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California electricity consumption declined to a near-term low in 2020 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, but natural gas-fired generation still increased over the past year due to a drop in hydroelectric capacity, according to state figures. 

California Carbon Allowance (CCA) prices this week declined despite a surge in transacted volume, while RGGI Allowance (RGA) values edged down slightly across the week with limited buying interest.

Rescuers pulled inflatable boats in flood waters gushing through streets of Turkey's Black Sea district of Arhavi on Thursday to bring those stranded to safety.

Footage released by the country's interior ministry showed distressed residents being evacuated from flooded homes. Access to dozens of villages in Arhavi were blocked and rescue efforts were under way - with officials saying 200 people had been evacuated.

Floods are common along Turkey's Black Sea coastal region at this time of year. Last week, at least six people were killed and two others went missing in flood waters in Black Sea province of Rize

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*PREMIUM LISTING – The Asia Society Policy Institute (ASPI), a think- and do-tank that tackles major policy challenges confronting the Asia-Pacific, seeks an Associate Director of Climate to develop and implement projects to support ambitious climate action across Asia – and in China in particular – including accelerating the transition to net zero emissions.

Move over, bin chickens: bin cockies are here, and scientists say they're confirming the cultural intelligence hypothesis. John Martin, Adjunct lecturer, University of Sydney Barbara Klump, Researcher, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior Lucy Aplin, Research Group Leader, University of Konstanz Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Energy exchange EEX on Thursday published the EUA and EUAA auction calendar for 2022, while updating the 2021 schedule to account for supply withdrawals by the MSR from September to December.

Sulphur-crested cockatoos’ ability to pry open bins has spread across 44 suburbs in only two years

Sulphur-crested cockatoos are learning from each other to open wheelie bins in order to scavenge for food and the behaviour is rapidly catching on across Sydney, according to new research.

With help from the public, Australian and German ecologists have documented cockatoos learning the bin-diving behaviour through social interactions, with reported sightings of the behaviour growing across Sydney in recent years.

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Sulphur-crested cockatoos are learning to pry open bins, with researchers finding the new skill has caught on in 44 Sydney suburbs in just two years. With help from the public, Australian and German ecologists have documented cockatoos learning the bin-diving behaviour through social interactions. The research, published in the journal Science, also found differences in the cockatoos’ bin-opening technique between different suburbs, arising from 'local subcultures'.

• Video courtesy of the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behaviour, Australian Museum Research Institute and Taronga Conservation Society Australia. 

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Government urged to speed up transition to green energy as Australia’s biggest market shifts away from LNG and coal

A Japanese pledge to wind down gas and coal-fired electricity much faster than previously planned has sparked warnings Australia needs to speed up a transition away from fossil fuel exports.

A draft revised energy mix released by Japanese officials on Wednesday said the country – Australia’s biggest market for liquefied natural gas (LNG) and thermal coal – would cut gas-fired electricity generation nearly in half and reduce coal power by more than a third by 2030.

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The Australian government pushed back fiercely against Unesco’s recommendation – and the world is watching

This year, Australia’s big tourism drawcard celebrates its 40th year as a UN world heritage site – a list where more than 1,100 of humanity’s most important spots go for acknowledgement and protection.

But on Friday, a committee of 21 countries will decide if it wants to listen to the advice of the UN’s science and culture organisation, Unesco, and put the Great Barrier Reef on its list of places that are “in danger”.

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UK utility SSE saw its power output drop 10.4% year-on-year in Q2 as calmer, drier conditions curbed renewables while gas generation fell mainly on lower plant availability, the company said on Thursday.

The EU’s proposed carbon border adjustment mechanism will likely affect its closest neighbours much more than global trade partners, experts believe, despite an increasing number of countries across the globe expressing concerns over the 27-nation bloc’s plans.

A program has been used to predict the structures of nearly every protein in the human body.

Wivenhoe pumped hydro plant scores windfall gains in high prices that followed Callide coal explosion.

The post Wivenhoe’s pockets rare windfall from Callide coal explosion, but where was big battery? appeared first on RenewEconomy.

The Quebec government declined to authorise a proposed natural gas liquefication facility on Wednesday due to concerns that the project would not lead to a net reduction in global emissions.

Climate Change Committee head says firms must invest in ‘scaleable’ offsets such as carbon capture

The aviation industry must pay for costly carbon removal technologies rather than rely on using the planting of trees to claim they are reducing emissions, the head of the Climate Change Committee has said.

Chris Stark said aviation, unlike other transport sectors, was unlikely to meet targets for net zero by 2050. He said instead the industry had to use “scaleable” offsets that matched ongoing emissions into future decades, but that these should be used as a last resort after directly cutting emissions.

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Wind and solar have set new production records in Australia's main grid as they continue to reshape the grid and displace coal and gas.

The post Wind and solar set new production records as they reshape Australia’s grid appeared first on RenewEconomy.

A removal project aims to reduce numbers of the unwelcome arrival that has quickly become prevalent

Non-native lionfish have become increasingly common in parts of the Mediterranean in recent years, threatening local ecosystems and posing a hazard to humans through their venomous spines.

Marine biologist Prof Jason Hall-Spencer first saw a lionfish off the coast of Cyprus in 2016. It was just an individual, but the species – which produce about 2 million eggs each year and lack natural predators in their new environment – have quickly become prevalent. “In some places, I’ve seen 40 on one dive,” said Hall-Spencer, from the University of Plymouth.

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EUAs fell sharply to a five-week low in morning trading on Thursday, falling to their lowest in five weeks even as natural gas prices held steady.

All 245 companies covered by China’s biggest pilot emissions trading scheme surrendered permits in time this week to meet their 2020 obligations, marking the end of the last compliance cycle before coal-fired power plants accounting for around 40% of the scheme’s emissions transition to the national market.