Feed aggregator

Electric cars are being touted as the best way to reduce emissions from transport. But a climate policy that relies on individuals paying for new technology runs the risk of aggravating inequities. Alistair Woodward, Professor, School of Population Health, University of Auckland Kirsty Wild, Senior Research Fellow, Public Health, University of Auckland Rhys Jones, Senior Lecturer in Māori Health, University of Auckland Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Saving our threatened species shouldn't be seen as a cost, but rather a very savvy investment to ensure the support systems sustaining life on Earth remain intact. Euan Ritchie, Professor in Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Life & Environmental Sciences, Deakin University Ayesha Tulloch, DECRA Research Fellow, University of Sydney Don Driscoll, Professor in Terrestrial Ecology, Deakin University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

California regulator ARB’s compliance offset issuance sunk to more than 378,000 new credits this week, continuing a trend of sluggish approvals by the state agency.

Campaigners say bill that ministers call ‘ambitious’ fails to protect green spaces, air quality or wildlife, and is ‘riddled with loopholes’

Ministers have been accused of hypocrisy in bringing forward a “toothless” environment bill that will fail to protect against developers concreting over valuable green space, lack provisions for improving air quality, and contain what campaigners said were inadequate protections for wildlife.

The government voted down amendments to its flagship environment bill on Wednesday that would have strengthened the powers of a watchdog, given local communities more say over planning and development, and expanded protections for habitats.

Continue reading...

EUAs rose to a one-week high near €55 on Wednesday but reversed course in sympathy with gas, before taking a post-settlement tumble to close well below €53, as trading data showed waning interest by investment funds.

Environmental body calls for investment in nature-based solutions to stem rise in discharge

There will be a rise in the scale of sewage discharge into rivers and waterways due to extreme weather events as a result of climate change, MPs have been told.

Nature-based solutions must be a top priority for the government and the water regulator, Ofwat, when it comes to water companies’ investment over the coming decades. By 2050, MPs heard, the English sewerage system would face a 55% increase in water flowing through the network as a result of increased urbanisation and the removal of natural surfaces, which help water drain away.

Continue reading...

Campaigners say it is the first time a company has been legally bound by the Paris climate accord.

A Dutch court on Wednesday ordered oil major Shell to cut its net carbon emissions by 45% compared to 2019 levels by 2030, in what observers are calling a landmark ruling for the global oil industry.

A climate tech company announced the creation of the largest US-based forest carbon project by acreage on Wednesday, with large corporates and voluntary emissions reduction (VER) procurement firms among the first buyers.

Commodity traders Hartree Partners and sustainability firm Systemiq on Wednesday launched a joint venture designed to help clients buy carbon credits from high-quality nature-based offset projects.

Romania will exit coal in 2032, according to leaked government documents, as higher carbon prices squeeze coal power profitability and prompt other countries in Central and Eastern Europe to consider earlier phaseouts.

The BBC nature programme is good at engaging with the public but it fails to address the threat of human development

Springwatch is back, the BBC’s largest outside broadcasting event with regular audiences approaching 4 million. I’m among its greatest fans, having watched every series – and spin-offs, Autumnwatch and Winterwatch – since it began in 2005. But this year I’ve begun to worry about the gulf opening up between the wonderful richness on the screens and the urgent biodiversity crisis unfolding off camera.

Springwatch’s unique contribution to wildlife programming is its emphasis on citizen science. The audience is encouraged to observe and submit data about their gardens and local spaces, a model of environmental engagement. But deep down, Springwatch is rooted in the Attenborough tradition of nature programming: intimate stories of wildlife, focusing on nature’s eternal beauty and fascinating behaviours. What’s missing is coverage of the human pressures on their habitat. David Attenborough has only relatively recently addressed the massive threats to nature from human destruction, pollution and climate change.

Continue reading...

Japan will invest around $10 billion in efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in South East Asia and help governments in the region design decarbonisation strategies, media reported Wednesday, citing government officials.

Australia’s solar pioneers have been awesome, and it’s sad to say goodbye. Plus: Some really crap solar stories.

The post Solar Insiders Podcast: A hat tip to some great Australian solar pioneers appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Just like the prime minister’s promises on Brexit, Boris Johnson’s pledges of support to UK farmers will ring hollow

You can tell that British farmers will be betrayed by Boris Johnson by the way he promises to look after them. The prime minister has pledged support equivalent to forfeited European subsidies. He says the sector will be safe from cut-price competition when new free trade deals are signed. He has told Minette Batters, president of the National Farmers’ Union, that he would “rather die” than hurt her members. Really? Death before cheap beef? Maybe Johnson can honour those pledges, but it would be out of character.

It would also defeat the purpose of Brexit for many Tory MPs. “Take back control” signalled many things to voters, but to Eurosceptic ideologues it meant liberation from the EU’s common external tariff. Having trade policy run from Brussels was proof of Britain’s colonisation by continental bureaucrats. Deals with non-Europeans are the prize for emancipation.

Continue reading...

Some Australian states have committed to 100% renewable energy targets, or even 200% renewable energy targets. But this doesn’t mean their electricity is, or will be, emissions free. James Ha, Associate, Grattan Institute Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Despite producing ambitious targets, governments have failed to tackle the big environmental issues over the past 15 years

Every week governments make headline announcements about saving the planet, and every week their small print unsaves it. The latest puff by the G7 is a classic of this genre. Apparently, all seven governments have committed “to conserve or protect at least 30% of the world’s land and at least 30% of the world’s ocean by 2030”. But what does it mean? The UK, which says it secured the new agreement, claims already to have “conserved or protected” 26% of its land and 38% of its seas. In reality, it has simply drawn lines on the map, designating our sheepwrecked hills and trawler-trashed seas “protected”, when they’re nothing of the kind. This is the way the world ends. Not with a bang but a press release.

All governments do this, but Boris Johnson’s has perfected the art. It operates on the principle of commitment inflation: as the action winds down, the pledges ramp up. Never mind that it won’t meet the targets set by the fourth and fifth carbon budgets: it now has a thrilling new target for the sixth one. Never mind that it can’t meet its old commitment of an 80% cut in greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. Instead, it has promised us “net zero” by the same date. Yes, we need more ambition, yes, the government is following official advice, but ever higher targets appear to be a substitute for action.

Continue reading...

While most of the world offers incentives to people buying EVs, our government hands out subsidies for utes

As a rule of thumb, it’s good economics and good politics to tax the things you want less of and subsidise the things you want more of. That is why the Australian government raises so much tax from alcohol and tobacco, and why the Victorian government’s electric vehicle tax is the dumbest idea since Tony Abbott made the Queen’s husband a knight.

But it’s not just the Victorian government that’s waging an unwinnable war against new technology. While most of the world is offering financial subsidies and incentives such as free parking to people who buy electric cars, the Morrison government is spending billions of dollars on subsidies for the enormous twin cab utes that now dominate Australian car sales while our local councils offer free and convenient parking for the same behemoths.

Continue reading...

MP leads call for amendment to environment bill to root out illegal deforestation from supply chains

British banks provided at least £900m in finance last year to companies involved in deforestation overseas, research has shown, putting pressure on the government to include financial institutions in plans to force companies to root out illegal deforestation from their supply chains.

The environment bill will be debated in parliament on Wednesday and will include requirements for consumer goods companies to carry out due diligence on their suppliers, to ensure they are not selling goods linked to deforestation overseas.

Continue reading...

CEFC commissioned study finds that renewable hydrogen is already cost-competitive in heavy transport industries, and could compete with EVs by mid-century.

The post Renewable hydrogen already cheaper for heavy transport, new analysis says appeared first on RenewEconomy.