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Record heat in Europe is part of a pattern of more intense heatwaves made more likely by climate breakdown

• Extreme heatwave – latest news updates

Scientists say “turbo-charged” climate change is driving the prolonged period of record temperatures currently baking much of the planet.

As the planet has heated, hotter-than-usual spells have become more intense and now last on average about 24 hours longer than 60 years ago, according to data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Noaa data from the 50 most populous cities in the US shows the heatwave season is 49 days longer now compared with the 1960s.

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Regulations compelling firms to reconsider their carbon management policies, including greenhouse gas pricing mechanisms, could lead to a reduction in net emissions, though they may also discourage green innovation and promote only short-term or less effective abatement strategies, according to research by the European Central Bank (ECB).

A massive green ammonia and green hydrogen project is proposed around the Old hydro power plant and a new giga-scale solar farm.

The post Massive Old River solar-hydro project aims to be first to market with green ammonia appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Exclusive: Leaked document ‘falls far short’ of what is needed to safeguard lives and livelihoods from heat, drought and storms, say experts

The government’s new plan to cope with the climate crisis has been condemned as “very weak” by experts, who say not enough is being done to protect lives and livelihoods.

Responding to the document, which was leaked to the Guardian, one highlighted its failure to adequately protect people in the UK from extreme heat. The heatwave in 2022, when temperatures surpassed 40C for the first time, led to the early deaths of more than 3,000 people, wildfires, buckled rail lines and farmers struggling with drought. Southern Europe is currently in the grip of a searing heatwave.

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European carbon prices traded largely sideways as the week began, extending the trading channel that has prevailed for the last ten days as the market continued to anticipate the annual reduction in auction volumes in August.

A plastic collection and recycling project in Senegal has been registered with Verra, the first on the African continent to qualify for earning the standard’s Waste Collection Credits (WCCs).

Unwitting whale advocates and rightwing thinktanks create the impression that offshore wind energy projects endanger cetaceans

One night in late March, J Timmons Roberts, a professor of environmental studies at Brown University, stepped in to a high school gymnasium in a small seaside town in Rhode Island. He was there to speak at a town hall aimed at allaying concerns about a local offshore windfarm.

In the front row, he noticed a woman dressed as a whale, holding a sign that read “Save Me!”

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John Kerry arrives in Beijing as China records its highest ever temperature, 52.2C, in Xinjiang

• Extreme heatwave – latest news updates

The US climate envoy, John Kerry, is in Beijing for meetings with his Chinese counterpart, Xie Zhenhua, as large swaths of Europe, the US and Asia swelter in extreme heatwaves.

Methane emissions and China’s coal consumption are expected to be at the top of Kerry’s agenda in his first formal talks with Xie in nearly a year. The pair will probably also discuss preparations for the Cop28 climate summit later this year.

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China’s thermal power generation continued to grow at a double-digit pace in June amid rising electricity demand, even as the country's recent economic performance fell short of market expectations, government data showed Monday.

Trevor St Baker is building a battery giga-factory, helping back up the technologies that are eating the coal industry's lunch.

The post St Baker makes big battery giga-factory play with eye on home solar and EV markets appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Australia’s largest soil carbon project developer expects its projects to yield some 80,000 Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs) in the coming months, saying the method is experiencing its “solar moment”.

A group of 14 renewable energy execs take the Melbourne to Sydney train instead of flying to ACES – in the name of clean and green.

The post Green 14 ditch the plane and take the train to Australian Clean Energy Summit appeared first on RenewEconomy.

The big bad Greenies are not about to storm into your house to take away the BBQ. But we do need to electrify everything, as quickly as we can.

The post It’s time to get SwitchedOn and kick gas out of the system: Our future depends on it appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Dr Jan Rosenow from the global think tank, Regulatory Assistance Project, discusses why electric heat pumps are the most efficient heating technology ever invented, why overall energy demand will reduce by 40% if we electrify everything, and why energy efficiency is a key part of the electrification journey.

The post SwitchedOn Australia Podcast: Heat pumps are the most efficient heating technology ever invented appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Rather than viewing NSW as an outlier in its progress away from fossil fuels, we should consider it a precursor to other states following the same path.

The post In the flight to renewables, innovation is the key to consumer value appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Toys are the most plastic-intensive consumer goods in the world. So how can we avoid movie tie-in fads adding to the surging plastic waste problem? Alan Pears, Senior Industry Fellow, RMIT University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Countrywide Hydrogen says it will sell the hydrogen it produces in Tasmania directly via a new brand called H2Co Energy to keep down costs.

The post H2Co launches as green hydrogen retailer to keep fuel costs down appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Analysts call on government to make pumps mandatory for all new homes and scale up grants for installation in existing properties

The UK is lagging far behind France and other EU countries in installing heat pumps, research has shown, with less than a tenth of the number of installations despite having similar markets.

Only 55,000 heat pumps were sold in the UK last year, compared with more than 620,000 in France. Twenty other European countries also had higher installation rates than the UK.

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Huge Tassie wind farm trims turbine numbers and height as it appeals an order to shut down for five months a year to protect endangered parrots.

The post Giant wind farm sizes down in bid to beat turbine shutdown order appeared first on RenewEconomy.

The price for spot NZUs rose by NZ$10 on Monday, following the government agreeing in court to revisit the ETS price controls and settings.