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If the H5N1 virus jumps into the human population and more dangerous strains emerge, it could set off a new pandemic

Lockdowns are a horrible experience, but fortunately one that is in the past now. Unless, that is, you’re a domestic bird in Britain. Since 7 November, a UK directive has instructed all farmers to keep their birds indoors as part of a stringent measure to stop the spread of avian flu, or the H5N1 virus. This measure is intended to avoid infection of domestic birds from wild birds, and will result in tens of millions of chickens, ducks, geese and turkeys being brought inside for the foreseeable future. We’ve also seen island birds affected, resulting in the shutdown of human visitors to the Isle of May in Scotland for five weeks, among other measures.

Avian flu is known as one of the most infectious diseases: the R number, which was often discussed for the spread of Covid-19, can be as high as 100 for avian flu, meaning one bird can infect as many as 100 others. And the past few months have seen exponential spread of the virus, with Britain and Europe hit especially hard. A lab in Surrey that tests samples says it has seen a 600% increase in cases in the past three months.

Prof Devi Sridhar is chair of global public health at the University of Edinburgh

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Conference attenders in Sharm el-Sheikh ate ice-cream as food stalls and water fountains ran dry

A year ago, Irn-Bru proved an unlikely hit at Cop26 as delegates from around the world tried the Scottish delicacy for the first time. But in Egypt, the battle to find food and water at all has been a core part of the culinary experience at the climate summit.

In the first few days of Cop27, water fountains and refrigerators emblazoned with the logo of sponsor Coca-Cola stood empty in the African sun as thirsty delegates looked on. Stall workers argued with each other as the final few sandwiches, quiche slices and croissants ebbed away.

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Singapore has passed the Carbon Pricing (Amendment) Bill, formally establishing an increase in its carbon tax in two stages to S$45 ($32) per tonne from 2026 and putting the country on a pathway for the tax to reach as high as between S$50-80/t by 2030.

Climate Trace reports half of 50 largest sources of greenhouse gas are oil and gas operations and many underreport their emissions

Greenhouse gas emissions from oil and gas facilities around the world are about three times higher than their producers claim, new data has shown.

Climate Trace, a project to measure at source the true levels of carbon dioxide and other global heating gases, published a new report on Wednesday showing that half of the 50 largest sources of greenhouse gases in the world were oil and gas fields and production facilities.

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UN Secretary General warns fossil fuel companies that using bogus ‘net-zero’ pledges to cover up massive fossil fuel expansion is “rank deception”.

The post “Poisoning our planet:” Greenwashing, deception and loss and fairness at COP27 appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Swinburne University wins $1.3m grant from the Australian government to develop and trial the country’s first hydrogen propelled drone.

The post Swinburne lands grant to develop Australia’s first hydrogen powered drone appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Growth in PPAs is led by solar and wind powerhouses India, Australia and Taiwan as renewables offer significantly cheaper alternative to fossil fuels.

The post Asia corporates turn to wind and solar deals as fossil fuel prices surge appeared first on RenewEconomy.

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REDcycle collections stopping from Wednesday with factory fire and ‘downturns in market demand’ blamed

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Environment minister Tanya Plibersek has called on Australia’s two biggest supermarket chains to come up with a “viable solution” after they were forced to hit pause on their major soft plastic recycling scheme.

REDcycle announced late yesterday it was pausing collections at Woolworths and Coles, where customers were returning more than 5 million pieces of soft plastics every day.

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Leaders, activists and other delegates gathered in Sharm el-Sheikh in Egypt to discuss the climate crisis

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PRESS RELEASE LONGi has unveiled the Hi-MO 6, its latest generation of photovoltaic modules that match high efficiency with stunning aesthetics for distributed generation and rooftop applications. Xi’an, China, Nov. 2, 2022 – On November 2, world-leading solar technology manufacturer LONGi introduced the Hi-MO 6, its first module designed exclusively for the global distributed consumer […]

The post LONGi introduces its new Hi-MO 6 modules to the worldwide DG market   appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Super fund investment could see the five green hydrogen projects reach financial close significantly faster than the expected 2023 deadline.

The post Super fund Hesta aims to pump $100 million into Australian green hydrogen play appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Hosting the world’s climate negotiations could be a very big deal. But the government will need to show Australia has changed by bringing more to the table, and taking coal and gas off the menu. Wesley Morgan, Research Fellow, Griffith Asia Institute, Griffith University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

India wants to embrace an environment-friendly lifestyle to fight climate change - but what about its economy?

Floods upend the plans of humans and wildlife – but after the water calms, it’s boom time for nature. Paul Humphries, Associate professor in ecology, Charles Sturt University Keller Kopf, Lecturer, Charles Darwin University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

The government sees them as a way to lessen the impact of a lack of rain but some farmers are wary.

Demonstrators in Amsterdam stopped private jets taking off ahead of the UN Climate Change Conference.

Brazil's development bank BNDES has agreed to buy BRL100 million ($19.4 mln) in voluntary carbon credits under its second tender process, a large increase from its pilot purchase this spring.

Cash-strapped contractor in delayed and over-budget Snowy 2.0 project is bought out by partner for a peppercorn sum.

The post Intrigue as Webuild buys out cash-strapped Snowy 2.0 contractor partner in fire sale appeared first on RenewEconomy.