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Consumer watchdog urged to investigate ‘misleading’ Australian oil and gas industry PR campaign
Climate campaigners complain to ACCC over Appea ad that claimed gas was ‘50% cleaner’ than coal
Environmental campaigners have asked Australia’s consumer watchdog to investigate an oil and gas industry public relations campaign that critics claim is misleading the public on the climate effects of fossil fuel.
The Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association (Appea) last month dropped a claim in its “Future of Gas” advertising campaign that gas was “50% cleaner” than coal.
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Continue reading...Airlines could ditch flights to Australia to meet future emissions promises, parliament told
Operators warn long-haul routes to nation risk being ‘priced out’ of international aviation when carbon pricing takes effect over next decade
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International airlines could cut back flights to Australia in coming years because the high-polluting long haul routes stand out as low-hanging fruit to meet future environmental commitments, the country’s parliament has been warned.
Mandatory emissions reductions schemes for global aviation are still being negotiated. However, Australia risks being “priced out” of the international aviation network when carbon pricing and other binding targets begin taking effect over the next decade, the Australian Airports Association (AAA) said in a submission to a parliamentary inquiry.
Continue reading...Post-menopausal killer whales defend their sons from aggressors, study finds
Males show fewer tooth-rake marks when mothers are present and have stopped breeding, research shows
Post-menopausal killer whales protect their sons from getting injured in fights with other whales, scientists have found.
The study showed that males showed fewer tooth-rake marks – scars left when whales scrape their teeth across another’s skin – when their mother was still present and had stopped breeding. But the protective effect did not extend to daughters.
Continue reading...INTERVIEW: Britain needs an economy-wide ‘carbon regulator’ to harmonise future climate policy
One of world’s biggest offshore wind project grinds to a halt over costs
One of the world's biggest offshore wind projects has been halted because of a big jump in costs, raising questions about the UK's renewable plans.
The post One of world’s biggest offshore wind project grinds to a halt over costs appeared first on RenewEconomy.
Fortescue Future buys up “fast moving” US green hydrogen project
Fortescue Future Industries has spent $US24 million to buy the company behind a proposed green hydrogen project in Arizona in the US.
The post Fortescue Future buys up “fast moving” US green hydrogen project appeared first on RenewEconomy.
‘Highly unusual’: the surfboard-swiping sea otter eluding California authorities
The state’s wildlife department is concerned the friendly fur-covered swimmer has become too acclimated to humans
A five-year-old sea otter who gained notoriety for commandeering surfboards has continued her reign as a viral sensation as she’s managed to avoid multiple efforts to capture her.
For days, staff with California’s department of fish and wildlife (CDFW) and the Monterey Bay aquarium have attempted to catch otter 841 – but she has given them the slip each time.
Continue reading...EU approves steel industry aid from Germany and France
Judge rejects challenge to Surrey Hills oil and gas exploration plans
Campaigners lose judicial review of decision to approve plan by UK Oil & Gas to drill on agricultural land
Fossil fuel prospectors have cleared another hurdle on their path to drill for oil and gas near an area of outstanding natural beauty (AONB) in the Surrey Hills after campaigners lost a judicial review of the plan.
Opponents of the plan to sink an exploration well near the village of Dunsfold argued it was inconsistent with a decision to refuse a similar application on the basis of the greenhouse gas emissions it would produce.
Continue reading...I thought the government’s plan to protect Britain from extreme heat would be bad. It’s worse than that | Bill McGuire
Politicians seem to have no idea of the action required if we want to keep a functioning society and economy
- Bill McGuire is professor emeritus of geophysical and climate hazards at UCL
It’s hard not to wonder if the government is living on another planet. One that isn’t in the grip of the highest temperatures ever recorded, where tens of thousands of people are not dying every summer in blistering heatwaves, where the oceans aren’t boiling. This is the only explanation for the colossally inadequate national climate adaptation programme released this week.
There is so much wrong with it that it’s hard to know where to begin. The programme actually constitutes the third of three five-year plans, and therein lies the main problem. You can’t plan in five-year chunks for climate mayhem that is set to last for decades, probably centuries. If it is to make living in Hothouse Britain safer and more bearable, any plan worth its salt has to look much further ahead and take in the bigger picture.
Continue reading...Gas boiler lobby trying to delay UK’s heat pump plans, leak shows
Trade association, which promotes hydrogen for home heating, called for clean heat market mechanism to be pushed back to 2026
Lobbyists for the gas boiler industry are trying to delay the introduction of new government measures to speed up the take-up of heat pumps, a leaked document shows.
The move, in a draft document obtained by the DeSmog investigative journalism group and seen by the Guardian, appears to be part of an intensive two-year lobbying effort by a key gas boiler industry organisation, which has been critical of heat pumps, and promoted hydrogen for home heating to government and opposition parties, despite strong evidence of its unsuitability.
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