The Guardian
Australia can swiftly end the climate wars and become a renewable superpower. Here’s how | Nicky Ison
We can replace coal power with renewables and storage, electrify everything, create a renewable export industry and grow clean energy supply chains
“Together we can end the climate wars, we can be a renewable energy superpower,” said Australia’s 31st prime minister, Anthony Albanese, in his victory speech on election night. Words are powerful, and by uttering them, our nation’s new leader signalled a new way for our policy and politics aimed at uniting and strengthening our communities and economy.
But what sits behind the words of politicians is often more important, so let’s get into what it means for Australia to become a renewable superpower and how that will cast the climate wars into the history books where they belong.
Continue reading...Limits on renewables ‘will keep UK energy bills higher this winter’
Government limit on contracts for new renewable energy generation is ‘outdated thinking’, says Greenpeace UK
Consumers will face higher energy bills than necessary next winter because of a decision by the government to limit new renewable energy generation, described as a “missed opportunity” by the renewables industry, and “outdated thinking” by a green campaign group.
Ministers have decided to authorise contracts for about 12GW of new renewable energy generation, to start construction this year, with much of it likely to come on stream before next autumn. However, the renewable energy industry estimates that about 17.4GW of projects have cleared planning permission and are “shovel-ready”.
Continue reading...Do not work for ‘climate wreckers’, UN head tells graduates
António Guterres says young people should tackle climate crisis by using talent to deliver a renewable future
The UN secretary general has told new university graduates not to take up careers with the “climate wreckers” – companies that drive the extraction of fossil fuels.
António Guterres addressed thousands of graduates at Seton Hall University in New Jersey, US, on Tuesday. “You must be the generation that succeeds in addressing the planetary emergency of climate change,” he said. “Despite mountains of evidence of looming climate catastrophe, we still see mountains of funding for coal and fossil fuels that are killing our planet.
Continue reading...Shell AGM in London halted by climate protesters singing: 'We will stop you' – video
Shell was forced to halt its AGM in London after it was disrupted by environment protesters chanting: 'We will stop you' and shouting: 'Shame on you' at executives.
Investors were due to vote on Shell’s climate proposals. The company has come under increased scrutiny after a senior safety consultant quit, citing Shell's 'disregard for climate change risks' and accusing the company of causing 'extreme harms' to the environment
Continue reading...European fruit with traces of most toxic pesticides ‘up 53% in nine years’
Analysis of nearly 100,000 samples found residues in a third of apples and half of blackberries
Contamination of fresh fruits by the most hazardous pesticides has dramatically increased in Europe over the past decade, according to a nine-year study of government data.
A third of apples and half of all blackberries surveyed had residues of the most toxic categories of pesticides, some of which have been linked to illnesses including cancer, heart disease and birth deformities.
Continue reading...High hopes for baby boom after release of 50 eastern quolls in NSW sanctuary
Largest single release of the endangered animals seeks to grow population that had been completely wiped out from mainland Australia
There are hopes 50 eastern quolls returned to the wilderness in NSW will spark a historic baby boom for the endangered creatures.
It’s the largest single release of the little predators on mainland by conservation organisation Aussie Ark.
Continue reading...Sharp cut in methane now could help avoid worst of climate crisis
Focussing on carbon dioxide alone will not keep world within 1.5C limit of global heating, warn scientists
Cutting methane sharply now is crucial, as focusing on carbon dioxide alone will not be enough to keep rising temperatures within livable limits, scientists have warned.
CO2 is the greenhouse gas most responsible for heating the planet, with most of it coming from the burning of fossil fuels. As a result, it has been the major focus of international efforts to prevent climate breakdown.
Continue reading...Deadly Indian heatwave made 30 times more likely by climate crisis
Soaring temperatures in subcontinent, which have caused widespread suffering, would be extraordinarily rare without global heating
The heatwave scorching India and Pakistan has been made 30 times more likely by the climate crisis, according to scientists. Extreme temperatures and low rainfall since mid-March have caused widespread suffering, including deaths, crop losses, forest fires, and cuts to power and water supplies.
The study is the latest to show the already severe impacts of global heating on millions of people, even though the global average temperature has risen only 1.2C above pre-industrial levels to date. If it rises to 2C, heatwaves as intense as the current one would be expected as often as every five years in India and Pakistan, the scientists estimated.
Continue reading...Supply chain delays and steel costs are part of ‘perfect storm’ stalling renewable energy growth
Covid disruptions in China and rising costs are affecting supplies of solar panels and wind turbine parts, while domestic energy prices climb
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Supply chain delays from China and the soaring cost of steel and other materials are combining to slow the advance of renewable energy in Australia and elsewhere, a leading insurer and industry groups say.
The cost of steel for wind turbine blades had risen by 50% or more since the Covid pandemic’s start, even before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine prompted a scramble to accelerate the switch away from coal, oil and gas to clean energy alternatives, according to GCube, a global insurer of renewables that has recently opened its first Australian office in Sydney.
Continue reading...‘They will often give you a wee nip’: rangers count puffins on Farne Islands
Annual survey is important for understanding health of the Atlantic puffin’s breeding colonies
It may well be one of the least hi-tech nature counts in the UK, and involves rangers sticking their arms blindly down a hole knowing there will be one of five outcomes: they will feel either a puffin egg, a puffling, excrement, nothing at all – or the annoyed reaction of a puffin as a giant hand suddenly enters its home.
“They will quite often give you a wee nip,” said Harriet Reid, an area ranger at the National Trust, smiling. “I can show you a couple of scars … it does hurt. But I’m used to it.”
Continue reading...Maldives plan to reclaim land for tourism could ‘choke the ecosystem’
Vulnerable island nation split over project to dredge millions of tonnes of sand to create land for resorts and industry at Addu Atoll, made a Unesco reserve for its seagrass and mangroves
A controversial project to reclaim land on an atoll threatened by rising sea levels has been announced in the Maldives, with hopes that it may boost tourism balanced against fears that it could “choke the ecosystem”.
The low-lying island nation, one of the world’s most vulnerable to climate change, has commissioned a major shore protection and land reclamation scheme using sand dredged from a lagoon, despite concerns about the impact on this Unesco biosphere reserve.
Continue reading...Climate sceptic thinktank reported to charity commission over fossil fuel interest funding
Global Warming Policy Foundation is lobby group not charity and brings no public good, say signatories
The Global Warming Policy Foundation, a climate sceptic thinktank, has been reported to the Charity Commission by the Green MP Caroline Lucas and Extinction Rebellion.
The move comes after the Guardian revealed that the group received funding from fossil fuel interests.
Continue reading...Canberra turns over a new leaf: autumn hues in the capital – in pictures
It’s that time of year in Australia’s capital when a chill hangs in the air, wooly jumpers come out of the wardrobe and deciduous trees put on their annual colour show. Photographer Mike Bowers documents the change of season in Canberra
Continue reading...Police warn against vigilante action against duckling hit-and-run driver
Driver’s details shared on social media after allegedly running over ducklings at roundabout as other drivers waited for them to cross
Police have urged the public against any vigilante actions after the registration of a driver who allegedly ran over a brood of ducklings was published online.
Staffordshire police confirmed it is investigating a Facebook post which claimed that at least three ducklings were killed on Friday at a roundabout in Trentham near Stoke-on-Trent. The post claimed they were killed by the driver of a white transit van who allegedly ignored other drivers who were waiting for the ducks to cross the road.
Continue reading...The Guardian view on swallows and swifts: nature’s messengers | Editorial
Migrant birds carry information around the globe. When their arrival is delayed, we should worry
Swifts are back in UK skies, putting an end to the annual hiatus when nature seems to hold its breath, awaiting successive waves of migrant birds whose twittering is the soundscape of summer. But these are worrying times. The swift has joined that traditional herald of summer, the cuckoo, on the RSPB’s latest red list of endangered species, following a 58% fall in their numbers since 1995.
Billions of birds are disappearing, according to a report released this month. “Birds truly are the canary in the coalmine as indicators for the health of our planet, given their sensitivity to ecosystem changes, their ubiquity around the planet, and how well studied they are,” said Patricia Zurita, of BirdLife International.
Continue reading...This ‘super reserve’ is not just for the birds. It could change the landscape of Britain | Stephen Moss
The creation of a “super nature reserve” in Somerset is a gamechanger for wildlife conservation. But the real question is: what happens next?
“Build it, and they will come”, to paraphrase the 1980s feelgood movie Field of Dreams. And they have. Since former peat diggings were transformed into the Avalon Marshes 30 years ago, a host of new species have colonised these watery flatlands. Cranes, bitterns, spoonbills, glossy ibises and three kinds of elegant, snow-white egrets – little, cattle and great white – are now a regular sight here.
Continue reading...Meet the plant detective helping gardeners and fighting crime
Cataloguing biodiversity is just one part of the job for the scientists at the National Herbarium of NSW, whose forensic skills are putting Australia’s plants under the microscope
Every morning a pile of envelopes full of promise and possibility lands on Andrew Orme’s desk.
In his case, promise and possibility means unidentified organic material waiting to be inspected, identified and preserved for the future.
Continue reading...New Zealand’s promised action on climate is nothing more than a tottering baby’s first steps | Sue Bradford
Instead of taking on vested interests in the agriculture and corporate sectors, the government continues to take the line of least resistance
On the campaign trail during New Zealand’s 2017 election, Labour leader Jacinda Ardern talked about climate change as her generation’s “nuclear-free” moment. She went on to become prime minister, taking Labour to a second-term victory in 2020 with an outright majority, unusual in New Zealand’s proportional representation system.
Her preface to this week’s budget talks about “making investments to secure our future” and says it “makes the greatest strides in climate action by any government to date”.
Continue reading...How London’s new Elizabeth line has created a sanctuary for birds
Millions of tonnes of earth from the Crossrail project has been used to create a nature habitat on the Wallasea Island, Essex stretch of the link
London’s new Elizabeth line will allow commuters to start taking high-speed trains under the city this week, on part of a 73-mile route that stretches from Reading in the west to Shenfield in the east. They will not be the first travellers to enjoy the benefits of the new line, however.
On Wallasea Island in Essex, thousands of birds have already taken advantage of the £19bn rail project – on a mosaic of lagoons, islands, and bays that have been created out of 3.5m tonnes of earth that were dug up during construction of its new stations and 13 miles of twin tunnels.
Continue reading...More than $1bn of Coalition’s climate funding could go to fossil fuel projects, analysis finds
‘Clean’ hydrogen and carbon capture and storage head list of funding pledges since net zero promise
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The Coalition has announced more than $1bn in climate funding that could go to fossil fuel developments since setting a target of reaching net zero emissions by 2050 last year, an analysis has found.
The bulk of the funding promised during the election campaign has been to develop “clean” hydrogen – a term often used to refer to hydrogen made with gas, a fossil fuel – and carbon capture and storage (CCS), which has had little success to date but oil and gas executives say will need to play a massive role if the world is to slash emissions.
$50m in the budget for a “future gas infrastructure investment framework”.
$20m for CarbonNet, a project that aims to capture and store carbon dioxide in an offshore reservoir in Gippsland in Victoria.
$66m in the budget for a “patent box” tax concession for “low emissions technology innovations”.
$200m for clean hydrogen and “low emissions technology partnerships” with Japan and South Korea.
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