Emissions target inadequate, says Climate Change Authority
PETER HANNAM 3:21pm Australia's greenhouse gas reduction target of 5 per cent this decade is inadequate and should be increased to at least 15 per cent, according to the agency set up to advise the government on climate change policy.
Environment
Carbon union on US west coast
Lynn Doan The governors of Oregon and Washington states in the US north-west have agreed to put a price on emissions and adopt fuel standards.
European ministers push for tougher EU climate goals
Thirteen European environment ministers urged the European Union on Monday to adopt ambitious energy and climate goals for 2030 or risk falling behind the rest of the world.
Big emissions savings available on the home front
Gerard Wynn Taxpayer- or consumer-funded incentive programmes to push all private homeowners in Britain and the US to improve energy efficiency are likely to produce savings in energy bills that far exceed their cost, besides cutting carbon emissions.
Electricity industry must open its eyes to benefits of homes installing solar panels
Rob Stokes Solar panels are revolutionising the Australian electricity market. The pace of change is faster than official projections, and the effects on customers and energy companies are profound and irreversible.
Economists remain convinced carbon tax or ETS is the way forward
MATT WADE Opinion Years of bitter political combat over climate change policy has left the economics profession unmoved.
Green investment bank profitable as Abbott axe looms, CEO Yates says
Clean Energy Finance Corp., Australia’s green development bank earmarked for closing by Prime Minister Tony Abbott, is making a profit and prodding commercial banks to lend, according to its chief executive officer.
Nations should explain their carbon cuts ahead of global talks, Obama says
The US says nations must be ready to explain their emission-reduction pledges as it unveiled proposals on how countries should conduct climate negotiations before a global treaty in 2015.
Climate change 'refugee' seeks asylum from rising seas
A Pacific Island man trying to flee rising seas and environmental risks caused by global warming in his home country of Kiribati asked a New Zealand court to let him pursue his claim as a climate change refugee.
Experts reject Coalition claims of carbon tax savings
PETER HANNAM Experts have rejected claims by the Abbott government that household expenses would be significantly smaller after a repeal of the carbon tax.
Clean energy optimism dimmed by investment drop: Week in review
Clean energy investors had plenty to celebrate last week as share prices of renewable companies rose, big project financing deals were sealed and bullish projections were made on solar growth. The wider view, though, was not so promising.
Efforts to set global carbon market standards may begin next month
Nations could kick-start the first global framework to oversee carbon markets as early as next month should they overcome resistance from some countries, according to a UN climate official.
Carbon tax conundrum: will companies have to pay?
The federal government is under pressure to explain whether companies will still be liable to pay for polluting if legislation to repeal the carbon tax is blocked in parliament.
Tony Abbott primed for a double dissolution on carbon pricing
MARK KENNY Tony Abbott will have the first half of a constitutional trigger for a double-dissolution election in place by Christmas, after announcing plans to present his carbon price repeal legislation this year.
BMW may lift investment in electric cars after i3's fast start
BMW, the world's biggest maker of luxury vehicles, will have to increase investment in electric-car production if demand for the new i3 model continues in line with initial orders.
Clean-energy investments ebb as Europe cuts subsidies
Clean-energy investment fell 14% in the third quarter from the prior three months as Europe curbed subsidies and cheaper U.S. natural gas lured investment.
No sign of King Coal's demise as Asian demand rises
Coal will surpass oil as the key fuel for the global economy by 2020 despite government efforts to reduce carbon emissions, energy consultancy firm Wood Mackenzie said.
Coalition stands firm on carbon tax double dissolution threat
JUDITH IRELAND Environment Minister Greg Hunt says the option of a double dissolution election remains on the table as the Coalition stares down Labor over the the repeal of the carbon tax.
Australia vulnerable in a warming planet, leaked IPCC report finds
PETER HANNAM Climate change will increase the likelihood of deaths from heat stress and bushfires, and potentially place more than a quarter of a million Australian homes at risk from rising sea levels, according to a United Nations-backed draft document.
Collector Wind Farm project recommended to go ahead
HAMISH BOLAND-RUDDER A NSW government recommendation for a 63-turbine wind farm to proceed at Collector will be met with strong opposition at a community meeting, according to opponents of the project who say they’ve been “shafted” by the planning process.
IPCC report: Latest climate change findings
PETER HANNAM As the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change releases its Fifth Assessment Report in Stockholm, we analyse its key findings and reactions.
Global warming 'hiatus' seen as temporary, leaked IPCC report argues
A "hiatus" in global warming so far this century is partly caused by natural variations in a chaotic climate and is unlikely to last, a draft United Nations report by leading climate scientists says.
Obama's EPA opens up battleground against coal
The US Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed limits on power-plant emissions blamed for climate change represents a new battleground for an agency that has for decades focused on the local impact of pollutants such as lead, mercury and ozone.
Norway scraps 'Moon landing' carbon capture project
Norway drops plans for a full-scale carbon capture plant at its Mongstad refinery after cost overruns and delays, ending a project that was dubbed as the country’s “moon landing” by Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg.
Climate change's nasty numbers: why the transition from carbon won't be easy
Robert Bryce As the IPCC discussion unfolds, everyone should keep four numbers in mind: 32, 1, 30 and 1/2. These are the numbers that explain why any transition away from our existing energy systems will be protracted and costly.
Obama to unveil emission curbs on new coal-fired power plants
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is scheduled to unveil Friday its first limits on greenhouse-gas emissions from new power plants, a signature element of President Barack Obama's plan to curb climate change.
Electricity demand response shows promise in Germany
Gerard Wynn (The author is a Reuters columnist. The opinions expressed are his own)
Green Climate Fund prepares first of $US100b capital raising
The new head of the Green Climate Fund, charged with disbursing some of $US100 billion a year pledged to poor countries affected by climate change, is readying an initial capital raising to conclude as soon as 2014.
Abbott's win seen stoking anti-carbon price sentiment elsewhere
Australia is at risk of breaching a global agreement to cut greenhouse gases as power markets signal Prime Minister Tony Abbott will exploit the widest election victory in nine years to repeal the nation’s carbon system.
Tony Abbott can't stop green loans, top lawyer says
PETER HANNAM The Clean Energy Finance Corporation, the $10b bank dubbed a 'giant green hedge fund' by the incoming Abbott government, is obligated by law to ignore Coalition demands that it cease making loans, according to legal advice obtained by conservation groups.
Obama's EPA chief seeks to calm coal industry fears
New rules limiting emissions from U.S. power plants that are expected to be proposed on Friday will "provide certainty" to the coal industry, environment and energy chiefs told lawmakers anxious about the fuel's future.
Direct Action keeps state policymakers guessing
PETER HANNAM Remember how the arrival of the carbon price was supposed to drive Australia to a lower carbon future?
Battle lines forming in climate wars
PETER HANNAM Plan to scrap Climate Commission and Climate Change Authority a big mistake, scientists say.
Clean energy challenges await returning policymakers: Week in Review
Policymakers in Brussels and Washington D.C. last week got to grips with some of the items on their post-summer break clean energy agendas and avoided others.
Obama energy nominee Ron Binz attacked for views 'outside the mainstream'
Republicans and some Democrats criticised Ron Binz in a hearing on Tuesday on his nomination to lead a key US energy regulatory agency as being non mainstream because of his support for renewable sources like wind over coal and natural gas.
China to curb new solar PV plants to limit excess capacity
China, the world's biggest maker of solar panels, will limit construction of new photovoltaic manufacturing plants to curb excess capacity, a move that may spur consolidation within the industry.
Carbon emissions from biggest companies undermine global curbs, survey finds
Growing pollution at 50 of the world's biggest-emitting companies threatens to undermine global efforts to contain rising temperatures, according to a report by CDP, formerly known as the Carbon Disclosure Project.
Exploration
Santos green light to drill in forests
PETER HANNAM The NSW government said it had approved the drilling by Santos of eight exploration coal seam gas wells, provided 'strict' environmental conditions are met.
Fracking gas leaks less than previous estimates, US study finds
Natural gas leaks from production wells in the US are lower than previous estimates and below the level that would erase the fuel’s climate benefit over coal, according to a University of Texas study.
China slaps anti-dumping duties on US solar PV materials
China said it would impose preliminary anti-subsidy duties on some imports of US solar-grade polysilicon, a move that could intensify trade tensions between the world's two largest economies.
Energy
Helping hand for COzero
PETER HANNAM COzero, a former BRW Fast 100 firm, aims to recover its formula for explosive growth.
Troubled solar giant Suntech loses CEO
Suntech Power, the Chinese solar manufacturer whose main unit filed for bankruptcy earlier this year, said Chief Executive Officer David King stepped down.
US coal industry arcs up over Obama clampdown
Representatives of coal-intensive utilities and coal-producing regions said President Obama would effectively outlaw construction of new power plants using the fuel with pending environmental rules.
US solar surge in switches to utilities
Developers installed 832 megawatts of solar power capacity in the US in the second quarter, led by large projects that sell electricity to utilities, a trade group said.
China sets high bar to curb coal, pollution
China unveiled comprehensive new measures to tackle air pollution, with plans to slash coal consumption and close polluting mills, factories and smelters, but experts said implementing the bold targets would be a major challenge.
Energy
China reveals plans to curb coal use
China will aim to cut total coal consumption to below 65 per cent of total primary energy use by 2017 as part of a comprehensive new plan to tackle air pollution, the government said on Thursday.
Energy
Green bank funds Portland wind farm in final fling
Peter Hannam The $10b green investment bank, set to be scrapped by the incoming Coalition government, will create hundreds of jobs, increase market competition and provide enough clean energy to power 31,000 homes in what is likely to be among its final deals.
Solar rises in Russia as UK fracking falls out of favour: Week in review
Bids for Russia's first clean energy auction suggest there is considerable appetite for solar projects in the biggest country in the world.
World's largest carbon capture begins even as Abbott tax repeal looms
John Kemp Prime minister-elect Tony Abbott has pledged to repeal the country's carbon tax to boost economic competitiveness, so it's ironic that Australia is about to host the world's most ambitious project for capturing carbon dioxide and storing it underground.
NY starts $US1 billion bank to fund clean energy
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo is starting a $US1 billion bank to provide loans to projects that generate power without using fossil fuels, a move meant to push private lenders into the clean-energy market.
