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Wind and solar output has surged past 20 gigawatts for the first time on Australian main grid, marking yet another significant milestone in the green energy transition.

The post Wind and solar output surges past 20 gigawatts for first time on Australia’s main grid appeared first on RenewEconomy.

It's Day 6 of COP28. A heady mix of philosophical and practical disputes pervades the air. Elusive, almost existential questions, like "what is a 'global stocktake'?" baffle parties, press, and observers alike. The theme of the day is energy and industry, catalysing protests but perhaps not much else – as Carbon Pulse entered Expo City to chants, hope, and disillusionment. While the COP president asserts he is "crystal clear" on his commitment to climate science, are parties equally (or more) committed to the cause of a green energy transition? In our daily running blog, Carbon Pulse will report relevant or useful updates throughout the day. Timestamps are in local time (Gulf Standard Time, GMT+4).

Temperatures are still on track to rise by 2.5C compared to pre-industrial levels, despite an inter-governmental pledge at COP26 in Glasgow to strengthen national climate targets, a report revealed on Tuesday.

A group of multinational fund managers and advisories have been tapped to oversee a climate-focused blended finance fund targeting $1.5 billion in debt finance, they announced at COP28 in Dubai.

A group of eight multilateral development banks and development finance institutions have teamed up to launch a task force to accelerate sustainability-linked finance through approaches like debt-for-nature swaps.

The Asian Development Bank has announced a nature solutions financing hub for the Asia-Pacific region aiming to attract at least $2 billion, with a number of other institutions and organisations expressing interest in participating.

Industry experts say electric cars sales figures could be higher if the government stops delaying fuel efficiency standards

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Sales of electric vehicles in Australia have more than doubled this year compared to 2022 but industry experts say the figure could be even higher had the government introduced long-promised fuel efficiency standards.

The year-to-date sales of battery electric vehicles (EVs) have hit 80,446 compared to 28,326 for the same period last year, an increase of 185%, according to figures from the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries. EVs made up 7.2% of all motor vehicle sales so far this year.

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Projected rate of warming has not improved in past two years, analysis shows

• Cop28 president forced into defence of fossil fuel phase-out claims
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Global carbon emissions from fossil fuels reached record levels again in 2023, as experts warned that the projected rate of warming had not improved over the past two years.

The world is on track to have burned more coal, oil and gas in 2023 than it did in 2022, according to a report by the Global Carbon Project, pumping 1.1% more planet-heating carbon dioxide into the atmosphere at a time when emissions must plummet to stop extreme weather from growing more violent.

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UAE-hosted summit admitted at least 2,456 people affiliated with oil and gas industries, analysis finds

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At least 2,456 fossil fuel lobbyists have been granted access to the Cop28 climate negotiations, according to an analysis.

The figure calculated by the Kick Big Polluters Out (KBPO) coalition is a record number that raises further questions about the fossil fuel industry’s influence over this year’s UN summit, which is being run by the president of the United Arab Emirates’ national oil company.

Fossil fuel lobbyists received more passes than the combined total of delegates (1,609) from the 10 most climate vulnerable countries combined, including Somalia, Chad, Tonga, Solomon Islands and Sudan.

Many fossil fuel lobbyists were granted access as part of a trade association, of which nine of the 10 largest came from the global north. This included the Geneva-based International Emissions Trading Association, which brought 116 people including representatives from Shell, TotalEnergies and Norway’s Equinor.

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Ed Miliband asks for urgent assurances about government and regulators’ actions after vulnerabilities at nuclear site are revealed

Ministers are under pressure to explain the actions of the government and regulators over cyber security at Europe’s most hazardous nuclear site after a Guardian investigation revealed disturbing vulnerabilities in its networks.

The shadow energy secretary, Ed Miliband, called on the government to urgently “provide assurances” about Sellafield, after the Guardian revealed it had been hacked by groups linked to Russia and China.

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Over 2,400 participants are linked to coal, oil and gas, four times more than attended last year's gathering.

An injured owl in the Russian city of Smolensk has the good fortune to end up outside a fire station.

Integrity issues have arisen with landfill gas projects because baselines have been set too low – and do not properly account for two drivers of methane combustion.

The post Carbon credits from landfill gas projects are on the nose appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Wind and solar developers are running out of excuses. It's time they started committing to their projects.

The post Renewable energy developers are running out of excuses: It’s time to start building appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Australia's biggest energy utility and the country's biggest super fund promise to maintain status quo and continue their not-so-fast switch to green energy. Australians should be appalled.

The post Not so fast: Origin and AusSuper vow to continue slow pace of green energy switch appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Bridie Salmon has gone from slicing fish on the docks of Grimsby to becoming a team leader on the world's biggest offshore wind farm.

The post From nets to nacelles: A day in the life of an offshore wind technician appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Wind giant Vestas signs deal on sidelines of COP28 conference to build a second phase of the biggest wind project in Ukraine.

The post War-torn Ukraine signs deal to build second stage of its largest wind farm appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Leading researcher says solar industry will install a stunning 412 GW of new capacity this year, with production also growing and pushing module prices to record lows.

The post Solar’s stunning year: BNEF says 413GW of new PV capacity to be installed in 2023 appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Construction begins on Mortlake Turn-In project, to pave way for 1,500MW of additional renewables hosting capacity and ease voltage stability constraints.

The post “Critical boost” for wind as work starts on 1.5GW transmission upgrade appeared first on RenewEconomy.

A Sheffield school is fighting dirty air with trees as new data links their absence to pollution.