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Technology and engineering academy tells government not to wait for a ‘miracle’ and aim for net zero emissions now

Australia’s leading scientists and engineers have told the Morrison government the technologies needed to make significant cuts in greenhouse gas emissions already exist – and the Coalition should immediately implement a national net zero policy.

In an explicit response to the government’s “technology, not taxes” approach to reducing emissions, the Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering has released a position statement calling on the government to “prioritise the immediate deployment of existing mature, low-carbon technologies which can make deep cuts to high-emitting sectors before 2030”.

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Extinction Rebellion members march through Westminster and target offices of JP Morgan

An occupation of the offices of the environmental group WWF by a protest in solidarity with indigenous people in Africa has continued into its second day, as Extinction Rebellion’s actions continued in London on a smaller scale.

About a dozen activists organised under the banner WTF WWF occupied the WWF offices in Woking, Surrey, on Tuesday morning. They stayed overnight, refusing to leave until it begins a dialogue with indigenous communities in Tanzania, Kenya and Cameroon who say they are being displaced by conservation efforts.

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Swiss scientists develop prototype ‘nanogenerator’ that produces renewable energy when trodden on

Scientists have developed technology that can turn footsteps into electricity.

By tapping into an unexpected energy source, wooden flooring, researchers from Switzerland have developed an energy-harvesting device that uses wood with a combination of a silicone coating and embedded nanocrystals to produce enough energy to power LED lightbulbs and small electronics.

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The Climate Markets and Investors Association (CMIA) and law firm DLA Piper have jointly developed a single trade agreement for UK emissions allowance transactions for counterparties that do not have a master trading agreement in place.

Bird photographer of the year 2021 has been unveiled, with a photo of a roadrunner stopped in its tracks by the US-Mexico border wall taking the grand prize in this prestigious international competition

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Aerial photographs reveal damage and flooding in parts of Louisiana following Hurricane Ida.

Australia has the highest per capita penetration of solar PV in the world. It’s arguably the cheapest form of electricity the world has ever seen, but that does not mean it is always the highest value. Join us to hear about the prospects for utility-scale solar in Australia.

The post Webinar: How to get the most out of solar appeared first on RenewEconomy.

EUAs extended Monday's all-time high on Wednesday as natural gas prices extended their gains on concerns over Russian supply to Europe, while UKAs also climbed to a fresh record.

The majority of in-flight systems on the ISS have passed their expiry date, an official warns.

Iraqi minister and International Energy Agency chief urge countries to move away from fossil fuel dependency

• Without help for oil-producing countries, net zero by 2050 is a distant dream

The finance minister of Iraq, one of the founding members of the global oil cartel Opec, has made an unprecedented call to fellow oil producers to move away from fossil fuel dependency and into renewable energy, ahead of a key Opec meeting.

Ali Allawi, who is also the deputy prime minister of Iraq, has written in the Guardian to urge oil producers to pursue “an economic renewal focused on environmentally sound policies and technologies” that would include solar power and potentially nuclear reactors, and reduce their dependency on fossil fuel exports.

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To meet climate targets and avoid economic collapse, countries such as Iraq need international support in the transition to clean energy

• Ali Allawi is deputy prime minister and finance minister of Iraq. Fatih Birol is executive director of the International Energy Agency

In the Middle East and north Africa, global warming is not a distant threat, but an already painful reality. Rising temperatures are exacerbating water shortages. In Iraq, temperatures are estimated to be rising as much as seven times faster than the global average. Countries in this region are not only uniquely affected by global temperature rises: their centrality to global oil and gas markets makes their economies particularly vulnerable to the transition away from fossil fuels and towards cleaner energy sources. It’s essential the voices of Iraq and similar countries are heard at the Cop26 climate change conference in Glasgow this November.

To stand a chance of limiting the worst effects of climate change, the world needs to fundamentally change the way it produces and consumes energy, burning less coal, oil and natural gas. The International Energy Agency’s recent global roadmap to net zero by 2050 shows the world’s demand for oil will need to decline from more than 90m barrels a day to less than 25m by 2050. This would result in a 75% plunge in net revenues for oil-producing economies, many of which are dominated by a public sector that relies on oil exports and the revenues they produce.

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An exchange in China’s Fujian province has set up the nation’s first trading platform for blue carbon credits, in expectation of a government-backed push for offset projects that store carbon in the ocean.

With a record-breaking number of entries from around the world, the judges of the 57th wildlife photographer of the year have had the toughest job yet.

From lynx making a comeback to a striking ecological disaster and narwhal shrimp communicating at great depths, there is an incredible range in the unique and fascinating images in the Natural History Museum’s exhibition. The photographs are a compelling reminder of the importance of the variety and variability of life on Earth in securing the future of our planet, revealed just ahead of the first phase of the global UN conference of Cop15 on biodiversity.

A special selection of highly commended photographs has been released before the opening of the highly anticipated exhibition at the London museum on 15 October 2021

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A selection of the winners in this year's Bird Photographer of the Year competition.

Floods, storms and extreme events increase five-fold but the number of people dying in them fell.

Awesome alpacas, frolicking flamingos and recuperating ravens … these rescue animals – in Sage Sohier’s photographs – have a zest for life and a remarkable willingness to forgive people

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Why rooftop solar will be dominant feature of grid within 5 years. And we speak to Autonomous Energy over recent buyout.

The post Solar Insiders Podcast: Solar is king, but who gets to control it? appeared first on RenewEconomy.

New infrastructure projects are all the rage, post-pandemic. But who benefits from a rising tide of concrete?

Dig for victory: this, repurposed from the second world war, could be the slogan of our times. All over the world, governments are using the pandemic and the environmental crisis to justify a new splurge of infrastructure spending. In the US, Joe Biden’s bipartisan infrastructure framework “will make our economy more sustainable, resilient, and just”. In the UK, Boris Johnson’s build back better programme will “unite and level up the country”, under the banner of “green growth”. China’s belt and road project will bring the world together in hyper-connected harmony and prosperity.

Sure, we need some new infrastructure. If people are to drive less, we need new public transport links and safe cycling routes. We need better water treatment plants and recycling centres, new wind and solar plants, and the power lines required to connect them to the grid. But we can no more build our way out of the environmental crisis than we can consume our way out of it. Why? Because new building is subject to the eight golden rules of infrastructure procurement.

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Plans to establish a renewable hydrogen hub in South Australia’s Whyalla region gain ground with a site locked in for the first of three solar and big battery projects.

The post Amp Energy secures land for massive solar, battery, green hydrogen play appeared first on RenewEconomy.

AEMO says the switch to 5-minute settlement ready to go on October 1, a switch expected to support investment in new technologies, including battery storage.

The post Battery boost: AEMO gives green light to 5-minute settlements from October appeared first on RenewEconomy.