VEN Blog

Photo: Eli Hartman/Odessa American via AP A thunderstorm passes between Midland and Odessa, Texas, just behind an array of pump jacks on May 14, 2020. While the Inflation Reduction Act concentrates on clean energy incentives that could drastically reduce overall U.S. emissions, it also buoys oil and gas interests by mandating leasing of vast areas […]

Image: Shutterstock from CoalWire. Bob Burton Colombia rules out issuing new permits for open-cut mines: Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Colombia’s Minister for Mines and Energy, Irene Velez, said that no new permits would be granted for open-cut mines or oil and gas exploration licenses. Velez said that the government expected that […]

New carbon offset standards ‘should bring greater scrutiny’ Industry body working on new way to reassure customers schemes will protect the environment The Alto Mayo protection forest in Moyobamba, Peru, was supposed to be a flagship offsetting project but has faced human rights issues. Photograph: Angela Ponce/The Guardian Fiona Harvey, Environment editor the Guardian Sat 21 […]

ACCC edict on law of supply and command The ACCC says crack down on any suppliers it believed were running “avoidance schemes” to get around the price caps. By RACHEL BAXENDALE VICTORIAN POLITICAL REPORTER @rachelbaxendale and ROSIE LEWISPERRY WILLIAMS JANUARY 16, 2023 The Australian The consumer watchdog has warned it will punish gas ­producers if […]

New study documents how elephants plant the forest with high carbon-density trees and get rid of the weeds. By Warren Cornwall January 25, 2023 Elephants been called a lot of things: the world’s largest land creatures, imperiled, majestic, charismatic. Now scientists have a few more terms for describing them: foresters and climate champions. In the […]

Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) image of Rhodococcus aetherivorans BCP1 cells grown on naphthenic acids. The electron-dense intracellular body represents a possible polyP granule (from Presentato et al. 2018a). From: Biotechnology of Rhodococcus for the production of valuable compounds Article: Science Daily Laboratory experiment shows that bacteria really eat and digest plastic Date: January 23, 2023 […]

Back-to-back droughts have left thousands of livestock in Wajir County, northern Kenya dead pushing families dependent on meat, milk, and sale of animals closer and closer to catastrophic hunger. PHOTO | FILE By The Citizen Reporter Wednesday, January 25, 2023 Mwananchi Communication Limited The Citizen Summary The need for creative thinking, widespread cooperation and radical climate […]

Image: rmi.org We expect six key trends to inform financial institutions’ climate strategy design, implementation, and reporting this year. January 19, 2023 rmi.org By  Elizabeth Harnett,  Ella Warshauer The 2020s have been termed the “decisive decade” for climate change. As we enter the fourth year, what should the climate finance space focus on in 2023? […]

Source: Deakin University. Joshua S Hill 23 January 2023 Renew Economy In a landmark discovery that helps to solve two long-term challenges in the clean energy transition, researchers at Australia’s Deakin University have developed a new process to extract silicon from solar panels for use in building better batteries. Scientists from Deakin University’s Institute for […]

The world’s carbon price is a fraction of what we need – because only a fifth of global emissions are priced January 24, 2023 The Conversation Bei Cui Research fellow, Monash University Nga Pham. CFA Senior Research Fellow, Monash University Ummul Ruthbah Senior Research Fellow At the end of last year, the world’s average price to […]

Image: Juukan Gorge. PKKP and PKKP Aboriginal Corporation/AAP How can the law account for the value of natural places? Published: January 12, 2023 Nanda Jarosz Research officer, University of Sydney In November 2022, the Australian government made a commitment to legislate new protections of Indigenous heritage sites. The decision was made in response to recommendations passed […]

Swiss People’s Party (SVP) newly elected President Marco Chiesa delivers a speech during a party meeting in Brugg Windisch, Switzerland August 22, 2020. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann – RC21JI9K5T0X January 9, 20237:25 PM GMT+3Last Updated 6 days ago Swiss right-wing party to call referendum in bid to block climate change law Reuters Reporting by John Stonestreet; editing […]

Image: Climate council By Adam Morton in The Guardian Carbon credits are about to play a central role in Australia’s climate response ‘There is also a broader issue: how much should Australia be relying on carbon credits at all? The reality is they can’t do all that is promised.’ Photograph: Asanka Ratnayake/Getty Images Sat 14 […]

Published in The Conversation: January 13, 2023 6.17am AEDT Author: Wesley Morgan Research Fellow, Griffith Asia Institute, Griffith University Many people think of the annual UN climate talks as talkfests which achieve only incremental change, at best. Activist Greta Thunberg has described them as “blah blah blah” moments – grossly inadequate and too often hijacked […]

Image from www.science.org: Historically observed temperature change (red) and atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration (blue) over time, compared against global warming projections reported by ExxonMobil scientists. (A) “Proprietary” 1982 Exxon-modeled projections. (B) Summary of projections in seven internal company memos and five peer-reviewed publications between 1977 and 2003 (gray lines). (C) A 1977 internally reported graph […]

With the annual World Economic Forum set to meet in Davos, a new report indicates climate change tops the list of long term global economic challenges. LISTEN TO SBS News PODCAST   Police officers detain an anti mining and coal activist at the village of Luetzerath, Germany Source: AAP / RONALD WITTEK/EPA

By Mark Diesendorf Jan 11, 2023 in Pearls and Irritations An important debate is developing in Pearls and Irritations on the need to reduce consumption. In his article “Labor’s Environmental Denialism”, Stephen Williams acknowledged several positive steps being taken by the Labor government to help protect the environment, and then argued that Labor was failing […]

Heat sensing drones are helping to locate koalas on NSW’s far north coast.(Supplied: University of Sunshine Coast) ABC North Coast By Bronwyn Herbert Posted Yesterday at 9:09am, updated 23h ago23 hours ago Thermal drones are being hailed as “game changers” by ecologists searching for koala populations after a surprise discovery in north-east New South Wales. Key points: Researchers […]

Protesters at the Lumbardhi i Deçanit river speaking out against environmental destruction in 2019 (Screenshot via YouTube) Activists fight back after being SLAPPed with lawfare tactics By DeSmog Blog | 6 January 2023, 11:00am The use of Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation to intimidate campaigners is a global trend, but activists are taking a stand, […]

PHOTOGRAPH: GETTY IMAGES MORGAN MEAKER SCIENCE Wired JAN 6, 2023 7:00 AM From retrofitting buildings to rethinking farming, electrifying transport, and prioritizing reforestation, the EU is chasing net zero. THE EUROPEAN UNION is sick of talking about climate change; now it wants to act. The world’s second-largest economy is attempting to become the first climate neutral […]