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Go-ahead given for first stage of $30bn SunCable project, which minister says will be ‘transformational’ for Northern Territory

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The Australian government has given the green light to the first stages of what it describes as the country’s “biggest renewable energy project ever” – an ambitious proposal to send energy from a solar farm in the Northern Territory outback to Singapore via subsea cables.

The environment minister, Tanya Plibersek, said the approval under conservation law of SunCable’s $30bn-plus Australia-Asia Power Link was a “massive step towards making Australia a renewable energy superpower” and that the project would be “economically and socially transformational” for the NT.

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The New Zealand economy would have been torpedoed had agriculture been folded into the emissions trading scheme next year, the country’s climate minister told a conference Tuesday, despite a senior Nestle executive warning the sector is not doing enough to reduce emissions to remain internationally competitive.

Three years ago, Australia pledged to end deforestation by decade’s end. But land clearing continues due to legal exemptions and a lack of enforcement Hannah Thomas, PhD student in ecology, The University of Queensland Martine Maron, Professor of Environmental Management, The University of Queensland Martin Taylor, Adjunct senior lecturer, The University of Queensland Michelle Ward, Lecturer, School of Environment and Science, Griffith University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

CO2 utilisation can produce goods such as aviation fuels, pharmaceuticals, and concrete, but US federal agencies must develop systems that drive commercialisation and market demand, according to a report mandated by Congress and the Department of Energy (DOE).

RGGI compliance entities expanded their allowance holdings during the April-June period even as their surplus shrank, while futures and options trading also grew substantially as credit prices rose to new records, according to a report published Tuesday.

Sweden and Zambia have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for bilateral climate cooperation under Article 6.2 of the Paris Agreement, according to a statement by the Swedish Energy Agency (SEA) on Tuesday.

A Brazil-based nature-based solutions (NBS) industry group defended REDD+ projects on Monday in wake of recent recommendations by the public prosecutor of Amazonas state to halt all related activities affecting Indigenous and traditional communities.

Compliance-focused schemes that allow the use of offsets could shape the future of the voluntary carbon market (VCM) along with an increase in the usage of CO2 removal (CDR) credits, but quality concerns must be addressed to ensure growth, panellists told a webinar Tuesday.

The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has announced $291 million in grants from Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) funds to projects that facilitate development and implementation of sustainable aviation fuels (SAF).

England’s controversial eradication scheme may have caused higher rates of disease in surrounding areas, research shows

England’s controversial badger cull may have increased the risk of bovine tuberculosis (bTB) among herds in neighbouring areas, according to new research.

Researchers at the University of Oxford found that although badger culling reduced incidences of tuberculosis in the areas where it took place, in neighbouring areas the risk of the disease in cattle increased by almost a third.

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Ørsted scraps its pioneering eMethanol project, because of slower-than-expected industrialisation of the technology and lacklustre demand.

The post Danish renewable giant scraps development of eMethanol project appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Australia’s heavy emitters could reach net zero before 2050, a date adopted by the country as well as many large companies, should baseline emissions reductions covered under the Safeguard Mechanism bump up.

Updated: Federal environment minister Tanya Plibersek gives approval for first stage of Sun Cable, with enough solar and battery storage to provide 4 GW of continuous power to Darwin.

The post Sun Cable: Plibersek approves first stage of world’s biggest solar and battery project appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Governments around the world are intervening in the market to boost green industries. Picking winners like this comes with a chance of failure – but it’s not a reason to stop Llewelyn Hughes, Professor of Public Policy, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Energy Minister Simeon Brown wants to explore importing gas to prop up electricity generation – but subsidising the expansion of rooftop solar would be quicker, cheaper and more popular. Stephen Poletti, Associate Professor Energy Economics, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau Bruce Mountain, Professor and Director, Victoria Energy Policy Centre, Victoria University Geoff Bertram, Visiting Scholar, School of History, Philosophy, Political Science and International Relations, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

John Boland and Chris Bryant use their garden to shade their house from Australia’s hot summers – and it helps feed them as well

As soon as John Boland moved into his house in inner-city Adelaide he got rid of the concrete and sheds and planted fruit trees. In the thirty years since, those trees have provided him with a third of his food and cooled his home so well that he doesn’t need air conditioning.

Deciduous trees on the western side of the house bathe the house in shade in the hot South Australian summer while letting in afternoon sun during winter. They also block hot breezes in summer and cold winds in winter.

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A "smart" hot water heat pump can create cheap, flexible demand and deliver big consumer savings. It's time for governments to act.

The post It’s time to shift flexible hot water heating from overnight coal to smart wind and solar appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Carbon removal (CDR) standard Isometric has released a digital monitoring, reporting and verification (dMRV) platform to speed up the verification and issuance of voluntary credits, it announced Tuesday.

Raising the wind speed at which turbines start spinning could prevent tens of thousands of bat deaths each year, researchers find

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Australian windfarm operators are being urged to embrace a simple measure used overseas that scientists say could dramatically reduce the number of bats killed by turbines.

Curtailment – lifting the wind speed at which turbines start spinning – is used in some European countries and parts of the US and Canada, but rarely in Australia. A global study published in the journal BioScience found it was an effective way to limit bat deaths.

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Brussels is under pressure to defend its climate policy after approving state aid of €40 million to build Germany’s multi-purpose LNG import terminal in Brunsbuttel.