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Finnish tech giant Wärtsilä reveals its has started testing hydrogen power units, targeting a 900GW+ future market for zero emissions thermal generation.

The post Wärtsilä tests 100 pct hydrogen plants to back 11,000GW of wind and solar appeared first on RenewEconomy.

MPs and builders want tax cut included in government strategy to cut emissions from home heating

Ministers are resisting calls to reduce VAT on green home improvements, despite pleas from MPs and builders, as they prepare to set out a national strategy for cutting greenhouse gas emissions from home heating.

Heating Britain’s homes accounts for about 14% of the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions, and that number has barely budged in the past decade. This year, ministers scrapped the green homes grant, a scheme to subsidise insulation and low-carbon heating systems, after only six months. This left the UK with no plan to bring homes into line with the government’s commitment to reach net zero emissions by 2050.

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Across the country, citizens’ juries have shown strong support for ambitious green policies that improve lives

The fight against climate change is often presented as a binary decision between a costly but sustainable future or missing environmental targets while protecting people’s jobs. Not only is this framing environmentally dangerous, it’s politically unnecessary. There is strong support for ambitious government policy to tackle the climate crisis, and optimism about the positive benefits of doing so, as long as the measures taken are fair.

The IPPR Environmental Justice Commission, which publishes its final blueprint for a fair transition today, has seen this first-hand from hundreds of hours of conversations with citizens across the UK. Over the past 18 months, we have convened “citizens’ juries”, where people from different areas are randomly invited to take part in a series of events, to hear from experts and discuss and propose their own ideas. We spoke with people from all walks of life and different viewpoints in Aberdeenshire, Tees Valley and County Durham, Thurrock and south Wales. In each place, we asked these jurors what a fair transition would look like to them.

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Edward Jenner is credited with inventing the vaccine but his method was pioneered by a Dorset farmer.

Government controlled committee rejects Zali Steggall's proposed climate bills, but two Liberals call for net zero 2050 target.

The post Committee rejects Steggall’s climate bills, but rebel Liberals call for net zero by 2050 appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Exclusive: oil rich nations back push against Unesco recommendation to have reef placed on world heritage ‘in danger’ list

Australia has gained the support of oil-rich Saudi Arabia and Bahrain in its lobbying effort to keep the Great Barrier Reef off a list of world heritage sites in danger.

The two nations, both members of the 21-country committee, are co-sponsoring amendments seen by the Guardian that back Australia and ask the world heritage committee to push back a key decision until at least 2023.

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If they go out of business it will "rip the heart out of the British countryside", he says.

Landmark report proposes free public transport, more green spaces and cash for home improvements

The British public should be given a “people’s dividend” worth billions of pounds as part of the national drive to hit targets for net zero carbon emissions and the restoration of nature, according to the most detailed blueprint to date for a green transition.

Free public transport, more green spaces and money for improving homes are at the core of a landmark report that proposes one of the greatest advances in the fairness agenda since the creation of the NHS.

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Passengers face ‘near impossible’ choice between low prices and climate-friendly travel, says Which?

Train fares on popular UK routes are 50% more expensive than plane fares despite rail journeys causing 80% lower carbon dioxide emissions, according to analysis by the consumer group Which?.

It said passengers face a “near impossible” choice between low ticket prices and climate-friendly travel. More people are taking holidays in the UK due to coronavirus and airlines have launched dozens of new domestic routes.

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WA to update its grid transition plan as rooftop solar becomes an even more dominant player in the market.

The post WA to update grid transition plan as rooftop solar heads to half of homes appeared first on RenewEconomy.

When borders reopen, take an Aussie road trip and explore the continent's unique geology, from meteorites in the Nullabor Plain to rock formations that are billions of years old. Emily Finch, Beamline Scientist at ANSTO, and Research Affiliate, Monash University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

1414 Degrees appoints long time oil and gas executive as its new CEO.

The post Storage company 1414 Degrees names oil and gas executive as new CEO appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Angus Taylor installs yet another fossil fuel executive to the board of a key government body - this time it's the Clean Energy Regulator.

The post Taylor appoints another fossil fuel executive to a key clean energy body appeared first on RenewEconomy.

AEMO has again warned of "material" constraints and delays to wind and solar projects due to lack of capacity in key part of grid.

The post Wind and solar projects warned of “material” constraints in Victoria, NSW appeared first on RenewEconomy.

The policy has been ridiculed by environmentalists who say the government is putting too much faith in innovation.

Delayed decarbonisation plan for achieving net zero emissions for transport by 2050 is published

New diesel and petrol lorries will be banned in Britain by 2040, under a “greenprint” to decarbonise all types of transport by 2050.

The British government’s long-awaited transport decarbonisation plan, finally published on 15 July, will include what is being billed as a “world-leading pledge” to end the sale of all new polluting vehicles and move towards net zero domestic aviation emissions by 2040.

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

A world-first study inspected 900 bird nest specimens from 1823 to 2018. The types of debris the birds use reflect changes in Australian society over time. Kathy Ann Townsend, Senior Lecturer in Animal Ecology, University of the Sunshine Coast Dominique Potvin, Lecturer in Animal Ecology, University of the Sunshine Coast Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Oil major Shell announced a proposed project at its Alberta refinery on Tuesday that could capture more than 10 million tonnes of CO2 per year, adding to the spate of carbon capture and storage (CCS) and hydrogen initiatives planned for Canada’s fossil fuel-heavy province in recent months.

Vessels laden with fish claim to have sheltered from storm, but Gwadar fishers want catch auctioned locally

Pakistan has detained five Chinese trawlers on suspicion of illegal fishing near its strategic port city of Gwadar, as a wave of protests swept across the region led by fishers concerned about losing control of their fishing grounds to China.

The Chinese trawlers, loaded with fish, were taken into custody by the Pakistan Maritime Security Agency (PMSA), which has begun an investigation into their suspicious presence in Gwadar, where China has built a deep-sea port as part of its global belt and road initiative.

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