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Review of EPBC Act was delivered to government 11 days after process of drawing up legislation had begun

The Morrison government started preparing controversial legislation to amend Australia’s environmental laws before it had received a report from a formal review into whether the act was working.

The environment department instructed the Office of Parliamentary Counsel to begin drafting the changes to the legislation on 19 June, 11 days before the government received the interim report of the review of Australia’s national environment laws.

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Oil and gas companies make far more money churning out new plastic than reusing old. Meanwhile, the public gets the blame

Plastic recycling is a scam. You diligently sort your rubbish, you dutifully wash your plastic containers, then everything gets tossed in a landfill or thrown in the ocean anyway. OK, maybe not everything – but the vast majority of it. According to one analysis, only 9% of all plastic ever made has likely been recycled. Here’s the kicker: the companies making all that plastic have spent millions on advertising campaigns lecturing us about recycling while knowing full well that most plastic will never be recycled.

A new investigation by National Public Radio (NPR) and the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) reports that the large oil and gas companies that manufacture plastics have known for decades that recycling plastic was unlikely to ever happen on a broad scale because of the high costs involved. “They were not interested in putting any real money or effort into recycling because they wanted to sell virgin material,” Larry Thomas, former president of one of the plastic industry’s most powerful trade groups, told NPR. There is a lot more money to be made in selling new plastic than reusing the old stuff. But, in order to keep selling new plastic, the industry had to clean up its wasteful image. “If the public thinks that recycling is working, then they are not going to be as concerned about the environment,” Thomas noted. And so a huge amount of resources were diverted into intricate “sustainability theatre”.

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European carbon prices consolidated near €30 on Tuesday, holding on to most of Monday’s stellar gains and coming within a hair of their 14-year high as buying continued ahead of this week’s release of the EU’s new climate strategy.

The ancient bear, unearthed by reindeer herders, has been hailed as a find of "great importance".

Five California Carbon Offset (CCO) projects based in Wisconsin have applied to move into the state’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS), marking the seventh out-of-state dairy digesters to do so this month.

The European Parliament adopted on Tuesday an amendment that could fast-track the inclusion of emissions from ships using EU ports to the bloc's ETS as of Jan. 2022.

‘Humanity at a crossroads’ after a decade in which all of the 2010 Aichi goals to protect wildlife and ecosystems have been missed

The world has failed to meet a single target to stem the destruction of wildlife and life-sustaining ecosystems in the last decade, according to a devastating new report from the UN on the state of nature.

From tackling pollution to protecting coral reefs, the international community did not fully achieve any of the 20 Aichi biodiversity targets agreed in Japan in 2010 to slow the loss of the natural world. It is the second consecutive decade that governments have failed to meet targets.

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Humanity is at a crossroads and action is needed to slow nature's accelerating decline, says the UN.

The current system of free allocation of EU ETS allowances should be “better targeted” in light of the EU’s net zero 2050 emissions goal and the enhanced ambition for 2030, the bloc’s auditors body said.

In climate change, the Four Horsemen have a perfect force of destruction. Maybe these fires and floods will be a wakeup call to stop stalling

As the west coast burns into an orange hellscape you have to wonder if those preaching the end of time aren’t on to something. The people smart enough to make a cellphone have been warning that we have no more than a decade to tamp down the climate crisis. Other wise men and women think we don’t even have that much time. We should listen.

People have been preaching the end of time since the beginning of time. The whole story got laid down in the Book of Revelations. Being raised Catholic, we did not read the Bible that much and were casually advised by the nuns to not wade too deep in that chapter. Concentrate on Love Thy Neighbor because Ye Shall Not Know the Hour or Day.

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Deformities point to unsettling sign of extremely low genetic diversity in isolated population in the Santa Monica mountains

Mountain lions with crooked tails have been spotted in the Santa Monica mountains, an unsettling sign of extremely low genetic diversity within an isolated population of less than two dozen individuals roaming the rugged canyonlands just north of Los Angeles.

In early March, biologists examined a young sedated male mountain lion. The cougar, designated P-81, had a kinked tail shaped like the letter L and only one descended testicle, a condition known as cryptorchidism.

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With so many issues being brought to the table and put on the menu for possible EU ETS reforms and to embody the European Green Deal, there is a real risk of not being able to see the forest for the trees, argues Andrei Marcu. Any revision of the EU ETS needs to be put in the context of the role of the market in the 2030 timeframe and beyond, and the objectives of the review. If not, we may get wrong not only the review of the EU ETS but also, due to a lack of debate, its role going forward.

Transgrid short-lists projects that will be able to bid for 1,400MW capacity on a new transmission line in New England region of NSW.

The post Transgrid shortlists projects for 1.4GW New England renewable zone appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Angus Taylor gives up on idea of forcing AGL to keep Liddell coal generator online, but what is an "acceptable" battery?

The post Taylor gives up on Liddell coal extension, but what is an “acceptable” battery? appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Dan Murphy's parent company Endeavour Group says 50% of the liquor retailer's South Australian stores will have rooftop solar by mid-2021.

The post Liquor giant Dan Murphy’s makes big solar push in South Australia appeared first on RenewEconomy.

The Tesla Model 3 set to get some major upgrades, including chrome delete as standard, Model Y octovalve, and an electronic tailgate.

The post Tesla’s Model 3 electric sedan is getting some serious feature updates appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Mock Cop26 set up in frustration at lack of progress due to coronavirus crisis

Young climate activists have begun a parallel process to the UN climate crisis talks, in frustration at the lack of progress they perceive in world governments’ efforts to address the emergency.

Crunch negotiations aimed at fulfilling the Paris climate agreement, called Cop26, were to be hosted by the UK this November, but have been delayed by the coronavirus crisis. Activists, participants and observers have told the Guardian they are concerned at a lack of progress so far.

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Under a rapidly changing climate, it's not just about keeping the lights on. We not only want energy, but we want to breathe clean air, have enough food and live in a sustainable community. Samantha Hepburn, Director of the Centre for Energy and Natural Resources Law, Deakin Law School, Deakin University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

The US president is urged to recognise the changing climate and what it means to forests, during a briefing on the wildfires in California on Monday. Trump interrupts an official, Wade Crowfoot, the secretary of California’s Natural Resources Agency, to argue the climate 'will start getting cooler, you just watch'. Crowfoot responds: 'I wish science agreed with you.' To which Trump retorts: 'I don’t think science knows actually'

• Biden calls Trump a 'climate arsonist' as president denies science on wildfire tour

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New Zealand carbon allowances on Tuesday traded above the NZ$35 fixed price option (FPO) for the first time, as a mix of patchy supply and policy uncertainty continued to fuel bullish sentiment.