Feed aggregator

With Biden soon to leave the White House, Republicans start an assault on the Environmental Protection Agency

Donald Trump’s allies have fired the opening salvoes of his coming administration’s attack on the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the federal agency that enforces and regulates laws on air, soil, and water quality among other crucial environmental and health issues.

In a letter from Republican House leadership to EPA the administrator, Michael Regan, Republicans trained their sites on the agency’s scientific integrity policies that are designed to insulate scientists and research from political interference.

Continue reading...

Vanuatu envoy makes claim as landmark hearing gets under way at international court of justice in The Hague

A handful of countries should be held legally responsible for the ongoing impacts of climate change, representatives of vulnerable nations have told judges at the international court of justice (ICJ).

During a landmark hearing at the Peace Palace in The Hague, which began on Monday, Ralph Regenvanu, Vanuatu’s special envoy for climate change and environment, said responsibility for the climate crisis lay squarely with “a handful of readily identifiable states” that had produced the vast majority of greenhouse gas emissions but stood to lose the least from the impacts.

Continue reading...

A tech startup working to rid harmful algae growth from lakes and reservoirs believes it can remove carbon, avoid methane emissions, and restore biodiversity in a relatively simple way that can be funded by voluntary credits, the first of which are due to be sold from a project in Utah.

The record season for renewable energy has extended from its traditional spring season into summer, with numerous output records tumbling on Monday for the instantaneous generation of large scale wind and solar, rooftop PV and renewables in general. The new records reflect a combination of new capacity and excellent conditions for generating power from wind […]

The post Wind, solar and rooftop PV set output records, and send coal and gas plunging to new lows appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Group of 85 countries and blocs press for ambition in plastic waste treaty after no agreement was reached in Busan

Binding global targets to cut plastic production must be at the centre of any continuing negotiations to secure the world’s first treaty to tackle plastic waste, a group of 85 countries has said.

Talks in Busan, South Korea, attempting to secure agreement between more than 200 countries on the details of a plastic pollution treaty ended in failure over the weekend.

Continue reading...

The Norwegian government has agreed to hold off issuing deep sea mining exploration licences for the next two years as part of a wider national budget compromise.

Indonesia’s recently announced 2040 target coal phase-out date may be unrealistic and could affect power and resource sector companies’ credit ratings if the government adjusts its policy approach to meet the goal, a leading rating agency warned over the weekend.

The significant case could clarify governments' legal responsibilities in relation to climate change.

The significant case could clarify governments' legal responsibilities in relation to climate change.

Xpansiv, an environmental market services provider, on Monday launched new spot exchange and portfolio management tools to support the trading and handling of carbon removal credits as a separate market segment.

The breakthrough on Article 6, achieved in Baku last month, will have a huge impact on the ground in terms of project development, according to executives at a global association for the sector.

Wetlands across the world are releasing more carbon and sequestering less when temperatures increase, a study using an unusual proxy tool has found.

A community survey in southwest Queensland has provided divergent results on the views of carbon farming, with concerns expressed not entirely aligned with the findings suggested.

Taiwan has approved the establishment of a special fund worth NT$10 billion ($308 million), as the government aims to encourage more domestic green investments. 

A shelter in Kent says it is struggling to cope with an influx of goats being dumped at its door.

New Zealand carbon market participants are expecting to see a partial clearance at this week’s government-held auction in anticipation of much smaller volumes being issued in future years.

An effective integration of carbon removals in the EU’s Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS) requires a careful balance of trade-offs and will, in any case, be insufficient to bridge the gap between prices on the bloc's carbon market and costly removal technologies like direct air carbon capture and storage (DACCS).

The expansion and extension of coal mines in Australia’s most populous state is undermining its ability to achieving its ambitious emissions reduction targets, according to the newly-established Net Zero Commission (NZC).

Direct flights from the US to Nuuk expected to double next year but there are concerns about the expected influx

The capital’s new airport has been opened, two more are in the making, and expectations are high: the Americans are coming to Greenland.

On Thursday, the first ever international flight into Nuuk, the most populous settlement on the autonomous Danish territory, landed to cheers on the ground and in the cabin of Air Greenland flight GL781 where passengers were served miniature bottles of Nicolas Feuillatte champagne.

Continue reading...

Calls for federal government to revamp the national rooftop solar rebate, instead of killing it off, to drive home battery uptake and the electrification of everything.

The post Call to include electrification in expanded small scale solar scheme to help households dump gas appeared first on RenewEconomy.