Feed aggregator
UK energy industry urges ministers to stick with net zero plan
Some rightwingers claim renewables have increased costs, but Energy UK blames over-reliance on gas
Energy companies want the government to implement policies to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions, the industry’s leader has said, despite claims from some on the political right that high energy prices should spark a rethink.
Emma Pinchbeck, chief executive of Energy UK, which represents the industry, said: “The government should press on with net zero policies. That’s something they still need to do. We are missing the carbon budgets.”
Continue reading...EU should set price corridor for new ETS to ease poverty concerns -report
Under the sea: Ocean Art 2021 underwater photo competition – in pictures
Stunning images from the 10th year of the worldwide Ocean Art underwater photo competition. Thousands of entries from 81 countries were judged with the winners including nine taken in Australia
Continue reading...Top drop: NSW’s Richmond valley takes out best tap water in Australia title
Council plant faced ‘a lot of challenges’ to beat five other state entrants on qualities including clarity, smell, taste and ‘feeling in the mouth’
- Follow our Australia news live blog for the latest updates
- Download the free Guardian app; get our morning email briefing
A competition to find Australia’s finest drop of water has announced the Richmond valley council water plant in NSW as its winner.
The 2021 Best Tasting Tap Water competition, hosted by the Water Industry Operators Association of Australia (WIOA), pitted water authority state winners from metropolitan and regional areas around the country against each other.
Continue reading...Voluntary carbon market initiative to outline buying guidelines in April
How solving solar’s aluminium problem is key to keeping its climate credentials
Australian researchers say efforts to cut embodied emissions of aluminium would boost the climate benefits of solar power.
The post How solving solar’s aluminium problem is key to keeping its climate credentials appeared first on RenewEconomy.
UK consumers ‘don’t know what to cook’ as £1.2bn of food is binned a year
A fifth of those polled said they could reduce food waste if they knew more recipes
Nearly £1.2bn worth of fruit, veg and bread is binned in the UK every year, with one in five consumers stating the reason they waste so much is they “don’t know what to cook”.
Close to 76m items – an average of nearly three per household – are thrown away every week, according to new data based on research by Censuswide, which asked consumers how much food they threw away. The scale of the waste is staggering, with 914m potatoes, 733m tomatoes and 728m carrots ending up in dustbins each year.
Continue reading...Blacksmith recycles canisters into cult kitchen knives for zero-waste foodies
Tim Westley takes up chef friend’s challenge to transform laughing gas litter
The little steel bulbs that litter parks, roadsides and city centres – the discarded canisters from Britain’s second favourite drug, laughing gas – cause misery to many communities. But now one blacksmith has found an innovative use for them – turning them into handmade kitchen knives.
The prevalence of the canisters has prompted some councils to impose local bans, while the home secretary is keen to outlaw them nationally.
Continue reading...Euro Markets: Midday Update
Business group to map credibility of digital climate markets as crypto takes hold
‘Like a work of art’: rare stretch of pristine coral reef discovered off Tahiti
Scientists say find shows importance of mapping deep ocean where coral can escape effects of global heating
A huge coral reef has been discovered off the coast of Tahiti in the Pacific Ocean’s “twilight zone”, offering hope that more pristine ecosystems are waiting to be discovered at unexplored depths.
Stretching along the ocean floor for nearly 2 miles, the reef, covered in rose-shaped corals, is one of the largest such discoveries at depths of more than 30 metres, where sunlight levels are much lower.
Continue reading...Crow-plagued California city turns to lasers and boomboxes to clear the air
More than a thousand crows roost in Sunnyvale every night, ruffling locals’ feathers with caws and droppings
Each night, more than a thousand crows descend on Sunnyvale, California. In recent years a growing contingency of corvids have been roosting in the Silicon Valley town’s downtown district, filling the night air with a chorus of caws and painting the roads, Pollock-esque, with droppings.
The spectacle has failed to charm residents and local business owners. Vice-Mayor Alysa Cisneros said constituents had been complaining about the crows since she began campaigning for office in 2019. “In terms of the kinds of complaints I get on a consistent basis, crows are a top concern, right after speeding drivers,” she said.
Continue reading...By 2050, a quarter of the world’s people will be African – this will shape our future | Edward Paice
Africa’s unprecedented population growth will impact geopolitics, global trade, migration and almost every aspect of life. It’s time for a reimagining of the continent
In 2022 the world’s population will pass 8 billion. It has increased by a third in just two decades. By 2050, there will be about 9.5 billion of us on the planet, according to respected demographers. This makes recent comments by Elon Musk baffling. According to him, “the low birthrate and the rapidly declining birthrate” is “one of the biggest risks to civilisation”.
Fertility rates in Europe, North America and east Asia are generally below 2.1 births per woman, the level at which populations remain stable at constant mortality rates. The trajectory in some countries is particularly arresting. The birthrate in Italy is the lowest it has ever been in the country’s history. South Korea’s fertility rate has been stuck below one birth per woman for decades despite an estimated $120bn (£90bn) being spent on initiatives aimed at raising it. Japan started the century with 128 million citizens but is on course to have only 106 million by 2050. China’s population will peak at 1.45 billion in 2030, but if it proves unable to raise its fertility rate, the world’s most populous country could end the century with fewer than 600 million inhabitants. This is the “big risk” alluded to by Musk. The trouble is, his statement seems to imply that “civilisation” does not include Africa.
Continue reading...Staff blow whistle on Environment Agency that ‘no longer deters polluters’
Exclusive: Officers say cuts and operational decisions have made England’s regulator ‘toothless’
Staff at England’s Environment Agency say it has been cut back to such an extent that they cannot do their jobs and the regulator is no longer a deterrent to polluters.
Three officers at the EA have described to the Guardian and Ends Report how they are increasingly unable to hold polluters to account or improve the environment as a result of the body’s policies.
Continue reading...Giant pristine coral reef discovered off Tahiti
Regulator outlines “solar tax” rules, says onus on networks to prove they need it
Australian Energy Regulator publishes draft guidelines for the introduction of solar export tariffs, setting strict rules for networks and safeguards for consumers – but leaving some things open to interpretation.
The post Regulator outlines “solar tax” rules, says onus on networks to prove they need it appeared first on RenewEconomy.
Policy gaps on climate impact of fossil fuels, NSW planning authorities concede
NSW planning department recommends expansion of Narrabri coal mine can proceed, despite conceding it's unclear how to assess its climate change impacts.
The post Policy gaps on climate impact of fossil fuels, NSW planning authorities concede appeared first on RenewEconomy.
Analysts expect regulator to unchain Australian offset contracts
An energy revolution is possible, but only if leaders get imaginative about how to fund it
If we want to solve climate change, we first need to transform our economic thinking. Relying on research and development to bring down costs is not an option.
The post An energy revolution is possible, but only if leaders get imaginative about how to fund it appeared first on RenewEconomy.
A closer look the Australian carbon market in 2021 – a year of records
We take a closer look at 2021 in the Australian carbon market "by the numbers," and weigh the implications for 2022 – an election year.
The post A closer look the Australian carbon market in 2021 – a year of records appeared first on RenewEconomy.
Pages
