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Proposal would create first federal standard for workplace exposure to extreme heat, which kills hundreds each year

The Biden administration has unveiled a long-awaited proposal to protect workers from extreme temperatures. If finalized, the rule will establish the nation’s first-ever federal safety standard for excessive heat exposure in the workplace and protect as many as 36 million indoor and outdoor workers.

Announced on Tuesday amid temperature warnings across the country, the rule would require employers to establish a heat safety coordinators, undergo extreme heat safety training, create and regularly update emergency heat response plans, and provide workers with shade and water.

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Two US companies have unveiled a new soil carbon methodology that will credit farmers for implementing sustainable practices as well as the resulting removal and storage of CO2.

China's environment ministry is proposing moderate reductions in the number of CO2 allowances it will hand out for 2023 and 2024 in the national emissions trading scheme compared to the previous trading period and provide more clarity on permit carryover rules, according to a draft allocation plan released Tuesday.

A moth garden at Hampton Court Palace shows off plants that can be grown to help the insects, which are threatened by habitat loss

Everyone loves bees and butterflies, but now moths are coming into the spotlight (as long as they don’t fly around it).

The moth expert Charles Waters has seen a surprisingly rapid increase in interest in moths from the younger generation as, he believes, people become more aware of their beauty and diversity, as well as their importance as pollinators.

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The Indonesia government aims to have 15 CCS/CCUS projects online by 2030, its Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resource announced Tuesday, as the country continues to see it as integral plank of achieving its climate goals, while at the same time allowing its oil and gas sector to continue to grow.

Understanding what to do when faced with flooding on the road is an important, yet often overlooked aspect of driver education, which could be the difference between life and death. Amy Peden, NHMRC Research Fellow, School of Population Health & co-founder UNSW Beach Safety Research Group, UNSW Sydney Kyra Hamilton, Associate Professor in Applied Psychology, Griffith University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

South Korea and Vietnam have established a joint committee to foster collaboration on climate change as they move to deepen their relationship on issues such as compliance carbon markets and projects generating credits under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement.

French nuclear giant has scrapped its plans for small modular reactors, and decided to start over after customers raised concerns about costs.

The post French nuclear giant scraps SMR plans due to soaring costs, will start over appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Organisations like Rewiring Australia have been calling initiatives like this – the local level needs the same focus, planning, and funding as large-scale renewable energy zones.

The post Creation of local renewable zones is the game changer Australia’s energy transition needs appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Details released for the first federal big battery tender in Western Australia, now at the centre of the country's battery storage boom.

The post Design released for first federal big battery storage tender out west appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Economic growth allows the few to grow ever-wealthier. Ending poverty and environmental catastrophe demands fresh thinking

Economic growth will bring prosperity to all. This is the mantra that guides the decision-making of the vast majority of politicians, economists and even human rights bodies.

Yet the reality – as detailed in a report to the United Nations Human Rights Council this month – shows that while poverty eradication has historically been promised through the “trickling down” or “redistribution” of wealth, economic growth largely “gushes up” to a privileged few.

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Coalition’s pledge to build seven nuclear reactors poses serious questions about whether Australia can meet its international climate obligations.

The post Australia’s carbon budget may blow out by 40% under Coalition nuclear plan – and that’s best-case scenario appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Another gigawatt scale wind project, and a very big battery, proposed along the route of the controversial VNI West transmissions upgrade.

The post Huge gigawatt scale wind farm and four-hour big battery hopes to plug in to troubled VNI West appeared first on RenewEconomy.

The stockpile of privately held NZUs has shrunk by some 25.5 million units, according to government figures published Tuesday, thanks to the May 31 surrender deadline for emitters.

Stanwell partners with Redflow to trial large-scale zinc bromine flow technology and lay foundations for a battery manufacturing plant in Queensland.

The post Stanwell to test and make Redflow long duration flow batteries as it prepares for life after coal appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Just two months after the Italian government banned solar on agricultural soil, Pope Francis has ordered construction of a PV plant on Vatican-owned farmland.

The post Vatican to install solar farm on farmland in defiance of Italy ban appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Dutton’s policy latches on to genuine concerns about power prices and disruption evident in the latest Guardian Essential report, but what are its real motivations?

In 1959 the US government hatched a covert scheme to replace every single bird with a replicant surveillance drone to spy on its own citizens. This is only the second silliest theory flying around the internet right now.

Peter Dutton’s make-believe nuclear plan bears some of the hallmarks of Peter McIndoe’s actual piss-take, “Birds Aren’t Real”, which became so real he wound up doing interviews with Fox News and running large-scale community rallies where only some of the participants were chanting his nonsense slogan ironically.

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The Washington Department of Ecology (ECY) on Monday released draft language of the cap-and-trade linkage rule to align the state’s carbon programme with the broader California-Quebec market.

A prominent New Zealand legal group has urged the coalition government to rethink its unwinding of transport emissions reduction policies, saying it was ignoring key aspects of the first Emissions Reduction Plan (ERP) and the Climate Change Response Act. 

Sweltering conditions and power shutoffs may overlap with errant fireworks or badly tended campfires

A brutal and long-lasting heatwave is threatening to wreak havoc across California this week, as sweltering conditions, power shutoffs and a severe uptick in wildfire risks coincide with 4th of July celebrations.

The dangerous weather event is expected to stretch for days with little reprieve. Starting Wednesday, parts of the state will be subject to “extreme” levels of heat risk – reaching the highest level on the National Weather Service’s index – that will last until Sunday or longer. In some areas, life-threatening triple-digit temperatures could linger for longer than a week.

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