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While Europe is battered by the climate crisis, governments must reassure voters that green costs will be fairly shared

“At a time when we should be accelerating action, there is backtracking … We are hurtling towards disaster, eyes wide open.” A few months ago, the UN secretary general António Guterres used these words to warn that the collective battle against the climate crisis is losing political steam. Guterres was right: the collective response is pitiful. But it’s not just the politicians.

Clear evidence of climate fatigue emerges from recent opinion polls on voting intentions in the next European parliament elections, in June 2024. While European green parties are expected to lose more than a third of their seats, rightwing climate-sceptic conservatives are expected to win big.

Francesco Grillo is a visiting fellow at the European University Institute, Florence and director of the thinktank Vision

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

The world is still on track to produce more than twice as much fossil fuel in 2030 than would align with the Paris Agreement to curb global warming, and unless governments tackle this by collaboratively phasing out production the gap will only widen, a UN-backed report warned on Wednesday.

Plans by nations including Saudi Arabia, the US and UAE would blow climate targets and ‘throw humanity’s future into question’

The world’s fossil fuel producers are planning expansions that would blow the planet’s carbon budget twice over, a UN report has found. Experts called the plans “insanity” which “throw humanity’s future into question”.

The energy plans of the petrostates contradicted their climate policies and pledges, the report said. The plans would lead to 460% more coal production, 83% more gas, and 29% more oil in 2030 than it was possible to burn if global temperature rise was to be kept to the internationally agreed 1.5C. The plans would also produce 69% more fossil fuels than is compatible with the riskier 2C target.

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Scientists find average levels of nitrogen dioxide almost twice as high in homes cooking with gas as in those cooking without

Gas cookers are pumping toxic particles linked to childhood asthma into kitchens, living rooms and bedrooms across Europe, a report has found.

Dutch scientists measured the air quality in 247 homes and found average levels of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) were almost twice as high in those cooking with gas as in those cooking without. One in four homes with gas cookers breached hourly pollution levels set by the World Health Organization, while none of the homes in the control group, which used electric cookers, broke the limits.

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Representatives from climate groups and electricity utilities continued to provide feedback to California regulator ARB regarding changes to the state's cap-and-trade regulations, while a petroleum association opposed increased programme stringency.

In a speech in Adelaide, federal energy minister doubles down on 82% renewables target and hints at new policy initiatives to "amplify" efforts to reach it.

The post Bowen says accelerating switch to renewables essential to “keep the lights on” appeared first on RenewEconomy.

A company addressing the coal-seam gas industry's waste brine problem is on Energy Estate's radar, both as a renewables customer and a green hydrogen partner.

The post Energy Estate backs CSG water treatment tech with view to green hydrogen future appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Australia’s Woodside Energy has made incremental progress on its CCS ambitions, but its investor briefing day held Wednesday offered little new in terms increased progress or ambition on its climate and decarbonisation goals.

Chinese regulators have released an action plan for the country to better tackle methane emissions, outlining several policy tasks including the utilisation of the domestic voluntary carbon market, despite a lack of substantial targets.

The last five months have "obliterated" temperature records, linked to carbon emissions and El Niño.

Last month was hottest October since records began, with average global temperature thought to be 1.7C above late-1800s levels

The world is set to have been hotter in 2023 than in any other year on record, scientists have declared, before a landmark climate summit this month.

“We can say with near certainty that 2023 will be the warmest year on record, and is currently 1.43C above the pre-industrial average,” said Samantha Burgess, the deputy director of the Copernicus Climate Change Service. “The sense of urgency for ambitious climate action going into Cop28 has never been higher.”

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In 1997, John Howard chose expansion of Australian fossil fuels over Pacific concerns about climate change. Will Albanese finally mend the rift? Wesley Morgan, Research Fellow, Griffith Asia Institute, Griffith University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Australia’s financial system must urgently transform itself to meet the climate challenge.

The post Making money green: Australia takes first steps towards a net zero finance strategy appeared first on RenewEconomy.

A biologist says while unusual, cross-species adoptions happen when animals respond to certain cues.

EEX’s European carbon trading volumes nearly doubled in October compared to a year ago after the exchange implemented a new market-maker programme that it said has had a positive impact.

New turbine blade transport technology deployed at the 923MW MacIntyre wind farm will drastically reduce the impact on farmland and vegetation.

The post “Marvel of engineering:” Giant wind turbine transporters find their way to Australia appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Battery storage is changing the grid: Neoen provides insight into how they make money, including three new revenue streams.

The post Australia’s big batteries: What do they do and how do they make money? appeared first on RenewEconomy.

BlackRock and US-based energy firm Occidental have teamed up to develop the world's largest direct air capture (DAC) facility, with the global investment giant channelling $550 million of client funds into the project.

Tuesday's election to determine who occupies the 40 Senate and 100 House of Delegates seats in the Virginia General Assembly is too close to call, and could impact the ongoing battle to bring the state out of the RGGI trading bloc.