Feed aggregator

CSIRO-backed hydrogen hopeful Endua has raised another $11.8 million from existing and new investors to develop its 100 kW hydrogen energy storage unit.

The post Australian start-up raises $11.8m for small scale hydrogen ‘battery’ appeared first on RenewEconomy.

NSW energy minister Penny Sharpe says the Energy Security Corp will help address the spiralling costs of pumped hydro which lost out to battery storage in a recent tender.

The post NSW Energy Security Corp to address “spiralling costs” of pumped hydro projects appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Campaign group says plastics are incompatible with circular economy as countries prepare for treaty talks

Recycling plastic can make it more toxic and should not be considered a solution to the pollution crisis, Greenpeace has warned before the latest round of negotiations for an international plastics treaty.

“Plastics are inherently incompatible with a circular economy,” the global environmental network said in a report that brings together research showing recycled plastics are more toxic than their virgin constituents.

Continue reading...

The G20 should act to catalyse funding for the blue economy transition through targeted financial instruments like debt-for-nature swaps, blue bonds, and outcome-based payments, according to an engagement group set up under India’s G20 presidency.

Tech firm founded by Australians Mike Cannon-Brookes and Scott Farquhar says net zero must be achieved by cutting emissions by 90% and only offsetting the remainder

• Follow our Australia news live blog for the latest updates
• Get our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcast

As corporate reports go, the title of Aussie tech firm Atlassian’s guide for other companies to cut their greenhouse gas emissions is as direct and flavoursome as they come: “Don’t F&*! The Planet.”

The firm, founded by Australians Mike Cannon-Brookes and Scott Farquhar, says it is already running its operations on 100% renewable electricity and has a “science-based target” to reach net zero emissions no later than 2040.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Australia could split biodiversity certificates into separate offsetting and non-offsetting methodologies in its nature repair market (NRM), to give buyers and landholders broader choice and confidence in how they engage with the scheme, according to a government official.

The state’s native forest industry will stop by the end of the year – six years ahead of schedule

• Follow our Australia news live blog for the latest updates
• Get our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcast

By the end of the year, Victoria’s trouble-plagued native forest industry will end – six years ahead of schedule. The state’s iconic mountain ash forests and endangered wildlife will at last be safe from chainsaws. And there will be no shortage of wood – there’s more than enough plantation timber to fill the gap.

Yesterday’s announcement by Premier Daniel Andrews is excellent news for forests, the state’s economy and its threatened species. We congratulate the Victorian government for this decision.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

David Lindenmayer is a professor at Fenner School of Environment and Society, Australian National University. Chris Taylor is a research fellow at Fenner School of Environment and Society, Australian National University. This article was originally published in The Conversation

Continue reading...

Floating wind turbines are emerging as a promising solution – but turbines are also getting bigger at a rapid rate. So how do these colossal structures remain in place?

The post How we stop floating wind turbines the size of skyscrapers from drifting away appeared first on RenewEconomy.

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

*PREMIUM LISTING - Following business expansion, the Company is now recruiting for a Portfolio Manager/Senior Carbon Trader who will work closely with the investment and research team in managing the World Carbon Fund. 

Budget 2023’s investment in public transport will have far-reaching benefits for the climate and for overall wellbeing. But our study shows young people want much more. Kate Prendergast, Post-Doctoral Fellow in Political Science, University of Canterbury Bronwyn Hayward, Professor of Politics, University of Canterbury Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

The footprint of eight of the most developed existing biodiversity crediting schemes covers more than 800,000 hectares with $8 million in funding so far pledged toward investment in the creation of the resulting units, a report has estimated, also assessing each mechanism's credentials across various criteria, such as additionality and scalability.

Carbon market exchange operator Xpansiv on Tuesday announced it is launching the first California Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) spot contract this summer, as the clean transportation market continues to grow in relevance.

Stakeholders urged California regulator ARB to separate an increased stringency rulemaking from other Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) programme design changes also under consideration, in the event the regulator encountered delays in rollout of its forthcoming amendment package, a webinar heard Tuesday.

UK financial institutions are ahead of their counterparts worldwide in setting defined climate goals and implementing climate action, according to a report due to be launched on Wednesday.

Compliance entities regulated under the power sector RGGI programme grew closer to filling their compliance shortfall during Q1 as their allowance holdings nearly matched outstanding CO2 obligations, according to a report published Tuesday.

The first shift in Brazilian carbon market regulation under President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has begun after local media reported of an impending scrap of last May's presidential decree from right-wing predecessor Jair Bolsonaro, while a Senate committee has scheduled a hearing on a related bill this week that could draw executive branch backing.

The optimal trade-off between restoring habitat and crop production hinges on pollinators. A new study shows giving pollinators more natural habitat on the farm leads to big increases in production. Sofía López-Cubillos, Postdoctoral research fellow, The University of Melbourne Rebecca K. Runting, Senior Lecturer in Spatial Sciences and ARC DECRA Fellow, The University of Melbourne Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Still more public funding is needed to scale up manufacturing of clean technologies in the EU, industry experts told EU lawmakers on Tuesday, stressing that the entire CCUS sector should also be elevated to 'strategic technology' status in the bloc's proposed Net Zero Industry Act.

A global energy company on Tuesday signed an MoU on with the Vietnam Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD), aiming to cooperate on agri-feedstock and nature-based carbon credits.