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If we want to fight the climate crisis, we must embrace nuclear power | Bhaskar Sunkara
A powerful form of clean energy already exists – and it is far more reliable than wind and solar
On 30 April, the Indian Point nuclear power plant 30 miles north of New York City was shut down. For decades the facility provided the overwhelming majority of the city’s carbon-free electricity as well as good union jobs for almost a thousand people. Federal regulators had deemed the plant perfectly safe.
Related: Earth is trapping ‘unprecedented’ amount of heat, Nasa says
Continue reading...Senior Advisor, Natural Climate Solutions, First Climate – Zurich/Frankfurt
Head, Agricultural Climate Solutions, First Climate – Zurich
Intern Consulting, First Climate – Frankfurt
FEATURE: Europe’s most valuable startup seeks climate path beyond offsetting
Tasmanian devils wipe out thousands of penguins on tiny Australian island
Marsupials introduced to Maria Island north-west of Tasmania to safeguard their numbers but have decimated birdlife
An attempt to save the Tasmanian devil by shipping an “insurance population” to a tiny Australian island has come at a “catastrophic” cost to the birdlife there, including the complete elimination of little penguins, according to BirdLife Tasmania.
Maria Island, a 116-square-kilometre island north-west of Tasmania, was home to 3,000 breeding pairs of little penguins around a decade ago.
Continue reading...The pandemic has revived hope that a more sustainable world is possible | Jeremy Caradonna
Economic growth is inextricably linked to the climate crisis, but the past year has taught us that such growth isn’t essential
Some of the most striking images from the early days of the pandemic, when public health orders and lockdowns ground economies to a halt, were the arresting photos of the Himalayas, suddenly visible from across northern India, as decades of unrelenting smog finally abated. Unbelievably, some locals glimpsed the immense mountain range for the first time in their lives.
It’s never too late to clear things up. And the pandemic has revived a movement that has its roots in the 18th century, when the word “sustainability” was first coined (in German) to describe a new approach to forestry enabling a continual harvest of wood. It’s a movement widely believed to have entered the mainstream with the 1987 Our Common Future report – a UN-backed initiative, overseen by Norway’s then prime minister, Gro Harlem Brundtland, which laid out an ambitious pathway towards a “sustainable economy”. This left us with the enduringly relevant definition of sustainability as “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”.
Continue reading...Australian carbon conference postponed over escalating COVID situation
Australian flow battery tech picked for Malaysian green hydrogen project
ASX-listed TNG Limited signs agreement with Malaysian renewable hydrogen facility to supply locally developed vanadium redox flow batteries.
The post Australian flow battery tech picked for Malaysian green hydrogen project appeared first on RenewEconomy.
Court rulings add pressure, but it’s the market that will drive fossil fuel giants to change
It might sound like the fossil fuel industry is on the defensive after a landmark court ruling and two shareholder votes, but how much power do these decisions really carry?
The post Court rulings add pressure, but it’s the market that will drive fossil fuel giants to change appeared first on RenewEconomy.
Medical leaders urge Boris Johnson to bring air pollution below WHO limit
Alliance of doctors and nurses calls for environment bill to include reduction in small particle pollution limits
Medical leaders are urging Boris Johnson to cut legal levels of air pollution in the UK to below World Health Organization limits in response to the death of the schoolgirl Ella Kissi-Debrah from toxic air.
Members of the UK Health Alliance on Climate Change are calling for the reduction in limits of PM2.5 to be included in the environment bill, which returns to parliament this week.
Continue reading...Farm plan poses ‘catastrophic’ threat to Zambian park vital for fruit bats
Conservationists warn of impact on world’s largest mammal migration, key to seed dispersal across Africa
Plans to create a huge commercial farm next to a national park in Zambia could have a “catastrophic” impact on wildlife, conservationists have warned, threatening vital habitat for bats undertaking the world’s biggest mammal migration.
Every October, about 10 million straw-coloured fruit bats descend on the evergreen swamps of Kasanka national park in central Zambia from across Africa, feasting on figs and fruit and berries in the surrounding area, and dispersing seeds across the continent in their epic journey. The park is home to 479 bird species and 114 mammals.
Continue reading...New EU rules would permit use of most polymers without checks, experts warn
Proposals would allow common plastics to be used despite valid concerns about possible harms, scientists say
New rules on chemicals to be debated by the EU this week would allow most polymers to be used without further checks, according to a group of scientists.
Only about 6% out of about 200,000 polymers would require extensive safety checks under proposals being discussed as part of Europe’s Reach chemicals regulations.
Continue reading...Small retailers welcome investigation into Snowy gas plant bidding practices
Smaller energy retailers welcome ACCC and AER investigations into potential market gaming by Snowy Hydro gas plant.
The post Small retailers welcome investigation into Snowy gas plant bidding practices appeared first on RenewEconomy.
Australia’s policy recipe for expensive and unreliable electricity
In 2021 we are learning that relying on a few old coal generators, owned by an oligopoly, makes electricity expensive and unreliable – and how AEMO and China aren't helping.
The post Australia’s policy recipe for expensive and unreliable electricity appeared first on RenewEconomy.
Barnaby Joyce returns as deputy PM as Nationals implode over net-zero targets
Barnaby Joyce re-installed as Deputy PM after conflict erupts within the Nationals over climate targets.
The post Barnaby Joyce returns as deputy PM as Nationals implode over net-zero targets appeared first on RenewEconomy.
“Clearly unacceptable:” Morrison government blocks massive Pilbara renewable hydrogen hub
Plans to build a massive renewable hydrogen hub including up to 26GW of wind and solar in WA Pilbara rejected by federal Morrison government on environmental grounds.
The post “Clearly unacceptable:” Morrison government blocks massive Pilbara renewable hydrogen hub appeared first on RenewEconomy.
South Korea schedules KAU auction for June 25 despite oversupply
Australia’s top economists back government intervention to speed switch to electric cars
Majority support subsidising EV purchases and setting a date to ban import of petrol-powered cars, while others prefer a carbon tax to lower emissions
Australia’s top economists overwhelmingly back government measures to speed the transition to electric cars in order to meet emission reduction targets.
An exclusive poll of 62 of Australia’s preeminent economists – selected by their peers – finds 51 back measures to boost the takeup of electric cars including subsidising public charging stations, subsidising the purchase of all-electric vehicles, and setting a date to ban the import of traditionally powered cars.
Continue reading...Australia will likely adopt a net-zero target by COP26. It will be a bad target
It doesn't matter who's leader of the Nationals – the Morrison government's net-zero greenwashing narrative is already written and is very, very easy to predict.
The post Australia will likely adopt a net-zero target by COP26. It will be a bad target appeared first on RenewEconomy.
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