Feed aggregator

Survey to mark World Oceans Day finds 94% in England and Wales believe the fate of oceans and humans is inextricably linked

As people mark World Oceans Day today, an overwhelming 94% of people in England and Wales believe the fate of the oceans and humans are inextricably linked, while more than half rate global ocean health as “poor or very poor”, according to a government survey.

The online survey of 8,000 people, carried out for the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) and the Ocean Conservation Trust earlier this year, reveals the depth of public understanding of the link between the health of the oceans and the multiple pressures upon them.

Continue reading...

Australian companies retired a record 3.2 million CERs last month as the voluntary carbon market boom continues to primarily benefit international projects, while the government on Tuesday announced a funding package for CCS projects that included the nation’s first direct air capture (DAC) scheme.

Santos liquified natural gas scheme among six projects to receive public support

The Morrison government has announced the first $50m in grants from a new carbon capture, use and storage (CCS) fund, including awarding up to $15m to gas company Santos and $5m to a coal power project owned by mining giant Glencore.

The funding is drawn from a promised $263.7m for the controversial technology, which most often involves capturing industrial greenhouse gas emissions as they are released and injecting them underground.

Continue reading...

A video posted to social media shows Yagon beach near Seal Rocks covered in dead beach worms. Often very difficult to catch, the video shows two men easily pulling the worms out of the sand and dumping them in a pile.

Warning: Strong language

Continue reading...

Meridian Energy announces review of Australian assets, including possible divestment of 294MW of renewables and energy retailer Powershop Australia.

The post Meridian may sell Australian assets, as renewables exodus continues appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Tonnes of crushed rocks could help the Great Barrier Reef recover from global warming, but the ‘reckless’ idea comes with ‘unquantified risks’

Continually dumping crushed rocks from a bulk carrier along a Great Barrier Reef shipping route could counteract the acidification of ocean water caused by fossil fuel burning, but would come with unknown side effects on the marine environment and coral reefs, according to a study from Australia’s science agency.

In what is described as a “first order assessment”, scientists at CSIRO found it was theoretically possible to turn back the clock on the effect of decades of fossil fuel burning, but the radical step came with “as yet unquantified risks”.

Continue reading...

Scientists say experiments could cause whales stress and injury and call for them to be scrapped

Plans to capture and run six-hour-long sound tests on young minke whales are set to go ahead in Norway despite condemnation from more than 50 international scientists and wildlife experts as “completely unacceptable”.

According to the plans, approved by the Norwegian Food Safety Authority, over one or two seasons a dozen juvenile minke whales will be captured in a strait off Vestvågøy island in the Lofoten area of northern Norway, where the animals pass through every year on their way to feeding areas further north in the Barents Sea.

Continue reading...

Emissions rose to 419 parts per million in May, the highest such measurement in the 63 years that the data has been recorded

The data is in: carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere hit 419 parts per million in May. The levels have now reached the dangerous milestone of being 50% higher than when the industrial age began – and the average rate of increase is faster than ever.

The figure is the highest measurement of the crucial greenhouse gas in the 63 years that data has been recorded at the Mauna Loa Atmospheric Baseline Observatory in Hawaii – despite slowdowns in air travel and industry during a global pandemic in the past year.

Continue reading...

Acitivists say they are "dumbfounded" by the WA government's decision to approve the plan, saying it also ignores scope 3 emissions.

The post Woodside’s “net zero” Pluto plan will allow emissions to more than double appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Echo Group founder Erik Zimmerman joins Nigel Morris to discuss some of the tricks of the solar trade.

The post Great Solar Business Podcast: How to flip your solar business appeared first on RenewEconomy.

NSW government launches a $50 million grant program, hoping to attract up to 3,000MW of pumped hydro projects to the state.

The post NSW launches $50m grant program for pumped hydro projects appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Land secured for Stanwell-Iwatani plans to build a massive 3GW renewable hydrogen plant in the central Queensland coal export hub of Gladstone.

The post Queensland secures land for massive 3GW renewable hydrogen project appeared first on RenewEconomy.

CSIRO GenCost report says battery storage costs are plunging, but Australia choosing most expensive pathway due to lack of support for renewables.

The post As battery costs tumble, Coalition puts Australia on most expensive energy path appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Despite the new outbreak of COVID-19, SNEC Shanghai 2021 received the record high visitors and SNEC has become one of the most ‘international’ solar trade shows on the event calendar.

The post Jinkosolar in SNEC 2021: New product introduction round-up appeared first on RenewEconomy.

RenewEconomy unveils its pumped hydro energy storage map of Australia, the latest in a series of energy map resources.

The post RenewEconomy launches pumped hydro storage map of Australia appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Hydrostor says the economic benefits from its proposed 200MW compressed air storage facility in Broken Hill will be huge, if it can be built.

The post Hydrostor touts benefits of huge compressed air energy storage plant in Broken Hill appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Queensland to look at new 1,000MW pumped hydro energy project as it accelerates its energy storage push after the Callide coal explosion.

The post Queensland to study huge new pumped hydro project in post Callide storage push appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Indigenous marine governance is experiencing a revival throughout Oceania, building on traditional worldviews that acknowledge connections between people and all parts of ocean ecosystems. Meg Parsons, Senior Lecturer, University of Auckland Lara Taylor, Kairangahau Māori - Māori Researcher, Manaaki Whenua - Landcare Research Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

NSW coal mining industry could disappear entirely by as early as 2042, while EV take-up could hit 5 million registered vehicles by 2050s.

The post NSW looks to EVs to ease economic pain of vanishing coal markets appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Loss of linguistic diversity may lead to disappearance of age-old remedies unknown to science, study warns

Knowledge of medicinal plants is at risk of disappearing as human languages become extinct, a new study has warned.

Indigenous languages contain vast amounts of knowledge about ecosystem services provided by the natural world around them. However, more than 30% of the 7,400 languages on the planet are expected to disappear by the end of the century, according to the UN.

Continue reading...