“No prohibitions”: Renewables funds can be spent on fossil hydrogen and CCS, officials say — perhaps even nuclear.
Angus Taylor’s latest intervention creates mass confusion, with officials insisting renewables funding could be redirected to fossil fuels and nuclear. The post “No prohibitions”: Renewables funds can be spent on fossil hydrogen and CCS, officials say appeared first on RenewEconomy.
“No prohibitions”: Renewables funds can be spent on fossil hydrogen and CCS, officials say — RenewEconomy
Billions in government grants set aside to support the development of renewable energy technologies could be redirected to fossil hydrogen production, carbon capture and storage projects and possibly nuclear energy under new regulations issued by federal energy minister Angus Taylor.
Officials from the Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources (DISER) told a senate estimates hearing on Monday that there would be “no prohibitions” on which technologies the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) may fund under the new regulations
But in the process of issuing the regulations, it appears Taylor has created a regulatory omnishambles, with officials providing senate estimates contradictory information regarding which technologies the renewables agency may be able to fund………………………………
An explanatory statement included with the latest set of regulations stated that the Morrison government intends to ensure ARENA could fund non-renewable energy technologies.
“The Regulations provides ARENA with the necessary authority to deliver any non-renewable elements of the programs, supporting emissions reductions through broader clean energy technologies such as energy efficiency and non‑renewable low-emission technologies,” the explanatory statement said.
The Clean Energy Finance Corporation is, however, explicitly prohibited from investing in nuclear projects and carbon capture and storage projects under its legislation.
Representatives from the CEFC told the senate estimates hearing on Monday that it would not be possible for the green bank’s board to include carbon capture and storage projects within its definition of “low emissions technology”, due to the explicit prohibition contained within the CEFC’s legislation.
But, confusingly, officials from both the industry department and ARENA insisted that the prohibitions imposed on the CEFC would not apply to ARENA………. https://reneweconomy.com.au/no-prohibitions-renewables-agency-funds-opened-up-for-fossil-hydrogen-ccs-possibly-nuclear/
Why transmission is the missing link to an orderly transition to renewables — RenewEconomy
Transmission projects take a long time to develop, but we don’t have a lot of time if we are serious about a timely transition to cleaner sources of electricity. The post Why transmission is the missing link to an orderly transition to renewables appeared first on RenewEconomy.
Why transmission is the missing link to an orderly transition to renewables — RenewEconomy
“Dangerous radicals:” UN takes aim at Australia over fossil fuels and climate lies — RenewEconomy
IPCC says Australia victim of one of the most successful fossil fuel lobbying efforts, as UN chief slams leaders for lying about climate action. The post “Dangerous radicals:” UN takes aim at Australia over fossil fuels and climate lies appeared first on RenewEconomy.
“Dangerous radicals:” UN takes aim at Australia over fossil fuels and climate lies — RenewEconomy
New data shows big jump in toxic coal plant pollution, even as output falls — RenewEconomy
Analysis shows big increase in amount of toxic air pollutants emitted by Australia’s ageing fleet of coal-fired power plants, even while generation output of some has decreased. The post New data shows big jump in toxic coal plant pollution, even as output falls appeared first on RenewEconomy.
New data shows big jump in toxic coal plant pollution, even as output falls — RenewEconomy
It’s astounding Australia has no policy framework to drive urgent clean energy transition — RenewEconomy
It is astounding that there is no nationally agreed policy-making framework to guide Australia through a once in a century technological transition. The post It’s astounding Australia has no policy framework to drive urgent clean energy transition appeared first on RenewEconomy.
It’s astounding Australia has no policy framework to drive urgent clean energy transition — RenewEconomy
Japanese renewable investor lands financing deal for small Victoria solar farm — RenewEconomy
Japanese based renewable energy developer reaches financial close for a small solar farm in Victoria after landing a deal with a local superannuation fund. The post Japanese renewable investor lands financing deal for small Victoria solar farm appeared first on RenewEconomy.
Japanese renewable investor lands financing deal for small Victoria solar farm — RenewEconomy
April 4 Energy News — geoharvey
Opinion: ¶ “Tesla And German Auto Industry’s Varied Tech Paths” • Tesla manages its business very differently than its competitors. As a result, Tesla sales grew almost 90% in 2021, compared to a declines of 2% at Daimler and 3% at the VW Group. Tesla’s growth took place despite a world-wide shortage in chips, and […]
April 4 Energy News — geoharvey
Tasmania’s first solar project to fuel green hydrogen plant to replace diesel use — RenewEconomy
Line Hydrogen to build green hydrogen production facility in Tasmania, getting power from the state’s first solar farm. The post Tasmania’s first solar project to fuel green hydrogen plant to replace diesel use appeared first on RenewEconomy.
Tasmania’s first solar project to fuel green hydrogen plant to replace diesel use — RenewEconomy
Wind and solar make deep cuts in emissions possible, but fossil fuels must go: IPCC — RenewEconomy
Wind, solar and battery storage will play centre-stage to cut emissions in half by 2030, the IPCC says, while more expensive CCS will have only a bit part. The post Wind and solar make deep cuts in emissions possible, but fossil fuels must go: IPCC appeared first on RenewEconomy.
Wind and solar make deep cuts in emissions possible, but fossil fuels must go: IPCC — RenewEconomy
“Now or never:” IPCC says immediate and deep cuts needed for liveable future — RenewEconomy
IPCC uses dramatic language to insist world must make “immediate and deep” emissions cuts, to try and ensure a liveable planet. The post “Now or never:” IPCC says immediate and deep cuts needed for liveable future appeared first on RenewEconomy.
“Now or never:” IPCC says immediate and deep cuts needed for liveable future — RenewEconomy
Gas-led recovery is a “dog”, world must stop burning fossil fuels, Turnbull says — RenewEconomy
Malcolm Turnbull says the Coalition’s gas led recovery is a “dog”, and says the world must stop burning fossil fuels and put gas “out of business.” The post Gas-led recovery is a “dog”, world must stop burning fossil fuels, Turnbull says appeared first on RenewEconomy.
Gas-led recovery is a “dog”, world must stop burning fossil fuels, Turnbull says — RenewEconomy
Pundits Who Advocate Hot War With Russia Are Enemies Of Humanity
Caitlin Johnstone 5 Apr 22,
In an appearance on the MSNBC show Velshi, The Modern War Institute’s John Spencer explicitly advocated direct US military conflict with Russia due to allegations of war crimes in the Ukrainian city of Bucha.
“I’m ready to commit at this moment — unlike I was before this day — to put people in direct contact with Russia, to stop Russia,” Spencer said. “Call it peacekeeping. Call it what you will. We have to do more than provide weapons. And by ‘we,’ I mean the United States. Yes, we’ll do it as a coalition with lots of other people, but we are the example. So put boots on the ground, send weapons directly at Russia.”
Notice the bizarre verbal gymnastics being used by Spencer to obfuscate the fact that he is advocating a hot war with a nuclear superpower: “put people in direct contact with Russia,” “send weapons directly at Russia”. Who talks like that? He’s calling for the US military to fire upon the Russian military, he’s just saying it really weird.
To be clear this isn’t just some arms industry-funded think tanker saying this; The Modern War Institute is part of the Department of Military Instruction for the United States Military Academy, which is operated directly by the Pentagon.
Asked by the show’s host Ali Velshi what he thought of warnings that direct military confrontation with Russia could lead to nuclear war, Spencer said, “It is a huge risk, I understand that. But today is different.
Velshi himself was much more to the point than his guest, both online and on social media……………………
“The turning point for the west and NATO will come when the sun rises over Kyiv on Sunday, and the war crimes against civilian non-combatants becomes visible to all,” Velshi said on Twitter over the weekend. “There is no more time for prevarication. If ‘never again’ means anything, then this is the time to act.”
Asked what specifically he meant by this, Velshi clarified that he was advocating “Direct military involvement.”………………………
he argued that going to war with Russia for Ukraine would not necessarily lead to nuclear war, claiming that “A no fly zone is not so different from the endless supply of weaponry the west is sending in to Ukraine.”
These are not sane or acceptable things for mainstream pundits to be telling people. Directly attacking the Russian military would indeed risk unleashing a chain of rapid escalations that could easily lead to full-scale nuclear war; there would be far too many small, moving parts for this to be anywhere remotely close to predictable or controllable. A no-fly zone over Ukraine would immediately put NATO powers in direct hot war with Russia, which is in fact completely different from shipping weapons to Ukrainian forces.
The fact that a nuclear superpower cannot be regarded in the same way as a nation without nukes has been basic, common sense orthodoxy for all major powers since Stalin got the bomb. This is not some kind of advanced esoteric understanding that you can only grasp if you’ve been studying this stuff for years; as far as I know children are still learning about the history of nuclear weapons and Mutually Assured Destruction in grade school. This isn’t something you should have to explain to grown adults, much less influential mainstream news media pundits.
But it’s becoming more and more common. The line that we’re already in World War 3 and need to begin acting accordingly is showing up more and more often. The idea that NATO powers might be able to get away with attacking the Russian military in Ukraine without sparking a nuclear exchange is fast becoming its own genre of western foreign policy punditry, and that trend looks to accelerate with the latest (arguably pretty dubious) claims of Russian atrocities in this war…………………………………
There’s also the galling White House press conferences in which ambitious reporters aggressively demand to know why the Biden administration isn’t doing more to escalate against Russia, as clear an illustration as you could ask for of the fact that the mainstream press are only allowed to be pushy and confrontational with US government officials when they’re demanding more bloodshed.
As we’ve discussed previously, even if these increasingly loud calls for hot war between nuclear superpowers don’t immediately succeed, what they do is push the Overton window of mainstream discourse all the way over toward the most warmongering extreme possible so that calls for more escalation seem moderate and calls for de-escalation look like extremist apologia for Vladimir Putin. In the very best-case scenario they leave people far more open to consenting to far more nuclear brinkmanship than any thinking person should ever consent to.
This is not okay. It is not okay for them to do this to us. It is not okay for them to normalize the idea of escalations that could easily end humankind. That is the most insane position that any person could possibly take. More insane than Nazism, or any other extremist ideology you could think of. Supporting actions that may lead to human extinction makes these people enemies of our entire species…………. https://caitlinjohnstone.substack.com/p/pundits-who-advocate-hot-war-with?token=eyJ1c2VyX2lkIjoyNTU2MjE3LCJwb3N0X2lkIjo1MTU3MjA2MywiXyI6IllKbC9qIiwiaWF0IjoxNjQ5MTA1NDE2LCJleHAiOjE2NDkxMDkwMTYsImlzcyI6InB1Yi04MjEyNCIsInN1YiI6InBvc3QtcmVhY3Rpb24ifQ.bmuRTEDt-AbWExPCsWYbp8vbEPSNoa6Jc3OVyw-4qL4&s=r
Wittenoom is officially closed, but can it be cleaned up?
Wittenoom is officially closed, but can it be cleaned up?
Cleaning up the former asbestos mining town in WA’s Pilbara region would be an “unparalleled” task, but experts and traditional owners say it would be well worth the effort.
Stockton residents want solutions as waves whipped up by east coast lows erode their beach
Stockton residents want solutions as waves whipped up by east coast lows erode their beach
Giant waves breach sand dunes and spill into the streets at Stockton as the second east coast low in four weeks leaves residents worried about the coming winter.
Climate reality bursts PM’s election campaign bubble
Climate reality bursts PM’s election campaign bubble
Blair Williams
Schoolchildren and university students yet again took to the streets around the country on March 25 to protest the federal government’s climate inaction. Prime Minister Scott Morrison was specifically targeted, with almost 2000 students outside Kirribilli House protesting his continued funding and support of the fossil fuel industry.
1 This month.
PETITION – To: Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and the Australian Labor Government
Chernobyl: The Lost Tapes – A good documentary on Chernobyl on SBS available On Demand for the next 3 weeks– https://www.sbs.com.au/ondemand/tv-program/chernobyl-the-lost-tapes/235274195556
19 May – Webinar- Webinar: No Nuclear Weapons in Australia
Start: 2026-05-19 18:00:00 UTC Canberra, Melbourne, Sydney (GMT+10:00)
End: 2026-05-19 19:30:00 UTC Canberra, Melbourne, Sydney (GMT+10:00)
20 May – Webinar – The dangerous world of AUKUS, US, military occupation and suppression of dissent
National Webinar, 20th May, 2026, 6.30pm AEST. Confronting laws restricting/suppressing protest speech and action
Speakers: Former Sen. Rex Patrick, Lawyer Nick Hanna ,Arthur Rorris ,Jorgen Doyle, Sen David Shoebbridge,
Facilitator Kelley Tranter.
of the week – Australians for War Powers Reform (AWPR)
To see nuclear-related stories in greater depth and intensity
Antinuclear 