Feed aggregator

Rishi Sunak says the policy shift towards fossil fuels will lower bills and is backed by independent advisers. Is he right?

The UK government is about to bring through legislation for an annual licensing programme for oil and gas in the North Sea.

To justify this shift in policy towards fossil fuels, ministers have made a number of claims about the impact on climate breakdown and UK bills, as well as whether it is in line with recommendations from its independent climate advisers.

Continue reading...

The secretariat of the ART carbon credit standard on Monday announced that it has approved documents submitted by Ghana under its TREES jurisdictional certification programme relating to a 2017-21 crediting period, moving the country one step closer to receiving unit issuances under the standard from activities undertaken in these years.

A London-headquartered intermediary announced on Monday a 20-year agreement with Kenya's Mikoko Initiative to manage at least 1 million tonnes of mainly blue carbon credits per year generated by mangrove and other forestry projects in the African country.

They know how to get fed by people – like babies, you can’t ignore their squawks

In Sydney, sulphur-crested cockatoos play when they fly, ducking under power lines and soaring up again, squawking, charging through gaps in trees, landing only to hang upside down, as though they are mocking the bats. Cockatoos know how to have as much fun as it is possible to have while flying (a lot).

In a painting by William Patrick Roberts of a mother and her children looking at parrots in a shop, the macaws and the black cockatoo perch majestically; at the bottom of the painting a cockatoo fools around on a pole, looking right at you.

Helen Sullivan is a Guardian journalist.

Do you have an animal, insect or other subject you feel is worthy of appearing in this very serious column? Email helen.sullivan@theguardian.com

Continue reading...

ClearVue Technologies has made a key breakthrough in its home market, signing up a partner for its first commercial rollout on Australia's east coast.

The post Australian solar glass pioneer signs partner for first commercial rollout in home market appeared first on RenewEconomy.

European carbon prices came under heavy pressure from the opening on Monday as forecasts for milder weather triggered a steep drop in natural gas prices, while the prospect of EUA auctions resuming next week added a bearish tone to the carbon market.

The first-ever Internationally Transferred Mitigation Outcomes (ITMOs) for use under a national Paris Agreement emissions pledge have been delivered, with carbon units from activities in Thailand transacted to Switzerland, the parties announced Monday.

The host of the COP29 climate summit, Azerbaijan, is set to raise its fossil fuel production by one-third over the next decade and create hundreds of millions of tonnes in additional emissions, according to analysis published on Monday, with polluting firms forecast to spend some $41.4 billion on the country’s gas fields.

Research has found that several factors have hampered bees’ ability to create honey over the past decade

It’s a question that has bedeviled beekeepers across the US in recent years: where has all the honey gone? Scientists now say they have some answers as to why yields of honey have declined, pointing to environmental degradation that is affecting all sorts of bees, and insects more generally.

The amount of honey produced by honeybee colonies in the US has dropped by around half a pound, on average, per colony in the past decade, US government data shows, even as the number of managed colonies increased slightly.

Continue reading...

I have become obsessed from afar with Flaco, an owl who fled a zoo in New York nearly a year ago. Over Christmas, I could no longer resist the urge to track him down

I often wonder why birds speak so universally to the sagging middle-aged soul that it has become a comic trope – the vertiginously swift passage from: “Is that a robin?” to: “There’s a lesser yellowleg two hours’ drive away, start the car.”

Is it the freedom they represent? No cholesterol, no mortgage, no self-assessment tax deadline to worry about? Or a sense of wonder in the everyday miracle of their existence, induced by an awareness of mortality? Whatever it is, I am in deep: disposable income frittered on fat balls; constantly snooping on feathery goings-on in the garden; home decor reminiscent of the Portlandia “put a bird on it” sketch.

Continue reading...

Clean energy supply is only one side of the coin when it comes to emissions reductions but gains most of the attention, while energy efficiency could offer vast reductions in tandem with cost savings of some $2 trillion annually, according to a report released Monday.

Forests in Japan have the potential to offset a noticeable share of the country's annual carbon emissions and create great monetary value in the coming two decades, though the market potential of forest carbon hinges on multiple factors, new research has found.

We are seeking expressions of interest from individuals with demonstrated experience in carbon project development and/or carbon standard methodology development.

A South Korean securities firm has teamed up with a domestic research firm to accelerate its carbon finance business, which may include the development of overseas emissions reduction projects.

Environmentalists condemn news of higher forecast production which is also seen as a conservative forecast

Azerbaijan, which is hosting this year’s UN climate talks, plans to increase its fossil fuel production by a third over the next decade, according to an analysis shared exclusively with the Guardian.

The forecast indicates the Cop29 host will grow its annual gas production by about 12bn cubic metres (bcm) over the next 10 years, which is considered a crucial period in which global leaders must cut fossil fuel production if they hope to limit global heating.

Continue reading...

Aqueous rechargeable zinc battery technology inches closer to leaving the lab, after Australian researchers find a way to solve a major corrosion issue.

The post Zinc battery breakthrough as researchers fix spiky crystal problem appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Renewables combined to supply an average share of nearly 40% across Australia's main grids for the year. We look back at the stats and records.

The post 2023 in review: Australia nears half-way mark to 82% renewables appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Environment minister says ‘large areas of [wetland] will be destroyed or substantially modified’ by the proposal for windfarm development

• Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates

• Get our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcast

Tanya Plibersek has blocked plans by the Victorian government to build a plant to assemble wind turbines for offshore windfarms because of “clearly unacceptable” impacts on internationally important wetlands.

Plans to build the terminal at the Port of Hastings – seen as critical for the state’s strategy to develop an offshore wind industry – included dredging up to 92 hectares (227 acres) of the Western Port Ramsar wetland and reclaiming 29 hectares of seabed.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Australia's first and only homegrown solar panel manufacturer wants to go giga-scale – but says the right federal government support will be crucial.

The post Big new push for Australian made solar as Tindo pitches $100m module gigafactory appeared first on RenewEconomy.

The new year delivers a major blow to Australia's nascent offshore wind industry, with plans for a critical port hub ruled out by the federal environment minister.

The post Major blow to offshore wind as critical port project ruled environmentally “unacceptable” appeared first on RenewEconomy.