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Atmospheric Sciences, Monash University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Several non-profits have signed a jurisdictional REDD+ technical assistance partnership (JTAP) at COP28 to try and scale emissions reductions agreements between forest-rich governments and carbon credit buyers, actively looking to bring countries on board.

Genex lands 15-year contract for Kidston wind, paving the way for the completion of a unique trifecta of wind, solar and pumped hydro storage at the Queensland hub.

The post Genex bags another big customer to complete trifecta for unique Kidston wind, solar and storage hub appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Suppliers of building heating oil, propane, natural gas, and electricity in Massachusetts will be subject to a proposed Clean Heat Standard (CHS) as of 2026, the state's Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) outlined at a technical briefing on Thursday.

The pilot project opening in Sydney will use the best available evidence to keep vulnerable people cool on the hottest of days. Jane Currie, Professor of Nursing, Queensland University of Technology Jo River, Associate Professor, Mental Health Drug and Alcohol, UTS & Northern Sydney LHD, University of Technology Sydney Timothy English, Lecturer, School of Health Sciences, University of Sydney Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Albanese government contributes a foundational $100m to the Pacific Resilience Facility and rejoins Green Climate Fund with a $50m offering.

The post Australia mends Pacific ties with climate fund millions, but keeps coal alive appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Anna Mani, one of India's first women scientists, broke barriers to blaze a trail in meteorology.

The Dendrobium orchid is sacred to Taiwan's Tsou tribe, but it is getting harder and harder to find.