Around The Web

Can we dig it? How electrification will drive Australia’s next economic boom

RenewEconomy - Mon, 2020-10-05 09:41
With a massive, Covid-sized hole in Treasury's pocket, there has never been a better time for Australia to hitch its wagon to the fast flowing currents of electrification.
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Hydrogen vs electrification: Why ENA’s Gas Vision is a house of cards

RenewEconomy - Mon, 2020-10-05 09:39
hydrogen export renewable western victoriaEnergy Networks Australia's Gas Vision 2050 update study claims net-zero emissions can be reached with hydrogen at half the cost of electrification. But it's a fragile claim.
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McDonald's among food firms urging tougher deforestation rules

BBC - Mon, 2020-10-05 09:03
Unilever and Tesco also say a new law should apply to all deforestation, whether legal or illegal.
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CleanCo signs new deal with Neoen for big wind farm near Cairns

RenewEconomy - Mon, 2020-10-05 08:19
Neoen lands another big contract with Queensland's CleanCo, this time for the Kaban green power hub near Cairns.
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Ardern's government and climate policy: despite a zero-carbon law, is New Zealand merely a follower rather than a leader?

The Conversation - Mon, 2020-10-05 04:54
New Zealand's climate policy is largely copied from other countries, and when judged against objectives such as the 1.5°C target, its actions remain inadequate. David Hall, Senior Researcher in Politics, Auckland University of Technology Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
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Want an electric car, but think you can't afford one? Here's how to buy second-hand

The Conversation - Mon, 2020-10-05 04:54
A used electric vehicle can be yours for well under A$20,000. But supply is limited and, like with any major purchase, there are potential pitfalls. Alina Dini, Industry Fellow at the Institute for Future Environments, Queensland University of Technology Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
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The Guardian view on houseplants: balm for troubled times | Editorial

The Guardian - Mon, 2020-10-05 03:35

Pandemic stress can be relieved by cultivating greenery, which makes people happier and more relaxed

The essayist Jia Tolentino wrote last year about people being in the grip of “houseplant fever”; ads for houseplants called “Ken” or “Pippa” pop up on the internet; a Zoom call isn’t complete without a plant somewhere in evidence; and social media abounds with tips and pictures. It should surprise no one that greenery offers an antidote to pandemic anxiety.

Caring for a living object and creating a tranquil indoor sanctuary can be soothing activities in an uncertain and stressful time. The Royal Horticultural Society reported a 23% rise in plant sales in July compared to 2019. Rare plants are sold on eBay and traded on Facebook. Many come from overseas and might look green in a living room but leave a large ecological footprint. Before the pandemic, in the US, getting paid to style houseplants was becoming a career. We are nowhere near the levels of mania that led to tulip bulb prices soaring and then collapsing in the 17th century. Still, today’s rarity-chasers will pay £4,000 for a four-leaf variegated minima – and such high prices pose a temptation to others: a variegated monstera, a cutting of which might fetch £1,500, was stolen last month in New Zealand.

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Rescue efforts stepped up after floods kill two near France-Italy border

The Guardian - Sun, 2020-10-04 23:40

Operation involving 1,000 firefighters backed up by military is focused on Roya Valley area

French and Italian rescue services have stepped up search efforts after floods cut off several villages near the two countries’ border, causing widespread damage and killing two people in Italy.

Eight people remained unaccounted for on the French side of the border after storms, torrential rain and flash floods battered the area, washing away roads and houses and triggering landslides.

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Mountain butterflies 'will have to be relocated as habitats get too hot'

The Guardian - Sun, 2020-10-04 20:00

Populations of mountain ringlet in Lake District face being wiped out as cooler habitats disappear

The diversity and resilience of cold-loving butterfly species is threatened by global heating which will destroy genetically unique populations, according to a study.

Native mountain-dwelling butterflies such as the mountain ringlet, the bright-eyed ringlet and the dewy ringlet will have to be translocated to higher altitudes as their cooler habitat disappears to avoid extinction.

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'Rarest fern in Europe' discovered in Ireland

The Guardian - Sun, 2020-10-04 19:00

Variety has only ever been found in Caribbean more than 4,000 miles across Atlantic

Europe’s rarest fern has been discovered in Killarney, Ireland, leaving botanists baffled over how it remained undetected for so long.

The neotropical fern, Stenogrammitis myosuroides, has only ever previously been found in the mountainous cloud forests of Jamaica, Cuba and the Dominican Republic – more than 4,000 miles across the Atlantic.

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Protect the poor from being penalised by carbon taxes | Torsten Bell

The Guardian - Sun, 2020-10-04 16:00

Green economists will never get the public on their side until they factor in the cost to lower-income households

In those glorious pre-pandemic days we only had climate change to worry about. Post-pandemic, we’ll need to get right back to worrying about it – and actually doing something about it.

On the “doing” front, economists like the idea of carbon taxes to help reduce our emissions. And recent research shows that such taxes can work. Sweden was one of the first countries in the world to implement a carbon tax in 1991, having extended VAT to petrol the previous year. The result was 11% lower transport fuel emissions compared with similar OECD countries.

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Wind and solar supply more than 50 pct of Australia’s main grid for first time

RenewEconomy - Sat, 2020-10-03 17:15
Wind and solar provide more than 50 per cent of supply for Australia's main grid for more than three hours on Saturday.
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‘Dramatic’ plunge in London air pollution since 2016, report finds

The Guardian - Sat, 2020-10-03 17:00

Exclusive: Number of people living with illegal pollution levels has fallen by 94% since Sadiq Khan became mayor

Air pollution in London has plunged since Sadiq Khan became mayor, with a 94% reduction in the number of people living in areas with illegal levels of nitrogen dioxide. The number of schools in such areas has fallen by 97%, from 455 in 2016 to 14 in 2019.

Experts described the reductions as dramatic and said they showed the air pollution crisis was not intractable. More than 9,000 people in the capital were dying early each year due to dirty air in 2015.

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West Australia to build 100MW big battery – the first on state’s main grid

RenewEconomy - Sat, 2020-10-03 16:55
W.A. to build a 100MW big battery with two hours storage to help ease wear and tear of ageing thermal generators and to accommodate more renewables.
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Climate: The week Boris Johnson turned green, or did he?

BBC - Sat, 2020-10-03 14:01
Are Boris Johnson's pledges at this week's UN general assembly a landmark for the environment?
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CP Daily: Friday October 2, 2020

Carbon Pulse - Sat, 2020-10-03 09:33
A daily summary of our news plus bite-sized updates from around the world.
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Big returns and little correlation to other markets make carbon an hot investment, analysis finds

Carbon Pulse - Sat, 2020-10-03 08:49
Carbon boasts some impressive historical returns compared to other asset classes, while showing little correlation to other markets, an analysis has found.
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Middle East’s Global Carbon Council resubmits CORSIA application for full eligibility

Carbon Pulse - Sat, 2020-10-03 08:00
The Qatar-based Global Carbon Council (GCC) has made several revisions to its voluntary offset programme as it seeks full eligibility under the UN body ICAO’s CORSIA international aviation offset system, according to a document posted Friday.
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Climate and Energy Economist, Congressional Budget Office – Washington DC

Carbon Pulse - Sat, 2020-10-03 07:21
The Energy, Environment, and Infrastructure Unit conducts research and analysis on certain topics of interest to the Congress, including climate change, energy and related environmental issues, transportation and infrastructure, and federal policy toward research and development. In the coming years, the unit expects to expand its capacity to model the effects of climate change and climate change policy on the budget and the economy.
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Compliance entities’ CCA length rises after September ICE delivery

Carbon Pulse - Sat, 2020-10-03 07:09
Regulated entities’ California Carbon Allowance (CCA) net length rose to its highest level since late May, but the increase appeared largely the result of short positions going to delivery this week, according to US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) data published Friday.
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