Feed aggregator

Carbon credits distract policymakers from concrete actions that actually bring down emissions, TAI submission argues.

The post Carbon credits serve to greenwash business-as-usual, says TAI, won’t cut emissions appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Major Snowy 2.0 contractor Clough Engineering puts itself on the block amid financial crunch, attracting new concerns about the project's timeline.

The post Snowy 2.0 contractor drama continues, with talk of sale raising new concerns appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Speculators in the New Zealand ETS added almost 12 million NZUs to their total holdings in Q3, according to government data, as the value of the permits rose over the period.

Australia is one of the last nations holding out against legislating the human right to a healthy environment Meg Good, Honorary Adjunct Assistant Professor, Faculty of Law, Bond University. Adjunct Lecturer, School of Law, University of Tasmania, University of Tasmania Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

The UN predicts more than 300,000 people in Somalia will be in famine by December. 7 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance. Here’s how you can help. Joshua Hallwright, Deputy Director, Centre for Humanitarian Leadership , Deakin University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Offer to connect to SA grid brings two solar and battery projects one step closer to harnessing valuable negative pricing opportunities.

The post MPower gets green light to connect solar battery projects, cash in on negative pricing appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Waterways across northern Victoria are peaking, with towns along the banks of the Goulburn and Campaspe rivers flooding or in danger of being inundated. Major flooding has peaked at Shepparton and Murchison, where the Goulburn reached 12 metres. It has also hit communities along the Avoca River to Charlton. More than 60 warnings have been issued across the state

• Australia news live: Victoria floods

Continue reading...

Soaring electricity prices are cutting the payback period for solar and wind farms to less than a year in some parts of the world, new research shows.

The post Wind and solar payback drops to less than a year thanks to fossil fuel crisis appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Germany is still holding auctions to exit coal, but lack of response forced regulators to force the early closure of a plant owned by car maker VW.

The post Germany continues coal exit auctions amid energy crisis, VW told to close plant appeared first on RenewEconomy.

The first chief heat officers appointed in Australia are part of a global partnership that’s responding to the dangers of rising city temperatures and the need to manage the risks. Wendy Walls, Lecturer in Landscape Architecture, The University of Melbourne Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Genex reveals more windfall gains from its two operating solar farms, and says pumped hydro project still on track despite "influx of water" that brought drilling to a halt.

The post Solar farms still reaping rich rewards from fossil fuel inflated electricity prices appeared first on RenewEconomy.

NSW government confirms that the Waratah "super" battery - the largest of its type in Australia - will be built at site of demolished coal generator.

The post Australia’s biggest network battery to be built at site of demolished coal power station appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Thames and Southern worst in England and Wales, as complaints to Thames on bills, sewerage and supply double in five years

Thames Water is at the top of a league table charting the number of written complaints made to water firms in England and Wales last year, with the number more than doubling since 2017.

The number of written complaints received by the firm from household customers has risen from 17,039 in 2017/18 to 40,060 in 2021/22, according to the most recent figures from the Consumer Council for Water (CCW). The firm accounted for nearly half (47%) of all written complaints to water and sewerage firms in England and Wales last year.

Continue reading...

Only 5% of species now expected to survive as disease hits harder than first thought and prevention costs mount

Warburg Nature Reserve is one of the gems of the Chiltern Hills. In the autumn, its beech, birch and oak trees are transformed into a blazing canopy of red, yellow, brown and golden leaves. Buzzards and red kites swoop overhead while a startling array of fungi – from milkcaps to collared earthstars – push up through the woodland floor of the 100-hectare site.

This curtain of multicoloured delights hides a grim secret, however. A stroll through the reserve, which is owned by the Wildlife Trusts, reveals gaps that have recently appeared in the foliage.

Continue reading...

2022 has been Australia’s year of freak floods. Here’s what stricken Victorians are set to experience in the weeks and months ahead. Mel Taylor, Associate Professor, Macquarie University Barbara Ryan, Senior Lecturer, University of Southern Queensland Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Twice the number of sites have been exposed to concerning levels of pollution and sewage since 2019, government report finds

• Get our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcast

One in five swimming spots in New South Wales have been rated as having “poor” or “very poor” pollution levels, including Sydney’s popular Coogee beach, after the state experienced its wettest summer in a decade.

Twice the number of beaches, lakes and lagoons have been exposed to concerning levels of pollution and sewage since 2019, according to the annual state of the beaches report released by the NSW Department of Planning and Environment.

Get our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcast

Continue reading...

A British businessman believes it could suck a billion tonnes of carbon out of the atmosphere annually.

Process involves using electrostatic separation on PV panels to collect out valuable materials, reducing them to 2-3% of original weight

• Get our free news app, morning email briefing or daily news podcast

New research has proposed a cost-effective way to recycle solar panels to help handle an increasing volume of retired photovoltaic (PV) cells expected by the end of the decade.

In a paper published by a team from the University of New South Wales last week, researchers outlined a process to collect and extract valuable materials from solar arrays to see if it was technically, economically and environmentally feasible.

Sign up to receive an email with the top stories from Guardian Australia every morning

Continue reading...

Scorching summer left reservoirs depleted and unlikely to recover, as growers warn of supply chain collapse in leaked meeting

Farmers have warned they will not be able to grow crops next year if predictions that the drought will last until next summer prove accurate.

Leaked slides from a national drought group meeting, seen by the Observer, show there are concerns that because reservoirs are still empty due to record dry conditions, the fruit and vegetable supply chain could collapse.

Continue reading...

A Louisiana power company’s plan to capture climate emissions is raising concerns about the state’s water supplies

A carbon capture proposal for a central Louisiana power plant has been titled “Project Diamond Vault” by its owner, Louisiana utility Cleco. The utility says the project will have “precious value” to the company, customers and state.

Yet less than six months after announcing the project to capture carbon from the plant’s emissions and store them underground near the plant, Cleco revealed in a recent filing to its state regulator the $900m carbon capture retrofit could reduce electricity produced for its customers by about 30%.

Continue reading...