Energy

Indonesia plans to burn coal well into the 2050s, under updated climate plan

Their world’s second biggest coal producing country is depending on carbon capture to keep the industry alive in its “low carbon” scenario

Ocean fire raises questions about US support for Mexico’s oil and gas industry

US export credit agency Exim bank has provided $16.14 billion in loans and guarantees to Pemex since 1998, with recent funds going to the site of the fire

Ocean fire exposes weak regulation of Mexico’s oil and gas sector

After ‘eye of fire’ footage goes viral, Pemex denies its ruptured gas pipe caused environmental damage and campaigners demand an investigation

China’s biggest bank is ditching Zimbabwe coal plant, campaigners say

The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China told environmentalists in a meeting last month they would not go ahead with the 2.8GW Sengwa coal plant

Canada’s next climate plan must finally address its blind spot: oil and gas emissions

Justin Trudeau cannot claim to be a climate leader while championing a high-carbon industry; it’s time for a managed decline of oil production

India’s biggest oil refiner to invest $10bn in clean energy ‘gigafactories’

Reliance Industries plans to mass produce solar panels, renewable hydrogen, fuel cells and batteries in Jamnagar, alongside the world’s largest oil refinery

Infrared images show under-regulated ‘methane crisis’ across Europe

Campaigners found 120 cases of methane leakage and venting from oil and gas infrastructure in seven European countries

By greenwashing Shell, the Science Museum is failing young people

As a biology and chemistry student I love London’s Science Museum, but its acceptance of oil sponsorship for a climate change exhibition is inexcusable

Climate fund considers India, South Africa to pilot $2bn coal transition scheme

Climate Investment Funds CEO Mafalda Duarte has been tasked with mobilising private capital to help wean developing countries off coal and create cleaner jobs

Norway eyes expansion of oil and gas industry under policy proposal

The government wants to hand out more exploration licences – ignoring modelling that shows fossil fuel expansion must end now to meet global climate goals

Energy

Renewable Energy

Governments are overlooking a key piece in the climate puzzle: community energy

Failure to engage people in local energy projects risks slowing down the transition to a low-carbon future at a time when leaders need to speed it up

IEA: End fossil fuel expansion now for net zero energy emissions by 2050

The International Energy Agency has mapped a path to net zero emissions for the first time – and it involves ending investment in new coal, oil and gas production today

South Africa sets out to tighten 2030 emissions target

South Africa’s economy is shifting from heavy industry to service sectors, allowing for deeper carbon cuts, but coal lingers in the energy mix

China makes no shift away from coal in five-year plan as it ‘crawls’ to carbon neutrality

Beijing set out incremental increases in climate targets to 2025, allowing for continued expansion of “clean” coal, to the disappointment of climate watchers

Fragile countries call for investment in rooftop solar to expand energy access

War-torn states struggle to attract funding for small-scale renewable projects, which leaders say are cheaper, cleaner and less vulnerable to conflict than fossil fuels

It’s time to end subsidies for burning wood from forests

Trees are worth much more to humanity alive than dead, say 500 scientists in an open letter to leaders in the EU, US and East Asia

Why Grenada had to nationalise its electricity for $60m to pursue renewables

A one-sided privatisation deal and flawed World Bank advice landed Grenada with a hefty legal bill to reform its electricity sector and cut reliance on polluting diesel

South Korea 2050 net zero pledge spurs renewables investment

As the world’s fourth-largest importer of coal, South Korea needs to rapidly change its energy mix to achieve net zero emissions by 2050

Renewable energy

Fossil Fuels

Tar sands companies aim for ‘net zero’ by 2050 – with no plan to extract less oil

The alliance of Canadian oil producers makes no mention of winding down oil production, which modelling shows is necessary to achieve global climate goals

The EIB won’t become a climate bank until it fully stops supporting fossil fuels

The bank has committed to end fossil fuel financing by the end of the year but has handed out billions in support for companies wedded to the industry

UK calls on Indonesia to set out roadmap to net zero emissions

During a three-day visit to southeast Asia’s largest economy, Alok Sharma met with a host of ministers to discuss how to transition the nation from coal to renewables

Paris deal enters boardrooms – Climate Weekly

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G7 commits to end unabated coal finance in 2021 to ‘keep 1.5C within reach’

After initial resistance, Japan agreed to the ministers’ statement, leaving China isolated as the last significant coal funder overseas

Fossil fuels on notice – Climate Weekly

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Shell’s net zero plan will be judged on science, not spin

Shell’s net zero plan is better seen as a defence of its core oil and gas business, which it is planning to expand, than a genuine energy transition

UK calls on countries to ‘consign coal to history’ at Cop26

As a global shift away from coal gathers momentum, the UK government is putting it at the heart of its the vision for this year’s UN climate talks in Glasgow

Fossil Fuels

Nuclear energy

Pakistan signals coal power exit, in potential model for China’s belt and road

Imran Khan announced his government would not approve any more coal power plants and pivot to renewables, contrary to the grid operator’s forecast of a coal boom

UN development chief calls for green shift away from ‘irrational’ oil dependence

Governments, at a fork in the road because of the Covid-19 pandemic, should ‘insert the DNA’ of a low-carbon future into stimulus packages, says Achim Steiner

Japan’s woeful climate plan amounts to science denial

Japan reiterates past pledges for 2030 rather than mapping out a radical overhaul needed by the world’s fifth largest greenhouse gas emitter

Campaigners urge African Union to stop fossil fuel proliferation on continent

In a communique, African civil society called on leaders meeting in Ethiopia to ‘rapidly initiate a transition to clean and safe renewable sources of energy’ for all

In depth: The EU’s plan to become the first climate-neutral continent

CHN’s media partner EURACTIV takes a look at the ‘king of policies’ that will define Europe’s future, just as the EU finally looks ready to adopt it

As rich countries slow walk green finance, Putin offers Africa an alternative

Two summits in one week presented a choice for African leaders: stalled promises of climate finance in Paris or business deals in Sochi

Hungary wants end to coal power by 2030

‘Sky-rocketing’ EU carbon prices could mean Hungary is the first country in eastern Europe to set an exit date for the most polluting fossil fuel

Brexit: Avoiding the nuclear fallout

UK government report card on replacing the EU’s atomic energy community shows progress, but no deal on March 29 still threatens power and medical supply

Nuclear Energy

Efficiency

Ships to get free pass on emissions until 2030, under compromise proposal