This overview sets the scene for the various modules in the Renewables 2024 Global Status Report Collection. It provides high-level trends on the status of renewables in the wider fossil fuel-dominated energy system in the context of global challenges such as climate change, development goals and the geopolitical landscape. Urgent …
Putting off expensive measures to curb climate change will only cost the United States more in the long run, the White House said on Tuesday in a report meant to bolster a series of actions President Barack Obama has proposed to address global warming. "Each decade we delay acting results …
The federal environment minister, Greg Hunt, has clashed with green groups over his approval of Australia’s largest coalmine, amid concerns over the track record of Adani, the project’s proponent. On Monday, Hunt signed off on the $16.5bn Carmichael mine in central Queensland. At capacity, the mine will remove 60m tonnes …
The nearly 200 firms in Shanghai's emissions trading scheme cut their CO2 output by 5.3 million tonnes in 2013 compared with 2011, government officials said Monday, according to state-owned media. The Shanghai scheme is one of seven pilot carbon markets launched in China as the federal government prepares a national …
Japan and Mexico have signed a deal for Japanese companies to earn carbon credits by investing in technology to cut greenhouse gas emissions in Mexico - in Japan's 12th bilateral carbon agreement. The programme, known as the Joint Crediting Mechanism (JCM), lets companies in Japan, the world's fifth-biggest greenhouse gas …
California Governor Jerry Brown and Mexican environmental officials signed a pact on Monday aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions, an agreement that could eventually expand the market for carbon credits. The six-page memorandum of understanding calls for cooperation in developing carbon pricing systems and calls on the partners to explore …
Car clubs are set to receive a £500,000 funding boost, Transport Minister Baroness Kramer announced today (July 28). The funding will help to make more efficient use of the road and reduce transport related carbon emissions through support for two pilot car sharing programmes. Pay-as-you-go car use encourages people to …
Bentley has become the first automotive company to receive the triple Carbon Trust Standard for carbon, water and waste reduction. The automotive firm announced today (July 28) that it had separately secured the Carbon Trust standards for water, waste and carbon, having made significant improvements in sustainability at its headquarters …
The federal government has approved a giant Queensland coalmine that it says will generate as much as $300 billion for the economy, but which environmental groups say will contribute to a “carbon bomb” and risk causing significant damage to the Great Barrier Reef. Environment Minister Greg Hunt said on Monday …
Labor’s state conferences in NSW and Tasmania have backed more ambitious climate change action, maintaining pressure on their federal counterparts to stick with a carbon price policy. Delegates at weekend conferences in both states backed a motion calling on the party’s leadership and organisation to take immediate steps to achieve …
Electricity generation from thermoelectric power plants is inextricably linked to water resources at nearly all stages in the power production cycle, yet this critical constraint has been largely overlooked in policy and planning. While this assumption suggests that water is inexpensive and abundant, global water resources are increasingly strained by …
A new culprit has been found causing climate change - "lifestyle" babies. Scientists have called for a blanket ban on free fertility treatment for those making "lifestyle" reproductive choices, such as sterilization reversal or single motherhood for fertile women. They have also called for a legislation that makes fertility clinics …
The nation gets its chance this week to blast or praise the Environmental Protection Agency’s sweeping plan to cut climate-warming emissions by 2030. Companies, environmental advocates and citizens will sound off at EPA hearings starting tomorrow in Atlanta, Denver and Washington about the 645-page proposal, unveiled two months ago, to …
Ozone pollution, which worsens breathing problems and causes air quality warnings, may compound global warming's damage to the world's food crops, according to a new study. Ground-level ozone, formed mainly from pollutants emitted by burning fossil fuels for cars, industry and power plants, increases as temperatures rise. That's why air …
Australia’s position as one of the best places in the world to live was reaffirmed last week with the release of the 2014 United Nations Human Development Report, which saw Australia ranked second only to Norway among all nations in the world. The report, conducted by the UN Development Report …
The Australian environment minister, Greg Hunt, has approved a $16.5bn resources project that will lead to the creation of the largest coal mine in Australia, and one of the largest in the world. Hunt has imposed 36 conditions, primarily aimed at protecting groundwater, on the Carmichael coal mine and rail …
A government push to lure oil companies to New Zealand offers the promise of diversifying the country's economy, long dependent on wool and, more recently, Hobbit-inspired tourism. But in this university town, the oil push has also locked residents in a debate over how to balance economic gains with environmental …
Australia's repeal of a pioneering tax on carbon emissions has dealt a sharp blow to struggling international efforts to coordinate on global warming and comes ahead of key climate-change talks next year. On July 17, Australia's parliament pulled the plug on the 2012 tax, which charged 348 businesses such as …
This report describes the application of a new mixed-integer linear programming model of the power sector that accounts for water used for thermal cooling. The model is used to explore a series of scenarios for each of four case studies—the North Grid of China, India, France, and the state of …
LONDON: Giving up on beef will be more beneficial to the planet than driving cars. Scientists have confirmed that beef's environmental impact significantly that of other meat including chicken and pork with research showing that eating less red meat would be a better way for people to cut carbon emissions …
Germany has some of Europe’s most ambitious climate targets. It also has four of the region’s five dirtiest power plants. While PGE SA’s Belchatow lignite unit in Poland was Europe’s dirtiest last year, with 37.2 million metric tons of CO2 emissions, the next four are in Germany, according to a …
