Feed aggregator

UK chemical company will use Hyundai’s cells in its new Grenadier

Ineos and Korean carmaker Hyundai have agreed to work together on hydrogen fuel cells that will eventually power the British chemical company’s new off-road vehicles.

They will collaborate on developing a reliable supply of hydrogen in Europe, as well as using Hyundai’s fuel cells in Ineos’s vehicle, called the Grenadier.

Continue reading...

Australian PM says government’s technology roadmap meets the commitment of Paris agreement signatories on long-term emissions

Scott Morrison has told participants at the virtual G20 summit that safeguarding the planet is an “ongoing, long-term and collective responsibility” and nations “must pursue economic models that support growth and sustainability”.

With the G20 communique released after the weekend talks noting signatories to the Paris agreement had agreed to communicate their long-term low greenhouse gas emission development strategies by 2020, Morrison set up the government’s technology roadmap as fulfilling that criterion.

Continue reading...

A major new research paper reveals which species are most at risk from changing fire regimes around the world. Luke Kelly, Senior Lecturer in Ecology and Centenary Research Fellow, University of Melbourne Annabel Smith, Lecturer in Wildlife Management, The University of Queensland Katherine Giljohann, Postdoctoral research fellow, University of Melbourne Michael Clarke, Professor of Zoology, La Trobe University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Scientists and conservationists say mammal should be officially listed as nationally threatened species

The amount of platypus habitat in Australia has shrunk by 22% in 30 years and the animal should now be listed as a nationally threatened species, according to new research.

Scientists from the University of New South Wales, along with three of Australia’s largest environmental organisations – the Australian Conservation Foundation, WWF-Australia and Humane Society International Australia – have jointly nominated the platypus for an official listing as vulnerable under national environmental laws.

Continue reading...

Agl flags another big battery with up to four hours storage, this time in Victoria at the Loy Yang A brown coal generator.

The post AGL to add 200MW big battery with four hours storage at Loy Yang coal plant appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Queensland zinc refinery Sun Metals commits to 100 per cent renewables, and will reach 80 per cent by 2030 in what is considered a turning point for Australia.

The post “Tipping point”: Queensland zinc refinery commits to 100 pct renewables appeared first on RenewEconomy.

The Chang'e-5 probe is hoping to assist in better understanding the Moon's origin and formation.

Parents and grandparents are the most likely to try to minimise their environmental footprint

Young people are often dubbed “Generation Green” – millennials and teenagers championing climate action and environmental values, often with a well-aimed dig at older generations who have failed to prevent a climate catastrophe.

Yet it is their baby boomer parents and grandparents who are most likely to act in support of green issues, according to a national survey.

Continue reading...

Welcome to Australia, the land Down Under where the policies are Arse-End Up. We don't tax the burning of fossil fuels, we tax those trying not to.

The post Australia’s carbon twist: Taxing consumers who refuse to burn fossil fuels appeared first on RenewEconomy.

New road user charges sends a very strange signal and will set back efforts to reduce emissions from the transport sector

• ‘We’ll be left behind’: Australia’s electric car inertia is getting it nowhere

The proposed tax on electric vehicles by South Australia and Victoria, and under consideration by other governments of similar proposals, would slam the brakes on their goal of encouraging more drivers to use low-emission vehicles. The proposals are counterintuitive and premature.

Our system of taxes and charges is designed to serve a range of purposes. In this case there are contradictory objectives. On the one-hand, road charges and fuel excises exist in part as a pseudo user-pays levy for the cost of our road network. On the other, tax policies are often designed to change behaviour – to act as either a positive financial encouragement or, conversely and more frequently, a disincentive for a particular course of action. Taxes and charges on electric vehicles must surely be considered in that second category.

Continue reading...

You saw the headlines of a $1.8m meteorite? Here's the real story and it's just as fascinating.

Whether it’s using recycled materials, having a zero-waste policy or supporting specialist artisans, these jewellery brands create pendants with sparkle and an ethical conscience

Continue reading...

Many say herbicide is an essential tool in preserving biodiversity but others say it’s a ‘delusion’ to think weed control is only possible with ‘poison’

Glyphosate – the weedkiller better known by its most-famous brand name Roundup – does not have the best of public profiles.

The subject of multibillion dollar payouts over claims it causes cancer, the world’s most-popular herbicide developed by Monsanto is not known for having too many friends among environmentalists.

Continue reading...

While Boris Johnson pledges to ban the sale of new petrol and diesel cars in the UK by 2030, Australia still has no clear policy

Boris Johnson’s pledge last week that the UK government would lead a “green industrial revolution” seemed, to those dispirited by Australia’s broken climate politics, to be a message from another planet, not another hemisphere.

The Conservatives promised £12bn (A$21.8bn) for a 10-point plan to combat the climate crisis, including building enough offshore windfarms to run every home in Britain, installing 600,000 efficient heat pumps a year to replace dirty old heaters, and developing new small nuclear reactors.

Continue reading...

The statistics may be terrifying – but the UK’s approach to natural habitats is undergoing a quiet transformation

It was the WildEast manifesto that first brought it home to me. An ambitious project bringing together everyone from farmers and landowning peers to ecologists and gardeners, WildEast aims to return 20% of East Anglia’s land – an area the size of Dorset – to nature. The plan will reintroduce locally extinct species such as the great bustard, beaver, pelican and even bison, restore soil health and champion new educational programmes and policies on plastics and food production. Whether or not this exciting vision can be brought to fruition, its scope, urgency and inclusivity are something new.

I’ve been writing a monthly column about nature for several years now, and during that time I’ve witnessed a shift in the UK’s relationship with the environment. While it may take time for its effects to become visible – and time, of course, is in short supply – this change has the potential to affect everything, as disparate groups seek a renewed sense of connection with the natural world.

Continue reading...

It may look like a dog house in space, but Sentinel-6 will make the most precise map of ocean height.

A daily summary of our news plus bite-sized updates from around the world.

Financial players cut their California Carbon Allowance (CCA) holdings before this week's WCI auction as prices dropped on the secondary market, while regulated entities kept their position roughly unchanged, according to US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) data published Friday.

Ministers visited the scene of a huge peat slide on the Tyrone Donegal border.

EUAs climbed to hit €27 on Friday, reversing some of the declines of the previous two sessions, with buyers inspired by a strong auction result as they braced for a potential Brexit deal and an extended period without auctions.