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To protect our local river we had to prove it was being used for swimming. But that, bizarrely, is the reason we were rejected

The state of Britain’s rivers is incredibly depressing: the water companies dump too much sewage, the farmers dump too much muck, and the regulators are too cowed and underfunded to do their job and stop them.

It wasn’t always this way. As a child I used to swim in the River Wye and I remember the clouds of mayflies in the summer, as well as huge leaping salmon. It was thanks to this wealth of wildlife that the Wye was classified as a special area of conservation along its whole length. Sadly, however, thanks to the failure of the Welsh and British governments to protect the river, much of this abundance is gone, and the Wye’s official status is now “unfavourable – declining”, thanks to pollution from manure and sewage.

Oliver Bullough is the author of Butler to the World: How Britain Became the Servant of Tycoons, Tax Dodgers, Kleptocrats and Criminals

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Major Australian companies and industry groups are at odds over whether the government should pursue a Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) to address carbon leakage, according to submissions under a government consultation.

A Tokyo-based direct air capture (DAC) startup has raised 250 million yen ($1.5 mln) in seed funding to complete the prototype of its DAC system and business expansion, the firm announced.

The World Economic Forum (WEF) and consultants McKinsey & Co have taken the lead in initiating a Frontrunners Coalition seeking to contribute to shaping the development of and building confidence in the emerging voluntary biodiversity credit market.

The largest people-owned wind farm in the UK has started generation, with more than 5,600 customer-owners..

The post “Real climate action to be proud of:” UK’s largest people-owned wind farm powers up appeared first on RenewEconomy.

A carbon project developer and international financial advisory have teamed up to launch an early-stage funding facility to invest in nature-based solutions in the Amazon and Africa, they announced Tuesday.

With the list of feasibility licence winners finally revealed, we take a closer look at who is who in the Gippsland offshore wind zone – and what they're proposing to build.

The post Offshore wind: Who’s who in the race to build Australia’s first project appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Producing energy from harvested trees and other plants – bioenergy – might sound like a greener option, but it’s not a simple issue. Jessica Allen, Senior Lecturer in Chemical and Renewable Energy Engineering, University of Newcastle Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

The Victoria battery maker has posted a video showing what happens to its cells versus what happens to an equivalent lithium ion version when penetrated with a nail.

The post Australian battery developer says its new lithium sulfur chemistry passes nail stab test, without exploding appeared first on RenewEconomy.

State government grants to back local manufacture of standalone power systems and wind turbine components.

The post State government grant to back local manufacture of standalone power systems and wind turbine parts appeared first on RenewEconomy.

UNSW says new study highlights major power losses from PV modules as it pushes to become testing hub for Solar Sunshot program.

The post UNSW cites PV module failures from poor materials as it pushes to be Solar Sunshot testing hub appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Trifluoroacetic acid found in drinking water and rain is thought to damage fertility and child development

Rapidly rising levels of TFA, a class of “forever chemical” thought to damage fertility and child development, are being found in drinking water, blood and rain, causing alarm among experts.

TFA, or trifluoroacetic acid, is a type of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substance (PFAS), a group of human-made chemicals used widely in consumer products that do not break down for thousands of years. Many of the substances have been linked to negative effects on human health.

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ASX-listed battery hopeful is sued by ASIC of breaching disclosure laws related to the state of its US gigafactory.

The post Six-minute EV battery hopeful faces court over alleged failure to disclose “parlous state” of US gigafactory appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Opposition energy spokesman Ted O'Brien prompts walkout at solar events after claiming Australia's renewable energy plans lead to regular blackouts.

The post Coalition’s O’Brien prompts walkout at solar event after claiming renewables will lead to blackouts appeared first on RenewEconomy.

A panel of judges from a US federal court denied a petition on Monday from a network of green groups against the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s (NRC) decision to grant an exemption to review California Diablo Canyon’s federal license renewal.

The Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) has found the Clean Energy Regulator’s (CER) supervision of the country’s carbon market to be “largely effective”, but noted opportunities to address weaknesses in its information systems used to administer the scheme.

Over two dozen local Mexican communities involved in the forestry voluntary carbon market (VCM) sent a letter Wednesday decrying a government proposal that would regulate VCM activities in the latest episode of a regulatory saga begun early this year.

California Low Carbon Fuel Standard's (LCFS) cumulative surplus bank once again soared to new heights as net credits for the last quarter of 2023 rose to record levels, according to state data published Tuesday.

The research aimed at lovers of white bread has been funded by the government to improve the health benefits of UK food.

A major carbon dioxide removals (CDR) buyer has outlined how private sector CDR claims can coexist with national emissions accounting, as the firm continues its efforts to scale the nascent market.