Australia’s government struck agreement with opponents yesterday for 20 percent of the country’s energy to come from renewable sources by 2020 — more than twice the current level — unlocking a US$22 billion investment rush and reviving hopes of a later emissions trade deal.
In a peace offering in its row with the government over climate-change policy, the conservative opposition controlling the largest Senate vote bloc said it had reached agreement with Climate Minister Penny Wong after days of negotiations.
“Today’s decision is a victory for common sense, it’s a victory for the environment and it’s a victory for renewable energy,” conservative environment spokesman Greg Hunt told reporters after striking the deal.
While the Senate will not formally vote until today on the deal, the agreement raised hopes of a follow-on in November when controversial emissions trade laws will return to parliament, where they were rejected by the Senate last week.
The law would quadruple the renewable energy target set by the previous government in 2001 and provide enough clean electricity to power the households of all 21 million Australians.
The target matches one set in 2007 by the EU, which leads the world in green power technology. Many US states also have set renewable energy targets although there is no national goal.
But critics argue the Australian target will make electricity more expensive in the coal-rich nation without curbing the amount of climate-warming carbon gases that the nation emits, as overall electricity consumption rises.
Currently, 8 percent of Australia’s electricity comes from renewable sources, including hydroelectric generators built late last century, the private Clean Energy Council said.
The proposed amendments would increase government assistance to industries that are heavy users of electricity and also create safeguards for existing investment in the coal mining industry.
Junior Climate Change Minister Greg Combet said the Liberals’ decision to support the bill was “a welcome development which is respected by the government.”
However, Wong told the Senate that even with one-fifth of electricity coming from renewable sources by 2020, the nation’s carbon gas emissions are projected to be 20 percent higher than 2000 levels.
“The only way we’re going to be able to turn around the growth in our carbon pollution ... is to put a firm legislated limit on the amount of carbon that we produce and make those who create the pollution pay for it,” Wong said.
Women’s accessories sold by some of the world’s most popular online shopping firms contained toxic substances sometimes hundreds of times above acceptable levels, authorities in Seoul said yesterday. Chinese giants including Shein, Temu and AliExpress have skyrocketed in popularity around the world in the past few years, offering a vast selection of trendy clothes and accessories at low prices. The explosive growth has led to increased scrutiny of their business practices and safety standards, including in the EU and South Korea, where Seoul officials have been conducting weekly inspections of items sold by online platforms. In the most recent inspection, 144 products from
The US on Monday confirmed that it would resume sales of offensive weapons to Saudi Arabia, as concerns over human rights in the kingdom’s Yemen war give way to US hopes for it to play a role in resolving the conflict in Gaza. More than three years after imposing limits on human rights grounds over Saudi Arabian strikes in Yemen, the US Department of State said that it would return to weapons sales “in regular order, with appropriate congressional notification and consultation.” “Saudi Arabia has remained a close strategic partner of the United States, and we look forward to enhancing that partnership,”
Turning heads as they cruise past office buildings and malls, driverless taxis are slowly spreading through Chinese cities, prompting both wariness and wonder. China’s tech companies and vehicle manufacturers have poured billions of dollars into self-driving technology over the past few years in an effort to catch industry leaders in the US. Now the central city of Wuhan boasts one of the world’s largest networks of self-driving cars, home to a fleet of more than 500 taxis that can be hailed on an app just like regular rides. At one intersection in an industrial area of Wuhan, AFP reporters saw at least five
STATE OF EMERGENCY: The governor of Belgorod said that the situation in the border region was ‘extremely difficult and tense’ under Ukrainian bombardment Ukraine yesterday pressed its offensive in Russian territory and bombarded the border region of Belgorod, where the governor has declared a state of emergency. Ukrainian forces entered Kursk region on Tuesday last week and have taken dozens of settlements in the biggest attack by a foreign army on Russian soil since World War II. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Tuesday evening posted footage of a video call with his military chief, Oleksandr Syrsky, who said that “as of today, our troops have advanced in some areas by one to three kilometers.” Over the past day, “control over 40 square kilometers of territory has