Global summits see emissions reduction deals, France mandates solar on car parks and Townsville to get ground-breaking gravity battery — all this and more in this month’s good news in climate solutions.

Want more solutions-focused news? Sign up to our newsletter

Indonesia signs deals to accelerate its energy transition

The Asian Development Bank (ADB), Indonesia and a private power firm announced they are teaming up to refinance and prematurely retire a coal-fired power plant, the first such project under the ADB’s Energy Transition Mechanism, Reuters reports.

Indonesia also signed a $20 billion agreement with international lenders and major nations. The Just Energy Transition Partnership will bring billions of dollars in funding to help the country increase its use of renewable energy and reduce its reliance on coal, write AP’s Niniek Karmini and Sibi Arasu.

More countries sign up to Global Methane Pledge 

Joint hosts of the Global Methane Pledge, the US and the EU, confirmed at COP27 that the number of nations committed to reducing methane emissions by 30 per cent this decade has reached 150, edie’s Sarah George reports.

Australia adds support to emissions reductions initiatives

At COP27, Australia added its support to the Global Methane Pledge, the Green Shipping Challenge and the Global Mangrove Alliance. Australia also joined the Global Offshore Wind Alliance, organised by the International Renewable Energy Agency, which aims to see 380 gigawatts of offshore wind infrastructure built around the world by 2030. Read more in this Monash Lens article written by the Monash Climate Change Communication Research Hub. 

New gravity storage battery tech planned for Townsville

Swiss energy company Energy Vault has plans to build a large storage battery in Townsville using a gravity energy storage system that uses surplus energy to raise 35-tonne blocks to the top of a 20-storey tall structure. Energy is released by lowering the blocks, writes Guardian Australia’s Khaled Al Khawaldeh.

France mandates solar panels on new parking lots

The French Senate has approved a bill that will require parking lots with a minimum of 80 spaces to be covered with a canopy of solar panels, to provide both cheap renewable power generation and shade from the Mediterranean sun, reports Renew Economy’s Amalyah Hart.