Energy

Cop28 will be held at the Dubai Expo site

UAE plans to have it both ways as Cop28 climate summit host

6 December 2022

The Gulf oil and gas exporter is going big on renewable energy investment and food security, while expanding hydrocarbon production

Battle lines drawn in talks on new plastics treaty

2 December 2022

US and Saudi Arabia want a bottom-up deal focused on recycling, while a “high ambition coalition” wants top-down curbs on plastic production

wind turbines and construction equipment on green hills

‘Unparalleled in the world’: Australian grid operator maps path to 100% renewables

1 December 2022

From 2025, the entire country is expected to run on 100% clean electricity for hours then days at a time, raising new engineering challenges

Rich nations, banks pledge $20bn for Indonesia’s coal-to-clean switch

15 November 2022

The US and Japan led on mobilising finance to retire Indonesian coal plants and scale up renewables, in a deal announced in Bali

‘Complete contradiction’: Egypt burns dirtier fuel to sell more gas to Europe

15 November 2022

The Cop27 host has increased its use of mazut, a heavy fuel oil, in power stations, despite its harmful impact on health and the environment

a Nigerian woman bends over bags of produce in a market

Gas is casting a long shadow over green development in Africa

15 November 2022

At the Cop27 summit in Egypt, a dash for gas risks distracting from the support for climate resilience Africans really need

‘Oil and gas trade show’ promotes carbon capture at Cop27

13 November 2022

Fossil fuel lobbyists outnumber every national delegation at Sharm el-Sheikh climate talks, keeping talks of a phaseout at bay

A white activist holds up her hands with "NO LNG", "NO FOSSILS" written on them, and a black activist's hands read "WE CAN'T DRINK OIL"

UN cancels African energy finance initiative over fraudster’s role

11 November 2022

The UN Economic Commission for Africa is reviewing its private sector partners after learning of NJ Ayuk’s criminal record

‘Toxic cover-up’: UN blasts oil majors’ fake net zero pledges

8 November 2022

To make net zero claims, firms must stop investing in new fossil fuel production, a UN-appointed taskforce recommends

South Africa pitches $84bn plan to shift from coal to clean energy

4 November 2022

President Cyril Ramaphosa set out a 200-page investment plan ahead of Cop27 climate talks, urging partners to finance his vision

Energy

Renewable Energy

Thanks to fossil fuel crisis, wind and solar payback time drops to one year

A new report shows investments in renewable energy are set to be higher than fossil fuels in 2022, due to soaring electricity prices.

Clean energy jobs overtake fossil fuel sector but wages lag behind

Employment is booming in electric vehicle production, building insulation and renewable power sectors, the International Energy Agency reports

‘We are not ready’: Divisions deepen over rush to finalise deep sea mining rules

A growing number of countries are backing calls for a moratorium on mining the oceans’ floor but the UN body responsible is pushing to greenlight the industry in 2023

China’s ambitious rooftop solar pilot helps drive ‘blistering’ capacity growth

Across China, hundreds of local authorities are partnering with solar developers to cover a percentage of buildings with PV by the end of 2023

Data exclusive: The ‘junk’ carbon offsets revived by the Glasgow Pact

Analysis for Climate Home identifies hundreds of problematic projects that could be used to greenwash national and corporate climate plans

US solar installers ‘breathe sigh of relief’ as Biden eases protectionism

Joe Biden has suspended import tariffs on solar panels produced in four southeast Asian nations for two years to reboot stalled solar installations

China plans huge wind and solar power rollout in Gobi desert

The goal is to install 450GW of renewable energy capacity by 2030, more than twice the US’ installed wind and solar generating fleet

Swap Russian gas for renewables, EU tells member states

Green spending could be funded by taxes on energy firms’ windfall profits, Brussels proposes, to cut the bloc’s Russian gas use by two thirds this year

Renewable energy

Fossil Fuels

European nations delay fossil fuel finance ban, blaming energy crisis

The Netherlands is breaching a promise to end international finance for fossil fuels this year as Italy and Germany show signs of backsliding

Costa Rican environment minister, Franz Tattenbach, ahead of COP27.

Costa Rica backs away from leading oil and gas phaseout coalition

Costa Rica, a founding member of the Beyond Oil and Gas Alliance, won’t prioritize it at Cop27 climate talks after a change of government

John Kerry: Carbon offsets can help wean developing countries off coal

The US special envoy wants the voluntary carbon market to finance energy transitions in emerging economies – but partner countries aren’t keen

Climate fund approves plan to speed up coal retirement in Indonesia

The Climate Investment Funds aims to mobilise $4 billion from public and private sources to start decarbonising Indonesia’s power sector

Cop27 host Egypt plans to push gas as ‘the perfect solution’

The presidency of upcoming climate talks is embracing fossil gas as a “transition” fuel, despite its polluting impact

Statue of golden lady justice in Bruges, Belgium

European exodus from Energy Charter Treaty raises climate questions

France, Germany and Spain plan to leave the controversial investment pact, putting a whole system of dirty energy protections into play

Fear of farmer protests hampers methane-cutting ambition

While methane emissions from oil and gas infrastructure and landfills are seen as low-hanging fruit, governments are wary of tackling cows

South Africa approves $8.5bn energy transition investment plan

Insiders say less than 3% of the money rich countries promised is earmarked as grants, raising concerns about fairness and South Africa’s debt burden

Fossil Fuels

Nuclear energy

Nuclear fusion: Why Silicon Valley is betting on man-made star power

Students at MIT have found a way to make nuclear fusion reactors smaller and cheaper, but the tech is a long way from commercial operation

EU set to use ‘green’ label for gas, nuclear investments after parliamentary vote

Climate campaigners accused EU lawmakers of “betrayal” and some member states are preparing legal challenges to the sustainable taxonomy

Macron promises to abandon gas, oil and coal, but will he deliver?

The re-elected French president performed poorly on climate in his first term and is relying too heavily on nuclear, experts say

Saudi energy minister touts pink hydrogen made by “emancipated young ladies”

Saudi Arabia wants to become a leading exporter of hydrogen from both clean and dirty sources as part of an economic diversification plan

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

Nuclear Energy

Efficiency