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Energy bills are not increasing because of feeble environmental levies – the solution is a tax on the oil giants

Why are the most extreme Tory MPs so influential? The European Research Group pressed for the hardest of Brexits, and the government gave it what it wanted. A similar faction, the Covid Recovery Group, lobbied for the removal of public health measures, and again succeeded. Now the Net Zero Scrutiny Group, featuring some of the same characters, demands the abandonment of effective climate policy, and is clearly gaining ground.

Why? Because the Conservative party has long been drawn towards its extremes. It is pulled this way by the gravitational force of dirty money. This is a result of the pollution paradox. The paradox proposes that the most antisocial commercial interests have the greatest incentive to buy political favour, otherwise they would be regulated out of existence. So politics comes to be dominated by them.

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The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Senator the Hon Marise Payne, has tabled the 2001 UNESCO Convention on the Protection of the U

Andrew Forrest plans massive 5.4GW renewables hub in Pilbara to power his mines and further his green hydrogen dreams.

The post Fortescue plans huge 5.4GW wind, solar and battery storage hub in Pilbara appeared first on RenewEconomy.

EnergyAustralia admits it will need to come to market to help fund investments in battery storage, pumped hydro and green hydrogen, as it looks to a future beyond coal.

The post EnergyAustralia to seek funds for battery, pumped hydro and hydrogen plans appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Trading in Australian carbon credit markets set new records in January, as prices in the European market surge toward a major milestone.

The post Record volumes for Australian carbon markets, record prices for EU carbon appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Construction and connection is finally complete at Sunraysia solar farm, now it will be left to lawyers to fight over who shoulders the costs.

The post Sunraysia solar farm finally complete and at full capacity, but legal dispute remains appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Morrison government's latest scare campaign about disappearing coal jobs chooses fear over progress and ignores huge potential of renewables.

The post Coalition’s latest coal jobs scare campaign reveals a big renewables blindspot appeared first on RenewEconomy.

For over 40 years, a coal mine on the outskirts of the Blue Mountains World Heritage area dumped poorly treated wastewater into the Wollangambe River. Finally, it’s on the road to recovery. Ian Wright, Senior Lecturer in Environmental Science, Western Sydney University Jason Reynolds, Senior Lecturer, Western Sydney University Leo Robba, Lecturer, Visual Communications / Social Design, Western Sydney University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Using ‘tipping points’ can unlock the changes needed on energy, food and plastics, analysis shows

Tipping points could be identified and triggered to deliver fast action to tackle the climate crisis, according to an analysis led by an academic at Exeter University.

Early subsidies and mass production rapidly crushed costs to leave solar and wind energy as the cheapest power in much of the world and electric cars are now accelerating towards mass adoption, while Greta Thunberg’s solo protest sparked an influential global campaign.

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Chevron copped a $40 million offset bill due to failures of the Gorgon CCS to meet emissions storage targets in its first year of operation.

The post Australia’s only large-scale CCS project operated at half-capacity in first full year appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Instead of waiting for market failures, government agencies should be shaping markets, and creating an environmental objective for the NEM is top of the list.

The post What the NEM could learn from an economics professor and a moon landing appeared first on RenewEconomy.

The Snowy 2.0 pumped hydro project won't be quite as nation building as promised, with key steel contracts going to overseas suppliers.

The post Snowy 2.0: The “nation building” project that won’t be using all Australian steel appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Environment Protection Authority examining fish kill events at Haslams Creek, which flows into Homebush Bay, and at Rydalmere

The deaths of thousands of fish in the Parramatta River triggered by low oxygen levels in the water is being investigated by the New South Wales environmental regulator.

The Environment Protection Authority said it was examining two fish kill events, one last week at Haslams Creek, which flows into Homebush Bay, and the other at Rydalmere on Sunday.

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EnergyAustralia CEO Mark Collette discusses the future of coal, gas, green hydrogen, wind, solar, battery storage and pumped hydro, and how this will fit into his company’s business model.

The post Energy Insiders Podcast: EnergyAustralia and the end of coal appeared first on RenewEconomy.

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An investor-led group unveiled on Wednesday the methodology behind its set of benchmarks widely used by financiers to assess whether corporate climate pledges align with Paris Agreement goals.

*PREMIUM LISTING - Verra’s Program Team is looking for a Program Manager, Technological and Industrial Solutions to support our work to foster climate impact and generate related environmental and social benefits through the VCS Program. In the context of this position, technological and industrial solutions encompasses all sectors other than the Natural Climate Solutions sector.

California Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) prices fell off this week after two utilities announced credit solicitations and traders continued to digest the impact of bearish programme data from the third quarter of 2021.

It’s only fair to expect results from vast sums of public money spent on koala conservation. But continued land clearing badly undermines the investment. Lachlan G. Howell, Research Fellow | Centre for Integrative Ecology, Deakin University Ryan R. Witt, Postdoctoral Researcher and Honorary Lecturer | School of Environmental and Life Sciences, University of Newcastle Shelby A. Ryan, PhD Candidate | School of Environmental and Life Sciences, University of Newcastle Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Amid fears about the cost of living crisis, those opposed to government’s climate agenda appear to have sensed an opportunity

• Tories fighting net zero plans are dragging climate into new culture war, experts say

In the run-up to Christmas, as the UK government was frantically attempting to manage the latest wave of Covid infections, the Conservative MP and long-time agitator Steve Baker was apparently touring the tea rooms of parliament trying to persuade colleagues to sign up to his latest cause.

The self-described Brexit hardman, who as the then head of the European Research Group had relentlessly harried Theresa May’s government over Brexit and then become a thorn in Boris Johnson’s side with his anti-lockdown Covid Recovery Group, had a new – and he believed potentially explosive – target: the government’s climate agenda.

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