Resolution Foundation calls for fourfold increase in renewable power investment to reduce pressure on household bills A permanent shift to higher interest rates could add billions of pounds to the UK’s renewable energy transition, a leading thinktank has warned. Borrowing costs have soared since the easing of pandemic lockdowns and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as the world’s leading central banks raised interest rates to tackle inflation – pushing up the costs of investment in infrastructure across advanced economies including for green power generation schemes ..read more

Plan for 42-turbine Wooroora project withdrawn after minister signals refusal because of threat to spectacled flying-fox habitat Get our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcast A proposed windfarm next to the wet tropics world heritage area in north Queensland will not go ahead after the federal government signalled it would refuse the project. Ark Energy had proposed building the 42-turbine Wooroora Station windfarm – formerly known as the Chalumbin windfarm project – 15km south-west of Ravenshoe. Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email ne ..read more

About 6.5% of the world’s electricity is generated by wind. By 2050 this could rise to more than a third Where in the world does the wind most reliably blow, and where is it fickle in nature? About 6.5% of the world’s electricity is now generated by wind, and by 2050 this could rise to more than a third. Knowing where the steadiest winds are to be found is crucial for keeping the lights on. A new study has identified the locations that are prone to “wind droughts” and those areas that are reliably windy. Enrico Antonini, from the Carnegie Institution for Science in Stanford, US, and colleagues ..read more

Onshore wind and solar could provide 226GWh of electricity without impairing food production, says Friends of the Earth England could produce 13 times more renewable energy than it does now, while using less than 3% of its land, analysis has found. Onshore wind and solar projects could provide enough electricity to power all the households in England two and a half times over, the research by Exeter University, commissioned by Friends of the Earth (FoE), suggested ..read more

In the state of La Guajira, ambitious plans to transition to renewables are beset by bureaucratic delays and anger from many local Indigenous people, who see it as ‘new colonialism’ Photographs by Charlie Cordero A few years ago, as age began to take its toll, Rosa Velásquez decided it was time to leave the restaurant she owned in the coastal town of Cabo de la Vela and move back home for a peaceful retirement.. However, when she returned to the tiny rural community of Jotomana, on the arid plains of Colombia’s northernmost tip, she found the place she and her ancestors had called home for g ..read more

Researchers applaud move away from fossil fuels but say more must be done to mitigate effects on endangered species Up to a third of Africa’s great apes are threatened by a boom in mining projects for minerals required for the renewable energy transition, new research shows. An estimated 180,000 gorillas, bonobos and chimpanzees are at risk due to an increase in demand for critical minerals such as copper, lithium, nickel and cobalt, a study has found. Many of those minerals are required for clean energy technologies such as wind turbines and electric cars. Researchers say the boom in demand i ..read more

Deputy PM says international partners, including the US, will also be making statements today about similar Chinese cyber-attacks. This live blog is closed Chinese hackers targeted UK’s Electoral Commission and politicians, say security services Andrew Bowie, the energy minister, said the government should have revived investment in nuclear energy “years ago” in an interview this morning. While doing an interview round on behalf of the government, Bowie told Times Radio that the government is investing £350m in nuclear energy. But it should have happened sooner, he said. I make no bones abou ..read more

Plan follows slashing of £28bn green pledge, which Ed Miliband denies having considered resigning over Labour’s plan for state-backed offshore windfarms will be a “gamechanger”, Keir Starmer has said, as the party seeks to regain the initiative on green policy after the slow-motion ditching of its £28bn investment pledge. Speaking to broadcasters after a visit to Holyhead port in north Wales alongside Vaughan Gething, the country’s new first minister, Starmer insisted that a transition to sustainable power was still “one of my central missions ..read more

Exclusive: State’s 2024 total on track to reach about 20% above 2005 levels, modelling obtained by Guardian Australia shows Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcast Western Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions are rising with little sign that the main power grid can decarbonise rapidly, leaving other states to make bigger cuts if Australia’s legislated carbon reduction goals are to be met. Modelling results presented to the state government late last year and obtained by Guardian Australia showed that the ..read more

Any call to go directly from coal to nuclear is effectively a call to delay decarbonisation of our electricity system by 20 years The battle lines have been drawn over Australia’s energy future. With the nation signed up to net zero emissions by 2050, the Albanese Labor government is committed to renewables. The Coalition wants nuclear ..read more