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An environmental group has urged the government of South Korea to make substantial changes to a basic plan underpinning the next phase (2026-30) of the domestic carbon market, as the current calculation method for allocated carbon permits is considered too generous for emitters.

The same day the International Energy Agency said the world isn’t on track to meet its commitment to increase renewable energy capacity threefold by the end of the decade, Australia’s richest man announced plans for 14 gigawatts of new wind capacity.

Record levels of heat were absorbed last year by Earth’s seas, which have been warming year-on-year for the past decade

“Astounding” ocean temperatures in 2023 supercharged “freak” weather around the world as the climate crisis continued to intensify, new data has revealed.

The oceans absorb 90% of the heat trapped by the carbon emissions from the burning of fossil fuels, making it the clearest indicator of global heating. Record levels of heat were taken up by the oceans in 2023, scientists said, and the data showed that for the past decade the oceans have been hotter every year than the year before.

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True, the Tories will accuse Keir Starmer of being spendthrift, but it’s better for the party to fight an election on its own terms

It’s official: 2023 was the hottest year since records began and by some distance. The Earth is now 1.48C warmer than it was before the dawn of the industrial age and rapidly approaching the target limit of 1.5C set by the international community in Paris in 2015.

The movers and shakers who will pitch up in Davos to attend next week’s World Economic Forum (WEF) are worried – as well they might be. The WEF’s global risks survey is unequivocal: in a highly dangerous world, the threat posed by the climate emergency is the one that gives most cause for concern in the long term.

Larry Elliott is the Guardian’s economics editor

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Industry data shows almost 190,000 installed last year as well as record number of heat pump installations

The number of households and businesses installing rooftop solar panels has reached its highest level in 12 years, while heat pump installations climbed to record highs in 2023, according to the industry’s official standards body.

The figures showed almost 190,000 rooftop solar installations were carried out last year, the highest level since the government slashed its subsidy scheme in late 2011.

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If the world is to meet the Paris target and the more recent Global Stocktake commitment, more work, largely policy-driven, will be needed to push up renewable energy generation, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said Thursday.

IEA report says 50% growth last year keeps hope of achieving Cop28 climate target of tripling clean energy capacity

Global renewable energy capacity grew by the fastest pace recorded in the last 20 years in 2023, which could put the world within reach of meeting a key climate target by the end of the decade, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA).

The world’s renewable energy grew by 50% last year to 510 gigawatts (GW) in 2023, the 22nd year in a row that renewable capacity additions set a new record, according to figures from the IEA.

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Winner says people can save water, help animals and free themselves from the tyranny of lawnmowing

It is not so much a lawn as a moonscape: pitted craters dug by bandicoots, exhausted tufts of withered yellow grass plucked by wallabies and pitiful plants shrivelled brown under the Australian sunshine.

But Kathleen Murray is the proud winner of the first World’s Ugliest Lawn competition after the Swedish contest to encourage water-saving, environmentally-friendly gardening went global.

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WA government says all of the containerised batteries are in place for the state's biggest battery, the 200MW four-hour (800MWh) Kwinana 2 project.

The post Key milestone for WA’s biggest battery, with all storage units installed appeared first on RenewEconomy.

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Latest Rystad Energy data reveals new big solar output records for December. Meanwhile, the wind blew strongest in the West.

The post Big solar records round out the year for NSW and Queensland appeared first on RenewEconomy.

California Governor Gavin Newsom proposed on Wednesday funding cuts to climate programmes by 7% to make up for the state’s $37.1 billion projected budget shortfall, following last year’s 3% climate spending cutbacks.

As Victoria's Challicum Hills wind farm turns 20, it's worth reflecting on what a pioneering and pivotal project it was for renewable energy in Australia.

The post Happy birthday Challicum Hills: The wind farm that launched an industry appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Kew scientists discovered nearly 100 new plants and fungi last year - but some may already be extinct.

Squadron Energy breaks ground on Uungula Wind Farm and announces multi-billion dollar turbine supply deal to underpin giga-scale project pipeline.

The post Forrest turns sod on NSW biggest wind farm, firms 14GW plans with major turbine deal appeared first on RenewEconomy.

The US can better mobilise the global funding response to the impacts of climate change, Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) experts said in an opinion piece published Tuesday.

While running it briefly and intermittently at a very low temperature may feel thrifty, it will not be the most energy efficient choice. Here’s what to do instead. Mark Goldsworthy, Senior Research Scientist, CSIRO Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Allowance budget cuts could bring down WCI market surplus bank by over 200 million, a conference heard Wednesday, but California Carbon Allowance (CCA) values will likely remain below the price ceiling.

Volcano-top orchid also named by scientists contending with extinctions caused by the human destruction of nature

Two types of tree and a palm that live underground are among the new plant species named in 2023 and highlighted by scientists at the Royal Botanical Garden Kew in the UK.

The palm is unique, as the only species known to flower and fruit almost exclusively underground, and was discovered in Borneo. The trees were discovered in the deep Kalahari sands of highland Angola, where the free-draining terrain has led a number of species evolving to live at least 90% underground.

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Ministers hope to build fleet of reactors to meet quarter of electricity demand by 2050 but critics highlight long delays and rising costs

The government has set out plans for what it claims will be Britain’s biggest nuclear power expansion in 70 years, despite concerns about faltering nuclear output and project delays.

Ministers published a roadmap on Friday that recommits the government to building a fleet of nuclear reactors capable of producing 24GW by 2050 – enough to meet a quarter of the national electricity demand.

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