Feed aggregator

Dr Jan Rosenow from the global think tank, Regulatory Assistance Project, discusses why electric heat pumps are the most efficient heating technology ever invented, why overall energy demand will reduce by 40% if we electrify everything, and why energy efficiency is a key part of the electrification journey.

The post SwitchedOn Australia Podcast: Heat pumps are the most efficient heating technology ever invented appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Rather than viewing NSW as an outlier in its progress away from fossil fuels, we should consider it a precursor to other states following the same path.

The post In the flight to renewables, innovation is the key to consumer value appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Toys are the most plastic-intensive consumer goods in the world. So how can we avoid movie tie-in fads adding to the surging plastic waste problem? Alan Pears, Senior Industry Fellow, RMIT University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Countrywide Hydrogen says it will sell the hydrogen it produces in Tasmania directly via a new brand called H2Co Energy to keep down costs.

The post H2Co launches as green hydrogen retailer to keep fuel costs down appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Analysts call on government to make pumps mandatory for all new homes and scale up grants for installation in existing properties

The UK is lagging far behind France and other EU countries in installing heat pumps, research has shown, with less than a tenth of the number of installations despite having similar markets.

Only 55,000 heat pumps were sold in the UK last year, compared with more than 620,000 in France. Twenty other European countries also had higher installation rates than the UK.

Continue reading...

Huge Tassie wind farm trims turbine numbers and height as it appeals an order to shut down for five months a year to protect endangered parrots.

The post Giant wind farm sizes down in bid to beat turbine shutdown order appeared first on RenewEconomy.

The price for spot NZUs rose by NZ$10 on Monday, following the government agreeing in court to revisit the ETS price controls and settings.

Queensland promises $8.5m more to Korea-backed plans for green hydrogen export facility in new pitch on its key role in the Asia-Pacific supply chain.

The post Queensland promises millions more for massive green hydrogen export plans appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Italians told to prepare for most intense heatwave ‘of all time’ as one third of Americans remain under extreme heat advisories and records fall in Japan

• Millions in US under warnings as record heat expected to continue
• Southern Europe braces for second heat storm in a week

Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the extreme heat gripping large parts of the planet. I’m Emily Wind and I’ll be following the latest as Southern Europe braces for a second heat storm in a week while in America, more than 100 million people swelter under extreme heat advisories, with record-breaking heat expected to continue. Meanwhile there are deadly floods in South Korea and heat warnings in Japan.

Here is where things stand:

Italy, Greece and Spain, along with Morocco and other Mediterranean countries, have been told temperature records could be broken on Tuesday.

A new anticyclone that pushed into the region from north Africa on Sunday could lift temperatures above the record 48.8C (120F) seen in Sicily in August 2021, and follows last week’s Cerberus heatwave.

Temperatures in Rome are poised to climb to 42C or 43C on Tuesday. Nighttime temperatures remain above 20C, making it a struggle for people to sleep.

On the Canary island of La Palma, more than 4,000 people were evacuated from properties after a forest fire swept through the north-west of the island.

In the US there were advisories from coast to coast on the weekend, with the south-west and parts of the west hard hit and officials warning that conditions could get worse in Arizona, California and Nevada.

In Phoenix, Arizona, the forecast for Sunday was for 118F (47.7C) and it was expected to be the city’s 17th consecutive day of 110F (43.3C) or higher.

Emergency room doctors in Las Vegas have been treating more people for heat illness as the heatwave threatened to break the city’s all-time record high of 117F (47.2C).

The hot, dry conditions sparked a series of blazes in southern California south-east of Los Angeles.

In Japan, authorities issued heatstroke alerts to tens of millions of people in 20 of its 47 prefectures as near-record high temperatures scorched large areas and torrential rain pummelled other regions. Japan’s highest temperature ever - 41.1C first recorded in Kumagaya city in 2018 - could be beaten, according to the meteorological agency.

In South Korea, nine people died in a flooded tunnel, after heavy rains for the last four days triggered floods and landslides that killed at least 37 people and left nine missing. The country is at the peak of its summer monsoon season, with more rain forecast through Wednesday.

China on Sunday issued several temperature alerts, warning of 40-45C in the partly desert region of Xinjiang, and 39C in southern Guangxi region.

The human-caused climate crisis is supercharging extreme weather around the world, driving more frequent and more deadly disasters, from heatwaves to floods to wildfires.

Continue reading...

Plans to combine up to 4GW of wind, solar and battery storage in WA's Pilbara will be led by the traditional owners of Yindjibarndi lands in partnership with Acen.

The post “New benchmark” in renewables as Traditional Owners lead massive new Pilbara project appeared first on RenewEconomy.

A carbon credit ratings agency has partnered with an Australian climate markets platform to integrate its project ratings and quality assessments in the platform infrastructure.

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

Non-market factors have significantly influenced forest loss in Brazil, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Indonesia between 2000 and 2019, according to a new study, which highlighted the economic importance of forest conservation efforts even if reduced deforestation is temporary.

Too much red meat – and especially processed meat – is linked to cancer and heart disease. But moderation is the key – alongside better farming practices Katherine Sievert, Research Fellow in Food Systems, Deakin University Gary Sacks, Professor of Public Health Policy, Deakin University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

The South American country is running dry. But it can draw upon a history of social and political organisation to protect access

Almost two decades ago, Uruguay led the way as the world’s first country to enshrine the right to clean water in its constitution. Now it is parched and desperate. Residents can cross the reservoir serving Montevideo on foot. The capital has declared a water emergency, with officials warning that it is a matter of days before it runs dry. For months they have been eking out tap water supplies by adding brackish estuary water, telling pregnant women and people with serious health conditions not to drink it. Authorities have cut taxes on bottled water and are distributing it for free to the estimated one in seven people for whom it is unaffordable. Others are turning to wells.

The main culprit is the worst drought in more than 70 years. Though Uruguay is naturally rich in water, rainfall is highly variable due to the impact of La Niña and El Niño weather patterns. The problems are exacerbated by global heating, which makes dry years drier and rainy years wetter, as well as increasing evaporation losses. Neighbouring Argentina is beset by shortages already. Many more countries around the world face similar challenges – or soon will.

Continue reading...

Tanzania's burgeoning carbon credit industry is set to receive a substantial boost with investments over $20 billion expected from more than 20 companies from a series of countries.

Poland has lodged the first of a series of legal challenges against the EU’s Fit for 55 climate package, Climate Minister Anna Moskwa said late Friday, signalling a deepening row over the bloc’s environmental policies.

Reporting to the Carbon Finance Director, the Head of Carbon Sales will be responsible to lead the development of our carbon credit sales strategy and key lead for closing large, multi-year deals through both indirect and direct sales channels through our Carbon sales team.

Reporting to the Head of Carbon Operations Africa, the individual will be responsible to ensure BURN generates its carbon credits on time, in the scope and on budget by ensuring all carbon reports are prepared and submitted on time, and within the standard requirements.  

The government should put its money into teaching every child how to knit and sew if it really wants to avoid fashion waste

‘In France, we have no petrol, but we have ideas.” So goes a popular French saying born in the 1970s during the oil crisis. Said differently, France is a champion of quirky initiatives that can feel both admirable and somewhat pointless. The latest in a series of eco-friendly measures taken by the French government is the “repair bonus”. Instead of throwing into the bin a pair of ripped trousers, a bag with a broken strap or a moth-eaten polo neck, the state will pay for them to be mended at your local cobbler or retoucheur (sewing workshops). From October and for the next five years, we will be able to claim back between €6-€25 of the costs of mending our clothes and shoes with artisans who have joined the scheme.

The hope is to help create a virtuous circle, change habits for the planet’s sake (700,000 tonnes of clothing is thrown away in France every year), sustain local artisans and even create jobs in what we now need to call the “refashion” sector. Three years ago, a similar scheme encouraged my compatriots to fix their old toasters or rickety washing machines, rather than dispose of them out of frustration. Legislators even obliged companies to revise their obsolescence strategy by publishing a “repairability index” for each item produced. Consumers can now buy new home appliances knowing in advance how easy (or difficult) they are to repair.

Continue reading...