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Spot New Zealand carbon allowances on Monday traded just above the auction price floor for the first time since March, as observers said the market’s long quiet stretch is a sign of positive things to come.

The new system may essentially give countries and companies permission to keep polluting. Kate Dooley, Senior Research Fellow, School of Geography, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, The University of Melbourne Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Environmental groups have written to the Papua New Guinea government opposing its efforts to test its carbon market regulations on so-called “guinea pig” communities before addressing what it says are serious issues with the rules.

Australia and Pacific nations won’t know until June next year if they’re hosting the COP31 climate talks. But with tens of thousands of people potentially coming, they need to start planning now. Wesley Morgan, Research Associate, Institute for Climate Risk and Response, UNSW Sydney Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

World’s largest cruise line named Europe’s most climate-polluting, despite investing millions in cleaner technologies

The world’s largest cruise line company is responsible for producing more carbon dioxide in Europe than the city of Glasgow, a report has found.

Analysis by the Transport and Environment (T&E) campaign group, provided to the Guardian, found Carnival to be the most climate-polluting cruise company sailing in Europe in 2023.

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Environment minister Tanya Plibersek defends coal mine approvals as 170 people arrested for blockading world's biggest coal port at Newcastle.

The post Plibersek defends coal mine approvals amid blockades of Newcastle port appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Many people are disappointed by COP29. It did not bring transformative change. But it was still a step forward for humanity's life-raft.

The post From finance deal to carbon trade: Here’s what was – and wasn’t – achieved at the COP29 climate talks appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Australia’s electricity system is physically decentralising, but the regulatory response is to extend the current centralised operational and market model. That must change.

The post Rooftop solar and EVs will dominate our grids: How do we reform the energy system around them? appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Australia's bid to host UN climate talks for first time stalled at fractious Baku COP, and may not happen at all if Labor loses power. But at least the world is spared the prospect of Ted O'Brien as host.

The post Australia’s bid to host climate COP for first time on hold as fossil lobby ups the ante at fractious Baku talks appeared first on RenewEconomy.

EPA says proposed 70 gigawatt wind and solar project that straddles Nullarbor is a complex case, with potential impact on land, sea and subterranean systems.

The post Massive 70 GW wind and solar project that straddles Nullarbor given environmental criteria appeared first on RenewEconomy.

The hydrogen tax credit bill is being introduced to Parliament, with the Coalition opposed and support from Greens and the Teals still not clear.

The post Labor girds for tricky fight for green hydrogen tax credits in last week of parliament appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Commissioning has started on what will be the biggest battery in South Australia, with a first-of-its-kind contract to deliver a "baseload renewables" supply to the giant Olympic Dam mine.

The post South Australia’s biggest battery charges up as new wave of storage prepares to enter grid appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Nearly all observers believe Chris Bowen is strongly committed to action. Most agree that can’t be said for his party

Cop29 in Baku has concluded but its outcome is disappointing – in many dimensions. Its decisions on finance – agreeing that the developed world would provide US$300bn a year by 2035 – come nowhere close to what’s needed. Ultimately, it may even be poisonous because of its lack of ambition and muddled scope – it does not even cover loss and damage.

Baku saw little sense of urgency or increased climate action, despite the universal message from scientific studies, including the Climate Action Tracker. Our global update this year found that in the last three years there’s been virtually no improvement in either action on the ground, nor ambition to take action in the future. And this is despite a series of seemingly never-ending, global warming-linked deadly catastrophes unfolding around the world.

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Here are selected party, stakeholder, and expert reactions to the New Collective Quantified Goal on climate finance (NCQG), dubbed the Baku Finance Goal, as well as the agreement on Article 6 reached at the COP29 climate summit, which wrapped up early Sunday.

New research examines the link between extreme weather and divorce in a small monogamous tropical songbird, the Seychelles warbler. Concerningly, extreme rain and dry spells increased divorce rates. Frigg Janne Daan Speelman, PhD Candidate in behavioural ecology, Macquarie University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

If New Zealand decided to use green hydrogen to decarbonise industries such as fertiliser and methanol production, it would need to triple the installed capacity of renewable power plants. Jannik Haas, Senior Lecturer of Sustainable Systems, University of Canterbury Aaron Marshall, Professor of Chemical Engineering, University of Canterbury Andy Nicol, Professor in Geosciences, University of Canterbury David Dempsey, Associate Professor in Natural Resources Engineering, University of Canterbury Ian Wright, Professor in Marine Geology, University of Canterbury Matthew J Watson, Professor in Chemical Engineering, University of Canterbury Rebecca Peer, Senior Lecturer in Natural Resources Engineering, University of Canterbury Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

A rushed final text in Baku strains trust between nations, as inadequate climate finance commitments leave vulnerable countries calling for justice

The hasty imposition of a deal at the UN climate conference, Cop29, in Azerbaijan, over the objections of poorer nations has fractured global trust and undermined recent progress. This was supposed to be the “finance Cop” when two dozen industrialised countries – including the US, Europe and Canada – promised to pay developing nations for the damage caused by their rise. Instead, developing nations – led by a group including India, Nigeria and Bolivia – say this weekend’s agreement for $300bn a year in 2035 is too little, too late. Worse, rich-world governments will be able to escape their obligations by being able to rely on cash from private companies and international lenders.

Independent experts say the developing world, excluding China, would need $1.3tn a year by 2035 to fund its green transition and keep temperature rises in line with the Paris agreement. The climate finance target, pushed through by the Azerbaijani chair, is described by poor nations as a death sentence for those already drowning under rising seas and facing devastating costs.

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Some countries say deal should not have been done and is ‘abysmally poor’ compared with what is needed

The climate finance deal agreed at Cop29 is a “travesty of justice” that should not have been adopted, some countries’ negotiators have said.

The climate conference came to a dramatic close early on Sunday morning when negotiators struck an agreement to triple the flow of climate finance to poorer countries.

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Fraught debate revealed the divide between rich and poor as the UN conference sealed a climate finance deal.

If Peter Dutton senses an opportunity in blocking bills in the lead-up to an election, he might just take it

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The final parliamentary sitting week of the year is here!

That odour you’re smelling is drip filter coffee to fuel late-night Senate votes and the faint whiff of desperation to pass as much of the government’s legislative agenda as possible.

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