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It doesn't seem to be sinking in: Australia's grid needs to be zero carbon by 2030 to align with a 1.5C temperature target.

The post Grattan’s grid report could do with plenty more ambition appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Electricity emissions can be cut to net-zero while keeping the lights on and prices down. But achieving that quickly means keeping gas around, for now. James Ha, Associate, Grattan Institute Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Australian Industry Group calls for moratorium on EV taxes, warning extra costs will deter consumers and curb efforts to lower emissions

Australia’s leading business group has called for a moratorium on electric vehicle taxes, warning that the extra costs will deter consumers from purchasing cleaner vehicles and curb government and industry efforts to reach net zero emissions targets.

The Australian Industry Group has effectively pitted itself against the Victorian Labor government, which last month introduced legislation to parliament to impose a tax on electric cars and other zero-emissions vehicles.

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Grattan says 100 per cent renewably-powered electricity grid is difficult because of a two-week period in winter, but solutions may be found.

The post “The winter problem’: Why Grattan says we shouldn’t aim for 100pct renewables appeared first on RenewEconomy.

A net zero strategy for Australia’s National Electricity Market (NEM) should allow for some back-up use of natural gas that could be offset through negative emissions methodologies, according to a report released Sunday.

Diclofenac was approved in Spain and Italy despite being banned in Asia after it had wiped out millions of birds

A recently approved veterinary drug has been confirmed as the cause of death of a vulture in Spain. Conservationists say the incident could be the tip of an iceberg, and warn that the drug could wipe out many of Europe’s vultures as well as harming related species, including golden eagles.

The anti-inflammatory agent diclofenac has already been banned in India, Pakistan, Nepal and Bangladesh after it was found to kill vultures that ate the carcasses of cattle treated with the drug. Tens of millions of vultures are believed to have died in this way with some species declining by a staggering 99.9% in parts of south Asia.

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Australia's main grid hits record share of renewables on Sunday, despite many wind and solar farms switching off to dodge negative prices.

The post Australia’s main grid hits record renewables high of 56 per cent on Sunday appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Australia's government has consistently forecasted rising coal exports, but the reality has been vey different.

The post Chart of the day: Coal mining relies on implausible growth forecasts appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Warmer sand temperatures from climate change are leading to way more females being hatched than males.

Australia’s bushfires were devastating for bee populations. But steady rain and community efforts are seeing the return of the pollinators

You could say that Adrian Iodice is something of a stickybeak neighbour. On Iodice’s once-lush bushland property, nestled within the Bega Valley of New South Wales, there stands a majestic rough-barked apple tree that the beekeeper used to, every now and then, jam his head into.

In the hollow of the trunk lived a flourishing wild colony of European honeybees that Iodice had been keeping an eye on for years. “I’d have a chat with them,” he laughs. “Stick my head in and see how they’re getting on in life. They were very gentle bees; they never had a go at me.”

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Conservationists say newly released documents call into question the government’s policy of backing tourism developments on protected public land

Halls Island, on Lake Malbena in the Walls of Jerusalem national park, is not easy to reach. It takes a strenuous eight-hour walk or a helicopter ride to get there.

Its remoteness meant it was relatively little known until it became the site of the type of conservation battle that Tasmania has become famous for in a storied history that takes in fights over hydroelectricity dams, old-growth forestry and salmon farming.

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The role is as an Originator for Carbon Markets within the Global Environmental Products Trading Business (EPTB). Reporting into the RTL for Europe, Middle East & Africa (EMEA) and working closely with the Carbon Markets Trading team you will support the identification, delivery and ongoing management of deals across the European Emissions market (EU-ETS), as well as the wider European energy complex (Coal, Power & Gas) and other Environmental Product markets as they mature.

Australia's government is ramping up its international greenwashing efforts, even as it gassifies its clean energy agencies.

The post Climate agencies are being gassified as Australia ramps up international greenwash appeared first on RenewEconomy.

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Speculators increased their California Carbon Allowance (CCA) holdings over the past week, while WCI emitters shed their holdings slightly, according to US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) data published Friday.

Australia Pacific LNG wants environmental approval to drill across nearly half a million hectares of central and south-west Queensland

Australia’s largest east coast gas producer has sought federal environmental approval to drill up to 7,700 new gas wells in Queensland, prompting concern from environmentalists due to the project’s sheer size and its proximity to two national parks.

Australia Pacific LNG – a joint venture between Origin, ConocoPhillips and Sinopec – has lodged a referral under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act to expand its “Gas Supply Security Project” and drill across an additional 476,492ha of central and south-west Queensland.

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Increasingly, engineered carbon removal technologies are pitched against nature-based solutions to tackle the climate crisis - particularly in the voluntary carbon markets. Will forests be passed over to benefit from carbon finance - again?

The best of the week’s wildlife pictures, including a bald eagle livestream, polar bear research and seized tortoises

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EUA prices eked out a small gain on Friday to limit the pullback from this week's record high above €44, with bullish traders and observers expecting a fresh challenge to that level in the days ahead.

US gasoline and diesel consumption is expected to rise this summer over 2020 levels as the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic ease, according to a federal forecast, likely increasing cap-and-trade obligations for US fuel suppliers in the WCI-linked programme.