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Climate research finds modelling used cannot predict localised extreme weather, leading to poor estimations of risk

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Trillions of dollars may be misallocated to deal with the wrong climate threats around the world because the models used by central banks and regulators aren’t fit for purpose, a leading Australian climate researcher says.

Prof Andy Pitman, director of the Australian Research Council’s Centre of Excellence for Climate Extremes, said regulators are relying on models that are good at forecasting how average climates will change as the planet warms, but are less likely to be of use for predicting how extreme weather will imperil individual localities such as cities, however.

The concerns, detailed in a recent report in the journal Environmental Research: Climate, were underscored by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority’s release on Monday of its corporate plan 2022-23. Apra plans to “continue to ensure regulated institutions are well-prepared for the risks and opportunities presented by climate change”.

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California Governor Gavin Newsom (D) has called for lawmakers to ratchet up the ambition of the state’s 2030 GHG reduction target, according to a document circulated to legislators this week and seen by Carbon Pulse, which sent California Carbon Allowance (CCA) prices to a two-month high on Tuesday.

University of Newcastle spin-off promoting graphite blocks as an easy way to store energy for heat and power gains funding from ARENA for a pilot plant.

The post Graphite storage technology gets ARENA funding for heat and power applications appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Ban will hit 15 million people in London and south-east England and could last until October

Fifteen million more people are to be hit with a hosepipe ban in London and the surrounding areas, as Thames Water has announced measures will be introduced “in coming weeks”.

People served by the water company will join those in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, who have been under restrictions since last week, and those in Sussex and Kent, who will be under a ban from this Friday.

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Europe’s most severe drought in decades is hitting homes, factories, farmers and freight across the continent, as experts warn drier winters and searing summers fuelled by global heating mean water shortages will become 'the new normal'. Drone footage comparisons between the summer of 2022 and previous years shows the dramatic impact lack of rainfall has had on European rivers

• ‘The new normal’: how Europe is being hit by a climate-driven drought crisis
  
• UK braced for drought conditions to last until October
  

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A crypto company is expanding its reach for selling tokenised offsets from projects preserving the Amazon rainforest after teaming up with a blockchain marketplace.

Trading in EUAs continued to diminish on Tuesday as the holiday period reached its peak, with prices moving in their narrowest range of the year so far and volume shrinking to its lowest since the early June public holidays, while energy markets edged lower despite warnings of higher temperatures.

An investment fund has taken an equity stake in an Indonesia-based carbon project developer with an eye on scaling up forest conservation and peatland restoration activities across Southeast Asia.

The bill is a devil’s bargain between the Democrats, the fossil fuel industry, and recalcitrant senator Joe Manchin. Yet it’s better than nothing

“We’re pleased,” ExxonMobil’s CEO, Darren Woods, said on an earnings call last month, speaking about the Inflation Reduction Act. He called the bill, now making its way through the US Congress, “clear and consistent”. After it passed the Senate Sunday evening, Shell USA said it was “a step toward increased energy security and #netzero”. The world is currently on track to produce double the amount of coal, oil and gas in 2030 than is consistent with capping warming at 1.5C. To state the obvious: climate policy should strike fear into the hearts of fossil fuel executives, not delight them. So what have some of the world’s worst polluters found to like about a historic piece of climate legislation?

Guilt by association only goes so far: that the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) passed is undoubtedly good news. It will do a lot of good things. Democrats face the distinct possibility of being locked out of power for at least a decade after midterm elections this November, when they’re expected to lose the House of Representatives. Republicans won’t be keen to recognize that another party’s candidate could win the presidency, let alone reduce emissions. That something being called climate policy passed at all is thanks to the tireless work the climate movement has done to put it on the agenda, and the diligent staffers who spent late nights translating that momentum into legislation.

Kate Aronoff is a staff writer at the New Republic and the author of Overheated: How Capitalism Broke the Planet – And How We Fight Back

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Taiwan has required a new batch of companies to report their greenhouse gas emissions data on an annual basis, with a primary focus on electronics components manufacturers, one of the pillars of the island's economy.

Tory leadership hopefuls urged to set out emergency plans as parts of UK face driest conditions on record

Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak must set out emergency water plans to tackle “immoral” wastage, the president of the National Farmers’ Union has said.

Farmers fear their crops will be harmed, or even fail, due to the recent dry weather. If there is not significant rainfall this autumn and winter, drained reservoirs and empty rivers will not refill sufficiently for a lot of farming to be viable next year. And next year’s potential drought could be more severe than this summer’s arid conditions.

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Marubeni Corp. has signed a deal for the exclusive rights to market and sell carbon credits from the agricultural use of biochar generated by a Japanese biochar expert association that works with farmers.

Chinese exporters are likely to experience considerable cost pressure from the world's first levy on carbon imports, the EU's carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM), as China's domestic emissions trading scheme is not ripe yet, a report has found.

Horizon rolls out new management system that better integrates utility-owned energy resources with customer owned assets such as rooftop solar, batteries, and electric vehicles.

The post Horizon deploys new technology for greener micro-grids in isolated communities appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Reporting to the General Manager, Carbon Solutions, this position will develop products and services in land and nature-based solutions in line with Santos Climate Transition Strategy.

Gravity storage start-up Energy Vault flags "multi-gigawatt hour" storage solution for Queensland zinc refinery.

The post Gravity storage start-up says it has “multi gigawatt hour” plans for Australian zinc refiner appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Oak said to have inspired Chronicles of Narnia among 12 contenders in competition now in its eighth year

• Woodland Trust’s UK tree of the year 2022 nominations – in pictures

An oak tree that is said to have inspired the Chronicles of Narnia is among those nominated for the Woodland Trust’s tree of the year competition.

The Kilbroney oak is located in Kilbroney Park, Northern Ireland, where CS Lewis holidayed as a child, later describing it as his vision of Narnia.

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Five gargantuan oaks, one of which is said to have provided the inspiration for the fantasy land of Narnia, and a spectacular ‘portal rowan’ are among the unique specimens in the running to be crowned the Woodland Trust’s tree of the year for 2022

• ‘Living legends’: Woodland Trust reveals tree of the year shortlist

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Precise cause of the deaths of hundreds of fish first detected last week is unknown, with preliminary analysis suggesting oxygen deprivation

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The deaths of hundreds of fish in Lake Macquarie are being investigated, with the New South Wales environmental regulator looking for “any potential pollution sources” that could have caused the mass kill.

Paul Winn, the lead researcher at the Hunter Community Environment Centre, said “probably several hundred to up to 1,000 fish” had been killed in Wyee Bay, on the southern end of Lake Macquarie near Newcastle, and washed ashore.

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Variable renewable energy - wind, rooftop PV and large scale solar - are delivering one quarter of Australia's demand on an annualised basis.

The post Magpies warble, spring stirs, as wind and solar deliver one quarter of grid demand appeared first on RenewEconomy.