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The years 2017, 2016 and 2015 will make up the three hottest years on record for the planet. But there’s no convincing some people

When the global temperature readings are in for 2017, it’s going to be a very hard sell for climate-science deniers: 2017 will likely be ranked either side of 2015 as the second or third hottest year on record, with 2016 still in top spot.

The hottest five-year period recorded in the modern era will be the one we’ve just had.

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Australian battery company Redflow Limited has successfully started manufacturing core components for its zinc-bromine flow batteries at its new production facility in Thailand.

If you want to freeze some water, you might want to heat it up first.

Tesla big battery steps in after big Loy Yang coal unit trips, and arrests and reverses a dramatic fall in frequency - before the contracted coal unit had time to respond.

Three mammals, 11 amphibians, two fish, 11 reptiles and 88 plants were discovered by scientists in 2016, says WWF

A snail-eating turtle found in a food market and a bat with a horseshoe-shaped face are among 115 new species discovered in the Greater Mekong region.

A report from the conservation charity WWF reveals that three new mammals, 11 amphibians, two fish, 11 reptiles and 88 plants were found by scientists in Cambodia, Laos, Burma, Thailand and Vietnam in 2016.

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AEMO launches plan for future grid, assuming emission cuts by 2030 twice that contemplated by Australia government, and a network that will be dominated by wind, solar, storage and new transmission. And there is not a single mention of "base-load".

In 2017, the Government reviewed its climate change policies to ensure they remain effective in achieving Australia’s 2030 target and Paris Agreement commitments. A final report was released on 19 December 2017.

The report provides detail on emissions trends, including sector specific analysis of factors driving emissions. These projections update the baseline projections in Australia’s emissions projections 2016.

This report provides estimates of Australia’s national inventory of greenhouse gas emissions up to the June quarter of 2017, and electricity emissions from the National Electricity Market (NEM) up to the September quarter 2017.

Researchers develop a new technique to give a more accurate advance forecast for summer weather.

As part of a research project into e-mobility and Vehicle to Grid (V2G) charging in Slovakia, a Tritium Veefil-RT 50kW DC fast charger has been installed at the Slovak Academy of Sciences in Bratislava, where it has been officially unveiled on by Mr Robert Fico, Slovakia’s Prime Minister.

Politicians are always being told to trust what climate scientists are telling them. But can you have too much of a good thing? What happens when the exchange of ideas becomes too cosy? Rebecca Colvin, Knowledge Exchange Specialist, Australian National University Christopher Cvitanovic, Research Fellow, University of Tasmania Justine Lacey, Senior Social Scientist, CSIRO Mark Howden, Director, Climate Change Institute, Australian National University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

The first known interstellar asteroid may hold water from another star system in its interior, according to a study.

It's the regulator's first investigation since taking over responsibility for BBC standards.

Reports of a tourist flight over Antarctica highlight China's growing interest in the poles.

A four-point plan for tackling plastic waste has been outlined by the Environment Secretary Michael Gove.

Clouds don’t act as a climate thermostat, and they’re not going to save us from global warming

Climate deniers have come up with a lot of arguments about why we shouldn’t worry about global warming – about 200 of them – but most are quite poor, contradictory, and easily debunked by consulting the peer-reviewed scientific literature. The cleverest climate contrarians settle on the least implausible argument – that equilibrium climate sensitivity (ECS – how much a doubling of the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere will increase Earth’s surface temperature) is low, meaning that the planet will warm relatively slowly in response to human carbon pollution.

But they have to explain how that can be the case, because there are a lot of factors that amplify global warming. For example, a warmer atmosphere holds more water vapor, which is itself a greenhouse gas, adding further warming. Warming also melts ice, leaving Earth’s surface less reflective, absorbing more sunlight. There are a number of these amplifying ‘feedbacks,’ but few that would act to significantly slow global warming.

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Exclusive: pension schemes will be free to dump fossil fuel investments after government drops ‘best returns’ legal rules

The government is to allow Britain’s £2tn workplace pension schemes to dump their shares in oil, gas and coal companies more easily, empowering them to take investment decisions to fight climate change.

Until now, pension schemes have been hamstrung by “fiduciary duties” that effectively require schemes to seek the best returns irrespective of the threat of climate change. Many have rebuffed calls by members for fossil fuel divestment, citing legal obligations.

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Newby Head, Yorkshire Dales When heavy snow blocks the roads, farmer Rodney Beresford goes out to clear the way

Tiny snow devil vortices dance across the scene outside Newby Head Farm, 1,400ft high in Yorkshire’s Three Peaks region. But the snow that tinsels the windbreak of Douglas firs does not stir. Neither does the mound of pink rock salt by the roadside; it is already half-frozen. Sheep farmer Rodney Beresford has to dig hard as he fills the hopper behind his 150hp Deutz tractor.

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Report says Australia’s current gas network could – and should – be decarbonised by 2050, through combination of renewables generated hydrogen fuel, biogas, and CCS.