Feed aggregator

Requiring key sectors to switch to clean energy sources could trigger benevolent cascades, report claims

In the terminology of the climate and ecological crises the phrase “tipping point” is loaded with dreadful implications.

It evokes a climate breakdown supercharged by the mass escape of methane locked in Siberian permafrost, or the great currents of the oceans smothered by freshwater melting from the Greenland ice sheet, or the Amazon turning from great rainforest to parched savannah after the felling of one too many trees.

Continue reading...

International efforts to meet the UN’s nature-focused Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) on life below water and on land are falling far short of their 2030 targets, according to a report released on Monday.

Voters in Switzerland rejected on Sunday a proposal to enhance nature protection in the country, with opponents claiming the reform would be too costly and jeopardise business development.

Antoine Armand, the new French economy and finance minister, pledged to continue fighting for the country’s energy sovereignty, saying “the major challenge of our century is the climate emergency”, as EU acquaintance Agnes Pannier-Runacher makes a comeback as the country’s climate and energy minister.

Marine-based carbon sinks have a great potential to contribute to Taiwan's climate targets, though more action is needed to establish carbon removal datasets, a study has found.

Ecuador voted overwhelmingly to legalise carbon markets, Bolivia’s president prepared to accept – and centralise – carbon trading, and Brazil welcomed a slew of high-profile investments in the week ending Sep. 22.

The legislated review for Australia’s Safeguard Mechanism will likely see the scheme’s baselines tighten to meet more ambitious emissions reduction targets, which would ultimately be bullish for carbon credit prices, according to a bank’s analysis.

The opposition leader, Peter Dutton, detailed the Coalition’s nuclear power plan in a speech in Sydney but did not announce its cost, saying it is coming 'in due course'. 'Our nuclear plan requires a significant upfront cost, and you can look at the international examples to see as much. But a whole new and vast transmission network and infrastructure won’t be needed under the plan that we’re putting forward,' Dutton said

• Dutton praises Canada to sell nuclear plan. But does Ontario really have cheaper power?

Continue reading...

NRW, Wales' environmental watchdog, is making job cuts to plug a £13m gap in its budget.

Peter Dutton's big speech on nuclear provided a couple of new porkies, and no details of what, why, when and how much. Just denial and delay.

The post Peter Dutton’s nuclear plan still has no costings, and no grid connection: It’s a political hoax appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Price of electric cars falls again with the MG4 hatchback cheapest at $30,990 but experts warn high-end EV sales may stall

• Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates
• Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast

Electric vehicles have broken through another price barrier in Australia, with the cost of one new model reduced to less than $31,000 for the first time.

But industry experts say the fierce price battle is only playing out among cheaper and smaller electric cars, with Australian taxes reducing competition at the other end of the market.

Continue reading...

EnergyAustralia signs up to buy 40% of the output from stage two of the massive Golden Plains wind farm near Rokewood, in Victoria, in a landmark PPA for the big-three gen-tailer.

The post EnergyAustralia signs landmark deal to buy nearly half the output from Golden Plains stage 2 wind farm appeared first on RenewEconomy.

A service operation vessel under charter to Danish offshore wind giant Ørsted has reportedly collided with a turbine at the Hornsea 1 offshore wind farm in the North Sea.

The post Boat damaged after collision with turbine at Hornsea offshore wind farm appeared first on RenewEconomy.

The lead scientist in the government’s independent review of Australia's carbon market has described Clean Energy Regulator (CER) executives contacting scientists submitting feedback as “interference” and “entirely inappropriate”.

Renewable energy records continue to fall across the National Electricity Market (NEM), including a new high for rooftop solar in New South Wales on the weekend and, in Queensland, a new peak for the potential amount of renewables in the state, factoring in curtailed solar and wind. First to Queensland, where on Saturday September 21 […]

The post More renewable energy records tumble across the grid as solar and wind flex their muscles appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Squadron Energy is shifting infrastructure, removing a section of underground power lines and narrowing roads to reduce the impact on biodiversity of a major new wind farm.

The post Andrew Forrest’s Squadron Energy dumps underground lines in bid to get green tick for huge wind farm appeared first on RenewEconomy.

AEMO chief executive Daniel Westerman explains why Australia is shifting from the old paradigm of "baseload" power, and why he still wants spinning machines. Plus: News of the week.

The post Energy Insiders Podcast: The end of baseload appeared first on RenewEconomy.

From flooding to drought, extreme weather is devastating our communities. It is time for the world’s heaviest emitters to help mitigate the impacts of climatic breakdown on the countries most affected

Millions of people in my country, Malawi, face unprecedented existential crises driven by climate breakdown. The frequency of extreme weather events and the massive impact they have on communities have left government officials like me with a huge dilemma of how to act fast enough to save lives. In the past three years, we have gone from facing the worst flooding in recent times to the most severe drought in a decade. The impact has been devastating to communities across the country.

When Cyclone Freddy hit us in March 2023, it killed more than 600 people. The cyclone injured many more, tore families apart, destroyed livelihoods, and the long-term effects from diseases were even worse. A little over a year later, we were in the middle of a raging drought, which the president, Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera, declared a national disaster in March. Millions of people are facing acute food insecurity, leading to malnutrition and health issues that are putting lives at risk, not least for people on long-term treatment for conditions such as tuberculosis and HIV.

Continue reading...

Many of the big economies need to accelerate wind and solar rollout to meet their COP28 commitments and avoid derailing the Paris Agreement goal to limit global warming to 1.5 C, according to analysis released this week.

Floods inundated emergency housing built for those who lost their homes in an earthquake that hit Ishikawa on the Sea of Japan coast in January

At least six people have died and 10 others are missing after heavy rain triggered flooding and landslides along a peninsula in Japan that is still recovering from a deadly earthquake at the start of the year.

Public broadcaster NHK and other outlets said on Monday that six people had been confirmed dead, while the Kyodo news agency said more than 100 communities had been cut off by blocked roads after almost two dozen rivers burst their banks.

Continue reading...