No break for drought-hit areas as new research points to warmer years

Prospects of an early end to the big dry affecting much of eastern Australia are diminishing, with the latest estimates from the Bureau of Meteorology pointing to drought conditions intensifying and seeping southwards into Victoria.

Dry conditions that have taken hold over much of NSW,
such as this farm near Mudgee, are forecast to extend into Victoria.

Separately, new research out Wednesday points to an acceleration of global warming in the years to 2022, with natural variability predicted to accelerate the background increase in temperatures from climate change.

Read the story by Peter Hannam from The Sydney Morning Herald - “No break for drought-hit areas as new research points to warmer years.

Pledge to ditch renewables target could cost Guy in sandbelt: poll

Matthew Guy's determination to scrap Victoria's renewable energy target will cost him votes in some of Melbourne's most marginal electorates and reduce his prospects of becoming premier, a poll has found.

The Macarthur wind farm in western Victoria. The Victorian
 government has set a target of 40 per cent renewables by 2025.

A clear majority of voters surveyed in the four swinging "sandbelt" seats of Bentleigh, Mordialloc, Carrum and Frankston in Melbourne's south-east supported moves to boost the proportion of wind and solar power generated in Victoria at the expense of coal.

A ReachTel poll of almost 3000 people in the four electorates found there is strong support for the Andrews government’s ambitious renewable energy target of 25 per cent by 2020 and 40 per cent by 2025.

Read Adam Carey’s story from The Age - “Pledge to ditch renewables target could cost Guy in sandbelt: poll.”

Coal plant construction extends dive - but not fast enough: report

Coal-fired power is on track to start shrinking globally by 2022, dimming prospects for exporters of the fossil fuel, including Australia, according to a report by environmental groups.

On current trends, coal plant capacity worldwide could peak by 2022.

China and India, which have dominated construction of new power plants for more than a decade, both cut new capacity sharply for the second year in a row in 2017, the annual Boom and Bust report by Greenpeace, Sierra Club and CoalSwarm found.

Read Peter Hannam’s story from The Age - “Coal plant construction extends dive - but not fast enough: report.”