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What would it witness in Azerbaijan? A species that knows it is destroying itself but is too greedy to change course

Imagine, as many people do, an all-seeing eye in the sky, looking down on planet Earth. Imagine seeing what it sees. It watches, over the course of decades, ice caps shrinking, rainforests retreating, deserts expanding, ocean circulation slowing, freshwater dwindling and sea levels rising, and it thinks – for it has been there since the beginning – “this is familiar”. All the signs are there, of an Earth system sliding towards collapse, as it has done five times since animals with hard body parts first evolved.

But this time, it knows, is different. Not only is one of the life forms causing the collapse, but it shares some of the eye’s supernatural abilities: it too can see what is happening. So, with heightened curiosity, the eye zooms in, to see what this well-informed being is doing to avert catastrophe.

George Monbiot is a Guardian columnist

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It is Day 5 at COP29 in Baku - Energy Day. After a messy Article 6 draft on trading rules was published on Thursday, with negotiators then demanded to work late to help slim down the 43 pages of text, signs of fatigue are setting in, just 48 hours before ministers arrive. On the energy front, the Azerbaijan presidency will announce a raft of pledges, and debate over the COP28 fossil fuels outcome is expected to be high on the agenda.

V2G technology, turning EVs into batteries on wheels, will be big – for drivers, households and the grid. Jon Sibley from enX explains why. Plus: News of the week.

The post Energy Insiders Podcast: Why batteries on wheels will be the next big thing appeared first on RenewEconomy.

New study assesses the impact of an emissions reporting rule change that enables open cut mines to select how they would like to report their methane pollution.

The post Australian coal mine emissions accounting trick could be hiding more than 10 million tonnes a year appeared first on RenewEconomy.

California regulator ARB’s Environmental Justice Advisory Committee (EJAC) on Thursday approved a set of recommendations for cap-and-trade programme revisions, which included calls to eliminate free allowances and offsets.

Australia can access all the cheap wind turbines, solar panels, batteries and EVs we want from a willing seller. Let’s not waste the opportunity.

The post We need to get the cost of wind energy down in Australia – Chinese turbines are the likely answer appeared first on RenewEconomy.

New report says steel makers counting on carbon capture to slash emissions are at risk of creating stranded assets.

The post Carbon capture won’t work for iron makers and steel makers, new report says appeared first on RenewEconomy.

The originator of the largest onshore wind farm currently underway in Australia has unveiled new plans to build a 1.5 GW project with a massive, four-hour battery in NSW.

The post WestWind goes big again, with plans for 1.5GW wind farm and 2,400 MWh battery in NSW appeared first on RenewEconomy.

A Toronto-based carbon credit financier eked out a small net profit in Q3 2024 despite further writing down the value of one of its projects.

California Carbon Allowances (CCA) futures sold off sharply through the week ahead of the last quarterly allowance sale – with traders concerned over the lack of movement on the regulatory front from ARB – diverting attention away from the increase in Washington Carbon Allowance (WCA) prices.

Fewer than one in six carbon credits issued through global mitigation projects represent genuine reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, according to a new study.

This week, nations are hashing out new goals for climate finance at the COP29 talks. Loss and damage is finally on the agenda – but the chance of major new funding is low Imraan Valodia, Pro Vice-Chancellor, Climate, Sustainability and Inequality and Director, Southern Centre for Inequality Studies, University of the Witwatersrand Julia Taylor, Researcher in Climate and Inequality, University of the Witwatersrand Katrina Lehmann-Grube, Associate Researcher in Climate Change and Inequality, University of the Witwatersrand Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Plans to build a 250MW solar farm and four-hour 150 MW battery energy storage system in NSW have been given state approval.

The post Solar farm and four-hour big battery get green light in NSW, after seven years in the pipeline appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Call for change comes after host country Azerbaijan's president calls oil and gas a 'gift of God'

The Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market (ICVCM) board has approved three REDD methodologies, which have yet to issue any credits, for the Core Carbon Principles (CCPs) label, it announced Friday, paving the way for millions of units to be issued with the high-integrity stamp.

The UK is setting out six new principles for trading voluntary carbon and nature credits, building on the initiatives by the Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market (ICVCM) and seeking to quickly bolster international trade under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement.

Future UN conferences should only be held in countries that show support for climate action, urge influential group

• Over 1,700 coal, oil and gas lobbyists granted access to Cop29, says report

Future UN climate summits should be held only in countries that can show clear support for climate action and have stricter rules on fossil fuel lobbying, according to a group of influential climate policy experts.

The group includes former UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon, the former president of Ireland Mary Robinson, the former UN climate chief Christiana Figueres and the prominent climate scientist Johan Rockström.

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Fossil fuel-linked lobbyists outnumber delegations of almost every country at climate talks in Baku, analysis finds

• Cop summits ‘no longer fit for purpose’, say leading climate policy experts

At least 1,773 coal, oil, and gas lobbyists have been granted access to the United Nations climate talks in Baku, Azerbaijan, a new report has found, raising concerns about the planet-heating industry’s influence on the negotiations.

Those lobbyists outnumber the delegations of almost every country at the conference, the analysis from the Kick Big Polluters Out (KBPO) coalition shows, with the only exceptions being this year’s host country, Azerbaijan, next year’s host Brazil, and Turkey.

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The UK is pledging nearly £80 million of funding to help developing countries roll out clean energy and shift away from fossil fuels, with a package of support that it said will position the country as a clean tech innovation leader.

The US Department of Energy (DOE) on Thursday announced $20.2 million in funding to support research and development efforts to convert algae into low carbon fuels and bioproducts.