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Sales of single-use bags by big supermarkets have fallen 90% since 5p charge introduced

Shoppers’ use of plastic carrier bags in England has continued to fall following the introduction of the 5p charge, according to new figures. Sales of single-use bags by all large retailers in 2018/2019 slumped by 37% to 1.11bn compared with the previous year.

Sales of plastic bags by the seven biggest supermarkets – Asda, Marks & Spencer, Morrisons, Sainsbury’s, The Co-operative Group, Tesco and Waitrose – have plummeted by 90% since the levy was introduced in October 2015.

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Conservation and climate change policy ‘should be two sides of same coin’, says chair of Natural England

A new generation of national nature reserves are being created to help improve people’s health and mitigate the effects of climatic extremes, according to the chair of the government’s conservation watchdog.

The South London Downs reserve is the first in a series of landscapes that will be designated a national nature reserve this year, said Tony Juniper of Natural England. Several more will follow this autumn, including what he described as one “very significant” newly protected area.

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European carbon prices climbed back above €28 on Wednesday, withstanding Poland's large fortnightly auction to usher in a month of curbed supply.

Usage changes from describing outdoors to depicting digital life in just one generation

Tweet, web, stream and cloud may once have evoked the wild outdoors, but they are now predominantly used to describe technology, according to new linguistic research.

A study of datasets of informal conversations from different decades has found that the implied meaning of some common nature words in Britain has almost completely changed in a single generation.

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New Zealand will begin phasing-out free allocation of carbon permits to emissions-intensive industrials in 2021, but only at a rate of 1% a year initially, the government announced Wednesday along with decisions on access to averaging for forest-owners and Kyoto unit cancellations.

Using advanced analytics, RepuTex has classified different synoptic scale weather systems and measured variation in the market value of wind production. Here are the key findings.

The post How do different weather patterns impact wind market value? appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Jemena acquires electrolyser for NSW "green gas" trial as industry talks up importance of domestic hydrogen market and export opportunities.

The post Jemena buys electrolyser for NSW as industry eyes mammoth hydrogen opportunities appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Origin Energy reports electricity business volumes down by 10% compared to March quarter and 9% on June 2018 levels, “due to the loss of higher volume customers.”

The post Corporate PPAs take chunk out of Origin electricity sales appeared first on RenewEconomy.

‘Insidious’ health-related impacts in Australia and Pacific include lowered cognitive capacity and spread of diseases

Climate change is “absolutely” already causing deaths, according to a new report on the health impacts of the climate crisis, which also predicts climate-related stunting, malnutrition and lower IQ in children within the coming decades.

The report, From Townsville to Tuvalu, produced by Monash University in Melbourne, pulled together scientific research from roughly 120 peer-reviewed journal articles to paint a picture of the health-related impacts of the climate emergency in Australia and the Pacific region.

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AEMO says 100% renewables in Australia's electricity grid can be achieved, but it needs a good plan.

The post How quickly can Australia transition to 100% renewables? appeared first on RenewEconomy.

The Clean Energy Summit had more panels than your average solar farm, but there were some key highlights.

The post Tesla megapacks, community batteries, big turbines and a banana republic appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Poland has joined a growing list of member states opting to use the EU's Modernisation Fund next decade to finance the decarbonisation of energy systems in various emitting sectors.

A look at the main criticisms of the AMEC's proposal for a wholesale demand response mechanism – and why we think they are incorrect.

The post With or without you: Rebutting criticism of AEMC’s demand response proposal appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Victorian energy minister says energy market rules out of date, and calls for reforms to ensure regulators can respond to clean energy transition.

The post Victoria says energy market rules come from different era, regulators fail to keep pace appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Nadi Bay declaration issues blunt warning: coral atoll nations could be uninhabitable as early as 2030

Pacific leaders have called on Australia to abandon plans to use carry-over credits to meet Paris climate targets and to immediately stop new coalmining, warning some of their countries could be uninhabitable as soon as 2030.

In a strongly worded statement issued at the end of a Pacific Islands development forum in Fiji, the leaders said they were deeply concerned about a lack of “comprehension, ambition or commitment” from developed nations despite the climate crisis posing grave consequences for their people.

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The orthopaedic device was discovered inside 4.7m animal that died in central Queensland last month

An orthopaedic plate found in the stomach of a Queensland crocodile could possibly bring closure to the family of a missing person.

The plate, with six stainless steel screws, was inside the 4.7-metre MJ, who died a month ago after a fight with another large crocodile at Koorana Crocodile Farm near Rockhampton.

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Plans to build a wind farm of up to 300MW in capacity in Tasmania’s Central Highlands are set to be put to community, by Sydney-based developer Epuron.

The post Epuron to put 300MW Tasmania wind farm plans to community appeared first on RenewEconomy.

The patterns of warm and cold years in Britain are a clear signal of climate change, say scientists.

Calls for Mexico to crackdown on use of illegal fishing nets after further decline of species

There are fewer than 19 vaquita porpoises thought to be left, according to a study.

In 2016, estimates of the vaquita population stood at just 30, but research published in Royal Society Open Science suggests the figure has fallen further.

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An expedition of American and Canadian scientists and students has been navigating Arctic waters to study the impact of warming ocean temperatures.