Environment

Local champions no small potato in net zero transition

27 March

Tonnes of potatoes boiled with recycled heat, milk and cheese waste transformed into fuel and timber milled with the power of the sun. That is how food producers and major industries across regional Australia are taking small steps towards...[Read More]

Google links solar farm deal to help big data go green

20 December

A business-critical data centre specialist and a global renewable energy provider are teaming up with tech giant Google to build new generation capacity in Australia’s energy grid. Data centre firm AirTrunk, Swedish energy giant OX2 and Google on...[Read More]

Nature repair bill passes after Greens agree to deal

6 December

Land owners will be able to be paid to improve the environment on their properties after the Greens struck a deal with the government on its proposed nature repair market. Under the scheme, which passed the Senate on Tuesday, businesses and...[Read More]

Asia’s biggest battery will power Australian homes

11 October

More than one million Australian households will be powered by one of the world’s largest battery systems after the government approved a new renewable energy hub. The battery will be located in Melbourne suburb of Plumpton, where it will store...[Read More]

Plucky farmer turns energy costs into chicken feed

21 June

A Victorian farmer has defied soaring energy bills to save $400,000 a year during the past decade – and he wants to show other producers how they can save money too. Chicken farmer Chris Freney has made the efficiency savings by installing...[Read More]

Green bonds to fund car-charging network, clean energy

14 June

Australian governments are tapping into investor hunger for AAA-rated green bonds to fund a fast-charging network for electric cars, wind farms, and greener schools and hospitals. Western Australia’s first green bond issuance has attracted more...[Read More]

War on urchins aims to save kelp forests

22 February

Ravenous sea urchins that are destroying kelp forests will be turned into farm fertiliser under a plan that will also boost some of Australia’s most valuable fisheries. In some parts of the Great Southern Reef, which wraps around the bottom half...[Read More]

One giant leap for agriculture as farmers look to space

15 February

Nestled deep in the industrial and commercial centre of a major metropolitan city, a vertical farm has sprouted indoors and its backers are reaching for the stars. Researchers based in Melbourne’s Docklands are working with the space agency NASA...[Read More]

Methane-eating organism a shapeshifter

18 January

A microorganism that feeds on methane to reduce the release of gas into the atmosphere is also a shapeshifter, a study has found. The microorganism, known as Candidatus Methanoperedens nitroreducens (or Ca. M. nitroreducens), is a critical life form...[Read More]

Sweet breakthrough in bio-manufacturing

18 January

Australian researchers are unlocking the secrets of sugarcane for future aviation fuel, plastics, rubbers and food additives. Gary Schenk from the University of Queensland has focused on an enzyme to speed up the slowest step in processing sugar...[Read More]

Rotting carp ‘plague’ after major floods

11 January

A carp “plague” has descended on flood-hit parts of the Murray-Darling Basin, creating headaches for farmers and concerns about the impact on native fish. Dairy farmer Heather Campbell, who manages about 200 cows on a property at Cohuna in...[Read More]

Businesses forced to show emissions action

14 December

Big businesses will be forced to divulge their efforts to cut greenhouse gas emissions and manage climate risk under the Albanese government’s new green investment rules. Treasurer Jim Chalmers said an Australian climate risk disclosure framework...[Read More]

Magnets remove toxic waste from water

30 November

Removing toxic materials from water is now easier than ever after researchers at RMIT University discovered a fast and sustainable method using magnets. Each year about 14 million tonnes of microplastics are found in oceans and waterways around the...[Read More]

Demand for global fix to plastic pollution

23 November

Demands are being made for companies profiting off plastic to do more as environmental groups hope a global treaty will mean sustainable businesses aren’t at a competitive disadvantage. Eight in 10 Australians think manufacturers and retailers...[Read More]

Satellite radar sensors to help map floods