Around The Web

Local pressure group applies for bathing water status for stretch of Thames through Oxford

The Thames could get its first designated bathing site for wild swimming, the government has announced. This would be the second river designated for swimming in England.

Members of the public have been invited to give their views on the possible designation of Wolvercote Mill Stream at Port Meadow, Oxford, and another bathing site on the Isle of Wight coast.

Continue reading...

Construction underway at Moura solar farm roughly one year after the 110MW shovel ready project was bought by Greek industrial company, Mytilineos.

The post Construction begins – with a golden shovel – on 110MW solar farm in Banana Shire appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Analysis: The government’s stance on coalmines, oilfields, transport and green investment is causing increasing worry

• Coalmining licence in south Wales faces court challenge

Green campaigners are increasingly concerned that the push for net zero emissions has been undermined by a series of recent government actions.

Ministers and government bodies are considering extending a coalmine in Wales and a new one in Cumbria, have approved a new oilfield in the North Sea and the expansion of the airport at Bristol, and are making cuts to public transport services.

Continue reading...

Renewables continued to squeeze fossil fuels out of Australian electricity markets in 2021, with gas and coal slumping to historic lows.

The post Renewables supplied five-times more electricity than gas generators in 2021 appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Japanese oil and gas operator Inpex released a long-term plan on Wednesday in which it will focus on five key “net zero businesses” the company has identified to help meet its emissions targets for 2030 and 2050.

Only three companies submitted bids at South Korea’s monthly carbon allowance auction on Wednesday, as market oversupply and the several months left to annual compliance keep interest at bay.

Offset developer and consultancy South Pole has secured funding from two new minority investors to help maintain its rapid expansion and strengthen its presence in the US and across Asia.

New Zealand carbon allowances broke the NZ$80 barrier for the first time ever in Wednesday trade, as a mix of compliance and speculative demand continues to push the permits into new record territory.

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.

Continue reading...

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.

Continue reading...

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.