Most recent 40 articles: Guardian - Energy
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German heat pump rollout at risk as government suspends climate subsidies - Guardian - Energy  (Dec 6) |
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Dec 6 · Move could also undermine nine funding programmes, covering schemes from energy efficient homes to cargo bikes provision Germany has put an indefinite stop to a series of subsidies viewed as key to meeting climate goals, a move that could undermine the rollout of heat pumps as the country attempts to plug a multi-billion-euro hole in its budget. Nine funding programmes, covering everything from energy efficient homes to cargo bikes for commercial use, are now on hold as Olaf Scholz’s coalition government seeks to make savings of about €17bn (£15bn). The government was thrown into a quandary last month over how to finance its ambitious environmental and industrial ... Read more ... |
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Australia ends finance for fossil fuel expansion overseas – now focus turns to local subsidies - Guardian - Energy  (Dec 5) |
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Dec 5 · Albanese government announces at Cop28 it will phase out offshore support for coal, oil and gas within a year The Australian government has been praised for joining a global partnership committed to stopping billions of dollars in foreign aid and loans being spent on fossil fuel expansion, but the decision has also prompted renewed calls for it to reconsider polluting subsidies at home. The Albanese government announced at the Cop28 climate summit that it had joined 40 other countries in signing up to the clean energy transition partnership, an agreement first reached in Glasgow two years ago. It aims to create new rules to end international financing of fossil ... Read more ... |
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'Dirty 30’ and its toxic siblings: the most dangerous parts of the Sellafield nuclear site - Guardian - Energy  (Dec 5) |
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Dec 5 · Cracks in ponds holding highly radioactive fuel rods lead to safety fears In the early 1950s, a huge hole was dug into the Cumbrian coast and lined with concrete. Roughly the length of three Olympic swimming pools and known as B30, it was built to hold skip loads of spent nuclear fuel. Those highly radioactive rods came from the 26 Magnox nuclear reactors that helped keep Britain’s lights on between 1956 and 2015. When B30 was first put to work, it was designed to keep the fuel rods submerged for only three months before reprocessing work was carried out. But when 1970s miners’ strikes shut down coal power stations and forced greater reliance on nuclear plants, ... Read more ... |
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Revealed: Sellafield nuclear site has leak that could pose risk to public - Guardian - Energy  (Dec 5) |
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Dec 5 · Safety concerns at Europe’s most hazardous plant have caused diplomatic tensions with US, Norway and Ireland Sellafield, Europe’s most hazardous nuclear site, has a worsening leak from a huge silo of radioactive waste that could pose a risk to the public, the Guardian can reveal. Concerns over safety at the crumbling building, as well as cracks in a reservoir of toxic sludge known as B30, have caused diplomatic tensions with countries including the US, Norway and Ireland, which fear Sellafield has failed to get a grip of the problems. The leak of radioactive liquid from one of the “highest nuclear hazards in the UK” – a decaying building at the vast Cumbrian site ... Read more ... |
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Global carbon emissions from fossil fuels to hit record high - Guardian - Energy  (Dec 5) |
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Dec 5 · Projected rate of warming has not improved in past two years, analysis shows Global carbon emissions from fossil fuels reached record levels again in 2023, as experts warned that the projected rate of warming had not improved over the past two years. The world is on track to have burned more coal, oil and gas in 2023 than it did in 2022, according to a report by the Global Carbon Project, pumping 1.1% more planet-heating carbon dioxide into the atmosphere at a time when emissions must plummet to stop extreme weather from growing more violent. The finding comes as world leaders meet in Dubai for the fraught Cop28 climate summit. In a separate report published on ... Read more ... |
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Record number of fossil fuel lobbyists get access to Cop28 climate talks - Guardian - Energy  (Dec 5) |
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Dec 5 · UAE-hosted summit admitted at least 2,456 people affiliated with oil and gas industries, analysis finds At least 2,456 fossil fuel lobbyists have been granted access to the Cop28 climate negotiations, according to an analysis. The figure calculated by the Kick Big Polluters Out (KBPO) coalition is a record number that raises further questions about the fossil fuel industry’s influence over this year’s UN summit, which is being run by the president of the United Arab Emirates’ national oil company. The scale of oil and gas influence in Dubai is unprecedented, with almost four times as many industry-affiliated lobbyists than the number registered for Cop27 in Sharm ... Read more ... |
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Fossil fuel firms should volunteer to help vulnerable countries, says Spanish minister - Guardian - Energy  (Dec 4) |
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Dec 4 · Co-leader of EU delegation at Cop28 says climate should be at centre of all financial and economic decisions If fossil fuel companies are serious about tackling the climate crisis, they could contribute to funds for poor and vulnerable countries stricken by its effects, Spain’s environment minister has said. Teresa Ribera, a co-leader of the EU delegation at the Cop28 UN climate summit in Dubai, said: “Private corporates should be stepping into a different development model in vulnerable countries. We went through some language on that that was broadly supported by all [EU] member states, which is: why not just start by an invitation to the oil and gas companies to ... Read more ... |
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Cop28 president forced into defence of fossil fuel phase-out claims - Guardian - Energy  (Dec 4) |
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Dec 4 · Sultan Al Jaber, who is state oil CEO, had said phase-out of fossil fuels would take world 'back into caves’ The president of Cop28 has been forced into a fierce defence of his views on climate science, after the Guardian revealed his comment that there was “no science out there, or no scenario out there, that says that the phase-out of fossil fuel is what’s going to achieve 1.5C”. Sultan Al Jaber, who is also the chief executive of the United Arab Emirates’ state oil company, Adnoc, said at a hastily arranged press conference at the summit in Dubai: “I respect the science in everything I do. I have repeatedly said that it is the science that has guided the principles or ... Read more ... |
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The Cop28 president told a shocking lie about fossil fuels – and he’s wrong about climate economics too - Guardian - Energy  (Dec 4) |
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Dec 4 · Sultan Al Jaber’s claim that green policies damage economic growth is wrong and highly damaging For months Sultan Al Jaber, the president of the Cop28 climate negotiations in Dubai, has been insisting that there is no conflict with his day job, chief executive of the United Arab Emirates’ (UAE) state oil company. Instead, he argued, the dual role enabled him to persuade fossil fuel companies to change. And some early successes in the talks provided some credibility to that claim. Now it lies in ruins, following Sunday’s exclusive Guardian report of rejoinders he made to Mary Robinson, the former president of Ireland and UN special climate envoy, during a live event ... Read more ... |
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Sellafield nuclear site hacked by groups linked to Russia and China - Guardian - Energy  (Dec 4) |
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Dec 4 · Exclusive: Malware may still be present and potential effects have been covered up by staff, investigation reveals The UK’s most hazardous nuclear site, Sellafield, has been hacked into by cyber groups closely linked to Russia and China, the Guardian can reveal. The astonishing disclosure and its potential effects have been consistently covered up by senior staff at the vast nuclear waste and decommissioning site, the investigation has found. The Guardian has discovered that the authorities do not know exactly when the IT systems were first compromised. But sources said breaches were first detected as far back as 2015, when experts realised sleeper malware – ... Read more ... |
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Sellafield: 'bottomless pit of hell, money and despair’ at Europe’s most toxic nuclear site - Guardian - Energy  (Dec 4) |
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Dec 4 · Described as a nuclear Narnia, the site is a source of economic support for Cumbria – and a longstanding international safety concern Ministers who visit Sellafield for the first time are left with no illusions about the challenge at Europe’s most toxic nuclear site. One former UK secretary of state described it as a “bottomless pit of hell, money and despair”, which sucked up so much cash that it drowned out many other projects the economy could otherwise benefit from. For workers, it is a place of fascination and fear. “Entering Sellafield is like arriving in another world: it’s like nuclear Narnia,” according to one senior employee. “Except you don’t go ... Read more ... |
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Warning: the UK government’s hydrogen plan isn’t green at all, it’s another oil industry swindle - Guardian - Energy  (Dec 4) |
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Dec 4 · A taxpayer-funded drive for 'blue’ hydrogen is good news for fossil-fuel lobbyists, but bad news for the climate crisis With the impacts of the climate crisis so apparent for all to see, it is becoming ever harder for governments to fob off voters with promises of action tomorrow. At Cop28 we’ll see increasingly overt action by fossil fuel companies and petrostates to preserve their traditional power. But it is just as important to scrutinise emerging so-called green or low-emission solutions, which sound plausible, but are often simply big oil’s business-as-usual in a new guise. The UK’s much touted low carbon hydrogen standard (LCHS) is an example of this. While ... Read more ... |
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'Betrayed’: NT communities angered after learning only industry was consulted on scrapped net zero policy - Guardian - Energy  (Dec 4) |
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Dec 4 · Advocates say territory government choice to only consult directly with fossil fuel companies before walking away from emissions laws is 'bitterly disappointing’ Northern Territory community members say they feel “betrayed” and unheard after revelations the Fyles government quietly consulted the gas industry before walking away from a net zero emissions requirement for new onshore gas projects. Guardian Australia revealed on Monday that the NT government abandoned a proposal to set net zero rules for direct emissions from new onshore gas projects after companies including Santos and Inpex objected, according to documents released under freedom of information. The ... Read more ... |
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Agreement to phase out fossil fuels would be huge for humanity, says Gore - Guardian - Energy  (Dec 4) |
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Dec 4 · Exclusive: former US vice-president and climate activist says phase-out can be only measure of success for Cop28 An agreement by countries to phase out fossil fuels would be “one of the most significant events in the history of humanity”, according to Al Gore, amid wrangling by governments at Cop28. It would be a “welcome surprise” if world leaders agreed at the climate talks to call for an end to fossil fuels, but such a declaration would have “enormous impact” upon the world, Gore told the Guardian at the gathering in the United Arab Emirates. “If there were a decision here to surprise the world to say 'OK we get it now, we’ve made enough money, we will get on ... Read more ... |
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The Guardian view on a non-proliferation treaty: fossil fuels are weapons of mass destruction - Guardian - Energy  (Dec 3) |
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Dec 3 · The planet faces an existential threat if we do not transition from the current extractive model of growth to a low-carbon economy Colombia’s economy is dependent on fossil fuels, which account for about half of its exports. But at the UN climate summit this weekend, Gustavo Petro, the country’s president, committed to stop the expansion of coal, oil and gas exploitation and reorient his nation away from such “poisons”. Colombia is the first big economy to endorse a fossil fuel non-proliferation treaty. This is a sensible, globally significant step – which raises the question of why other carbon-exporting OECD members, such as Britain, shouldn’t follow suit. What is ... Read more ... |
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Colombia joins international alliance calling for treaty to end use of fossil fuels - Guardian - Energy  (Dec 2) |
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Dec 2 · Colombian president Gustavo Petro wants treaty to lay out plan to end era of coal, oil and gas Colombia has formally joined an alliance of nations calling for a fossil fuel non-proliferation treaty to prevent the “omnicide of planet Earth”, the country’s president announced at Cop28. At the climate summit in Dubai, Gustavo Petro has said his country would join a group of nations calling for a new body to manage a global transition away from the primary driver of global heating, akin to previous treaties to reduce nuclear weapon arsenals and landmines. “Some may ask: why would the president of this country want to commit suicide with an economy that relies on fossil ... Read more ... |
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Oil and gas firms must convert to renewables or face decline, says IEA chief - Guardian - Energy  (Dec 2) |
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Dec 2 · Fatih Birol says fossil fuel use will peak in 2030, and urges companies to lead switch to green energy Oil and gas producers must convert their operations to renewable energy or face steep economic decline, the world’s chief energy adviser has said amid the forging of a new alliance of energy companies at the UN Cop28 climate summit. Fatih Birol, executive director of the International Energy Agency, said: “We have to find a way to reduce fossil fuel consumption, and as such there is an important role that the oil and gas industry can play. I very much hope that they can show in Dubai that they can be part of the solution when it comes to tackling climate ... Read more ... |
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What Sunak claims about the UK’s climate record – and the reality - Guardian - Energy  (Dec 1) |
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Dec 1 · We put to the test the prime minister’s claims in defence of his net zero rollback Rishi Sunak has made a series of claims about the UK’s climate record in defence of his net zero rollback. Speaking at a press conference during a short visit to the Cop28 climate conference in Dubai, the prime minister insisted he had not faced any criticism from other world leaders for watering down his climate pledges. Claim: the UK has decarbonised faster than any major economy This is true to an extent: according to some models, since the 1990s the UK has decarbonised faster than other large economies. This is because it was once very dependent on coal and was fast to phase it ... Read more ... |
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World’s biggest experimental nuclear fusion reactor launched in Japan - Guardian - Energy  (Dec 1) |
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Dec 1 · Joint project with EU involves more than 500 scientists and engineers and more than 70 companies The world’s biggest operational experimental nuclear fusion reactor – a technology in its infancy but billed by some as the answer to humanity’s future energy needs – has been inaugurated in Naka, Japan. Fusion differs from fission, the technique used in nuclear power plants, by fusing two atomic nuclei instead of splitting one. The goal of the JT-60SA reactor is to investigate the feasibility of fusion as a safe, large-scale and carbon-free source of net energy – with more energy generated than is put into producing it. The six-storey-high machine, in a hangar in ... Read more ... |
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Slow transition to renewables puts Australia at risk of losing 'attractive’ investment, super funds warn - Guardian - Energy  (Nov 30) |
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Nov 30 · A new report argues that $12bn a year on average between now and 2050 will be required to transition to renewable energy Industry super funds have warned the Albanese government that Australia’s energy transition risks falling behind as big funds chase more compelling investment opportunities in the US, UK and Europe. AustralianSuper, cbus, HostPlus, CareSuper, HESTA and UniSuper have co-authored a new report with Australian fund IFM Investors calling for more favourable investment conditions underwritten by taxpayers to unlock private capital for the domestic transition to net zero emissions. Ahead of a roundtable on climate finance with the treasurer, Jim ... Read more ... |
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Fossil fuel projects awaiting approval could blow Australia’s 'carbon budget’ tenfold, climate groups say - Guardian - Energy  (Nov 30) |
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Nov 30 · Exclusive: More than 20bn tonnes of Co2 could be emitted if 30 developments were to go ahead The Australian government will face decisions on whether to greenlight 30 fossil fuel developments, mostly to export coal or gas, that together could result in more than 20bn tonnes of carbon dioxide being released into the atmosphere. Climate groups have calculated the potential total climate pollution from fossil fuel developments currently submitted for environmental approval. Including emissions released both during production and when the fossil fuel was ultimately burned for energy – often in overseas power plants – they found the developments could lead to an additional ... Read more ... |
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National Grid steps up clean energy plans amid £3.5bn record spend - Guardian - Energy  (Nov 9) |
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Nov 9 · Power utility reveals first-half results and more investment in 17 major transmission projects fast-tracked by Ofgem National Grid spent a record £3.5bn in the first half of the financial year as it accelerated work to prepare the UK’s power grids for a surge in new clean energy projects. The FTSE 100 monopoly, charged with running most of the UK’s power grids and some networks in the US, said it had entered “a new phase of capital delivery” as a result of the momentum of green policies on both sides of the Atlantic. It has stepped up investment in 17 major onshore and offshore transmission projects in the UK that were fast-tracked by the energy regulator, Ofgem, ... Read more ... |
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Shell sues Greenpeace for $2.1m in damages over fossil fuel protest in North Sea - Guardian - Energy  (Nov 9) |
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Nov 9 · Energy firm’s lawsuit seeks indefinite block on protesters targeting its infrastructure Shell is suing Greenpeace for $2.1m in damages in one of the biggest ever legal threats against the group after its campaigners occupied a moving oil platform earlier this year. The lawsuit calls for an indefinite block on all protests at Shell infrastructure at sea or in port anywhere in the world, or the company will make claims that could reach $8.6m (£7m) if contracting companies also pursue damages. The oil company has mounted one of the biggest legal threats against Greenpeace in the environmental group’s 50-year history after its campaigners occupied a floating oil ... Read more ... |
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Small modular nuclear reactor that was hailed by Coalition as future cancelled due to rising costs - Guardian - Energy  (Nov 9) |
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Nov 9 · Opposition climate and energy spokesperson had pointed to SMRs as a solution to Australia’s energy needs, but experts raise questions over price tag The only company to have a small modular nuclear power plant approved in the US – cited by the Australian opposition as evidence of a “burgeoning” global nuclear industry – has cancelled its first project due to rising costs. NuScale Power announced on Wednesday that it had dropped plans to build a long-promised “carbon free power project” in Idaho. It blamed the decision on a lack of subscribers for the plant’s electricity. The Coalition’s energy and climate spokesperson, Ted O’Brien, has cited NuScale’s technology as ... Read more ... |
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Energy efficiency scheme for cold homes going at a glacial pace, says Labour - Guardian - Energy  (Nov 9) |
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Nov 9 · Government’s Energy Company Obligation has managed to upgrade only 65,000 homes since April 2022, figures show Labour has attacked the Conservatives over the speed of government efforts to upgrade Britain’s draughty housing stock, as analysis showed a leading household energy efficiency initiative was proceeding at what the party called a “glacial pace”. Just 65,000 homes have been upgraded under the government’s Energy Company Obligation (Eco) scheme since it was relaunched in April last year, according to analysis of statistics released by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ). Labour said this figure was in sharp contrast with the 1.5 million ... Read more ... |
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Oil and gas 'not the problem’ for climate, says UK’s net zero minister - Guardian - Energy  (Nov 9) |
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Nov 9 · Campaigners call Graham Stuart’s comments 'laughable’ and say Conservatives are weaponising climate action Oil and gas are “not the problem” for the climate, but the carbon emissions arising from them are, the UK’s net zero minister has told MPs. In words that suggested the UK could place yet more emphasis on technologies to capture and store carbon, Graham Stuart said fossil fuel production was not driving climate change, but demand for fossil fuels was. His statements were a bullish defence of the government’s much-criticised stance. “I don’t think supply is the key driver – it is demand we need to focus on,” said Stuart, who will attend the Cop28 UN ... Read more ... |
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Texas produces twice as much methane as better regulated neighbor, study finds - Guardian - Energy  (Nov 8) |
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Nov 8 · Data shared with Guardian reveals Texas oil and gas fields emitting far more methane than New Mexico, feeding calls for stiffer rules Oil and gas production in Texas is spewing out double the rate of methane, a powerful greenhouse gas, than in the more regulated state of New Mexico, new satellite data shared with the Guardian shows, prompting calls for tougher curbs of “super-emitter” sites that risk tipping the world into climate breakdown. Satellite imaging of methane leaks across the Permian basin, a vast geological feature at the heart of the US oil and gas drilling industry, show that sites in Texas have emitted double the amount of the gas than in New Mexico, per ... Read more ... |
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Extinction Rebellion's future is far less radical than its past | Rupert Read - Guardian - Energy  (Nov 8) |
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Nov 8 · Now that the alarm has successfully been raised, the organisation could help unite people in positive action Gail Bradbrook, co-founder of Extinction Rebellion, has been found guilty of criminal damage, after she broke a window at the Department for Transport in an ecologically motivated protest against HS2 in 2019. The timing of Bradbrook’s verdict is almost exquisitely ironic. Five years ago last week, Extinction Rebellion was launched in Parliament Square. Back then, a principal term of criticism lobbied at XR was that it was “alarmist”. Five years on, it’s plainly visible that it was not. In the past few months the process of climatic decline has dramatically ... Read more ... |
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Anti-green measures in king’s speech are desperate political play by Sunak - Guardian - Energy  (Nov 7) |
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Nov 7 · Much-trumpeted legislation on new drilling will achieve nothing, but PM is hoping to put Labour on the spot Just over three weeks from now, King Charles will make the keynote address at the crucial Cop28 climate summit in Dubai, urging heads of government from around the world to act decisively on the climate emergency before it is too late. But on Tuesday morning, the king opened the UK’s new parliamentary term by reading out his government’s plans for new oil and gas drilling licences in the North Sea despite warnings from the world’s energy watchdog that new exploration will push the world beyond the 1.5C climate limit. The first king’s speech in 72 years was ... Read more ... |
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Fresh calls to scrap Cumbrian coalmine amid steel industry’s green push - Guardian - Energy  (Nov 7) |
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Nov 7 · UK’s coal-hungry blast furnaces likely to be replaced, making economic case for mine 'dead in the water’ says local MP News of the likely closure of the UK’s steel blast furnaces has prompted calls for the government to reconsider approval for a controversial Cumbrian coalmine that had been planned to supply the industry. On Monday, British Steel announced that it plans to replace its two blast furnaces at Scunthorpe, while Tata Steel is considering closing its two at Port Talbot, in a dramatic reshaping of the UK steel industry. Both companies will instead rely on much cleaner electric arc furnaces, which use 87 times less coal. West Cumbria Mining plans to ... Read more ... |
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What policies will be in king’s speech and what will be left out? - Guardian - Energy  (Nov 7) |
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Nov 7 · About 20 bills are expected to be included as Rishi Sunak tries to open key dividing lines with Labour A programme of proposed legislation designed to shore up Rishi Sunak’s re-election prospects will be laid out on Tuesday in the king’s speech. About 20 bills are expected to be included in what is the final legislative programme before the next general election. The Conservatives are expected to try to open up key dividing lines with Labour on issues including net zero. Here is what to expect – and what is likely to be left out. A new annual system for awarding oil and gas licences will be announced, with the government saying it will protect jobs and ... Read more ... |
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Forget virtue signalling. Vice signalling is now all the rage – and the Tories are experts - Guardian - Energy  (Nov 6) |
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Nov 6 · In showing their disdain for the climate crisis, homelessness and refugees, the Conservatives are being deliberately provocative, and they expect us to lap it up Imagine someone had said to King Charles: “Yes, you are going to end up top dog, but you won’t give your first address to parliament as king until a week before your 75th birthday. And, in it, you’ll have to walk the country through new annual oil and gas licences that represent a disregard for the future of the planet that you’ve spent your adult life worrying about.” Well, the poor guy would have been pretty dispirited. In fact, these energy plans look like a deliberate provocation – so much so that you have to ... Read more ... |
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Millions of US homes are so overheated they open their windows in the winter. Why? - Guardian - Energy  (Nov 6) |
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Nov 6 · Nineteenth-century technology is finally being phased out in New York City, but its past is deeply entwined with American history Until recently, my girlfriend and I lived in a steam-heated apartment in Manhattan. A creaky former tenement building, it had no radiators, just scalding-hot cast iron pipes that punched through the units like fire poles. The pipes terminated a few inches from our ceiling with valves that hissed and sputtered, leaking rusty orange water. And they weren’t just heaters, but alarms, clanking like pots and pans every morning around 6.45am when the boiler flipped on in the basement. This 19th-century technology certainly heated our apartment – but ... Read more ... |
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Former fracking site could lead UK’s renewable revolution - Guardian - Energy  (Nov 5) |
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Nov 5 · Final testing being done in project to give North Yorkshire site new life as source of geothermal energy A former fracking site in the North Yorkshire village of Kirby Misperton, once a lightning rod for environmental protests, may soon be a new frontier in Britain’s clean energy revolution. For the first time in the UK, an abandoned gas well could begin a second life as a source of geothermal energy. It is a far cry from its beginnings as a highly contested site where frackers hoped to tap fresh reservoirs of gas trapped in layers of shale beneath the earth’s surface. In 2016, Third Energy was granted permission to carry out fracking at an existing well but its plans ... Read more ... |
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The ‘flickering’ of Earth systems is warning us: act now, or see our already degraded paradise lost | George Monbiot - Guardian - Energy  (Nov 4) |
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Nov 4 · Delegates at Cop are 'negotiating with our health’, says Maria Neira, the doctor in charge of environmental health at WHO Politicians who delay climate action should be prepared to live with the human fallout of their choices, the World Health Organization’s top environment expert has warned. “Anytime you postpone, OK, are you ready to cope with that?” said Maria Neira, the doctor in charge of environmental health at the WHO. “You have to live with that weight on your shoulders of the fact that you are at least not saving those lives – I don’t want to say killing – but at least not protecting the lives of those people.” On Thursday, the World Meteorological ... Read more ... |
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Charged up: NSW tourism hotspots to go electric in bid to fuel EV uptake - Guardian - Energy  (Nov 3) |
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Nov 3 · Electric vehicle travel to be made easier with 1,500 NSW government-funded charging plugs in regional tourism areas Drivers will be able to eat, drink and gaze their way along electric vehicle-specific tourist drives once hundreds of destinations chargers are rolled out across New South Wales. At least 1,500 destination chargers are expected to be established in tourist hotspots to boost charging infrastructure in regional towns. Wineries, restaurants, zoos and museums are among the businesses and council areas being offered 75% off the cost of setting up chargers. Once the chargers are rolled out, a series of EV tourist drives will be developed to promote ... Read more ... |
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I advised David Cameron in the days of 'cut the green crap’. Here’s what both Tories and Labour could learn - Guardian - Energy  (Nov 3) |
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Nov 3 · There are clear parallels between the climate crises facing Rishi Sunak and the former PM – and there’s one gamechanging solution With energy prices at record highs and the Conservatives trailing in the polls, a Tory prime minister pacifies restless backbenchers and the right-leaning media by promising to cut green costs for consumers, while pinning future bill increases on Labour’s “gimmicky” 2030 decarbonisation goals. That describes 2013, but could just as easily apply to 2023. It seems that Rishi Sunak has not just recycled David Cameron back into his cabinet, he has recycled Cameron’s energy policies, too. But Cameron’s approach to climate policy was more nuanced than ... Read more ... |
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Labour vows to 'rewire Britain’ as pylon plans spark row in Tory party - Guardian - Energy  (Nov 3) |
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Nov 3 · Opposition vows to tackle rural connection delays to the grid while Conservatives call for offshore network to preserve landscapes Labour is promising to “rewire Britain”, making its case to the UK’s rural communities that it will connect farmers and businesses to the National Grid at record-breaking speed. The pledge comes as Rishi Sunak faces a battle over electricity pylons with the trade secretary, Kemi Badenoch, and former ministers urging him to pull the plug on crucial grid infrastructure. At the Country Land and Business Association (CLA) conference on Thursday, Labour’s Steve Reed, the shadow environment secretary, will promise to get infrastructure – that ... Read more ... |
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Leaders of world’s major cities call for phase-out of fossil fuels - Guardian - Energy  (Nov 3) |
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Nov 3 · As Cop28 conference begins, letter to heads of state from the C40 group says fossil fuels era must end Governments must commit to bringing the fossil fuel era to a close, a group of mayors representing the world’s leading cities has demanded, amid growing pressure for an agreed phase-out of oil, gas and coal at the Cop28 climate talks. Leaders from the nearly 200 countries at the United Nations climate summit under way in the United Arab Emirates must face the “inescapable truth” that fossil fuels must be left behind, a letter to heads of state from the C40 group, which includes the mayors of cities including New York, London, Beijing, Paris and Cape Town, ... Read more ... |
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