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INTERVIEW: No robust nature market if finance sector can’t engage Indigenous peoples, says UN initiative
Call to snuff out “dead end” coal, including mine approvals, exports and subsidies
G20 scorecard says Australia also needs to close off "major loopholes" in emissions reduction policies and stop exporting emissions via coal.
The post Call to snuff out “dead end” coal, including mine approvals, exports and subsidies appeared first on RenewEconomy.
“Europe’s largest” concentrated solar and thermal project turns up the heat
The facility, with a total of 2,240 surface mirrors, will provide heat equivalent to 2.3GWh of gas consumption for a Belgian manufacturing plant.
The post “Europe’s largest” concentrated solar and thermal project turns up the heat appeared first on RenewEconomy.
“Wrong direction:” Australia called out for betting bigger on fossil gas
Climate Action Tracker finds Australia at a decarbonisation "crossroads," with mixed messages on coal and renewables and going the way entirely on fossil gas.
The post “Wrong direction:” Australia called out for betting bigger on fossil gas appeared first on RenewEconomy.
Treated and untreated sewage greatest threat to river biodiversity, says study
More water company regulations and improvements at treatment plants needed to protect rivers, say authors
Pollution from treated and untreated sewage is the greatest threat to river biodiversity, causing more damage than runoff from farms, according to research.
There is a need for more regulation of water companies and improvements at their treatment plans to protect rivers, say the authors of the study.
Continue reading...EU needs scaled-up power infrastructure to ensure electrification rate can triple, says industry
ICVCM teases possible CCP-labelled futures contracts, outlines potential fast-tracking
I’m buying an EV. The generosity of some EV charging and solar export tariffs surprised me
Developments in EV markets and retail electricity markets deliver much hope for a rapid energy transition, and much food for thought.
The post I’m buying an EV. The generosity of some EV charging and solar export tariffs surprised me appeared first on RenewEconomy.
Sex life discovery raises IVF hope for endangered purple cauliflower soft coral
‘Dangerous and desperate’: Westminster reacts to Sunak’s net zero U-turn – video
Members of parliament and former politicians have reacted with scorn to Rishi Sunak's overhaul of the UK's net zero targets, which involved dropping several key policies and watering down others. Criticism came from across the political spectrum, with Tory MP Simon Clarke describing it as wrong and Green party co-leader Carla Denyer calling it a 'dangerous and desperate U-turn'
UK net zero policies: what has Sunak scrapped and what do changes mean?
Sunak’s big green gamble: the story behind the PM’s decision to U-turn
Freshwater quality is one of New Zealanders’ biggest concerns – water-trading 'clubs' could be part of the solution
Australia should wipe out climate footprint by 2035 instead of 2050, scientists urge
The Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering says ministers must ‘make up for lost time’ with more ambitious policy
Australian engineers and technology scientists have urged the Albanese government to “make up for lost time” and set itself a “monumental challenge” by setting a target to wipe out the country’s climate footprint by 2035 – 15 years earlier than currently proposed.
The Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering, representing nearly 900 leading engineers and scientists, called on the government to set a goal of reaching net zero emissions in just 12 years, arguing it could be achieved with existing mature, low-carbon technology.
Continue reading...Could Rishi Sunak's green review threaten UK net zero?
Cynical Rishi sells net zero targets down the river to appease the right
There’s nothing long term about the prime minister diluting green policies in the hope of clinging on to power
You could sense the panic when news was leaked of Rishi Sunak’s plans to water down some of his climate change targets. Instead of a controlled speech later in the week – probably somewhere with green connections: Rish! never knowingly undersells the irony – we got a hastily arranged press conference. In the very same Downing Street media centre where No 10 staff had joked about having illegal parties during the pandemic. Call it karma. Stay calm and carry on taking the piss out of the country.
And breathe. Sunak strode into the room and stood in front of a lectern with a sign reading “long-term decisions for a brighter future” on the front. Gaslighting the country again. It’s getting to be a habit. He then opened his mouth. RishGPT can’t really help the entitled, nasal whine. But this time it came soaked in contempt. This wasn’t just patronising, it was the most cynical speech from a prime minister in years. Deep down Sunak must know that he has sold his soul for the chance of remaining in office a while longer. There was a comedy to Liz Truss. At least she believed the mad things she was saying. Plus when all’s said and done she only destroyed the economy. But Rish! doesn’t believe any of this. He can’t be that stupid and deluded. And he’s hellbent on taking down the whole planet. The dishonesty was breathtaking. He lied and he lied and he lied.
Continue reading...Rishi Sunak’s government risks looking incapable of honouring a commitment | Nils Pratley
Net zero rollback could be a disaster for business confidence, with cars policy looking particularly perverse
One can understand why Rishi Sunak sees political opportunity in watering down a few climate policies. Previous soundbites about “the economic opportunity of the 21st century” may be correct in the round, but voters have also noticed that heat pumps are expensive and that the path to net zero by 2050 involves costs as well as opportunities. A strategy that claims, in effect, that net zero can be delivered more gently is not absurd for a party that is miles behind in the polls.
The problem, though, is the one highlighted by the furious reaction from some carmakers, in particular, to Sunak’s flip-flop. Any realistic route to net zero involves winning, and keeping, the broad confidence of businesses that will be overhauling the infrastructure. At one level, hitting the 2050 target requires an enormous public-private effort to rewire the entire economy. The whole point of setting interim targets is to make it more likely that you hit the main end goal. Presented with a legally binding commitment, the government risks looks incapable of delivering a plan that it can stick to.
Continue reading...Extreme weather shows need for early warning systems, says Spanish minister
Teresa Ribera calls for alert systems in every country by 2027 after spate of natural disasters across the world
The latest spate of natural disasters – from the floods in Libya, Greece and Spain to the wildfires in Hawaii and Canada – has further underscored the need for early warning systems to help the world cope with the realities of the climate emergency, Spain’s environment minister has said.
Speaking to the Guardian as she prepared to travel to New York to take part in the UN’s climate ambition summit and sign a landmark treaty to protect the high seas, Teresa Ribera said the calamities laid bare the challenges the planet faced.
Continue reading...Sunak’s big green gamble: the story behind the PM’s decision to U-turn
With PM’s electoral options narrowing, strategists came to conclusion policy could help create dividing line with Labour
Isaac Levido, the strategy guru behind Boris Johnson’s 2019 victory, has spent much of the summer working on the overhaul of Rishi Sunak’s green policies.
One of the goals has been to find that elusive political property: a dividing line with Labour that Tory strategists believe will present voters with a clear choice at next year’s election.
Continue reading...The Guardian view on diluting net zero targets: bad economics dictated by cynical politics | Editorial
The PM has chosen to put a narrow, divisive electoral calculation ahead of serious statecraft and responsible government
It takes a special kind of cynicism to assert that long-term planning must have primacy over short-term expediency while defending a policy choice that does the exact opposite. Rishi Sunak’s decision to postpone deadlines for the transition to low-carbon technology is the very definition of tactical partisanship trumping strategic statecraft. That the prime minister sought to present it otherwise in a televised address to the nation on Wednesday shows contempt for anyone who understands the urgency of the climate crisis.
The prime minister veils his ploy in economic terms. The claim is that measures designed to accelerate the switch to low-carbon technology – a ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel vehicles by 2030, for example, and a deadline for phasing out the installation of new gas boilers by 2035 – heap the cost of transition on consumers. Downing Street insists the commitment to achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2050 stands, but will be reached by “more proportionate” means.
Continue reading...Rishi Sunak rolls back net zero targets in reset of UK climate policies – video
The prime minister has announced the scrapping or watering down of some of the UK's net zero targets, pushing back a ban on diesel and petrol vehicles from 2030 to 2035 and weakening a plan to phase out the installation of gas boilers by 2035
UK net zero policies: what has Sunak scrapped and what do changes mean?
‘We need more investment, not less’: UK voters on Sunak’s net zero rollback
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