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Economic recovery should be fuelled by renewables, not fossil fuels.

The post More clean energy will insulate against rising coal, oil and gas prices appeared first on RenewEconomy.

A daily summary of our news plus bite-sized updates from around the world.

The Morrison government’s technology and market-driven response will not drive down emissions in a fast and fair way

• Scott Morrison unveils $500m in international climate finance
• ‘We are digging our own graves’: world leaders’ powerful words
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For more than 30 years, scientists and communities most at risk of life-threatening global warming have pleaded with political leaders and polluting industries to take concrete action to cut carbon emissions, protect people and forge a sustainable future for the planet.

Instead, for over 30 years, we have had political leaders and industry “debate” whether climate change is real, hold “conversations” about what to do about it, and embark on “journeys”, not concrete plans.

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Cop26 countries must take action to stop record heat becoming an annual event, say experts

• What is Cop26 and why does it matter? The complete guide

The heatwaves and wildfires that caused devastation in Europe this summer would not have happened without global heating, new analysis shows.

The summer of 2021 was the hottest on record in the continent, with average temperatures about 1C above normal. The elevated heat caused wildfires and premature deaths.

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Pledge by over 450 financial institutions in 45 countries billed as one of the successes of Cop26 summit

Hundreds of the world’s biggest banks and pension funds with assets worth $130tn have committed themselves to a key goal in limiting greenhouse gas emissions, the UK government will announce on Wednesday.

The pledge by more than 450 financial institutions in 45 countries is intended to be one of the top achievements by the UK hosts of the Cop26 summit in Glasgow, and comes as some of the other aims of the summit – chiefly, setting the world on a path to limit global heating to 1.5C – are looking hard to reach.

UK prime minister Boris Johnson said he was “cautiously optimistic” about reaching a deal to keep the 1.5C target on track. Returning to a football analogy in which he had said the world was the equivalent of 5-1 down, he declared on Monday evening that the score was now “more like 5-2 or 5-3”.

US president Joe Biden announced a plan by 90 countries to control methane, a powerful greenhouse gas. Under the agreement, which does not include major emitters Russia and China, emissions of methane would fall 30% by the end of the decade.

In another multinational deal, more than 40 countries including the UK, US, EU, India, China and Australia signed up to a plan to coordinate the introduction of clean technologies around the world. By collaborating on things like hydrogen production and electric vehicles, the members of the Breakthrough Alliance hope to bring forward the “tipping point” at which green technology is more affordable than fossil-fuel technology.

The group of countries with the most ambitious climate targets, known as the High Ambition Coalition, were boosted by the announcement that the US would be rejoining their ranks after withdrawing from the Paris agreement entirely under former president Donald Trump. Observers said the move would strengthen efforts to stay on track for the target of 1.5C of heating.

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Companies will outline how they aim to meet the UK's 2050 net-zero target, under government rules.

Criticism of Santos pavilion display comes as Coalition confirms it will not join global pledge to cut methane

• When Charles met Scott: prince and the PM come face to face
• Australia considering more than 100 fossil fuel projects that could produce 5% of global industrial emissions
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The Australian government has been criticised for prominently hosting a fossil fuel company at its pavilion at the Cop26 climate summit in Glasgow.

The condemnation came as the Morrison government confirmed it would not join about 90 countries in backing the official launch of a global pledge to reduce emissions of methane – a potent greenhouse gas leaked during gas and coal extraction and released by livestock – by 30% by 2030.

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Glasgow will not get close to pledges to halve emissions by 2030, and any reputable climate scientist will say that means warming will shoot past 2°C.

The post With “net zero 2050” and 1.5°C in same breath, Glasgow reeks of cognitive dissonance appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Rishi Sunak should temper his hopes of a huge pool of business cash to fund the net zero transition

Add up the assets of 450 of the biggest financial companies spread across 45 countries and what do you get? A very big number for Rishi Sunak to boast about, that’s what. About $130tn (£95tn) to be precise.

The chancellor, who is kicking off tomorrow’s finance day at the Cop26 conference, will say that 40% of the world’s financial assets is now owned by institutions aligned with the Paris 2015 goal of limiting the increase in global temperature to no more than 1.5C of pre-industrial levels.

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‘It is a gigantic issue and they just walked away,’ says US president, who also criticises Russia’s failure to attend Cop26

Joe Biden launched a stinging attack on China on Tuesday for the failure of the country’s president, Xi Jinping, to show up to the Cop26 UN climate summit, and failing to show leadership on the climate crisis.

The US president said it was a “big mistake” that his Chinese counterpart had chosen not to attend the summit, where more than 120 world leaders have spent the last two days discussing ways to limit global temperature rises to 1.5C.

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Power sector emissions under Massachusetts’ Global Warming Solutions Act (GWSA) cap-and-trade programme receded during the third quarter of the year, though CO2 output was still on track to exceed the in-state carbon market’s adjusted 2021 allowance budget.

The Architecture for REDD+ Transactions (ART) programme on Tuesday announced it has approved a listing from Colombia to generate carbon credits, with the proposed area for the subnational endeavour already containing several private-sector led deforestation reduction projects.

One of world’s largest manufacturers of thin-film solar panels to stop production, and switch panel technology, just as Andrew Forrest moves in.

The post Another blow to thin film, as Solar Frontier quits manufacturing and switches sides appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Day 2 of COP26 saw some leaders make significant pledges to cut methane emissions and halt deforestation. Australia promoted its gas industry to the world.

The post Glasgow Brief: Australia spruiks gas projects at COP26, as US and EU make major methane pledge appeared first on RenewEconomy.

UK PM claims there has been a turnaround since G20 summit as he urges China to make improved pledge

Boris Johnson has declared he is “cautiously optimistic” about a deal at Cop26 to keep global temperature rises below 1.5C as he urged China to commit to bringing emissions down by 2025.

The prime minister had previously said if the climate emergency were a football match the world would be 5-1 down but he said on Monday that the score was now more like 5-2 or 5-3.

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Despite Xi Jinping’s absence in Glasgow, Beijing is taking the climate crisis seriously. It must still go much further

Among the 120 or so world leaders gathered in Glasgow for the Cop26 climate crisis talks, there has been one very conspicuous absence: Xi Jinping, president of by far the world’s largest greenhouse gas emitter, responsible for more than a quarter of all emissions. Mr Xi’s decision to stay away is unsurprising; previously a frequent traveller, he has not left his country for 21 months, since the pandemic took hold. But the reduction of the Chinese leader’s contribution to a written statement, making no new commitments, has highlighted concern about Beijing’s recent decisions.

The first is its announcement that it will build new coal-fired power plants, a response to extensive power cuts. Though experienced observers hope the medium-term impact will be less serious than it appears, it could imperil China’s pledge to peak carbon emissions in 2030. The second is its national plan on greenhouse gas emissions, revealed last Thursday. While better than the 2015 plan, it offers little progress on its already declared ambitions and falls well short of the action needed to ensure global heating does not exceed 1.5C. And in Glasgow, China has (like India and Russia) declined to sign up to the new 80-country pact to cut methane emissions, although it has joined the agreement to halt deforestation over the next decade.

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The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed new rules Tuesday that would help cut methane emissions from the oil and gas sector, hours before the US-EU-led Global Methane Pledge was formally unveiled at COP26.

Can we breed kelp and other keystone species to survive warming and marine heatwaves? These techniques have promise – but they’re not a silver bullet. Cayne Layton, Postdoctoral fellow and lecturer, University of Tasmania Melinda Coleman, Principal Research Scientist Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Verra is seeking a Senior Program Officer, Methodologies to support the development of innovative and high-impact VCS methodologies, with a focus on technological and industrial climate solutions. In the context of this position, technological and industrial climate solutions encompasses all sectors other than Natural Climate Solutions.

Verra is seeking a Senior Program Officer, Methodologies, to support the development of innovative and high-impact VCS methodologies, with a focus on Nature Climate Solutions (NCS).