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SYDNEY, March 27 (Reuters) - Australia's lower house on Monday passed an emissions reduction plan with curbs on some new gas and coal investments and a cap on total greenhouse gas emissions from the country's biggest polluters after a key deal with the Greens Party. The updated legislation also requires all new gas projects in the Beetaloo Basin to have net zero carbon emissions and new gas fields supplying existing liquefied natural gas (LNG) plants to have net zero reservoir emissions, imposing new costs. "Today, we are a step closer to achieving net zero by 2050," Energy Minister Chris Bowen said. Under the revised legislation, projects such as the massive Browse field that Woodside Energy (WDS.AX) wants to develop would have to have carbon capture and storage to achieve net zero. The government said it would tip in A$400 million ($266 million) to help the cement, steel and aluminium industries decarbonise.

☆ Humza Yousaf wins leadership election of Scotland’s ruling party, set to lead the country
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-27 | by ( Jenni Reid | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Newly appointed leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP), Humza Yousaf, speaks following the SNP Leadership election result announcement at Murrayfield Stadium in Edinburgh on March 27, 2023. Humza Yousaf on Monday was elected the new head of the Scottish National Party, promising in a speech to bring the party together, support citizens with the cost-of-living crisis and deliver independence from the United Kingdom. He is slated to assume political leadership in Scotland following his nomination in the Scottish Parliament on Tuesday. He told BBC Scotland that his leadership style compared to his predecessor Nicola Sturgeon would be "less inner circle and more big tent." If approved on Tuesday, he will be the country's sixth leader since the establishment of the Scottish parliament in 1999.

☆ Explainer: What is Australia's Indigenous 'Voice to Parliament' campaign?
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( Praveen Menon | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Here's what you need to know about Australia's 'Voice to Parliament' campaign:WHO ARE AUSTRALIA'S INDIGENOUS PEOPLE? Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are the Indigenous people of Australia. Australia's Indigenous population shrank after the British colonisation in 1788 as they were dispossessed of their land, exposed to new diseases, forced to work in slave-like conditions, and killed by colonisers. New Zealand created Maori seats in parliament, allowing the indigenous population to choose to vote for candidates for these seats or participate in the general election. HOW DID THE VOICE REFERENDUM COME ABOUT?

☆ Germany names new defence minister, faces pressure to send tanks to Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( Holger Hansen | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Following several missteps, Christine Lambrecht resigned as defence minister on Monday, ahead of a conference on Friday at the U.S. military base in Ramstein on Western plans to provide Kyiv with more arms. Other countries with such tanks also need Berlin's approval before they can be passed on to another country. The new defence minister is expected to host his U.S. counterpart, Lloyd Austin, in Berlin on Thursday. "I want to make the armed forces strong for the time ahead," he said. Scholz has signalled a policy shift by promising to boost defence spending to more than 2% of its economic output.

☆ Germany's RWE calls for end to protest showdown over coal mine expansion
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

"Today, RWE Power will start to demolish the former settlement of Luetzerath," the company said in a statement. The protest follows a regional court decision on Monday that upheld an earlier ruling to vacate the village whose land and houses now belong to RWE. "RWE is appealing to the squatters to observe the rule of law and to end the illegal occupation of buildings, plants and sites belonging to RWE peacefully," RWE said. Those include firing up mothballed coal power plants and extending the lifespan of nuclear power stations after Russia cut gas deliveries to Europe in an energy standoff that sent prices soaring. The government has, however, brought forward the date when all brown coal power plants will be shut down in North Rhine-Westphalia, to 2030 from 2038, acceding to a campaign promise from the Greens.

☆ German police clash with activists in showdown over coal mine expansion
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Many Greens oppose the mine's expansion, but Economy Minister Robert Habeck of the Greens party has fronted the government's decision. Some activists dumped 250 kg (551 lb) worth of coal blocks in front of a local Greens party headquarters, German media reported. Some of the activists have built treehouses in Luetzerath, believing these would make it harder for police to force them to leave. The move echoes a similar protest in 2013 in the Hambach forest, which delayed an RWE coal mining project for years and became a symbol of anti-coal demonstrations. Those include firing up mothballed coal power plants and extending the lifespan of nuclear power stations after Russia cut gas deliveries to Europe in an energy standoff that sent prices soaring.

☆ Australia's parliament approves gas price cap, $1 bln energy relief
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( Sonali Paul | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

MELBOURNE, Dec 15 (Reuters) - Australia's parliament on Thursday passed legislation setting a price cap on natural gas for one year and providing A$1.5 billion ($1.03 billion) in relief for households and small businesses hit by soaring energy costs due to Russia's war in Ukraine. The price cap will apply to new wholesale gas sales by east coast producers. The law also clears the way for the government to regulate gas sales when producers and buyers fail to agree on a contract price. The price cap met with fierce opposition from the gas industry but was supported by manufacturers and the Australian Workers' Union. Mining billionaire Andrew Forrest's private firm Squadron Energy, building a liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminal, urged the government to require Queensland gas producers to make LNG available for the domestic market at "reasonable prices".

☆ Australian PM to meet gas producers over price cap concerns
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-11 | by ( Renju Jose | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SYDNEY, Dec 12 (Reuters) - Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Monday he would speak this week with the gas industry lobby, which is seeking an urgent meeting over the government's plan to cap gas prices for one year. "We'll meet with them when we meet with them this week," Albanese told ABC Radio. The prime minister did not specify if he would meet the gas producers before the legislation is introduced in the parliament. Parliament will hold a special session on Thursday to vote on the plan to cap gas prices at A$12 ($8.14) per gigajoule and coal prices for power producers at A$125 per tonne. The move, announced late Friday, comes amid soaring energy prices that have resulted in windfall profits for miners and gas producers.

☆ Australia argues against ‘endangered’ status for Great Barrier Reef
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-29 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

CANBERRA, Australia — Australia’s environment minister said Tuesday her government will lobby against UNESCO adding the Great Barrier Reef to a list of endangered World Heritage sites. The report, which recommended shifting the Great Barrier Reef to endangered status, followed a 10-day mission in March to the famed reef system off Australia’s northeast coast that was added to the World Heritage list in 1981. “We’ll very clearly make the point to UNESCO that there is no need to single the Great Barrier Reef out in this way” with an endangered listing, Plibersek told reporters. “If the Great Barrier Reef is in danger, then every coral reef in the world is in danger,” Plibersek said. The Great Barrier Reef accounts for around 10% of the world’s coral reef ecosystems.

But a new U.S. law offering hefty subsidies to local manufacturers of green technology has given the company pause for thought. That is roughly four times what the German government is offering, he said, with cheaper energy prices in the United States on top. The act introduces tax credits related to investment in green technology, plus tax breaks for consumers buying an electric vehicle or other green product made in North America. German carmakers and suppliers, for which the United States is a main export market, are among its biggest victims. "If we don't do anything, a lot will emerge in the United States," said Siemens Energy (ENR1n.DE) Chief Executive Christian Bruch.

☆ Germany shy of 2030 climate target at current CO2 reduction rate - govt advisors
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-04 | by ( Riham Alkousaa | Zofeen T. Ebrahim | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Germany aims to become carbon-neutral by 2045 and cut 65% of emissions by 2030 compared with 1990, but current reduction rates are falling short, the first biennial report by the council showed. The energy sector contributed almost half of Germany's 27% CO2 reduction between 2000 and 2021, while the construction, transport and industry sectors, after a good start, have been sluggish to cut emissions in the past decade. The council said the transport and construction sector needed to be restructured to reverse the trend. A change in consumer behaviour was also necessary and the government should impose strict limits on emissions volumes for all sectors, it added. Nearly 200 countries will gather in Egypt next week for climate talks, as pressure for tougher action to tackle global warming grows.

The trip comes amid rising voices within Scholz's ruling coalition calling for a rethink of Germany's China policy, and growing public concern about Berlin's commercial reliance on the global economic powerhouse. One in two Germans wish that Germany's economy could be more independent from China, a survey published by ARD broadcaster showed on Thursday. China has been Germany's biggest trading partner for the past six years, with volumes reaching over 245 billion euros ($238.9 billion) in 2021. During the trip, where Scholz will meet Xi and prime minister Li Keqiang, the German Chancellor is expected to discuss Russia's war in Ukraine, hoping that China can convince Russia to end hostilities. But Xi expressed his concerns over Ukraine to Russian President Vladimir Putin when the two leaders met in September.

☆ The Australian teenager on a mission to protect ragged-tooth sharks
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-02 | by ( Written Nell Lewis | Video Angus Watson | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

But the gray nurse shark (also known as the sand tiger shark and the spotted ragged-tooth shark) is under threat. As well as gray nurse sharks, whales, stingrays, grouper fish and many more marine species can be seen there. This has helped to raise awareness of the fragility of both the area and gray nurse sharks, says Leesfield. Gray nurse shark numbers have declined in recent years, leading to the species being listed critically endangered. Faehrmann explains that Fish Rock is a critical breeding ground for gray nurse sharks.

☆ Explainer: How will Germany implement its nuclear power extension?
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

The operators of the three remaining nuclear power plants are E.ON (Isar 2), RWE (RWEG.DE) (Emsland) and EnBW (EBKG.DE) (Neckarwestheim 2). HOW LONG CAN THE PLANTS RUN WITH EXISTING FUEL RODS? According to industry group Nuclear Technology Germany (KernD), it usually takes around one year until fresh fuel rods are delivered. CAN GERMANY EXTEND NUCLEAR POWER BEYOND APRIL 2023? Politically, extending the lifespan of nuclear power is a red line for the Greens party, which has ruled out buying new fuel rods for longer operation of the country's remaining nuclear power plants.

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