UK triples subsidies for renewable energy

Britain will triple subsidies for low-carbon power generation by 2020 after its coalition government this week forged a compromise over how to fund wind farms without harming the future of gas-fired...

Expanding renewable energy target 'a benefit'

Lenore Taylor THE $10 billion Clean Energy Finance Corporation will not deliver additional clean energy by 2020 but will just shuffle renewable energy investment from wind power to solar, new modelling says.

Renewable energy to rise without cost to public

Ben Cubby THE NSW government has promised to triple the amount of energy generated by wind turbines and solar panels in NSW over the next eight years at no extra cost to the public.

Agency to achieve renewable energy target

A single agency will manage all the federal government's renewable energy programs from July 2012 if new legislation is passed.

Greens secure billions for renewable energy as price of tax exemption for drivers

Phillip Coorey A multibillion-dollar fund for renewable energy and a review of the fuel tax regime are key concessions won by the Greens from the government in exchange for agreeing to exempt petrol from the carbon...

City council to take alternative route to renewable energy

Josephine Tovey The City of Sydney is expected to turn its back on an important part of state and federal efforts to tackle climate change by withdrawing from the GreenPower scheme and instead pursuing its own...

Renewable energy the future: UN

Tom Arup Global energy generated by renewables could increase up to 10 times on current levels by mid-century, a landmark study by a United Nations climate change body has found.

Just the ticket for anti-coal protesters

Peter Hannam Anti-coal campaigners take to Melbourne's landmark Flinders Street Station. Source: Supplied.

Greenhouse gas levels highest in 3m years

Ben Cubby Carbon dioxide concentrations in the Earth's atmosphere are on the cusp of reaching 400 parts per million for the first time in 3 million years.

Clean energy shift to bring major health benefits: UN

Air pollution is an underestimated scourge that kills far more people than AIDS and malaria and a shift to cleaner energy could easily halve the toll by 2030, U.N. officials said on Tuesday.

Companies face uncertainty over wind farm rules

Peter Hannam As much as $3 billion in wind farm investments may be diverted elsewhere as the state government dithers over guidelines and reporting procedures, developers and suppliers say.

Rooftop solar burns past 1-million mark

Tom Arup Australia has reached 1 million rooftop solar systems on homes and businesses.

Fears for property prices after green boom busts

John Thistleton Harry Robinson keeps a firm rein on his stallion Trump. The Australian stock horse is in high spirits in the Illalong hills west of Yass where Banjo Paterson grew up.

Coal-fired power drops despite heatwave

Peter Hannam The share of coal in eastern Australia's electricity generation network has continued to recede, along with carbon emissions, despite a March heatwave that lifted power demand for the first time in...

Now is the hour to go renewable

Peter Hannam The lights go off - but Earth Hour organisers are urging participants to make a bigger switch.

Hour of darkness to shed greater light on energy use

Peter Hannam Convert 60 minutes of near darkness into a permanent shift in household energy use - that's the Australian goal of Earth Hour on Saturday.

Coalition faces carbon tax contradiction, report finds

Peter Hannam Scrapping the carbon tax would effectively halt investment in the country's renewable energy sector overnight without other changes to support the industry, according to modelling by research group...

Gerard Wynn

Proceed with care when it comes to climate 'fixes'

Gerard Wynn Recent extreme heat waves reinforce concerns that the slow pace of action against climate change is inadequate, raising interest in new fixes called geoengineering, but this warrants caution.

Fears for Snowy River as scientists ditched for industry-funded group

Ben Cubby, Tom Arup The future of environmental flows into the Snowy River are in doubt after the NSW government released a plan to replace its independent scientific committee with an industry-funded advisory group.

Football club joins fight against failed solar company

Peter Hannam Adelaide United football club will join a line of creditors hoping to reclaim about $5 million after South Australian-based Unleash Solar went into voluntary administration on Wednesday.