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North Atlantic right whales are being killed in collisions with vessels that are flouting go-slow zones in US waters, report warns

The lives of critically endangered North Atlantic right whales are being put at risk by ships speeding in designated “slow zones”, according to a new report.

Only about 340 of the species remain, and collisions with boats are a leading cause of injuries and fatalities as the whales often swim close to the surface, and their dark colour makes them difficult to spot.

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Undeterred after being charged over separate demonstration, Thunberg joined fossil fuel activists outside JP Morgan in Canary Wharf

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Greta Thunberg has taken part in climate protests in London for the second time this week, protesting outside the JP Morgan headquarters in Canary Wharf.

Apparently undeterred after being arrested and subsequently charged with a public order offence after a protest on Tuesday, the Swedish campaigner joined fellow activists in the east London financial district on Thursday morning.

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The climate activist is part of a Fossil Free London protest at JP Morgan's Canary Wharf office.

The overwhelming takeaway from industry experts at this year’s AFR Energy & Climate Summit was that while commitment to ambitious clean energy goals remains strong, achieving 82 per cent renewable energy by 2030 is fast becoming unachievable under the existing plan. The repeated calls for increased support and investment to bring the necessary volume of […]

The post We need new solutions to reach Australia’s 2030 renewable goals appeared first on RenewEconomy.

EnergyAustralia announces plans to help coal plant workers transition from jobs at its Yallourn power station to the Elanora Offshore wind farm.

The post Yallourn coal plant workers given option to transition to offshore wind industry appeared first on RenewEconomy.

A Japanese project developer predominantly involved in agricultural projects has teamed up with a forest management firm to begin generating J-Credits in the Kansai region, while planning to offer a simplified process for other companies to establish themselves in the market through new technology.

A Japanese government body has partnered with three corporations looking to manufacture carbon negative concrete in a turn around given the product is typically classed as both high emissions and particularly hard to abate.

An Australian carbon project developer has raised concerns with how the government has communicated what it described as “significant” policy changes to the Australian Carbon Credit Unit (ACCU) Scheme, saying further consultation is needed.

Increase of virus in wild birds is driving evolution and spread of new strains, researchers found

The epicentre of deadly bird flu outbreaks has shifted from Asia to Europe and Africa, a new study has found.

For 25 years, bird flu viruses typically emerged from Asia, but major changes in the virus and its spread among wild birds mean the outbreaks are shifting. Research shows that while outbreaks in 2016 and 2017 started in China, two new H5 viruses emerged in 2020 in African poultry and in 2022 in European wild birds.

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The Clean Energy Finance Corporation committed a record amount of finance to renewables and grid projects in 2022-23, but says the task ahead is huge.

The post Bigger and faster: CEFC says more than $120 billion needed to decarbonise the grid appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Taxing electric vehicles was always a bad idea. But the High Court’s ruling against Victoria’s law could make state-based road user charges impossible. John Quiggin, Professor, School of Economics, The University of Queensland Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

CSIRO says a "curtain" of falling ceramic particles may deliver the extreme heat needed to deliver the low cost "solar battery" long promised by CST technologies.

The post CSIRO says “curtain of ceramic particles” could finally unleash solar thermal technology appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Conservation groups have delivered a statement to the Australian parliament calling for “urgent and sustained” funding toward efforts to conserve and restore biodiversity, alongside wider calls for greater transparency in the country’s environmental law reform process.

Australia is going through a major debate right now about the closure timings of the country’s big coal fired power stations. Harnessing consumer and distributed energy resources - solar, batteries and EVs - are part of the solution.

The post Webinar: Now is the time for a smarter grid appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Battery storage has become Tesla's highest margin business, and has more than doubled in size over the past year.

The post Battery storage is now Tesla’s most profitable product, but the solar business is tanking appeared first on RenewEconomy.

To have any chance of hitting our overall emission reduction targets, we must speed up the rollout of renewables. There's an obvious solution to this problem.

The post RET is still the best: Why it’s time to renew Australia’s renewable energy policy appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Treasurer Tim Pallas says refunds being considered after high court ruled charge was unconstitutional

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Victorian treasurer Tim Pallas says the government will consider refunding a tax paid by electric vehicle owners after the high court deemed it invalid, but suggests registration costs could rise or a national levy could be implemented in its place.

The high court on Wednesday ruled in favour of two electric car drivers who argued the imposition of the Victorian tax, charged per kilometre ​driven, was unconstitutional because the states do not have the power to impose such excise taxes on consumption.

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The argument of wind and solar diversity for the big new transmission link from Victoria to NSW doesn't hold water.

The post The diversity argument for this new transmission link doesn’t stack up appeared first on RenewEconomy.

The coal and gas we provide internationally makes us powerful – and we waste it being craven to the mining industry

The Australian government likes to say we can be a renewable energy superpower, but it ignores that we already are an energy power that fails utterly to use that power for good.

The past weekend was the 10th anniversary of the Abbott government releasing the draft legislation to repeal of the carbon tax, and also of a report noting that IPCC suggested that “global warming could kill thousands of Australians”.

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Newly published UNSW research is the first to quantify climate change’s impact on solar resource reliability in Australia over the next century.

The post Climate change will affect solar power and grid stability across Australia – here’s how appeared first on RenewEconomy.