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Solar Victoria says it will expand its home battery rebate scheme starting July to encourage the aggregation of distributed battery systems and pave the way for VPPs in the state.

The post Victoria expands home battery rebate scheme to pave way for VPPs appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Wildlife Trusts warn of effects from neglected reserves and species loss, to fly-tipping and illegal shooting

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While lockdown has allowed some a greater appreciation of spring and the fun of seeing goats, sheep and deer foraying into urban landscapes, Covid-19 is wreaking havoc with UK biodiversity as vital conservation projects are put on hold.

On Friday conservationists warned of “desperate times” with an explosion in invasive non-native species during prolific spring growth and the deterioration of rare and historic wildlife meadows that could take years to restore.

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California Carbon Allowances (CCA) continued to rise on the secondary market this week as prices oscillated around the $16.00 mark, while RGGI Allowances (RGAs) dropped on relatively thin volume.

Those endless cups of tea while working from home are unlikely to add much to your electricity bill. But coronavirus poses other problems for the electricity sector. Bruce Mountain, Director, Victoria Energy Policy Centre, Victoria University Kelly Burns, Senior Research Fellow, Victoria University Steven Percy, Senior research fellow, Victoria University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Restoring the reef represents one of the most significant science and technology challenges in the history of nature conservation. Paul Hardisty, CEO, Australian Institute of Marine Science Christian Roth, CSIRO Great Barrier Reef Coordinator & Senior Principal Research Scientist, CSIRO Damien Burrows, Director of TropWATER, James Cook University David Mead, Executive Director of Strategic Development at Australian Institute of Marine Science, Australian Institute of Marine Science Ken Anthony, Principal Research Scientist, Australian Institute of Marine Science Line K Bay, Senior Research Scientist and Team Leader, Australian Institute of Marine Science Mark Gibbs, Director, Knowledge to Innovation; Chair, Green Cross Australia, Queensland University of Technology Peter J Mumby, Chair professor, The University of Queensland Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

The voluntary carbon market is making plans to secure its future as the postponement of intergovernmental climate talks ensures the UN Paris Agreement era will begin without rules on global emissions trade.

The health of insect populations globally is far more varied than previous research suggested.

Scientists say insects are vital and the losses worrying, with accelerating declines in Europe called ‘shocking’

The biggest assessment of global insect abundances to date shows a worrying drop of almost 25% in the last 30 years, with accelerating declines in Europe that shocked scientists.

The analysis combined 166 long-term surveys from almost 1,700 sites and found that some species were bucking the overall downward trend. In particular, freshwater insects have been increasing by 11% each decade following action to clean up polluted rivers and lakes. However, this group represent only about 10% of insect species and do not pollinate crops.

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EUAs rose to test €21 again on Thursday, continuing to track rising oil and equities even as economists warned of dire conditions due to the coronavirus containment measures.

Pennsylvania has modelled a starting CO2 budget of 78 million tons for its draft power sector ETS, as a RGGI-aligned programme would force coal power offline but still keep natural gas supplying over half the state's electricity through 2030, according to analysis published Thursday.

Lower pollution levels must persist after lockdown says capital’s mayor, Sadiq Khan

London has had dramatic improvements in its air quality since the coronavirus lockdown, with dangerous emissions at some of the capital’s busiest roads and junctions falling by almost 50%.

Figures released by the London mayor, Sadiq Khan, show that anti-pollution measures introduced from 2017 had already led to a 35% drop across the capital of the harmful gas nitrogen dioxide, NO2 – rising to a 44% reduction inside central London’s ultra-low emissions zone (ULEZ).

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Community-supported agriculture programs benefit at-risk farmers most as the pandemic underlines the value of local food systems

Fresh farm produce is healthy and delicious. Most of the time, that’s reason enough to sign up for a community-supported agriculture program (CSA), a system in which one pays to regularly receive goodie bags of whatever happens to be flourishing in nearby farmers’ fields, often along with optional local meat and dairy add-ons. Now, during the Covid-19 pandemic, bolstering local food systems is especially urgent – and there’s more at stake than just really good tomatoes.

Local farmers have proven more reliable in a crisis than the industrial food supply chain

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The 5,100 sq km behemoth which broke away from Antarctica in 2017 drops its own large chunk of ice.

Australia has provided updates to the World Heritage Committee on the impacts of the 2019 -20 bushfires on the Greater Blue Mountains Area and the Gondwana Rainforests of Australia.

Australia has provided updates to the World Heritage Committee on the impacts of the 2019 -20 bushfires on the Greater Blue Mountains Area and the Gondwana Rainforests of Australia.

New Zealand’s independent Climate Change Commission will review the nation’s ambition level under the Paris Agreement, its climate change minister said Thursday after submitting an updated NDC to the UN without ratcheting up the 2030 target.

The Australian Energy Regulator (AER) today announced that Dr Elizabeth (Liz) Develin has been appointed as the regulator’s next CEO.

The post AER announces new CEO: Dr Liz Develin appeared first on RenewEconomy.

It's thought the Covid-19 outbreak may have begun in a Chinese market that sold wildlife alongside food.

What. exactly, is a two-sided wholesale electricity market? And will it really be good for consumers, or just sound like it?

The post ESB paints future of two-sided electricity market – but what does it mean for consumers? appeared first on RenewEconomy.