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Plan would provide fresh locally grown food, promote sustainable agriculture and cut carbon emissions

Plans have been submitted to create a first-of-its-kind urban farm on top of a multi-storey car park in Birmingham as part of a vision to “turn grey space to green productive space”.

Slow Food Birmingham, a grassroots organisation that promotes hyperlocal food production, has sent proposals to the council to build a farm, glasshouses, community space and garden, as well as an education hub and cafe on the site.

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An Australian pension fund has divested from a land development company in protest of its decision to proceed with a project that could threaten the survival of one of the last remaining healthy koala colonies in New South Wales.

Offsets under the Safeguard Mechanism are not an excuse for inaction or an easy way out. They are an unfunded liability that will grow in both cost and risk.

The post Safeguard Mechanism: Why offsets are not an excuse for inaction appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Australian solar pioneer to lead collaboration with India on solar, including "enormous opportunities" to build up a domestic PV manufacturing supply chain.

The post Renate Egan to co-chair Australia-India solar taskforce, as PM talks “billions” in investments appeared first on RenewEconomy.

GE says it will focus on leaner wind turbine manufacture operations, with far fewer variants, to stem the flow to breakdowns.

The post Wind turbines got too big, too fast: GE to focus on fewer models, less complex operations appeared first on RenewEconomy.

New research shows that if captive breeding stopped tomorrow, orange-bellied parrots would soon become extinct. So we’re locked into breeding programs until we can solve the underlying problems. Dejan Stojanovic, Postdoctoral Fellow, Australian National University Carolyn Hogg, Senior Research Manager, University of Sydney Rob Heinsohn, Professor of Evolutionary and Conservation Biology, Australian National University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

The New Zealand government’s decision to leave the ETS price settings largely as-is looms large over the first carbon auction of the year, but market watchers expect buyers will come in to snap up cheap NZUs.

Three of the biggest conservation charities team up to try and halt the destruction of nature in UK.

Andrew Forrest owned Windlab shrinks size of massive wind farm but report says it still has "unavoidable" consequences for several endangered species.

The post Forrest-backed wind project still a threat to endangered species, despite smaller size appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Speed limits are coming down to improve road safety. Expanding the policy to target high-carbon emission vehicles would be a simple and effective climate strategy. Len Gillman, Professor of Biogeography, Auckland University of Technology Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Genex Power marks "key milestone" for its first big battery, the 50MW/100MWh Bouldercombe project near Rockhampton in Queensland.

The post Genex takes delivery of all 40 Tesla Megapacks for Bouldercombe big battery appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Head of Australia's biggest distributed network says electric vehicles are not about to blow up the grid, but is surprised by anti-EV talk in Australia.

The post Electric vehicles won’t blow up the grid, says head of Australia’s biggest network company appeared first on RenewEconomy.

An Australian carbon project developer has launched an agribusiness spin-off company, designed to manage natural assets in a bid to ramp up the sustainable agriculture industry.

Residents were airlifted after their Queensland town was affected by its worst ever flood and authorities said the flood waters were likely infested with crocodiles.

About 70 people remained in Burketown, as the swollen Albert River to the town’s east continues to rise.

At least 37 properties were inundated by flood waters. Authorities say it will not be safe to return for days, and the community still there could be isolated for up to two weeks

• Queensland floods: Burketown residents warned of crocodile-infested waters before expected peak

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Wealthy Australians – and by global standards that’s most of us – are a significant part of the climate problem and therefore, the solution

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Tony Abbott. Donald Trump. Adani. Scott Morrison. Jair Bolsonaro. Shell. George W Bush. George HW Bush. Saudi Aramco.

These are just some of the names rightly called out by media in recent years for their contribution to, or stalling of action to prevent, climate change.

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Excessive use of phosphorus is depleting reserves vital to global food production, while also adding to the climate crisis

Our planet faces “phosphogeddon”, scientists have warned. They fear our misuse of phosphorus could lead to deadly shortages of fertilisers that would disrupt global food production.

At the same time, phosphate fertiliser washed from fields – together with sewage inputs into rivers, lakes and seas – is giving rise to widespread algal blooms and creating aquatic dead zones that threaten fish stocks.

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National wealth fund is intended to pull in private investment and create thousands of new jobs in areas beyond the south-east

The Labour party is planning to put the UK at the head of a worldwide green industrial revolution, with a massive US-style, public-private investment scheme targeted at the most deprived regions.

In an interview with the Observer, Rachel Reeves, the shadow chancellor, who will travel to Washington in May to meet senior Democrats, says a Labour government will follow the model of US president Joe Biden’s hugely ambitious regional recovery plan, using the climate crisis as the catalyst for economic revival.

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A big reason the idea is gaining momentum globally is that the benefits for the health of individuals, communities and the environment are clear and almost immediate. Christopher Patterson, Senior Lecturer, School of Nursing, University of Wollongong Lance Barrie, Research Fellow, ARC Centre of Excellence for the Digital Child, University of Wollongong Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

First offshore wind auctions in Australia to be held in 2025 as country prepares ports for massive turbines that will help replace last of coal power plants.

The post Date set for Australia’s first offshore wind auction as ports prepare for massive turbines appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Ridding country of the shrub will take 250 years at the current rate of progress, despise posing ‘a mortal threat’ to Britain’s temperate rainforest, say campaigners

It will take 250 years to eradicate rhododendron from England at the current rate of removal, according to new figures, despite the invasive woodland shrub posing “a mortal threat” to Britain’s temperate rainforest, campaigners warn.

Rhododendron, introduced from Asia and widely planted by the Victorians, covers at least 37,600 hectares (93,000 acres) in England, much of it in the west of the country, which is also home to the remaining fragments of temperate rainforest.

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