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New Government plan to protect Murray-Darling native fish
High court to hear challenge to total ban on ivory trading
While antique traders argue otherwise, campaigners say removing ban would hamper global efforts to fight poaching
The high court will hear an attempt to block a total ban on ivory trading this week, ahead of the imminent Brexit deadline and amid fears from conservationists that any change could revitalise elephant poaching.
Antique traders, who argue that sales of “cultural heritage” objects have no impact on the market for illegally-plundered tusks, are challenging the government over the 2018 Ivory Act which attracted cross-party support.
Continue reading...Divestment works – and one huge bank can lead the way | Bill McKibben
On 15 October, the European Investment Bank meets to decide its policy on fossil fuels. The hand of history is on its shoulder
Millions of people marched against climate crisis over the past two weeks, in some of the largest demonstrations of the millennium. Most people cheered the students who led the rallies – call them the Greta Generation. But now we’ll start to find out if all their earnest protest actually matters.
Related: EIB plans to cut all funding for fossil fuel projects by 2020
Continue reading...Analysis: AEMC road map ignores advice, and could make things worse
New AEMC blueprint ignores bulk of expert submissions and overseas experience, and may make Australia's transmissions problems worse for new generation rather then better.
The post Analysis: AEMC road map ignores advice, and could make things worse appeared first on RenewEconomy.
AEMC proposes complex new market signals for wind and solar networks
AEMC unveils complex new market signals for new wind and solar generation and network investment, but many question the design, and the rush to implement them.
The post AEMC proposes complex new market signals for wind and solar networks appeared first on RenewEconomy.
War on plastic waste faces setback as cost of recycled material soars
Europe’s manufacturers face $250m-a-year hit as rising demand drives up price
The battle to reduce Europe’s plastic waste could become a quarter of a billion dollars more expensive every year as the cost of recycled plastic soars.
In recent months, the price of recycled plastic flakes, used to make goods from soft drink bottles to glitter, has become more expensive than virgin plastic for the first time.
Continue reading...Don’t frack with us: meet the victorious activist ‘Nanas’ of Lancashire
After almost 1,000 days camping out in a field near Blackpool and obstructing fracking operations, the ‘Nanas’ have seen off energy company Cuadrilla. James Cartwright meets the fearless female activists behind the yellow pinnies
While the world applauds the child protesters taking to the streets, fewer eyes are on their mums and grandmothers, whose activism is altogether quieter. In August 2014, gangs of older women in yellow tabards and headscarves started to become a common sight on Preston New Road in Lancashire. They call themselves the “Nanas”, though not all are grandmas. They took the name as a nod to trust, family and tea, leaning into stereotypes of northern matriarchy. Their first project was to capture a field under planning application by Cuadrilla, a UK fossil fuels company seeking exploratory drilling rights for shale gas. They hopped over the fence, set up tents and claimed squatters’ rights, staying for three weeks. By the time they left, the Nanas had earned the support of 14,000 local residents and appointments at Manchester’s High Court, and their action, along with that of other campaigners, led to Lancashire County Council rejecting Cuadrilla’s fracking application, a decision later overturned by the then secretary of state, Sajid Javid.
In the years since, the Nanas have mounted an often good-humoured war of attrition against Cuadrilla, whose drilling has caused tremors in the area. At the Bell Mouth, the entrance to the Preston New Road site, they sing, dance, knit, pray, read poems and monologues, and obstruct fracking activity wherever possible. They even have their own stage show and samba band. And every Wednesday, dressed in white, they stage a call for calm at a site where tensions between protesters and police often erupt into violence.
Continue reading...Top investment banks provide billions to expand fossil fuel industry
Exclusive: analysis reveals lenders provided $700bn to expand sector since Paris climate pact
The world’s largest investment banks have provided more than $700bn of financing for the fossil fuel companies most aggressively expanding in new coal, oil and gas projects since the Paris climate change agreement, figures show.
The financing has been led by the Wall Street giant JPMorgan Chase, which has provided $75bn (£61bn) to companies expanding in sectors such as fracking and Arctic oil and gas exploration, according to the analysis.
Continue reading...Firms ignoring climate crisis will go bankrupt, says Mark Carney
Bank of England governor warns of financial collapse linked to climate emergency
Companies and industries that are not moving towards zero-carbon emissions will be punished by investors and go bankrupt, the governor of the Bank of England has warned.
Mark Carney also told the Guardian it was possible that the global transition needed to tackle the climate crisis could result in an abrupt financial collapse. He said the longer action to reverse emissions was delayed, the more the risk of collapse would grow.
Continue reading...Images offer glimpse into life of endangered Florida panther
Carlton Ward’s photographs chart survival struggle of one of America’s last remaining big cats
The discovery of a female Florida panther lying with a broken leg on a verge outside the town of Naples, south of Tampa, triggered a widespread rescue dash.
Conservationists, who had previously fitted a tracking collar to the animal, were aware she had recently given birth. The kittens would not survive long on their own, they realised, and so an urgent search for them was launched.
Continue reading...Eyes on the skies: young birdwatchers take flight
More and more young people are feeling the thrill of fresh air, flashing wings and the sound of birdsong
Look up! Is that a kestrel? A swallow? Take note. These sightings are getting rarer. A recent RSPB report blamed the climate crisis for dwindling bird numbers in the UK. But as the number of birds decreases, the number of young bird enthusiasts in the UK is on the rise. Birdwatchers have long endured an unfair reputation for being anorak-sporting “twitchers”, lumped into the same category as their equally derided cousins, the trainspotters. But times have changed. Now, as a young person, it is becoming acceptable – cool, even – to show the world the mental and physical benefits of getting outside and observing wildlife.
Today, young “birders” are using social-media platforms to form positive communities and share their sightings and experiences. Amusingly, most of it happens on Twitter, where birders pledge allegiance to certain species in their bios and discuss rare species with some of the world’s foremost experts. They use apps and spreadsheets, often photographing their finds and uploading pictures to their social channels instantly. Instagram accounts have been created. WhatsApp groups have formed.
Continue reading...Labour party pledges to ban sale of non-electric cars by 2030
A Labour government will aim to end the sale of cars with internal combustion engines by 2030, as part of its plans to tackle the climate emergency.
The party is to begin talks with the car industry and trade unions to explore the policies needed to achieve the goal. It says it wants to help an “under siege” industry switch to electric car production.
Continue reading...Solar reaches 80 per cent share of demand in South Australia on Saturday
Renewable state of South Australia sets a new milestone with solar accounting for up to 80 per cent of demand on Saturday.
The post Solar reaches 80 per cent share of demand in South Australia on Saturday appeared first on RenewEconomy.
Queensland approves new 180MW wind farm, with possible battery
Queensland approves 180MW wind farm near Biloela, taking total pipeline of wind and solar projects in the state to more than 18,000MW.
The post Queensland approves new 180MW wind farm, with possible battery appeared first on RenewEconomy.
Great Green Walls – holding back the deserts
Microplastics: Seeking the 'plastic score' of the food on our plates
Climate rebels open new fronts across capital as protests escalate
Activists block trade at Billingsgate fish market and target headquarters of energy company Shell to ‘raise awareness’
Climate protesters on Saturday intensified efforts to disrupt life in London, and targeted sites including Billingsgate fish market and Shell’s headquarters. They said police took at least 28 of their supporters into custody. That number means that more than 1,200 Extinction Rebellion activists have been arrested in London since their protests, over the government’s “failure” to act over climate change, were launched last Monday.
And those detained include Belgian Princess Esméralda who was taken into a police van for questioning and held for about five hours after she joined a sit-in at Trafalgar Square on Thursday. “The more people from all sections of society protest, the greater the impact will be,” the 63-year-old said. Other protests launched on Saturday included one by more than 50 healthcare professionals – wearing scrubs and singing the Extinction Rebellion anthem – who gathered outside Shell’s headquarters before they marched to Parliament Square. “We are meeting outside Shell because they are one of the biggest companies involved in the oil and energy industry, and they have real power to decarbonise that industry,” said Alex Turner, 36, a paediatric and emergency doctor from Bristol. “We are protesting illegal levels of air pollution.”
Continue reading...Fossil fuel bosses must change or be voted out, says asset manager
State Street chief says it could use shareholder powers to force boards to act on climate
The world’s biggest fossil fuel companies must take action on climate change or their directors could face being voted out of their jobs, the head of one of the world’s leading asset managers has warned.
In an exclusive interview with the Guardian, Ron O’Hanley, the chief executive of State Street, said his firm could consider taking the radical step of voting against the reappointment of entire company boards if they were not taking sufficient action to deal with the climate crisis.
Continue reading...Why are asset managers investing in fossil fuel companies?
Everything you need to know about the polluter portfolios worth hundreds of billions
Asset managers invest other people’s money with the aim of growing their client’s wealth and protecting them from financial risk. By pooling lots of investors’ money they can reduce the risk to them by spreading it across a range of asset classes: stocks, property, bonds, commodities and other funds. Asset managers make money by taking a fee for providing these services to their clients.
Continue reading...How real is Saudi Arabia's interest in renewable energy?
Ambitious plans have not been matched by progress, but there may finally be signs of change
It was the largest renewables project ever announced: $200bn (£158bn) worth of solar panels stretching across hundreds of square kilometres of the Saudi Arabian desert.
The massive solar initiative was billed by the kingdom’s crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, as a “huge step in human history” when it was unveiled in March last year. It was cancelled by October.
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