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Brussels is ditching green measures as EU leaders panic over rural protests, upcoming elections and the threat of the far right

Ursula von der Leyen surrendered to angry farmers last week faster than you could shake a pitchfork or dump a tractor-load of manure outside the European parliament. The European Commission president, expected to announce her candidacy for a second term heading the EU executive next week, told lawmakers that the commission was withdrawing a bill to halve the use of chemical pesticides by 2030 and would hold more consultations instead.

The proposed measure was a key plank in the commission’s European Green Deal and its Farm to Fork strategy, intended to make the EU carbon-neutral by 2050, make agriculture more environmentally friendly and preserve biodiversity.

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The NZU price dipped lower on Friday as speculation continues about whether or not the government will adjust the confidential reserve price settings in the upcoming March auction in a bid to raise cash.

We sampled sewage sludge from 13 wastewater treatment plants across three states. We found every resident adds microplastics to farmland, in dried sewage sludge (biosolids) used as fertiliser. Shima Ziajahromi, Advance Queensland Research Fellow, Griffith University Frederic Leusch, Professor of Environmental Science, Griffith University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Perth-based energy storage hopeful commissions battery storage system capable of charging and discharging at 50kW of power for up to five hours.

The post Perth battery hopeful debuts commercial-scale, five-hour vanadium flow battery appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Australia looks poised to get its own version of the so-called Green Deals of other countries, with prime minister Anthony Albanese promising his government will go “toe-to-toe” – if not “dollar-for-dollar” – on policies to establish Australia as a renewables powerhouse and a booming net-zero economy. In a speech to be delivered at a dinner […]

The post We can go “toe-to-toe” on IRA: Albanese hints at an Australian Green Deal appeared first on RenewEconomy.

California regulator ARB on Thursday hosted the first public workshop to develop the fifth investment plan for cap-and-trade auction proceeds, as panellists emphasised prioritising support for disadvantaged communities.

In pursuit of blind, dogged virtue signalling to their base, the Coalition is prepared to sacrifice what remains of the Liberal Party in favour of a declining rural constituency.

The post Is Ted O’Brien a fit for purpose shadow energy minister? appeared first on RenewEconomy.

As Dutton renews call for renewables to be stopped and coal closures suspended until nuclear is built, wind and solar are delivering the fastest transition the world has seen.

The post Wind and solar are delivering an energy transition at record speed appeared first on RenewEconomy.

As other nations race to restructure their economies in line with a low-carbon future, Australia risks being left behind. An economy-shaping tax on fossil fuels is a conversation we must have. Ian A. MacKenzie, Professor of Economics, The University of Queensland Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Cost savings, not saving the planet, are the priority in corporate decarbonisation plans, survey finds, and Australian businesses are lagging their peers.

The post Hard to abate: Businesses risk their future by skimping on emission cuts appeared first on RenewEconomy.

The founder and CEO of one of the biggest carbon project developers in the voluntary market is stepping down from his leadership position, while announcing his successor.

Further steps need to be taken to secure minerals and materials needed to overcome issues plaguing the development of renewable energy sources in the US, a panel of energy industry representatives said Thursday.

Parameters for carbon capture and storage (CCS) offset credits types, a wider range of emissions covered within industrial facility boundaries, along with tightening benchmarks and added compliance flexibility were some of the Technology Innovation and Emissions Reduction Regulation (TIER) changes the Alberta government presented in a webinar Thursday.

The US government has allocated $20 million to help Native Americans tap private markets for investment in forest resilience and climate mitigation.

Singapore and Indonesia have signed a letter of intent (LoI) to collaborate on cross-border carbon capture and storage, they announced late Thursday.

Brazil’s main transmission network last year recorded the lowest rate of emissions per unit of power generated since 2012, as the country sourced more electricity from hydropower and wind, Brazil’s Ministry of Mines and Energy announced Wednesday.

Extremely potent greenhouse gas leaked from a Kazakh well for over six months.

One of Australia’s major banks has launched a pilot with an emissions platform company to model how farming practices could be changed to reduce GHG emissions, it announced Thursday.

We’re going to build a lot more solar as we race to clean up the grid. But as the world heats up, solar will degrade faster in hot, humid areas. We need to plan ahead. Shukla Poddar, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, School of Photovoltaics and Renewable Energy Engineering, UNSW Sydney Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

The Republican-controlled US House of Representatives on Thursday passed a bill to resume liquefied natural gas (LNG) export approvals by granting the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) the sole discretion to approve export facilities, effectively excluding the Department of Energy (DOE) from the process.