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How does a massive coal push lasting decades line up with what it has pledged? Leaders of low-lying Pacific nations might appreciate some answers

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The most obvious point to make about Tanya Plibersek’s approval of three coalmine expansions on Tuesday is the most important. The potential climate impact is substantial, and far beyond anything else we have seen approved so far by the Albanese government.

Labor has been criticised for its support of new fossil fuel developments before, but the four coal developments it had backed prior to this were relatively small. They are expected to add about 156m tonnes of heat-trapping carbon dioxide to the atmosphere if fully developed.

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Nine climate protesters have stopped a coal train headed to the Port of Newcastle in opposition to the federal government’s approval of three new mining projects. Rising Tide, the group behind the move, said in a statement that the three projects – Whitehaven Coal’s Narrabri thermal coal project to 2066, Mach Energy’s Mount Pleasant thermal coal project to 2058 and Yancoal’s Ashton coal project to 2064 – would create 1.4bn tonnes of emissions

• Tanya Plibersek approves three coalmine expansions in move criticised as ‘the opposite of climate action’

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The European Commission gave its green light Tuesday evening to a proposal by The Netherlands and Austria to unilaterally extend the scope of their Emissions Trading Scheme for heating and transport fuels (ETS2) to vehicles used in agriculture, as well as railways, and – in the case of Austria – domestic and international flights.

Indonesia and Japan are seeking to finalise an agreement that promotes mutual recognition of bilateral carbon trade this month, a move believed to be aligned with the Paris Agreement Article 6, according to a government official.

Until the government changes its stance on the environment and the war in Gaza and Lebanon, there is nothing to celebrate

On Monday morning, we walked into the main hall of Labour’s annual conference in Liverpool, before the keynote speech of the chancellor, Rachel Reeves. What we did next, you might have seen.

Shortly after Reeves began her address, two of us stood to speak out on Labour’s complicity in suspected Israeli war crimes, and the party’s ties to climate-wrecking corporations. We were there on behalf of Climate Resistance, a group campaigning to end the cosy relationship between politics and the fossil fuel industry. Just like arms manufacturers, oil companies have been guilty of hindering democratic processes with donations and lobbying, putting human lives on the line for their own profits.

Jack McGinn is a climate activist with Climate Resistance

Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here.

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The NZU market has been drifting through calm waters with prices largely rangebound in line with market expectations, as it now looks to the supply shortfalls on the horizon. 

Victorian electricity distribution company wins transmission licence, an achievement it says will create more competition and faster connections for new wind and solar in the state.

The post Powercor wins bid to plug in bigger wind, solar and battery projects appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Appointee was a climate chief at the World Bank and will lead UK’s return to high-level environmental diplomacy

• Who is Rachel Kyte, the UK’s new climate envoy?

A former climate chief of the World Bank has been appointed to lead the UK’s efforts to forge a global coalition on climate action, the Guardian can reveal.

Rachel Kyte, who previously served as special representative for the UN and a vice-president of the World Bank, will take up the role of climate envoy to lead the UK’s return to the front ranks of global climate diplomacy.

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When sighting rates for basking sharks are high they are low for minke whales, says monitoring programme

The highest ever recorded numbers of minke whales and the lowest number of basking sharks were observed in the Hebrides in 2023, according to a report.

The latest findings of the 20-year monitoring programme by the Hebridean Whale and Dolphin Trust suggest a possible association between these two highly mobile and long-lived species. When sighting rates for basking sharks are high, they are low for minke whales, and vice versa.

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Consortium of companies picked to build the transmission system for the Central-West Orana renewable energy zone has been awarded an operator's licence.

The post NSW grants licence to consortium picked to deliver first renewable energy zone appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Biden government announces huge support package across 25 projects and 14 states to “boost the domestic production of advanced batteries and battery materials nationwide.”

The post US government tips billions into battery manufacturing projects appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Federal Labor green lights three major thermal coal mine expansions, in a move that lays bare the blatant disregard of climate change in Australia's environmental laws.

The post “Shocking, shameful, abhorrent:” Coal mine approvals slammed for reckless disregard of climate appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Prices spike towards market cap in South Australia this week, despite significant amounts of unused capacity. What will the regulator discover?

The post Regulator to probe why South Australia price spiked despite much unused capacity appeared first on RenewEconomy.

New Zealand-headquartered dairy co-op Fonterra cut operational emissions by 18.5% in FY2024, according to its annual report published Wednesday, but has made little little progress on its Scope 3 emissions.

Climate action from Azerbaijan, the host of the UN's COP29 summit in November, has been rated "critically insufficient" by an independent analysis group, according to a report released on Sep. 24.

A new study shows that the record-breaking rainfall was made more likely and intense by climate change.

A Berlin-headquartered environmental trading platform has partnered with a Bangkok-based consultancy to launch Southeast Asia Carbon Coalition (SEACC) for tackling climate change and biodiversity loss, the partners announced Wednesday.

Researchers find climate crisis aggravated the four days of heavy rainfall and deadly floods

• ‘We’re getting rid of everything’: floods destroy homes and lives in Czech Republic

Planet-heating pollution doubled the chance of the extreme levels of rain that hammered central Europe in September, a study has found.

Researchers found global heating aggravated the four days of heavy rainfall that led to deadly floods in countries from Austria to Romania.

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Biodiversity monitoring and protection has taken centre stage in talks around forest carbon credits at the Climate Week NYC, with standards, project developers, and policymakers pushing for more nature accounting within the market.

Narrative that transition has stalled ‘demonstrably not true’, researcher says, but investment and construction must accelerate

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Large-scale renewable energy investment and construction in Australia is rebounding this year after a slump, but will need to accelerate to reach the pace needed to meet the Albanese government’s goal for 2030.

The country could add more than 7 gigawatts of renewable energy capacity this year, up from 5.3 GW last year, according to data released by the Clean Energy Regulator.

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