Feed aggregator

Attenders say actions of Egyptian authorities are threatening their participation at conference

• Cop27 live – latest news updates

Members of civil society attending Cop27 have described how surveillance and intimidation by the Egyptian authorities is threatening their participation in the climate conference.

Problems reported by attenders include overt surveillance, control of their meetings by conference staff and problems with accommodation.

Continue reading...

In a crucial year for the climate, award-winning Guardian environment editor Fiona Harvey reflects on 30 years of Cops and meets the politicians, activists and scientists asking who is responsible for saving the planet.  

In November last year, the world’s gaze focused on Glasgow at Cop26 as 'a historic, collective achievement' was forged between 200 countries – the Glasgow climate pact. Since then, unprecedented global events have threatened this commitment to limiting climate destruction, and the hopes of 'keeping 1.5 alive' have been dashed. We follow Fiona as she prepares for Cop27 in Egypt, asking presidents, global leaders, activists and scientists if global diplomacy is enough to save humanity from the brink of annihilation

Continue reading...

Oil and gas industries have 636 representatives at Egypt conference – a rise of more than 25% on previous year

• Cop27 live – latest news updates

There are more than 600 fossil fuel lobbyists at the Cop27 climate conference, a rise of more than 25% from last year and outnumbering any one frontline community affected by the climate crisis.

There are 636 lobbyists from the oil and gas industries registered to attend the UN event in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt. At Glasgow, the figure was 503, which outnumbered the delegation of any single country. This year the only country with a larger delegation is the United Arab Emirates, hosts of Cop28 next year, which has 1,070 registered delegates, up from 176 last year.

Continue reading...

Latest developments from the UN event, where the theme of the day is science and youth

There are a lot of interesting protests happening today, from a woman in an embellished outfit which proclaims ‘the flood is coming’, to the vegans who have been there each day (a lot of the food on offer seems to be beef and chicken based).

Though the UK prime minister, Rishi Sunak, hotfooted it back to England pretty swiftly after his underwhelming speech to the conference on Monday, there are still a handful of politicians knocking around.

I am delighted to be at Cop27 as part of the UK delegation and to speak about the net zero review and the progress we have made. So far the review has held 38 evidence roundtables and been taking evidence from across the UK – along with receiving over 1,800 written evidence submissions.

I’m keen to maintain the level of collaboration internationally, to demonstrate that the UK remains internationally leading in our climate policies and the review is a fantastic opportunity to establish new policies and frameworks that can ensure we can go further and faster on emissions reductions – and show other nations how they can deliver and implement their own net zero targets.

Continue reading...

It’s Thursday – Science Day – at COP27 in Sharm el-Sheikh, and Carbon Pulse will keep you updated with developments throughout the day. Timestamps in local time (EEST, GMT+2).

The UN late on Wednesday posted Gabon’s REDD forest protection results over the past decade, the final procedural step that paves the way for the world’s biggest carbon credit issuance.

Experts say world has ‘overreached’ in replacing Russian supply, which could kill 1.5C target

The global dash for gas amid the Ukraine war will accelerate climate breakdown and could send temperatures soaring far beyond the 1.5C limit of safety, analysis has shown.

If all of the new gas projects announced in response to the global gas supply crunch are fulfilled, the resulting greenhouse gas emissions would add up to about 10% of the total amount of carbon dioxide that can safely be emitted by 2050.

Continue reading...

The commercial arm of the Bhutanese government has teamed up with a Singapore-headquartered tech company to develop a blockchain-based platform to streamline the issuance of carbon credits in the country.

Chevron has signed a joint study agreement (JSA) with Japanese shipping company Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL) to assess the feasibility of transporting liquefied CO2 (LCO2) from Singapore to permanent storage locations in Australia, the US oil and gas major announced on Thursday.

Pupils at a school supported by Save the Children on Tonlé Sap, a lake in the west of the country, are learning about pollution and the climate crisis – and how their efforts can make a difference to their community

• Photographs by Linh Pham

Continue reading...

We look at developments in Queensland and South Australia. Nigel delivers All Energy wrap and picks apart Sky After Dark misinformation about cobalt.

The post Solar Insiders Podcast: The dumb decisions holding back rooftop PV appeared first on RenewEconomy.

AGL Energy kicks off construction of ARENA-backed Broken Hill battery, a 50MW/50MWh lithium-ion BESS in the far west of New South Wales.

The post AGL breaks ground on Broken Hill big battery as AGM looms appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Wealthy nations have been reluctant to put loss and damage on the COP27 agenda. If negotiations fail, they could ‘unravel the fragile hopes for climate solidarity’ Jacqueline Peel, Director, Melbourne Climate Futures, The University of Melbourne Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Vietnam has adopted more ambitious targets to reduce its emissions by 2030 from a Business as Usual (BAU) trajectory in its latest NDC submission to the UNFCCC, although overall its GHG output is still likely to rise in absolute terms in scenarios laid out in both its unconditional and conditional pledges.

First batch of wind turbine blades for the $3bn Andrew Forrest-backed Clarke Creek renewable energy precinct set sail for port of Gladstone.

The post “Massive pieces of kit:” Wind blades set sail for Andrew Forrest’s huge hybrid project appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Toyota, Volkswagen and Hyundai/Kia on track to make far more petrol and diesel cars than is sustainable

The world’s biggest carmakers plan to build about 400m more diesel and petrol cars than what is sustainable to contain global heating, a study has found.

Researchers from the University of Technology Sydney (UTS), the University of Applied Sciences of the Industry in Bergisch Gladbach and Greenpeace Germany compared the rate at which the world needed to embrace zero-emissions vehicles with the rate at which major car companies were planning to produce various models.

Continue reading...

The pause follows a fire at a Melbourne recycling facility, which is also linked the closure of Coles and Woolworths soft plastics recycling

• Follow our Australia news live blog for the latest updates
• Get our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcast

More than one million used printer cartridges returned as part of a Planet Ark recycling program are being held in storage until at least the middle of next year.

Planet Ark has told the Guardian the printer cartridges can’t currently be recycled because of a June fire at a recycling facility in Melbourne.

Continue reading...

Suspects are almost 25% more likely to be charged for crimes in urban areas than the countryside.

Australia is an exception among developed nations in having increased energy use per person since 2005. A new consultation paper offers hope of policies that can lift the nation’s energy performance. Hugh Saddler, Honorary Associate Professor, Centre for Climate Economics and Policy, Australian National University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

A 10MW, two-hour (20MWh) battery energy storage system has been completed in the ACT, where it will be used to support the transmission network.

The post Spanish energy giant switches on ACT battery – its first in the world appeared first on RenewEconomy.