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Heat pumps twice as efficient as fossil fuel systems in cold weather, study finds
Doubts about whether heat pumps work well in subzero conditions shown to be unfounded, say researchers
Heat pumps are more than twice as efficient as fossil fuel heating systems in cold temperatures, research shows.
Even at temperatures approaching -30C, heat pumps outperform oil and gas heating systems, according to the research from Oxford University and the Regulatory Assistance Project thinktank.
Continue reading...Keeping cats indoors is a rare solution where everybody wins | Calla Wahlquist
In the debate over protecting native wildlife from domestic felines, one thing is often overlooked: cats should be kept indoors for the sake of cats
There is a bird bath in our garden frequented by fairywrens and red-browed finches. We put it under the flowering elm tree so the little birds would feel protected and hang out there for longer. It’s a few metres from our back door. Most days, when the sun hits that part of the floorboards, our cat Laurie can be found there, lazing in a sunbeam watching the birds through the glass. Sometimes, when they hop closer, she will sit up and make little chattering noises. It’s cat TV: enriching for her, safe for the oblivious birds.
I wish I could say we’d done it for the birds’ sake. But like an extraordinary number of decisions in the past 13 years, I did it for Laurie.
Continue reading...Red fire ant colonies found in Italy and could spread across Europe, says study
Researchers identify 88 nests of destructive invasive non-native species near Syracuse in Sicily
An invasive non-native ant species has become established in Italy and could rapidly spread through Europe to the UK with global heating, a study warns.
The red fire ant, Solenopsis invicta, has a powerful sting, damages crops and can infest electrical equipment including cars and computers.
Continue reading...IMO shipping strategy a major step forward for sector’s climate action -study
Australian corporates talk net zero, but are still gun-shy about 1.5°C climate target
Australian businesses are still gun-shy and conservative when it comes to the need for targets that align with the 1.5°C Paris climate goal.
The post Australian corporates talk net zero, but are still gun-shy about 1.5°C climate target appeared first on RenewEconomy.
UK, South Korea commit billions to UN’s Green Climate Fund
Dolly the Sheep creator Ian Wilmut dies aged 79
Canada-based carbon credit financier rebrands to showcase climate action mission
Our energy market is designed for a system that no longer exists: It’s time for change
A new National Electricity Objective should promote urgency, not just efficiency. But it needs other reforms that require imagination, and SWAT teams.
The post Our energy market is designed for a system that no longer exists: It’s time for change appeared first on RenewEconomy.
Euro Markets: Midday Update
Project developer sets its sights on nature-based removal credits
INTERVIEW: UK can play leading role in hydrogen production and CO2 storage, says gas pipeline operator
GE-backed alliance to assess CCUS feasibility in Indonesia
Carbon ratings agencies have valuable role but can improve, finds report
More money and better policy: Executives open up in energy transition survey
“This is a big deal:” Akaysha signs Japanese battery storage deal with trading house
Akaysha teams up with Japanese trading house to build up to 20 big batteries in Japan.
The post “This is a big deal:” Akaysha signs Japanese battery storage deal with trading house appeared first on RenewEconomy.
EU carmaker subsidiary to acquire carbon credits from Chinese agricultural group
Why can’t the EU power ahead with green subsidies like Biden’s? It isn’t just political procrastination | Yanis Varoufakis
Unlike their US counterparts, EU policymakers still face the roadblocks of no money and no common treasury
Inglorious procrastination is one of the European Union’s standard responses to major crises. This is not merely due to the difficulty of getting 27 prime ministers and presidents to agree on something. It is also because of their motivated tendency to ask themselves the wrong questions, and thus head slowly but inexorably to self-harming policy solutions.
After the demise of Lehman Brothers in 2008, a group of policymakers gathered in Washington to ponder the relevant question: “How do we bail out the bankers to stop them consuming us?” In Brussels, meanwhile, a much larger group mused for years over a toxic version of the same question: “Given that EU rules prohibit bailouts, how do we maintain the pretence we are respecting them as we bail out the bankers anyway?” The result was a costly delay, and policy choices which ensured that, whereas in 2008 European total income exceeded the US’s by 10%, by 2022, Americans were earning 26% more than Europeans.
Yanis Varoufakis is the leader of MeRA25 in Greece’s parliament and a former finance minister of Greece. His latest book, Technofeudalism: What Killed Capitalism, is published this month
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