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78 out of 154 universities joined campaign in blow to big oil’s ‘social licence’, campaigners say

Half of UK universities have signed up to divest from fossil fuels in what campaigners say is a significant blow to the “social licence” of big oil.

Seventy-eight of the UK’s 154 public universities have joined the divestment campaign, either divesting or pledging to divest hundreds of millions from the fossil fuel industry.

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Gold prospectors are ravaging the Yanomami indigenous reserve. So why does President Bolsonaro want to make them legal?

Deep in the Yanomami indigenous reserve on the northern reaches of the Brazilian Amazon, the ruins of an illegal goldminers’ camp emerge after an hour in a small plane and two in a boat. No roads reach here.

Wooden frames alongside the Uraricoera River that once supported shops, bars, restaurants, a pharmacy, an evangelical church and even brothels are all that is left of the small town. The army burned and trashed it as part of an operation aimed at stamping out wildcat mining on the reserve.

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Australia has never had a better opportunity, or greater need, to lead the world. But Scott Morrison pays as little attention to scientists as he does to empathy coaches.

The post Coal! Coal! Coal! for Australia, as bushfires and denial greet Olympic year appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Former AGL 'new energies' boss to lead Shell's global expansion into electricity business, with Australia identified as a key target market.

The post Shell promotes former AGL innovation boss to head global ‘new energies’ division appeared first on RenewEconomy.

A new 100MW solar farm has joined the grid in Queensland, taking the number of large scale solar projects in the state to 23.

The post Yarranlea solar farm joins the grid in Queensland appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Fire at "baseload" gas-fired power station triggers load shedding event in Western Australia, leaving 100,000 homes without power on Friday night.

The post Fire at gas generator triggers blackout with 100,000 WA homes impacted appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Fire debris flowing into Murray-Darling Basin will exacerbate the risk of fish and other aquatic life dying en masse in a repeat of the shocking fish kills of last summer. Paul McInerney, Research scientist, CSIRO gavin.rees@csiro.au, CSIRO Klaus Joehnk, Senior research scientist, CSIRO Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Yusaku Maezawa appeals for a "life partner" to join him on Space X's maiden Moon voyage in 2023.

Siemens decides to honour contract with controversial Adani coal mine, after resources minister Canavan claims 2019 election was referendum on mine.

The post Siemens sticks with Adani contract after intervention from Canavan appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Report on the recycling market situation is now available.

Report on the recycling market situation is now available.

British Heart Foundation predicts current total of 11,000 particulate-related deaths per year will continue to rise

More than 160,000 people could die over the next decade from strokes and heart attacks caused by air pollution, a charity has warned. That is the equivalent of more than 40 heart and circulatory disease deaths related to air pollution every day.

The British Heart Foundation (BHF), which compiled the figures, said there are an estimated 11,000 deaths per year at the moment, but that this will rise as the population continues to age. It wants the UK to adopt World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines on air pollution and meet them by 2030.

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Denmark reaches 50 per cent wind and solar for its electricity needs in 2019 - a ratio of "variable renewables" bettered only by South Australia in major economies.

The post Denmark secured 50% of its power supply from wind and solar in 2019 appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Scott Morrison's refusal to act on climate is bolstered by a group of fringe climate science deniers pushing conspiracy theories and misinformation.

The post The climate science deniers spreading misinformation about Australian bushfires appeared first on RenewEconomy.

What would happen if Australia followed the ancient bushfire management practices of Aboriginal people?

This is not the first time Australia's major cities have been shrouded in bushfire smoke. But this time, the culprits must held to account. Nancy Cushing, Associate professor, University of Newcastle Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Employers obligations are set out clearly. What's important is what they "know or reasonably ought to know". Elizabeth Shi, Lecturer, Graduate School of Business and Law, RMIT University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Power provided on new tariff to come exclusively from small-scale wind and solar farms

UK homes will soon be able to plug into community wind and solar farms from anywhere in the country through the first energy tariff to offer clean electricity exclusively from community projects.

The deal from Co-op Energy comes as green energy suppliers race to prove their sustainability credentials amid rising competition for eco-conscious customers and “greenwashing” in the market.

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Readers are incredulous that the police listed XR in a guide aimed at preventing terrorist atrocities

The Guardian’s recent revelation that Extinction Rebellion (XR) had been classed as an extremist ideology in now hastily withdrawn advice issued by counter-terrorism police (Anti-terror police target school climate strikes, 11 January) is the latest example of a wider campaign seeking to undermine public support for our non-violent movement. In July, we saw the release of a report on XR by the former head of the Met’s counter-terrorism command, Richard Walton, done for the rightwing thinktank Policy Exchange. His report makes a series of overinflated and discredited claims about XR, and it was subsequently revealed that Policy Exchange itself has taken funding from big energy companies.

Walton’s report came out in the context of a persistent media campaign that sought to paint XR in the worst possible light, and it appears to have been the basis of the foolish action by counter-terrorism police. Yet despite all this, XR is as strong as ever. Our group remains resolutely committed to non-violence in our use of direct action, and 2020 promises an escalation in our campaign for action on the ecological and climate and emergencies.

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Despite the political smokescreen, scientists are in no doubt that global heating has contributed to Australia’s fire emergency

As Australia’s unprecedented bushfire season continues to unfold, competing arguments have been made about the principal causes of the human and environmental tragedy – particularly around the role of climate change.

The prime minister, Scott Morrison, has acknowledged that climate change has had an influence on the fires and has defended his government’s climate record.

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