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International Energy Agency says 17m vehicles will be sold this year, up more than 20% compared with 2023Electric and plug-in hybrid car sales will jump to a new global record in 2024 despite slowing growth in some markets, according to forecasts from the influential International Energy Agency (IEA).The Paris-based forecaster said that 17m battery electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles will be sold...

‘We must do all we can to become more sustainable’, says shadow environment ministerFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcastQueensland’s Liberal National party has backed one of the most ambitious emission reduction targets in Australia – much to the disappointment of some of their federal counterparts.While the federal opposition is...

Company is fighting Dutch court ruling that says it must emit 45% less CO2 by 2030 than in 2019Shell has argued that it “lobbies for, not against, the energy transition” on the final day of its appeal against an important climate ruling.The fossil fuel company is fighting the decision of a Dutch court in 2021 that forces it to pump 45% less planet-heating CO2...

Possible charity highlights financial savings and environmental benefits for low-paid staffMinisters should consider a social leasing scheme for care workers in rural areas across the UK to use electric cars, a climate charity has argued, saying this would save often low-paid staff large sums, also bringing a big environmental boost.A focus group of carers in rural and semi-rural parts of the UK, carried out...

Installations must speed up 11-fold as advisers say latest changes to scheme likely to make 2028 target even harderThe public spending watchdog has criticised the slow pace of the government’s heat pump rollout just days after ministers postponed an important scheme designed to increase the rate of installations.A report by the National Audit Office (NAO) has found that heat pump installations would need to...

Britain spent about £26bn in three years on low-carbon measures, less than Italy, Germany, France and Spain, Greenpeace findsThe UK spends less on low-carbon energy policy than any other major European economy, analysis has shown, despite evidence that such spending could lower household bills and increase economic growth more than the tax cuts the government has planned.Spending on low-carbon measures for the three years...

The Australian Automobile Association has found some SUVs use up to 20% more fuel on the road than reported in laboratory tests. Is your vehicle underperforming?The Crunch: what Australia’s love for SUVs means for emissions and safety – videoFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our morning and afternoon news emails,free app or daily news podcastA real-world testing program at the Australian...

Remarks by head of trade authority come amid fears UK firms could be undercut ‘to extinction’The head of Britain’s post-Brexit trade watchdog has said it is ready to follow Brussels in launching an investigation into Chinese companies flooding the market for electric cars, but the government has not asked it to do so.Oliver Griffiths, the chief executive of the UK’s Trade Remedies Authority (TRA),...

Prime minister says the opposition wants to ‘wind back any reforms that are in the interests of working people’Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcastThe opposition leader, Peter Dutton, has foreshadowed an election fight on the government’s right-to-disconnect legislation, saying he would overturn the laws if elected.Workers will soon have...

Housebuilders and campaigners warn of cold, damp homes and UK missing legally binding targetsLabour’s slashing of proposed spending on home insulation will leave millions of people on low incomes in cold, damp homes and could prevent the UK meeting its legally binding carbon targets, campaigners and housebuilders have warned.The Federation of Master Builders criticised the drastic scaling back of Labour’s low-carbon policies, announced by...

Climate thinktank says Britain could be left trailing in global race to develop low-carbon energyLabour’s independent energy advisers have warned the party against watering down its £28bn green spending plans in advance of its promise to create a zero carbon electricity system by 2030.Experts at the climate thinktank Ember, which provided the independent analysis underpinning Labour’s green targets, said growing international competition for low-carbon...