Energy

Bonn climate talks raise tough questions about German coal

Chancellor Angela Merkel, with no concrete plans to curtail its huge coal industry, will be exposed as her country plays host to Fiji’s climate presidency

One in seven coal power plant owners are heading for the exit

North American and European utilities are phasing out old coal plants, Coal Swarm survey shows, as Asian companies dominate new development

EU bank to decide huge public loan to Europe’s biggest fossil fuel project

Experts refute EU claim that 3,500km gas pipeline from Azerbaijan is necessary for energy security, amid alarm over corruption and human rights issues

Puerto Rico hurricane shows islands must have renewable energy

As the world resumes climate talks in Bonn next month, island states will use the devastating hurricane season to fuel calls for expanded renewable energy investment

UK and Canada announce global alliance to end coal power

UK and Canada challenge other nations to join them in committing to end coal power generation, saying “we are doing our part”

US exports of tar sands waste are fuelling Delhi’s air pollution crisis

India has emerged as the world’s largest importer of petroleum coke, an oil byproduct that is now a major cause of pollution in the capital

Boost for German coal phaseout as election weakens Merkel

A ‘Jamaica coalition’ is the most likely outcome of a surprising election, putting the Greens in a position to pursue their goal of ending coal power

Kenya’s most polluting coal plant could poison coastline

A project that will double Kenya’s carbon emissions also threatens life on a fragile coastline, but the government’s planning process has been flawed

Energy

Renewable Energy

California bid for 100% clean energy stalls

Resistance from utilities and unions blamed after legislature fails to bring clean energy bill to a vote

California to pass law setting 100% renewable electricity goal

The world’s sixth largest economy is aiming for an entirely clean power grid by 2045, with legislation that pits technology start-ups against utilities

Green Climate Fund to fund $1bn Egypt renewables drive

In its biggest project to date, the UN’s flagship climate finance scheme is putting $150m towards developing wind, hydro and solar power in Egypt

Giant Tunisian desert solar project aims to power EU

Developer TuNur this week applied for authorisation to build a massive solar plant on the edge of the Tunisian Sahara, with undersea grid connections to Europe

Solar has not beaten coal in the race to electrify India

India’s future is still tied to coal and fixing woeful inefficiency of plants will create huge new generation at a price solar cannot match

Indian solar sector wary of China as protectionist policy nears an end

Indian solar manufacturers are likely to go bust when a World Trade Organization ruling kicks in later this year, experts say, increasing the dominance of Chinese imports

Egypt faces water insecurity as Ethiopian mega-dam rumours swirl

Farmers along the lower Nile have little information to guide them as upriver barrage threatens to compound the impacts of global warming

Cycle tour of Kenya promotes clean energy democracy

Ahead of an August general election, ride organised by Christian Aid is pushing access to renewables up the political agenda

Renewable energy

Fossil Fuels

Norway election could be a turning point for Arctic oil

Could Norway lead the way in a global transition away from oil production? Truls Gulowsen is hopeful, as campaign to ban new Arctic exploration gains traction

Coal to power India for ‘decades to come’, says government planning body

Coal will continue to produce roughly three-quarters of India’s electricity, says body charged with central planning, as it lays out plan to boost mining production

I was an Exxon-funded climate scientist

When big polluters come knocking with research money tainted by climate denial, what should academics do?

Photos reveal Iraq oil fires burning behind ISIS retreat

Satellite images show evidence of the Islamic State’s scorched earth tactics as militants lose territory to Western-backed Iraqi forces

Sri Lanka plans no new coal plants until at least 2037

Government electricity authority says coal’s impact on health and environment tipped balance in favour of a gas and renewable-focused future

Indian coal growth has slowed since 2015

After rising at an average of 6% over the preceding decade, India’s coal consumption has risen at 2.2% a year since 2015, analysis from Greenpeace Energydesk shows

Coal lobby threatens to sue over EU clean air rules

Euracoal accuses the European Commission of using air pollution legislation to implement climate policy, in breach of procedural rules

Pro-Adani Australian resources minister quits over dual citizenship

Matt Canavan, who has strongly backed Adani’s Queensland mega-mine, is third senator in recent weeks to be caught out by dual citizenship rule

Fossil Fuels

Nuclear energy

Wind, solar costs undercut new coal plants in South Africa

Wind and solar power are 40% cheaper than new coal generation today, analysis of government data shows

Atomic politics: UK mends China links with Hinkley deal

Choosing your power source should come down science and economics, but as the UK’s Hinkley saga shows it’s also a deeply political game

Atomic shambles: UK nuclear plans need urgent rethink

Planned celebrations by the nuclear industry were cancelled last week following the shock decision to put the world’s largest electricity project on hold

Could every UK town have a small nuclear reactor?

Industry poll shows that backing from the UK government is seen as a beacon of hope for a new breed of small nuclear reactors

Can nuclear really deliver 25% of global electricity by 2050?

Despite a record-breaking year of global nuclear construction in 2015, a report by the industry recognises that it still faces unresolved problems and uncertainties

Are small nuclear reactors a clean energy solution?

NEWS: Nuclear companies meet to discuss licensing the controversial modular reactors set to cost billions of dollars and be built near towns

As memory of Chernobyl, Fukushima fades, activists renew nuclear warning

BLOG: 2011 disaster survivors urge UK to ditch atomic plans: “Don’t consider Fukushima as something that could never never happen to you. It could.”

Armed ships embark on secretive plutonium mission

NEWS: Consignment from Japan to the US highlights hidden cost and security risk of growing nuclear waste stockpile

Nuclear Energy

Efficiency

EU climate laws undermined by Polish and Czech revolt, documents reveal