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We need radical policies to reach net zero. Here's a fairer way to do them | Polly Toynbee
A personal carbon allowance was first proposed a decade ago – but leaders haven’t been brave enough to take up this idea
Are we doomed, or is there still a chance to save civilisation? It’s easy to veer between despair and slender hope, when the UN says emissions that need to fall by half this decade are only on course for a cut of about 7.5%. How helpless we feel when big emitters refuse to attend Cop26. What an unconvincing “one minute to midnight” call to action from Boris Johnson, who is cutting foreign aid and the cost of domestic flights while mulling a new coalmine and a Shetland oilfield. The absurd Brexit fishing spat makes a mockery of exhorting other world leaders to lift their sights to the horizons of the climate crisis.
The scale of what’s needed is politically unfathomable. Yet Johnson pretends answers can be conjured up “without so much as a hair shirt in sight”. In thundering, prophetic form, a recent article from George Monbiot set him right: the world’s richest 1% emit 35 times what each individual should use to ensure global heating does not exceed a 1.5C rise. The super-rich use their fortunes to shape the political agenda, diverting our attention from the true climate culprits with the “micro consumerist bollocks” of ditching coffee cups and plastic bags. “We will endure only if we cease to consent,” Monbiot writes – and he’s right.
Polly Toynbee is a Guardian columnist
Continue reading...BBC earns £300,000 from Saudi oil firm despite net-zero pledge
Fossil fuel advertising on overseas output jars with DG’s call to ‘dial up the focus on sustainability’
The BBC received about £300,000 in advertising revenue last year from Saudi Arabia’s national oil company, Aramco, despite BBC director general Tim Davie calling on every arm of the broadcaster to “dial up the focus on sustainability” and reduce net greenhouse gas emissions.
Although the BBC does not carry advertising in the UK, much of its overseas output is supported by commercials.
Continue reading...COP26: Pledge to end deforestation as Queen urges 'rise above politics'
Toyota announces the bZ4X: the carmaker’s first mass-produced electric vehicle
New vehicle a change for Toyota, which has to date relied heavily on hybrid technology
Toyota has released details about its first mass-produced electric vehicle in a significant step for the world’s second-biggest carmaker.
The bZ4X is an SUV with optional rooftop solar panels that will be sold in both front-wheel or all-wheel-drive variants.
Continue reading...Biden to unveil pledge to slash global methane emissions by 30%
US-led alliance includes 90 countries but China, India and Russia have not joined the methane pact
US president Joe Biden will try to underscore his green credentials by unveiling an action plan to control methane, regarded by the administration as the single most potent way to combat the climate crisis in the short term.
Leading an alliance of 90 countries, including for the first time Brazil, he will on Tuesday set out new regulatory measures to limit global methane emissions by 30% from 2020 levels by the end of the decade.
Continue reading...Tackling deforestation must be at the heart of our response to the climate crisis | Zac Goldsmith
The UK has built a coalition of 100 countries committed to ending the destruction of forests by the end of the decade
- Zac Goldsmith is the UK’s international environment minister
This morning, at the all-important Cop26 climate conference in Glasgow, the prime minister is urging world leaders to commit to take radical action to reverse the catastrophic degradation of the world’s forests. It is hard to exaggerate the importance of what he is asking.
Put simply, there is no credible response to the climate crisis – or to so many of the biggest challenges we face – that does not involve protecting and restoring nature on a massive scale.
Zac Goldsmith is the UK’s international environment minister
Continue reading...NSW government seeks offers for renewable hydrogen hubs
NSW seeks expressions of interest in new renewable hydrogen hubs as it seeks to roll out up to $3 billion in government support.
The post NSW government seeks offers for renewable hydrogen hubs appeared first on RenewEconomy.
“Remarkable:” South Australia reached 100 pct renewables nearly every day in October
Wind and solar reached 100 per cent of more of local demand in South Australia in every day in October, bar two.
The post “Remarkable:” South Australia reached 100 pct renewables nearly every day in October appeared first on RenewEconomy.
How Australia’s coal country past is scuppering its renewable energy future
Australia needs to massively scale up renewables to reach net zero, but they are handicapped by a system designed for fossil fuels.
The post How Australia’s coal country past is scuppering its renewable energy future appeared first on RenewEconomy.
Australia hits record share of 35 per cent renewables in month of October
Australia's main grid achieved a record 35 pct renewables share in October, half way to the federal government's expected 69 pct share by 2030.
The post Australia hits record share of 35 per cent renewables in month of October appeared first on RenewEconomy.
Australia is about to be hit by a carbon tax whether the prime minister likes it or not, except the proceeds will go overseas
Can Australia parlay “dumb luck” of mineral riches to lead world in battery recycling?
Australia has all the minerals needed for battery storage, does it also have the nous to be world-leading, end-to-end battery supply chain?
The post Can Australia parlay “dumb luck” of mineral riches to lead world in battery recycling? appeared first on RenewEconomy.
Fiji signs up to Australia’s Indo-Pacific offset scheme
COP26: World leaders promise to end deforestation by 2030
CP Daily: Monday November 1, 2021
Australia has taken a new climate adaptation blueprint to Glasgow. It's a good start but we need money and detail
Climate change: Five dealmakers who will influence the outcome at COP26
“The Australian way:” Morrison exposes Australia as climate laggard on world stage
Morrison took his climate plan to Glasgow and the world has seen it as a hollow gesture, with Fiji offering its own blueprint for Australia to follow.
The post “The Australian way:” Morrison exposes Australia as climate laggard on world stage appeared first on RenewEconomy.
Climate summit: Behind the scenes at COP26
Australia could become a net negative emissions economy. The technology already exists | Frank Jotzo
To understand our opportunities and pressure points we need an open, inclusive, genuine process
Australia finally has a net zero target. Even without being legislated, it matters as a signal. It will effectively be bipartisan, a rare and valuable thing in Australia’s climate policy.
Of course the long-term goal could be used to deflect from the fact that not much is being done to put Australia on a low-carbon pathway right now, but it must be taken at face value if we are to stand a chance.
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