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Invoking climate change as the sole cause of terrible shortages lets those in authority off the hook

• Kaveh Madani is a former deputy vice-president of Iran

Iran’s water bankruptcy has been in the news lately, prompting deadly protests in Khuzestan province that also garnered the attention of global media. But this kind of problem is neither new or unique in the country. Drying rivers, vanishing lakes, shrinking wetlands, declining groundwater levels, land subsidence, sinkholes, desertification, soil erosion, dust storms, air, water and waste pollution, biodiversity loss, deforestation and wildfires are among the other familiar signs of Iran’s environmental devastation.

Khuzestan, in south-west Iran, is known globally for its rich oil and gas resources. But this wealthy province’s contribution to Iran’s development is not just its oil and gas revenue. Khuzestan is also water-rich compared with most of the country. So, its large rivers have been blocked by gigantic dams to store water for agriculture, industrial and domestic uses and hydroelectricity production. Considerable amounts of water have been also transferred from its rivers’ tributaries to dry regions in central Iran.

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The annual climate change summit is being held in Glasgow - who's going and what's at stake?

President outlines plan to tackle the climate crisis by cutting emissions and tightening pollution standards for cars and trucks

Joe Biden is setting a goal for half of all new US vehicle sales to be electric by 2030 while also tightening pollution standards for cars and trucks, in a barrage of action aimed at reducing the largest source of planet-heating gases in America.

On Thursday, the White House outlined its plan to tackle the climate crisis by cutting emissions from vehicles, with Biden set to sign an executive order demanding that 50% of all new cars and trucks sold by the end of the decade be powered by electric batteries.

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This summer will have highest number of fledged chicks since 2002, according to Moorland Association

The endangered hen harrier is continuing its recovery from near extinction in England with this summer set to have the highest number of chicks fledging since 2002.

Of 24 successful nests producing at least 77 fledged chicks this summer, 19 were on moors managed for red grouse, according to the Moorland Association.

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As irrigated crops compete with fish for scarce water, farmers in the Klamath Basin lament they may be the last generation to work the land

They are land rich and resource poor. Most have hundreds of acres of fertile soil, some thousands, but little money in the bank and – most importantly – no water.

Now the young farmers of the Klamath Basin, an agricultural community on the border of Oregon and California, fear they might be the last generation of their kind.

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Carbon continued to consolidate its recent gains on Thursday morning, reaching a new four-week high amid largely steady energy markets.

Victorian targets technology to support shift to renewables, including storage and green hydrogen.

The post Victoria targets renewable hydrogen and storage in new innovation grants appeared first on RenewEconomy.

South Korea on Thursday released three options for a 2050 net zero strategy, all relying heavily on cutting emissions from coal and LNG, but just one that would achieve net zero through domestic efforts.

Musan, a gallery of sculpture by Jason deCaires Taylor exploring our relationship with nature, has opened off Ayia Napa

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Canada, the EU, and the UK are strongly positioned to develop leading positions on clean hydrogen as they are the only places expected to have strong enough carbon pricing through 2030, analysts said in a report on Thursday.

The ‘heat dome’ over the Pacific north-west brought unprecedented death to sealife. And the effects will be felt for years to come

As a marine biologist who has studied the effects of extreme weather events for decades, I expected it would be bad. The ‘heat dome’ brought record high air temperatures to the Pacific north-west, and for the plants and animals living along our extensive coastlines the late June timing could not have been worse. The scorching heatwave coincided with some of the lowest daytime tides of the year, leaving tidal lands exposed to hot air and sun for hours during the hottest part of the day, several days in a row.

And bad it was. In the days immediately after the historic heatwave, I visited shorelines that looked and smelled like death. Mussel, oyster and clam shells open wide with rotting tissue exposed, snails and chitons no longer able to cling to the rock, kelp and surfgrass bleached white and sloughing off dead tissue. Similar scenes were reported throughout the Salish Sea of Washington and British Columbia by scientists, shellfish growers and the general public, with mortality estimates ranging from millions to billions of individuals. We’ve never seen anything quite like this before.

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Researchers also find impact of bottled water on ecosystems is 1,400 times higher than that of tap water

The impact of bottled water on natural resources is 3,500 times higher than for tap water, scientists have found.

The research is the first of its kind and examined the impact of bottled water in Barcelona, where it is becoming increasingly popular despite improvements to the quality of tap water in recent years.

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The public consultation period for assessment for export accreditation will be open until COB 9 September 2021.

Former ARENA chair says Taylor's move to direct funds towards CCS and fossil fuel hydrogen will "sully" the key funding body.

The post ARENA will be “sullied” by Taylor’s new regulations, former chair says appeared first on RenewEconomy.

AEMO wants to encourage "grid forming" batteries so it can learn how to support the "undeniable" transition to 100 pct renewables.

The post AEMO to fast-track “grid forming inverters” to help transition to 100% renewables appeared first on RenewEconomy.

The decision by Australia's energy ministers to adopt a single standard is bad news for your air-con, pool pump and even your EV charger.

The post How energy ministers stuffed up the shift to smart appliances, including your air-con appeared first on RenewEconomy.

The solar market has reached a plateau, but new projections suggest that home batteries might finally have their day.

The post Solar Insiders Podcast: Why the solar boom is starting to cool down appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Exclusive: Area twice the size of London devoted to grouse shooting in UK’s parks, threatening efforts to tackle climate crisis

National parks supposedly at the heart of efforts to tackle the climate crisis and boost nature are dominated by intensively managed grouse moors, according to new research.

Driven grouse moors, which are associated with the controversial burning of vegetation and the illegal persecution of birds of prey, make up 44% of the Cairngorms national park, 28% of the North York Moors and a fifth of the Peak District, a study by the charity Rewilding Britain has found.

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Thinktank InfluenceMap accuses petroleum giants of gaming Facebook to promote oil and gas as part of climate-crisis solution

Facebook failed to enforce its own rules to curb an oil and gas industry misinformation campaign over the climate crisis during last year’s presidential election, according to a new analysis released on Thursday.

The report by the London-based thinktank InfluenceMap identified an increase in advertising on the social media site by ExxonMobil and other fossil-fuel companies aimed at shaping the political debate about policies to address global heating.

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Australian hydrogen technology start up secures research partnership with QUT to commercialise high efficiency fuel cell technologies.

The post Australian hydrogen start-up taps QUT for high efficiency fuel cell tech appeared first on RenewEconomy.