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Today’s bushfires are off-the-scale bad. The only safe option is to leave before they start | Calla Wahlquist
In the early 2000s, our safety plan was to stay and defend. But catastrophic fires since have drastically changed the thinking
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I’ve spent every night for the past few weeks trawling classified ads for horse floats. For our budget there are not many available that are big enough for my ridiculously large horses, but we’re on a deadline: the fire season is approaching and we need a way to get the horses to safety. I couldn’t live with myself if I left them behind – and I don’t rate our chance of survival if we stay.
It will be the first bad fire season since we bought the place. After three wet La Niña years, the Australasian Fire Authorities Council is predicting an “increased risk” across much of eastern and central Australia this year. We’re not in the areas coloured red on the map, but the risk remains. As the Victorian and New South Wales fire chiefs told reporter Emily Middleton this month, it’s best to be prepared early.
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Continue reading...Climate crisis means quarter of European ski resorts face scarce snow
Comprehensive analysis calls into question whether such resorts have a future as global heating intensifies
A quarter of European ski resorts will have scarce snow every other year with 2C of global heating, a comprehensive analysis has found. It calls into question whether such resorts have a future as the climate crisis intensifies.
The study took into account artificial snowmaking, without which half the resorts would have scarce snow every other year at 2C. Current action and policies mean the world is on track for 2.7C of global heating.
Continue reading...Hundreds more high-speed electric car chargers installed across UK
Fast charging points that allow for longer journeys are being installed in regions beyond London
Charging companies are plugging the gaps in the UK’s high-speed charger network, with hundreds added this year outside London in a shift that will help end the “range anxiety” that holds back some would-be electric car buyers.
The capital and the south-east still have far more chargers of all speeds – ranging from slow to rapid and ultra-rapid – than the rest of the country. But the presence of high-speed chargers, generally used for quick recharging on longer journeys, is increasing in other regions as electric car sales surge.
Continue reading...Birds – and ornithologists – flock to huge rubbish dump in Spain
Storks, black kites and vultures feed at Los Barrios before migrating to Africa – but many now decide to stay
A vast rubbish dump in southern Spain has become a magnet for ornithologists as thousands of storks, black kites and vultures make a stopover to feed on food waste before beginning their journey across the Strait of Gibraltar.
“It’s especially useful for carrying out a census, as with so many birds in one place it’s easy to count them and to read their rings,” said Jesús Pinilla of SEO/Birdlife in Andalucía.
Continue reading...Tata Steel boss says India should change approach on CBAM
Another giant battery proposed for Upper Hunter, 11km up road from Liddell
The first project for Maizewood is a 400MW/800MWh big battery in Aberdeen, just up the road from the shuttered Liddell coal fired generator and planned battery.
The post Another giant battery proposed for Upper Hunter, 11km up road from Liddell appeared first on RenewEconomy.
Climate change threatens the rights of children. The UN just outlined the obligations states have to protect them
Children’s voices must be heard on climate crisis, says UN rights body
The Committee on the Rights of the Child urges governments to respond to young people’s concerns about environmental threats
Governments must respond to growing concerns expressed by children about the effects of the climate crisis and other environmental emergencies on their lives and futures, a UN body has said.
In a strongly worded formal opinion published on Monday, the Committee on the Rights of the Child concludes that the triple planetary crisis – the climate emergency, the collapse of biodiversity and pervasive pollution – “is an urgent and systemic threat to children’s rights globally”.
Continue reading...B20 paper calls for standarised climate finance, cross-border carbon markets
Hong Kong climate startup to launch blockchain-based offset registry
Vietnam plans to increase forest coverage by 20% to 2030
Australia Market Roundup: Over 1.3 mln ACCUS minted, FMG rules out voluntary offset use as CEO exits
Senior Policy Analyst, Markets Directorate – Climate, Ministry for the Environment – Christchurch
I only read about climate change now because I have to | First Dog on the Moon
I am doing this for YOU dear reader I hope it brings you some solace
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No 10’s Ulez stance reverses ‘decades of clean air progress’, says Sadiq Khan
Rishi Sunak’s lack of support for expanded scheme risks stunting Londoners’ lungs, says mayor in run-up to Tuesday’s launch
Rishi Sunak has “put decades of progress on clean air into reverse” and now risks “stunting the lungs” of London’s children by failing to support the expansion of the capital’s ultra-low emissions zone, Sadiq Khan has said.
Ahead of the clean air scheme’s rollout to all boroughs in the capital on Tuesday, the London mayor issued a stark warning to Sunak who he said risked going down in history as the prime minister who “had the chance to save lives but refused to take it”.
Continue reading...SwitchedOn Podcast: We can’t build cities around cars, even if they’re electric
Professor of Sustainability at Curtin University and lead author on transport for the IPCC, Peter Newman, says electric transport not only provides an opportunity to produce healthier, net zero vehicles, it enables us to rethink and build healthier, better cities.
The post SwitchedOn Podcast: We can’t build cities around cars, even if they’re electric appeared first on RenewEconomy.
Victoria launches new community battery funding round, new grant winners
Victoria Labor announces third round of winners from its $10.9 million Neighbourhood Battery Initiative, and launches first round of new beefed up scheme.
The post Victoria launches new community battery funding round, new grant winners appeared first on RenewEconomy.
NSW to take more time to consider closure date of Australia’s biggest coal generator
NSW to take more time to consider its options on the closure of Australia's biggest coal generator, as AEMO prepares to release its supply forecasts.
The post NSW to take more time to consider closure date of Australia’s biggest coal generator appeared first on RenewEconomy.
Grid operator plans €16 billion link from offshore wind parks to industry hub
German grid operator unveils plans to underground power lines to bring electricity from wind turbines in the North Sea to consumers in the power-hungry west.
The post Grid operator plans €16 billion link from offshore wind parks to industry hub appeared first on RenewEconomy.
Ampol to open more hydrogen service stations in Australia
Petrol retailer announces partnership with OneH2 to expand use of the alternative fuel, and expects early adoption by heavier vehicle fleets
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Australia is expected to get more hydrogen service stations after the country’s largest petrol retailer teamed up with a US firm specialising in the alternative fuel.
Ampol announced its partnership with OneH2 on Monday, revealing the companies would work together to speed up the use of hydrogen in the Australian market and help to cut emissions from heavy transport.
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