VEN – Good News on Climate Action – Blog
Is hydro-electricity ‘aging out’ of the Clean Energy Race?
Image Source: International Energy Agency The original carbon-free power source is the only renewable whose share is shrinking By Mark Harris in Anthropocene magazine It all started so well. Within three years of the first hydropower project at an English inventor’s home in 1878, there was an electricity plant at Niagara Falls, and soon many more…
Read MoreKetan Joshi: Anthony Albanese is setting himself up as the fossil fuel export king of Australia
Anthony Albanese is setting himself up as the fossil fuel export king of Australia Ketan Joshi Apr 9, 2024 12Renew Economy In a break from tradition, Australia’s government dropped some good news in the days before the long weekend Easter break. It’s a time usually reserved for ‘taking out the trash’: dropping news items you don’t…
Read MoreGovernments own Climate Change Authority 65-75% by 2035 target, recommending additional actions is inadequate.
Commentary: Raising the bar: setting a strong 2035 emissions reduction target BY ACF, Climate council, WWF, Solutions for Climate Australia Background Under the Paris Agreement, signatory governments are required to submit an updated emissions reduction target – or Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) – every five years. Together with other nations, Australia is dueto submit an…
Read MoreCould a white powder deliver the holy grail of low cost green hydrogen exports?
Renew Economy A new university spinout says powdered hydrogen could deliver the efficiencies needed to make the transport and export of green hydrogen competitive with fossil fuels. Australia has high hopes of becoming a green energy export superpower, partly driven by the potential of green hydrogen. But some of the more ambitious proposals look doubtful…
Read MoreAustralians want more renewables faster
The New Daily Tess Ikonomou Apr 10, 2024, updated Apr 10, 2024 Almost nine in 10 Australians want a faster or moderate transition to clean energy, the national science agency says. The CSIRO on Wednesday released a survey on attitudes nationwide towards the renewable energy transition. Touted by the agency as the most comprehensive survey…
Read MoreWorld Bank must take ‘quantum leap’ to tackle climate crisis, UN expert says
The Guardian Climate crisis Simon Stiell calls for reform at development banks to enable governments to provide more climate finance to developing world Fiona Harvey Environment editor Wed 10 Apr 2024 23.00 AEST The World Bank must take a “quantum leap” to provide new finance to tackle the climate crisis or face “climate-driven economic catastrophe”…
Read MoreE.V.s Start With a Bigger Carbon Footprint. But That Doesn’t Last.
Figure 2. Cumulative greenhouse gas emissions versus vehicle mileage for (a) internal combustion engine and battery electric sedans, SUVs, and pickup trucks. From Corrigendum: The role of pickup truck electrification in the decarbonization of light-duty vehicles. Maxwell Woody et al 2022 Environ. Res. Lett. 17 089501 The manufacturing and disposal of electric vehicles result in…
Read MoreCommunity support for sustainable transformation
Without community support, the green energy transition will fail. Here’s how to get communities on board Environment 5 Apr 2024 NAtional Tribune Connecting cheap, clean energy from renewables comes with a hidden cost and challenge: building 5,000 kilometres of new transmission lines this decade, and another 5,000km after that. This sounds like a lot, but…
Read MoreCompanies ignoring climate risks get punished by markets, new study reveals
Date: April 2, 2024 Source: University of Florida Summary: Companies that proactively manage climate risks boost their valuations, while those with a passive stance are discounted in the equity market, according to new research. FULL STORY A pioneering study from the University of Florida has quantified corporations’ exposure to climate change risks like hurricanes, wildfires,…
Read MoreThe case for paying ranchers to raise trees instead of cattle
Patrick Brown and Michael Eisen Reducing cattle populations and restoring native ecoystems is our best chance to tackle global heating. Here’s one way to do it Tue 2 Apr 2024 21.08 AEDT in The Guardian There is a simple, cost-effective and scientifically sound way to turn back the clock on global warming and reverse the…
Read MoreGiant solar project in limbo as Forrest misses another deadline on key green hydrogen project
Rachel Williamson Apr 2, 2024 1Renew Economy6 ANDREW FORREST HYDROGEN RENEWABLES SOLAR The fate of one of the biggest solar projects in Australia remains in limbo, after Andrew Forrest’s Fortescue Metals missed another deadline for reaching financial closer on the key Gibson Island green hydrogen plant in Queensland. has blown through its extended deadline, sending…
Read MoreThe debate around nuclear power in Australia isn’t just political. There’s also a generational divide
ABC News 7.30 By national regional affairs reporter Jane Norman Posted Yesterday at 8:04am, updated 14h ago14 hours ago Driving her trusty red Camry, wearing a T-shirt emblazoned with “Australian Nuclear Free Alliance”, Aunty Sue Haseldine is on a cross-country mission. “We’ve travelled a long way and a lot of miles,” she tells 7.30 somewhere between her home…
Read More46C summer days and ‘supercell’ storms are Britain’s future
46C summer days and ‘supercell’ storms are Britain’s future – and now is our last chance to prepare Bill McGuire Neither the Tories nor Labour seem bothered by the climate mayhem that awaits us, but to save lives they must act Wed 20 Mar 2024 00.00 AEDT It’s the August bank holiday in 2050 and…
Read MoreInnovative soil management to store carbon required
Climate change will see Australia’s soil emit CO2 and add to global warming Date: March 26, 2024 Source: Curtin University Summary: New research has shown the warming climate will turn Australia’s soil into a net emitter of carbon dioxide (CO2), unless action is taken. Soil helps to keep the planet cool by absorbing carbon, however…
Read MoreAlan Kohler: Dire labour shortage warrants moratorium on fossil fuel export projects
Alan Kohler Mar 28, 2024, updated Mar 27, 2024 When there’s full employment, as there is now, projects that are approved to create jobs can’t do that – they divert labour from somewhere else. This means, among other things, that the whole reason for politicians to approve coal mines and gas projects has evaporated. Not…
Read MoreScientists devise a new, relatable measure of climate change: “outdoor days”
Their climate forecast: The Global North will gain outdoor days, while the the Global South will lose them. By Sarah DeWeerdt March 26, 2024 inAnthropocene Climate change will bring more days of pleasant weather to the Global North while subtracting from the tally of nice days in the Global South, according to a new study.…
Read MoreEni to review plans for carbon-intensive Verus gas field to minimise ‘environmental footprint’
ABC Rural / By Daniel Fitzgerald Posted Yesterday at 8:21am In short: Italian company Eni says it is reviewing plans to develop a new gas field in the Timor Sea to reduce its environmental footprint. The gas field has a very high carbon dioxide content, making it environmentally risky and expensive to develop. What’s next? Eni has put…
Read MoreNAB recognised as Australia’s leading bank for project finance to the global renewable energy sector
NAB’s renewable energy lending book shows continued growth for global renewable projects as the bank completes its 200th renewable energy transaction with Squadron Energy. The milestone brings NAB’s committed renewable energy project funding to $16.8 billion since 2003. A track record that has seen NAB recognised as Australia’s leading bank for project finance to the…
Read MoreIf we properly priced death caused by carbon emissions, we might get to net zero a lot quicker
Figure 3. Allocated SCCMRs for the items ‘annualized personal transport alternatives’. Source: Rose, BJ, 2023 Social Cost of Carbon Mortality Rate (SCCMR). As CO2 deaths occur globally, a global VSLY of $48,000 was used. The unit of SCCMR is US$/ tCO2. The two benchmark SCCMRs were $663/ tCO2 for the base case scenario and $405/…
Read MoreWill geoengineering buy us time to cut carbon emissions or just prolong the pain?
Image; Harding, AR. 2020. Climate econometric models indicate solar geoengineering would reduce inter-country income inequality. Nature Communications. Some observers say high-tech climate fixes are a moral imperative. Others say they are a moral hazard. By Mark Harris March 21, 2024 in Anthropocene magazine One way to address our planet’s carbon dioxide problem is to stop…
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