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Renewable energy is growing rapidly, but the futures market in particular is yet to take into account the big pipeline of wind and solar about to join the grid.

The post Renewables continue to boom, but what’s going on with power prices? appeared first on RenewEconomy.

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

For a brief moment solar, wind and hydro combined to deliver more than half the power into the National Electricity Market

Australia’s main electricity grid was briefly powered by 50% renewable energy this week in a new milestone that experts say will become increasingly normal.

Data on the sources of power in the National Electricity Market showed that at 11.50am on Wednesday, renewables were providing 50.2% of the power to Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania and South Australia – the five states served by the market.

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CEFC-backed scheme to offer solar and battery storage as standard features in some off-the-plan townhouses being built by property developer Mirvac.

The post Solar and battery offered as “standard” in Victoria new-build housing project appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Powerful political emblems, a herald of spring and natural beauties – Australia’s birds are many things to our politicians

• Vote for your favourite bird in the poll

Your vote is powerful. The spotlight from this plucky little bird winning Australian bird of the year could make the difference between its survival and its extinction.

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Government urged to create spaces where young people can connect with natural world

Primary schoolchildren should spend at least one hour a day learning and playing in wild places to help improve their wellbeing and confidence, a leading conservation organisation has said.

The Wildlife Trusts, which represents 46 local organisations and 2,300 nature reserves in the UK, has called on the next government to create a network of wild spaces where young people are free to climb trees, learn about wildlife and connect with the natural world while at school.

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Climate mitigation effort ‘cancelled out’ by outlay on fossil fuels finds CPI

Investment in greenhouse gas emission reduction fell last year despite the growing urgency of the climate crisis, and the benefits of outlays were cancelled out by investments globally in fossil fuels and other dirty industries, finds a report by the Climate Policy Initiative.

Global climate finance hit a record high of $612bn (£476bn) in 2017, according to CPI advisers, but fell back 11% after that bumper year to $546bn in 2018.

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Retailer will use renewable biomethane, supplied by CNG Fuels, from 2021

Hundreds of John Lewis delivery trucks will begin running on cow power from 2021 as the retailer weans its fleet off polluting diesel fuel and switches to carbon-neutral cow manure.

The retailer will begin using renewable biomethane made from manure slurry for almost 300 John Lewis and Waitrose delivery vans under new plans from its fuel supplier to swap rotting vegetables for poo power at no extra cost.

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Former Australian Greens senator was charged with disobeying a police direction at an October climate protest

Former Greens senator Scott Ludlam has pleaded not guilty, after he was arrested during Extinction Rebellion climate change protests in Sydney in October.

Ludlam had been charged with not complying with police direction regarding a road closure.

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Australia’s environment ministers have agreed a timetable to ban the export of our waste plastic, paper, tyres and glass.

Australia’s environment ministers have agreed a timetable to ban the export of our waste plastic, paper, tyres and glass.

Australia’s environment ministers have agreed a timetable to ban the export of our waste plastic, paper, tyres and glass. They have also agreed to the National Waste Policy Action Plan, which sets the direction for waste management in Australia...

Two more installations have picked up EU ETS-related fines by the UK government.

Quebec's WCI-regulated emissions saw meagre year-on-year growth in 2018, as reductions in the electricity sector minimised gains seen from transportation, according to data released by the environmental ministry this week.

Transportation and Climate Initiative (TCI) stakeholders and observers remain split on where to assign compliance obligations and whether to regulate biofuels under the potential cap-and-invest programme in the US Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions, according to public comments.

California emitters fully complied with surrendering compliance instruments against 30% of their 2018 GHG output at the state's Nov. 1 interim cap-and-trade deadline, ARB officials said.

The UK-led challenge to the land speed record clocks 501mph in the Kalahari Desert of South Africa.

Antarctica is no longer the sleeping giant of sea level rise. New research delved into the past and found when the Earth warms, its ice sheets can melt extremely quickly. Fiona Hibbert, Post-doctoral Research Fellow, Australian National University Eelco Rohling, Professor of Ocean and Climate Change, Australian National University Katharine Grant, ARC DECRA Postdoctoral Research fellow, Australian National University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Co-leader Sian Berry urges £100bn a year to be spent on climate action at the party's campaign launch.

Fossils of a newly-discovered ancient ape could give clues to how walking on two feet evolved.