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An Australian paper has trialled the use of ‘soundscape analysis’ as a low-cost way to indicate farm dam health, with its authors saying it could be an innovative way to track and reward biodiversity change in Australia’s nature repair market.

The New Zealand government has announced it will begin charging an annual fee of NZ$30.25 ($17.90) per hectare on post-1989 forest land in the emissions trading scheme, as well as thrusting a litany of service fees on participants, sparking outrage from forestry groups.

A Tokyo-based offset project developer is planning to work with a smart agricultural solution provider to expand its credit-generating business in Japan, eyeing rice cultivation projects.

A Lords committee warns that the government risks missing housebuilding and environmental targets.

EU laws have banished plastics from French fast-food chains, but in New York I couldn’t escape throwaway culture

Though I grew up in the United States, I’ve spent the majority of my adult life in France – which means that every trip “back” across the Atlantic has become a moment of curiosity and culture shock. Most recently, the shock was over the sheer prevalence of plastics in American daily life.

In Paris, and elsewhere in Europe, plastics are clearly on their way out and paper is in. The standard takeaway cup in coffee shops, juice bars and cafes serving hipster smoothies is paper, and when there is a straw, it’s paper as well (or some other biodegradable non-plastic material). Delivery food orders arrive in paper cartons –some with a chic design touch that plastic could never replicate, unspooling like origami flowers to reveal the food within – in paper bags. Utensils, when requested, are wooden and wrapped in paper. And in grocery stores, bulk sections for pasta, nuts, dried fruit, cereals, rice and legumes are normal, as is putting those things (or your fruit and vegetables) in paper bags.

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Federal Court finds Pelican Point gas plant breached energy market rules during controversial South Australia blackouts – at the time pinned on renewables.

The post How South Australia’s biggest gas plant sat idle during summer blackouts appeared first on RenewEconomy.

The prime minister claims the changes will support "hard-pressed families" but opponents accuse him of "selling out".

Australia has opened consultation on a guarantee of origin scheme for clean hydrogen, as the nation has ambitious hydrogen plans for both a domestic and export industry, with its roadmap for development closing last month. 

The Varroa mite is here to stay. This will have wide-ranging impacts on beekeeping and the crops that rely on honey bee pollination in Australia. Cooper Schouten, Project Manager - Bees for Sustainable Livelihoods, Southern Cross University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Macquarie's Green Investment Group has teamed with a local developer to roll out 2.4GW of new onshore wind projects in Western Australia.

The post Macquarie bets big on WA wind, with new JV and 2.4GW pipeline of projects appeared first on RenewEconomy.

We’ve wasted a lot of time delaying climate action. As the damage becomes ever clearer, it’s time to accelerate the transition. Mark Howden, Director, ANU Institute for Climate, Energy and Disaster Solutions, Australian National University Frank Jotzo, Professor, Crawford School of Public Policy and Head of Energy, Institute for Climate Energy and Disaster Solutions, Australian National University Ken Baldwin, Inaugural Director, ANU Grand Challenge, Zero-Carbon Energy for the Asia Pacific, Australian National University Kylie Catchpole, Associate Professor of Solar Engineering, Australian National University Kylie Walker, Visiting Fellow, Australian National University Lachlan Blackhall, Entrepreneurial Fellow and Head, Battery Storage and Grid Integration Program, Australian National University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Bird lovers will see a very different pattern of species in the future, scientists warn.

A look into curtailment of wind and solar on Wednesday shows Australia's new record for renewables share on the grid could have been even higher.

The post AEMO celebrates new renewables record – but it could have been even higher appeared first on RenewEconomy.

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

Potential investors in biodiversity credits must engage effectively with Indigenous peoples or risk sub-par returns, as the wider financial sector moves towards building nature into their decision-making, according to the co-lead of a UN finance initiative.

G20 scorecard says Australia also needs to close off "major loopholes" in emissions reduction policies and stop exporting emissions via coal.

The post Call to snuff out “dead end” coal, including mine approvals, exports and subsidies appeared first on RenewEconomy.

The facility, with a total of 2,240 surface mirrors, will provide heat equivalent to 2.3GWh of gas consumption for a Belgian manufacturing plant.

The post “Europe’s largest” concentrated solar and thermal project turns up the heat appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Climate Action Tracker finds Australia at a decarbonisation "crossroads," with mixed messages on coal and renewables and going the way entirely on fossil gas.

The post “Wrong direction:” Australia called out for betting bigger on fossil gas appeared first on RenewEconomy.

More water company regulations and improvements at treatment plants needed to protect rivers, say authors

Pollution from treated and untreated sewage is the greatest threat to river biodiversity, causing more damage than runoff from farms, according to research.

There is a need for more regulation of water companies and improvements at their treatment plans to protect rivers, say the authors of the study.

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Homegrown clean and renewable electrification remains the answer for the EU's decarbonisation and security of supply, but more investment and infrastructure upgrades are urgently needed to enable a tripling in electrification rates by 2050, a according to an industry group report published on Thursday.