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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.

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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.

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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.

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The International Maritime Organization’s strategy for the transition to renewable energy is a major step forward in ambition that has overtaken many of the national, regional, and industrial steps already in place, according to research released Monday.

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.

Britain and South Korea have respectively pledged $2 billion and $300 mln to the latest replenishment of the Green Climate Fund (GCF), a mechanism established to channel climate finance from rich nations to the countries in the Global South to aid them with climate action.

Creating the world's first cloned mammal was arguably one of the greatest scientific achievements of the 20th Century.

A Canada-based carbon credit project financier has rebranded to underscore the urgency needed in the global mission to decarbonise economies and the company’s focus on the climate action required.

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.

European carbon prices rose slightly on Monday morning despite a relatively weak auction result, as EUAs garnered some support from a strong advance in natural gas after a major Australian LNG producer said there was little prospect of a swift resolution to strikes that have cut gas output.

A developer is seeking investment into a new afforestation project in India to boost the supply of removal credits in the voluntary carbon market (VCM), despite uncertainties about the country’s future carbon market.

The UK is in a unique position to act as an important hub for hydrogen development in Europe thanks to its pressing need to decarbonise its gas-reliant heating system, wealth of renewable energy for powering hydrogen electrolysis, and ease of access to the North Sea for potential CO2 storage, said one of the country’s leading pipeline operators.

A GE-backed business alliance has been established to develop a carbon capture, usage, and storage (CCUS) value chain feasibility study and joint solutions to decarbonise gas power plants in Indonesia, in a move to position the Southeast Asian country as the industry hub for the region.

Carbon credit ratings agencies have a valuable role for raising the quality of the voluntary carbon market (VCM), according to a study published Monday of the four main players, though there is room for improvement in their activities and buyers must better understand their work to increase its effectiveness.

Investment into lower carbon energy will need to rise steeply and policy settings improve if the world is to reach net-zero by 2050, but most executives believe they are doing better than their peers, a survey released Monday found.

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.

Subsidiaries of a European carmaker and a Chinese agricultural conglomerate have teamed up to generate animal waste management system (AWMS) carbon credits in China's Anhui province.

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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India along with several other leaders of the G20 launched a Global Biofuels Alliance (GBA) on Saturday to promote the use of sustainable and cleaner fuels.

A group of Australian companies on Monday released a draft method to allow landowners to earn reef credits from improved grazing land management in a bid to boost soil health and improve water quality at the Great Barrier Reef.