Feed aggregator

EU member states agree to update urban waste water treatment directive

The UK is falling further behind on sewage pollution regulation as the EU tightens its rules to clean up Europe’s waterways, say critics.

EU member states agreed on Tuesday to update the urban waste water treatment directive to strengthen rules to clean up sewage and chemical pollution from treatment plants. European countries will have to update their sewage systems and treatment plants so that large amounts of human waste and chemicals are removed from rivers by a deadline of 2035. The companies deemed responsible will be required to pay for the infrastructure changes.

Continue reading...

George Craig looked after the 5.5-metre croc for decades. But after the keeper retired from the park, Cassius stopped eating and went into ‘very quick decline’

• Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates
• Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast

Researchers are trying to determine the true age of the world’s largest saltwater crocodile in captivity, who died on the weekend.

Cassius, a Guinness World Record holder thought to be at least 110 years old, died at Marineland Melanesia on Green Island, just off Cairns, where he lived since 1987.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email

Continue reading...

Australian long duration energy storage hopeful says it can deliver a grid-scale vanadium flow battery with up to eight hours of storage capacity that can compete, on costs, with current lithium-ion batteries.

The post Vanadium flow battery hopeful says long duration vanadium storage can compete with li-ion on costs appeared first on RenewEconomy.

With the highest quarterly net deficits in programme history, Oregon’s Clean Fuels Program (OCFP) credit surplus increased to just under 1.5 million in the second quarter of 2024, according to state data published Tuesday.

BP is dumping 18 hydrogen projects and pausing two biofuels refineries, as it focuses on more profitable fossil fuels.

The post BP dumps 18 early stage hydrogen projects as it retreats to oil and gas appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Squadron Energy confirms 15 turbines currently out of action at Murra Warra 1 wind farm in Victoria as part of "staged maintenance" to replace failed bearings.

The post Turbine shut downs at Victoria wind farm part of “staged maintenance,” says Squadron appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Brazil's Senate on Tuesday postponed voting on a new compromise version of long-awaited national cap-and-trade legislation until next week.

Australian Marine Conservation Society finds Safcol’s No Net Tuna is only entirely ‘green’ product on a red, amber or green scale

• Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates
• Get ourbreaking news email,free app ordaily news podcast

Environmentalists have given the green tick to just one brand of canned tuna as industry heavyweights threaten dwindling fishing populations and other marine life.

For the first time, the Australian Marine Conservation Society has evaluated the nation’s most popular tuna brands and classed them as green, amber or red based on their sustainability credentials.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email

Continue reading...

Eku Energy has achieved financial close on its big ACT battery after doing a revenue share deal with the government and securing debt funding.

The post Eku seals funding for $400 million ACT big battery after landing unique revenue deal appeared first on RenewEconomy.

New pathways to clean power outlined by UK grid operator including three fold increase in wind and solar, and a reduction in nuclear.

The post UK maps out pathways to clean grid by 2030: Three-fold increase in wind and solar, and no new nuclear appeared first on RenewEconomy.

The European commissioner-designate for energy and housing will pursue electrification to shield vulnerable citizens from increasing energy prices, a prospect made more real by ETS2, he told the European Parliament on Tuesday afternoon.

Revenue surge from big batteries mostly offset fall in wind and solar revenues for Neoen, with the first stage of the country's biggest battery to add more cream to the storage pie.

The post Big batteries take centre stage as Neoen reports fall in wind and solar revenues appeared first on RenewEconomy.

An Illinois agribusiness facing regulatory action in connection to a leaking CO2 injection well has completed a diagnosis estimating the amount of CO2 that escaped via a problematic monitoring well.

One of Australia's leading wind farm developers may switch to Chinese made turbines, saying it is not happy with quality, service and prices of western suppliers.

The post “Not always a great quality:” Leading wind developer may switch from western to Chinese turbines appeared first on RenewEconomy.

The Alberta Technology Innovation and Emission Reduction (TIER) programme's spot prices reached historic lows for the second month in a row, according to a report published Friday.

We wanted to find out how much carbon and nitrogen is being released from the northern permafrost. Here’s the region’s first full greenhouse gas budget covering CO₂, methane, and nitrous oxide. Pep Canadell, Chief Research Scientist, CSIRO Environment; Executive Director, Global Carbon Project, CSIRO Gustaf Hugelius, Professor, Physical Geography, Stockholm University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

As a new report makes clear, the timetable is dauntingly tight. But the potential rewards on offer are huge

One of Labour’s first acts in government was to lift the de facto ban on new onshore windfarms introduced by the Conservatives in 2016, which closed off one of the key pathways to clean, cheap energy by the 2030s. This week, progress was resumed as plans were outlined for what would be the most productive onshore windfarm in England. According to developers, the Scout Moor scheme in Greater Manchester could meet 10% of the region’s energy needs by the end of the decade.

As a major new report published on Tuesday makes clear, if Labour’s mission of a clean electricity system by 2030 is to be met, an avalanche of such projects will be required. The publicly owned National Energy System Operator (Neso) estimates that a doubling of onshore wind capacity will be necessary, along with a still bigger expansion of offshore wind and a tripling of solar power. When this is all considered alongside the need to transform the country’s power and transmission networks at an unprecedented pace, the daunting scale of the task becomes clear. Crucially, though, Neso’s analysis finds that the 2030 date is achievable if, to put it non-technically, the government, the energy industry and regulators truly go for it.

Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here.

Continue reading...

The political context around COP29 negotiations in Baku is very different to last year's summit and could stand to benefit Article 6 talks, the founder of a carbon ratings agency said Tuesday.

Two Abu Dhabi-based energy companies have partnered with Microsoft to explore decarbonisation solutions, including the use of AI to advance carbon capture, low-carbon hydrogen, and ammonia projects.

A startup insurance company hopes to kick start the carbon removal (CDR) market by offering cover to mitigate the risks facing early-stage projects.