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The 50 beautiful Australian plants at greatest risk of extinction — and how to save them
Despite major conservation efforts, populations of New Zealand's iconic kiwi are more vulnerable than people realise
Biden approves first major offshore wind farm in US
Approval of 800MW Vineyard Wind is first step in Biden Administration's goal of 30GW of installed capacity of offshore wind power by 2030.
The post Biden approves first major offshore wind farm in US appeared first on RenewEconomy.
Huge marine parks off Christmas and Cocos islands targets illegal foreign fishing
Morrison government will spend $5.4m creating parks in an area more than twice the size of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park
Australia is adding an area of the Indian Ocean bigger than France to its network of marine parks in an attempt to keep out international fishing boats and promote scientific discovery in two biodiversity hotspots.
The Morrison government announced $5.4m would be spent to create two marine parks around Christmas Island and the Cocos (Keeling) Islands covering 740,000 sq km – a huge expanse of ocean almost as large as the state of New South Wales.
Continue reading...Power and industry emissions curbs face significant tightening under amended German climate law
Iberdrola maintains rapid drop in Q1 thermal output, EDF emissions tick higher
Almost 380 mln more EU carbon permits headed to MSR after pandemic inflates ETS surplus in 2020
Climate emissions shrinking the stratosphere, scientists reveal
Exclusive: Thinning indicates profound impact of humans and could affect satellites and GPS
Humanity’s enormous emissions of greenhouse gases are shrinking the stratosphere, a new study has revealed.
The thickness of the atmospheric layer has contracted by 400 metres since the 1980s, the researchers found, and will thin by about another kilometre by 2080 without major cuts in emissions. The changes have the potential to affect satellite operations, the GPS navigation system and radio communications.
Continue reading...Boris Johnson’s advisers may push for a virtual Cop26. He should ignore them | Fiona Harvey
The UK must risk an in-person meeting in Glasgow if this crucial climate conference is to be a success
Walkouts, standoffs, shouting, tears, bloodletting – the UN climate Cops have seen it all. The annual meetings, in which all countries bar a few failed states take part, under the 1992 UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), are the only global forum for discussing the future of the planet. They have veered between triumph and disaster, marked by dramatic and sometimes traumatic moments. At their best they can be momentous events, shifting the world’s response to the climate crisis into a higher gear, as at the landmark Paris Cop in 2015.
This year’s 26th conference of the parties, postponed from last year because of Covid-19 and shaded by the pandemic, will be different. Scheduled to take place in Glasgow in November, these will be the most important talks since 2015. At Cop26, countries will lay out their plans for curbing greenhouse gas emissions this decade – probably the last decade in which we still have a chance of limiting global heating to 1.5C, beyond which corals bleach, low-lying islands face inundation and extreme weather will take hold.
Continue reading...California’s carbon floor price set to exceed $19 in 2022 as inflation jumps in April
EU Midday Market Brief
Chemical giants hid dangers of ‘forever chemicals’ in food packaging
DuPont and Daikin, manufacturers of ‘short chain’ PFAS, did not inform regulator the FDA negative results of tests on animals
Chemical giants DuPont and Daikin knew the dangers of a PFAS compound widely used in food packaging since 2010, but hid them from the public and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), company studies obtained by the Guardian reveal.
The chemicals, called 6:2 FTOH, are now linked to a range of serious health issues, and Americans are still being exposed to them in greaseproof pizza boxes, carryout containers, fast-food wrappers, and paperboard packaging.
Continue reading...Joe Biden’s 50% emissions goal is ambitious. But it’s still not enough | William J Ripple
Addressing the climate crisis will be the greatest undertaking in the history of humankind. We have to give it all we have
Joe Biden wants to cut US emissions in half from their 2005 levels. However, since emissions have been slowly declining since then, this amounts to only a 37% drop from 2020 levels.
That, in a nutshell, is the issue. Our leaders are adhering to a template that doesn’t meet the urgency of the moment. The US is not even the world’s largest emitter any more, and China – the biggest polluter – seeks to build more coal-fired power plants, failing to reach carbon neutrality until 2060. Unfortunately, that is a perfect illustration of just how disconnected we are from the gravity of the situation.
Continue reading...Idaho is going to kill 90% of the state’s wolves. That’s a tragedy – and bad policy | Kim Heacox
Fed by myths, fairytales and Disney, America’s demonization of wolves has been going on for centuries, and continues full throttle
Nothing embodies wildness like wolves, our four-legged shadow, the dogs that long ago refused our campfire and today prefer freedom and risk over the soft sofa and short leash. The dogs that howl more than bark, add music to the land, and – if left alone to work their magic – make entire ecosystems healthy and whole.
Related: Idaho bill seeks to kill more than 1,000 wolves
Continue reading...Pay dirt: $200 million plan for Australia's degraded soil is a crucial turning point
Growatt’s ARK battery wins ‘All Quality Matters’ award
Growatt has won an 'All Quality Matters' award for the outstanding performance of its ARK battery in the organisation's PVE Test Program.
The post Growatt’s ARK battery wins ‘All Quality Matters’ award appeared first on RenewEconomy.
UK’s deep-sea mining permits could be unlawful – Greenpeace
Licences given to arms firm Lockheed Martin said to go against government’s stance on exploiting seabed
Deep-sea mining exploration licences granted by the British government are “riddled with inaccuracies”, and could even be unlawful, according to Greenpeace and Blue Marine Foundation, a conservation charity.
The licences, granted a decade ago to UK Seabed Resources, a subsidiary of the US arms multinational Lockheed Martin, have only recently been disclosed by the company.
Continue reading...One in four cities cannot afford climate crisis protection measures – study
Survey of 800 cities around world finds almost 43% do not even have plan to adapt to impacts of global heating
One in four cities around the world lack the money to protect themselves against the ravages of climate breakdown, even though more than 90% are facing serious risks, according to research.
Cities are facing problems with flooding, overheating, water shortages, and damage to their infrastructure from extreme weather, which is growing more frequent as the climate changes. A survey of 800 cities, carried out by the Carbon Disclosure Project, found that last year about 43% of them, representing a combined population of 400 million people, did not have a plan to adapt to the climate crisis.
Continue reading...“They’re going broke”, ESB chair says coal plant closures now unavoidable
ESB chair says not to worry about when coal plants might close, because they're already going broke.
The post “They’re going broke”, ESB chair says coal plant closures now unavoidable appeared first on RenewEconomy.
More solar price falls will lead to “insanely cheap” electricity by 2023
Solar photovoltaic pioneer Professor Martin Green says solar module prices will continue to plummet, reaching 10 US cents per watt by 2023.
The post More solar price falls will lead to “insanely cheap” electricity by 2023 appeared first on RenewEconomy.