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Exposure to these toxic compounds, found in everyday items, could be elevating cancer risk in young women

More than 400 chemicals regularly used in everyday plastic products are linked to breast cancer, and the dangerous compounds could be a driver of increasingly elevated cancer rates in young women, new research finds.

Many of the toxic chemicals – such as PFAS, phthalates, parabens and aromatic amines – are added to food packaging, personal care products and single-use plastics, making exposures nearly ubiquitous.

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Flash flooding and widespread disruption on Greek islands, while Australians experience unusually wet start to summer

Greece was hit hard by Storm Bora last weekend, with torrential rain, gale-force winds and intense thunderstorms affecting the islands of Rhodes and Lemnos in particular.

The storm formed on Friday 29 November and rapidly intensified by Saturday, with wind speeds reaching up to 80mph (129km/h). Rhodes had 300mm of rain, which caused flash flooding and widespread disruption. Three people were killed and power outages, school closures, overturned vehicles and collapsed bridges were reported.

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Plans to develop carbon capture and storage (CCS) in France have made headway over the past months and will resume as soon as the political situation stabilises and the 2025 budget is voted, an official told EU policymakers on Thursday.

Prices in China’s national emissions market hit a two-month low over the past week, though some expect it to recover later this month ahead of the Dec. 31 compliance deadline.

Japan has opened a public consultation on rules aimed at providing clarity on the registration of international emissions reductions under the Joint Credit Mechanism (JCM) in line with Article 6 of the Paris Agreement.

The overwhelming majority of Europeans support climate action, but they must be compensated for its costs in tangible ways

This year was not an easy time to be Green. Green parties took a beating in June’s European elections, with their seat count plummeting from 71 to 53. In national elections they haven’t fared much better. The Green party was nearly wiped out in last week’s general election in Ireland, losing all but one of its seats after having been part of a coalition government.

At the same time, climate-sceptic parties framing environmental policies as elitist and unfair have surged across the continent. In Germany, for instance, the far-right AfD owes some of its electoral success to its rallying cry against an emerging “eco-dictatorship”.

Björn Bremer is an assistant professor of political science at Central European University and a John F Kennedy Memorial fellow at Harvard University. Jane Gingrich is a professor of social policy at the University of Oxford. Hanna Schwander is a professor of political sociology and social policy at the Humboldt University of Berlin. They are all co-conveners of the Progressive Politics Research Network, whose findings are published here

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Australia has committed to spend A$165 million ($106 mln) through various initiatives towards domestic regional decarbonisation technology initiatives, including critical minerals, hydrogen, and renewable energy.

A new federal government strategy outlines how to elevate the rights of Indigenous Australians Heidi Norman, Professor, Faculty of Arts, Design and Architecture, Convenor: Indigenous Land & Justice Research Group, UNSW Sydney Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Energy ministers set out pathway for to give First Nations people access to affordable clean power and ensure benefit-sharing, partnerships, and Indigenous-led projects.

The post Energy ministers release strategy to give agency to First Nations in transition to renewables appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Volt Solar Tile has is half-way through an equity crowdfunding campaign that aims to raise around $3 million to expand into US market and take on Elon Musk's Solar Roof.

The post Australian solar tile company raises funds to tap “absurdly large” US market, and take on Tesla appeared first on RenewEconomy.

A US District Court judge on Thursday delayed the trial of former C-Quest Capital executives Ken Newcombe and Tridip Goswami, who both face federal fraud charges, with the ex-CEO to be placed in a protective "bubble" as he undergoes drastic cancer treatment.

The world will need to embrace fundamental demand drivers, such as more entrenched carbon pricing, in order to drive decarbonisation of hard-to-abate mineral processing work and encourage buyers' willingness to pay a green premium, global miner Rio Tinto told shareholders Thursday.

Queensland's new energy minister is keen on gas and coal, and won't rule out nuclear, as yet another cost blowout revealed for pumped hydro.

The post Queensland looks to gas and coal, hedges bets on nuclear as new cost blowout emerges for pumped hydro appeared first on RenewEconomy.

This week, Australia’s government was forced to make a choice between its regional climate obligations and its fossil fuel trade in a very public forum. It chose fossil fuels.

The post Trusted partner to the Pacific, or giant fossil fuel exporter? Australia chose the latter appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Solar researchers held their annual conference in Sydney this week, with the focus on improved efficiency, grid integration, recycling and social equity. Monash University's Roger Dargaville explains. Plus: News of the week.

The post Energy Insiders Podcast: Solar is not the enemy appeared first on RenewEconomy.

California Carbon Allowance (CCA) future prices dropped over the past week as market participants positioned themselves ahead of option expiry, while Washington Carbon Allowances (WCAs) continued their decline heading into the final carbon permit auction of the year.

Efforts to reduce emissions and decarbonise industry must be combined with new technology that removes carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Australia can build an industry around this service. Andrew Lenton, Director CarbonLock, Environment, CSIRO Kerryn Brent, Research scientist, CSIRO Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Alberta released its strategy Wednesday, which aims to attract AI data centre investment, availing of the Canadian province’s natural resource abundance, power-generating capabilities, cool climate, and business-friendly regulatory environment.

Dr Zhengrong Shi, the solar PV pioneer once dubbed the "sun king", has unveiled plans to build a big manufacturing centre in Australia to make his new Sunman flexible solar panels.

The post “Time to come back:” Sunman unveils plans to make flexible solar panels in Australia appeared first on RenewEconomy.

A Canadian climate tech firm is looking to tap the “lucrative” voluntary carbon market to help fund a breakthrough in almost completely decarbonising the production of graphite, which is used to make batteries.