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Scottish spaceport near protected areas approved despite local opposition
Project close to bird sanctuaries in Outer Hebrides gets go-ahead after no objections from Scotland’s environment agencies
Plans to build a spaceport on the small Hebridean island of North Uist, close to heavily protected bird sanctuaries, have been given the green light despite significant local opposition.
The proposed spaceport at Scolpaig Farm, on the north-west coast of the island in the Outer Hebrides, will host up to 10 launches a year, firing small sub-orbital rockets out over the Atlantic.
Continue reading...Labour urged to work with Tories to counter ‘ignorant’ climate policy attacks
Tory former minister and chair of Climate Change Committee condemns ‘absolutely unacceptable’ attacks on Labour stance
Labour should counter “absolutely unacceptable” and “ignorant” Conservative attacks on its climate policies by offering a cross-party consensus on climate action, to bring forward measures this parliament to meet net zero, the outgoing chair of the Climate Change Committee has urged.
Lord Deben, a former Tory environment secretary and minister under Margaret Thatcher and John Major, strongly criticised Grant Shapps and Suella Braverman, cabinet ministers who have led vitriolic attacks on Labour as “the political wing of Just Stop Oil”. He called on the government instead to heed the message of climate protesters.
Continue reading...Dozens of pilot whales beach in mass stranding in Western Australia – video
At least 50 pilot whales have stranded on Cheynes beach, east of Albany in Western Australia. Almost twice that number of whales had been seen massing off the beach since Monday, according to the owner of Cheynes Beach Caravan Park, Allan Marsh. 'Probably about half an hour ago they beached themselves,' he said about 4pm local time on Tuesday. 'They're pretty alive still … they're able to push a few out.' WA Parks and Wildlife Service officers are on the beach
Continue reading...Mining companies are eager to dig up the ocean. That’s a dangerous idea | Wendy Schmidt and Kristina Gjerde
We already know the damage that mining can cause on land. It could be devastating to the deep sea
Thousands of feet below the surface of the ocean, so deep that sunlight can’t penetrate, magma seeping through the Earth’s crust mixes with cold saltwater and creates a chemical reaction. The resulting hydrothermal vent spews water at temperatures upwards of 500F. Surrounding the vent – and other underwater landscapes – are small knobs containing copper, cobalt and other minerals precious for renewable energy batteries.
This spring, scientists embarked on a search for new underwater formations aboard the Falkor (too), a research vessel operated by the Schmidt Ocean Institute, which one of us co-founded. Zooming in on three newly discovered hydrothermal vent fields with an underwater robot, the scientists found something unexpected.
Continue reading...Former Manchester coal plant to house world’s largest battery storage project
Carlton Power gets planning permission for what would be the world’s largest battery energy storage project at the site of a former coal-fired power plant.
The post Former Manchester coal plant to house world’s largest battery storage project appeared first on RenewEconomy.
Korean GHG emissions fall to lowest in a decade despite 2022 GDP growth
What frightens me about the climate crisis is we don’t know how bad things really are | Roger Harrabin
As the barrage of bad news from places like Greece continues, all we can be certain of is there are many surprises lying ahead
Over the past few decades, climate scientists have made huge strides in understanding the future climate. But after recent weeks of extreme heat and devastating floods it’s clear that, although climate models have provided good information about overall rising temperatures, they can’t be sure what level of destruction each notch on the thermometer will bring.
Climate modelling is extremely complex, but its fundamentals rely on basic physics – X tonnes of emissions will bring Y increase in temperature, with some error bars. Supercomputers have been able to factor in shifts in land use that will change the reflectivity of the Earth’s surface. Improved temperature records helped verify their findings.
Continue reading...Dozens of pilot whales beached in mass stranding east of Albany in WA
Whales grouped in pod off Cheynes beach before stranding event with wildlife officers hoping to rescue as many mammals as possible
At least 50 pilot whales have stranded on Cheynes beach east of Albany in Western Australia.
Almost twice that number of whales had been seen massing off the beach since Monday, according to the owner of Cheynes Beach Caravan Park, Allan Marsh.
Continue reading...US EPA releases draft herbicide strategy as part of move to close lag on threatened species work
Plan to replace gas boilers with heat pumps should be reviewed, says Gove
Levelling up secretary calls for scrutiny of green policy but says ban on sale of new petrol and diesel cars is ‘immovable’
Britain’s plans to ban the sale of new petrol and diesel cars by 2030 are “immovable” but it is time to review proposals for homeowners to replace gas boilers with heat pumps, Michael Gove has said.
Asked on Times Radio if the petrol and diesel ban was an immovable target, the levelling up secretary said: “Yes.” But, on the question of targets to install heat pumps in new homes, he said: “That is one area that I do think that we need to review … it’s important that new homes meet net zero standards but one of the challenges that we have is with our existing housing stock.”
Continue reading...Major Chinese papermaker secures nature-based offset deal ahead of CCER relaunch
ACX’s Black Portal completes first three-day OTC trade
New Zealand slashes NZUs available at auction, raises cost containment reserve price
Energy Next celebrates increase in attendees, as focus on clean energy goals becomes critical
A sense of urgency and increasing pressure to achieve clean energy goals were the key messages being communicated at the recent Energy Next exhibition.
The post Energy Next celebrates increase in attendees, as focus on clean energy goals becomes critical appeared first on RenewEconomy.
Europe and US heatwaves near 'impossible' without climate change
The Tories have laid a ‘cut the green crap’ trap for Keir Starmer. He must not fall for it | Polly Toynbee
Labour’s path to victory lies in sticking to its guns. Any allies who argue for a green retreat should be shown the door
Perversely, a spectacular week for Labour somehow ended up with an assault on the party’s green policies, amid hints of internal wobbling. Despite a record Labour trouncing of a Tory majority in Selby and Ainsty, a 7% swing to Labour in Uxbridge and South Ruislip became a story about Labour in trouble, over a seat not even won in Tony Blair’s 1997 landslide.
Labour always struggles to make its narrative heard against the wall of sound from the massed foghorns of the Tory media, but the party needs more nimbleness to duck being defined by the enemy. Keir Starmer’s public rebuke to Sadiq Khan to “reflect” on his Ulez policy was a badly pitched red-on-red news story. Instead, they should have publicly agreed more generous car-scrappage schemes so that the cost of cleaning up child-killing pollution doesn’t have to fall on lower-paid drivers. Having also lost a council seat in Cambridge this month to a Conservative who stood on a platform of fighting a proposed congestion charge, Labour knows its green policies need to fall fairly on the broadest shoulders. Instead, it has allowed the Uxbridge result to distract from an electoral success that would have been unthinkable a couple of years ago.
Polly Toynbee is a Guardian columnist
Continue reading...Australia is touted as a future clean energy ‘superpower’ – but research suggests other nations will outperform us
Australia’s renewable resource potential is vast, but will we actually become the world’s biggest energy exporter?
The post Australia is touted as a future clean energy ‘superpower’ – but research suggests other nations will outperform us appeared first on RenewEconomy.
Fund proposes distributed “hive” concept for series of 200MWh battery systems
Investment fund seeks to get around connection issues by building a "hive" of small battery units to create a linked system of 200MWh, starting in the Hunter Valley.
The post Fund proposes distributed “hive” concept for series of 200MWh battery systems appeared first on RenewEconomy.
“We need to be smarter:” Coal closure delays could add thousands to consumer bills
New report warns of huge costs of delaying closure of coal fired power stations - and suggests ministerial targets, long duration flow batteries and more commercial rooftop PV.
The post “We need to be smarter:” Coal closure delays could add thousands to consumer bills appeared first on RenewEconomy.
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