Energy

Don’t be fooled: CCS is no solution to oil and gas emissions

The oil and gas industry wants you to believe it can capture its emissions and keep drilling as usual. That’s no way to avert climate chaos

Ten years on from Haiyan, Shell’s intimidation won’t silence me

I am named in a Shell lawsuit against Greenpeace for trying to board their oil rig, but I won’t stop fighting their climate vandalism

The Cop28 climate summit must set us free from fossil fuels

My homeland of Denmark played its part in causing the climate crisis but is now phasing out fossil fuels. In Dubai, the world must follow

The ‘inevitable’ fossil fuel fight set to dominate Cop28

Could petrostate UAE be the climate summit host that lands an international agreement to exit coal, oil and gas?

Shades of green hydrogen: EU demand set to transform Namibia

Backed by the EU, Namibia has a $20 billion plan to export green hydrogen. A secretive tender process raises concerns for nature and citizens.

China sets out methane plan, but no reduction target

Experts said that China didn’t want to shut down coal mines and was likely under-counting its coal mine methane emissions

The OECD must take its chance to stop funding oil and gas

Export credit agencies are still backing oil and gas projects – this week’s OECD meeting is a chance to change that

Forests, methane, finance: Where are the Cop26 pledges now?

Climate Home analysed how highly-publicised commitments are faring two years on from their announcement

Indonesia delays coal closure plans after finance row with rich nations

After its pleas for grants not loans fell mostly on deaf ears, Indonesia has watered down its plans to shut coal power plants early

DRC hands gas rights to Canadian start-up that failed criteria

The technically complex contract was won by Alfajiri, which is based in a residential property in Canada and has only existed a few months

Energy

Renewable Energy

Rooftop solar panels offer fragile lifeline to besieged Gazans

As Israel cuts off electricity to the Gaza Strip, rooftop solar panels help residents to survive frequent bombardment

China objects to UN fund warnings on solar’s forced labour risks

China opposed six Green Climate Fund projects because the proposals flagged the risk of forced labour in the manufacturing of solar panels.

China’s Belt and Road gets ‘green’ reboot and spending boost

Clean energy is a priority as China promises $100 billion of development funding – but don’t call it climate finance

G20 leaders strike renewables deal, stall on fossil fuels

The world’s largest economies agreed to push for a tripling of renewable energy capacity by 2030, but made no progress on oil and gas phaseout

Climate Home News seeks pitches on renewable energy supply chain

Send us you pitches for powerful accountability journalism stories on the trends and actors shaping the renewable energy supply chain

Indonesia delays $20bn green plan, after split with rich nations on grants and new coal plants

The launch of the Jetp investment plan has been hampered by disagreements over funding and technical challenges

Court says renewable firms can seize Spain’s property after subsidy cuts

The Energy Charter Treaty, which Spain is trying to leave, protects investments in fossil fuels and in renewables

Unfinished paperwork is kneecapping solar’s potential in China

Heaps of new renewable energy are going up in China, but there’s more to an energy transition than hardware

Renewable energy

Fossil Fuels

One million coal jobs face the axe globally by 2050

China and India will see the biggest coal job losses and need to plan support for affected communities, Global Energy Monitor warns

Capturing coal’s carbon can ease pain of India’s energy transition

Nearly two fifths of India’s districts depend on the coal sector and a rapid phasedown would be devastating for millions of people

ADB set to launch first coal early retirement scheme in Indonesia

A finance tool to shut down Asian coal plants up to a decade early will swing into action “soon”, says Asian Development Bank climate envoy

Vietnamese climate activist jailed in ‘unjust’ government crackdown

Five environmentalists have been jailed in the last two years, while the government works on a clean energy partnership with rich nations

EU uses pollution tax funds to back Romanian gas pipeline

The European Union is using taxes on pollution to fund a gas pipeline in Romania, claiming it will reduce emissions compared to coal

Leaders must listen to the people and end fossil fuels

Masses of people will take to the streets in 650 events around the world this weekend, to call for a phaseout of coal, oil and gas

Why India is rebuffing a coal-to-clean deal with rich nations

The country is not moving away from coal yet, doesn’t want to hand rich nations a win and thinks the JETP terms aren’t good enough

African leaders skirt over fossil fuels in climate summit declaration

A joint statement forming the basis of Africa’s negotiating position for Cop28 is silent on the role of oil and gas

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

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

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

Nuclear Energy

Efficiency

Cooking the books: cookstove offsets produce millions of fake emission cuts

Projects in India linked to Enking, the self-proclaimed world’s largest carbon credits producer, have vastly overestimated climate benefits

Turn down the heating: France unveils ‘ambitious’ energy saving plan

French people and businesses are encouraged to take shorter showers, turn down thermostats and car pool but none of the measures are binding

Demand response: A win-win solution to climate and energy price crises

By shifting electricity demand away from peaks, customers can get cheaper bills and cleaner electricity can be prioritised

EU lawmakers back stronger energy efficiency target in response to Russian war

The European Parliament’s four largest political groups are proposing a 14.5% efficiency goal by 2030, up from the 9% discussed last year

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

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

Ship efficiency measures backed by a broad coalition of 14 countries will fail to reduce emissions in line with industry and Paris climate goals, campaigners warn

Countries promise green recovery at Japanese virtual summit, keep quiet on fossil bailouts

Ministers from China, EU and other major economies outlined plans to build back better after the coronavirus pandemic at a meeting convened by Japan

For all its green talk, the IEA still gives comfort to oil and gas producers

Under Fatih Birol, the International Energy Agency leads talk of a green recovery, yet dodges hard questions about phasing out dirty energy

Efficiency