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Hazelwood's closure shows industry and government must plan ahead for climate change | Nicholas Aberle

More coal generators will close as Australia shifts to renewable energy, so there must be more plans in place to smooth the transition

When Hazelwood stops generating electricity this week, it will be the first Australian power station to close, at least in part, because of climate change. Hazelwood’s owner, French energy giant Engie, has said it is “making climate a priority” and has committed to retiring its most outdated coal plants worldwide.

Hazelwood’s closure will bring the total to nine coal power stations in Australia that have retired in the last five years – including the Port Augusta power stations in South Australia, the Munmorah and Wallerawang power stations in New South Wales and the smaller Energy Brix and Anglesea power stations in Victoria. It’s a clear indication the global industrial transition from coal to renewable energy across the world has reached our shores.

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Source: Guardian Climate Change

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EU leads attacks on Trump's rollback of Obama climate policy

Europe poised to take baton from US as leader in global efforts to fight climate change, with America’s commitment to Paris accords at risk

The European Union has led criticism of Donald Trump’s effort to unravel Barack Obama’s measures to combat climate change, suggesting that Europe will now take the lead in global efforts.

The US president signed an executive order on Tuesday aimed at eliminating the clean power plan, Obama’s landmark policy to set limits on the amount of greenhouse gases that power plants emit. America’s commitment to the Paris accord of nearly 200 countries now hangs in the balance.

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Source: Guardian Climate Change

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UK breaks new solar energy record on sunny March weekend

Amount of electricity demanded by homes and businesses one afternoon was lower than it was during night for first time ever

Last weekend’s sunny weather was not only good for beers, barbecues and bees, but also drove solar power to break a new UK record.

For the first time ever, the amount of electricity demanded by homes and businesses in the afternoon on Saturday was lower than it was in the night, because solar panels on rooftops and in fields cut demand so much.

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Source: Guardian Climate Change

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Trump's order signals end of US dominance in climate change battle

Trump’s climate blitzkrieg is unlikely to herald the end of civilization, but it risks US geopolitical dominance and could help ‘make China great again’

Is Donald Trump’s determination to send US climate change policy back into the dark ages an “existential threat to the entire planet”, as the architect of many of Barack Obama’s green measures warns? Or is global momentum towards a cleaner, safer future “unstoppable”, as the UN’s climate chief said recently?

Related: Trump begins tearing up Obama’s years of progress on tackling climate change

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Source: Guardian Climate Change

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Only Sweden, Germany and France among EU are pursuing Paris climate goals, says study

UK ranks fifth in table assessing EU actions to cut carbon emissions by 40%, with most countries gaining wiggle room via loopholes

Sweden, Germany and France are the only European countries pursuing environmental policies in line with promises made at the Paris climate conference, according to a new ranking study.

The UK is in fifth position in the table which assesses policy actions taken by EU states to meet Europe’s pledge of a 40% cut in carbon emissions by 2030.

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Source: Guardian Climate Change

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Murder in Pondoland: how a proposed mine brought conflict to South Africa

The death of activist Sikhosiphi Rhadebe in the Eastern Cape has not stopped local communities opposing plans for a titanium mine that threatens important lands and a way of life, reports Yale Environment 360

Environmentalists at risk: read parts one and two in this series

They called him “Bazooka” after his favourite soccer star. But Sikhosiphi Rhadebe’s real love was the magnificent coastal lands of South Africa’s Eastern Cape, where he chaired a community organisation campaigning to prevent an Australian mining company from strip-mining their sand dunes for titanium, one of the world’s most commercially valuable metals.

One evening last March, a Volkswagen Polo pulled up at his home and two men posing as police dragged Bazooka outside. When he resisted, they shot him eight times in front of his 17-year-old son, then sped away. “Bazooka” was dead. Nearly a year later, there have been no arrests, and no apparent progress in the investigation into his murder. I had come to find out why.

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Source: Guardian Climate Change

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'Sightings' of extinct Tasmanian tiger prompt search in Queensland

Eyewitness accounts of large, dog-like animals in state’s far north spur scientific hunt for thylacines, thought to have died out in 1936

“Plausible” possible sightings of a Tasmanian tiger in north Queensland have prompted scientists to undertake a search for the species thought to have died out more than 80 years ago.

The last thylacine is thought to have died in Hobart zoo in 1936, and it is widely believed to have become extinct on mainland Australia at least 2,000 years ago.

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Source: Guardian Climate Change

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Windfarm settings triggered South Australian blackout, final energy report finds

Protection mechanism in tornado-hit turbines caused drop in power that led to entire system being tripped, Aemo says

The state-wide blackout in South Australia which prompted a national political storm over energy policy was caused by extreme weather, which triggered a cascading sequence resulting in the state separating from the national energy market, according to a final assessment from the Australian Energy Market Operator.

The final report finds that the state’s windfarms rode out the grid disturbances prompted by the loss of key transmission lines during two tornadoes with wind speeds between 190 and 260 km/h – but the activation of a protection mechanism in the turbines triggered a sustained reduction in power in the state, with a drop of 456MW over a period of less than seven seconds.

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Source: Guardian Climate Change

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Gloom in the valley as Hazelwood fades to black | Gay Alcorn

Gay Alcorn meets the people of the Latrobe Valley facing an uncertain future as the power station that has sustained their community closes after 52 years

Snuffed out: the last days of Hazelwood power station – in pictures

It could be black humour. The faded, red HAZELWOOD sign has been switched off for years – perhaps to save electricity, who knows? – but a fortnight ago it was turned back on. HAZELVOOD now lights up the night sky in neon for miles. The letter W is dodgy, but nobody could be bothered to fix it now.

It’s not a joke. It’s sentimental, a kind of tribute instantly understood by the people of the Latrobe Valley east of Melbourne. On Friday, the Hazelwood power station will close after 52 years, its deafening hum silent, its boilers cooling, its eight stacks idle, its gigantic dredges ceasing to dig coal around the clock. Most of the workforce will be gone too.

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Source: Guardian Climate Change

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Snuffed out: the last days of Hazelwood power station – in pictures

The Victorian plant will close down this week after half a century of electricity generation. The brown coal-powered station supplies more than 5% of Australia’s total energy demand – but is the country’s dirtiest and least efficient power plant, producing 3% of Australia’s total greenhouse gas emissions. It will shut down entirely on 31 March after its owner, the power company Engie, decided it was uneconomical and unsafe to continue running the plant without major upgrades

• Gay Alcorn: Gloom in the valley as Hazelwood fades to black

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Source: Guardian Climate Change

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