Category Archives: Fossil fuels

Africa must forgo gas exploration to avert climate disaster, warn experts

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Call comes after former UN climate envoy urged African countries to exploit their natural gas reserves

Africa must embrace renewable energy, and forgo exploration of its potentially lucrative gas deposits to stave off climate disaster and bring access to clean energy to the hundreds of millions who lack it, leading experts on the continent have said.

Their call came as the UN secretary general, António Guterres, warned that exploring for gas and oil anywhere in the world would be “delusional”.

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Declassified files reveal British interest in Falkland Islands oil

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Ministers keen to claim UK right to potential deposits before and after 1982 war with Argentina

British ministers were keen to exploit oil around the Falkland Islands before and after the 1982 conflict, declassified British government documents show.

In a previously unpublished letter, the former chancellor Norman Lamont said the revenues from Falklands oil should go to the British government, not the Falkland islanders.

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Electricity consumers in Queensland cut use to avoid blackouts as NSW and Victoria face shortages

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Market operator in talks with large consumers as country faces energy crisis mainly due to poorly performing coal-fired generators

Some of Queensland’s biggest consumers agreed to cut their power use on Monday to help the grid avoid blackouts, and similar requests could be made in New South Wales and Victoria on Tuesday if regulators maintain forecasts for potential electricity shortfalls.

The Australian Energy Market Operator (Aemo) on Monday afternoon started talks with big consumers under its Reliability and Emergency Reserve Trader (Rert) scheme to head off a gap projected at one stage to be 1,454 megawatts in Queensland at 5.30pm.

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As the temperature cools, the heat is on Chris Bowen

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Gas shortages, reported delays to major projects and coal-fired power woes are among the gifts handed to the new energy minister

It’s a shame Chris Bowen can’t harness some of the heat from his baptism of fire as new energy minister because it could come in handy this winter.

Even before he’d been sworn in, Victoria nearly ran out of gas. This week, there were more coal-fired power woes – with AGL Energy down to six of its 11 units operating – and a new winter demand record in Queensland for electricity.

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MEPs reject key EU climate proposal after aims watered down

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European parliament defeats centre-right lawmakers’ attempts to weaken climate target

The European parliament has voted to end the sale of petrol and diesel cars by 2035, defeating attempts by centre-right lawmakers to weaken the target.

Lawmakers hailed a major victory for the climate after an intense day of votes on a set of laws that make up the EU green deal, the bloc’s main response to the climate crisis.

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Let Africa exploit its natural gas reserves, says Mary Robinson

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Ex-UN climate envoy says continent’s need for energy is so great it should be able to widely use the fossil fuel

African countries should be able to exploit their vast natural gas reserves despite the urgent need to cut global greenhouse gas emissions, the former UN climate envoy Mary Robinson has said.

Robinson, the chair of the Elders group of former world statespeople and business leaders, said African countries’ need for energy was so great that they should use gas widely, in contrast to developed countries that must halt their gas use as quickly as possible to stave off climate breakdown.

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Tanya Plibersek urged to protect Indigenous rock art up to 50,000 years old by blocking fertiliser plant

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Previous environment minister, Sussan Ley, declined to issue emergency protection to halt $4.5bn development on Western Australia’s Burrup peninsula

The incoming federal environment minister has been urged to block the construction of a fertiliser plant on a world heritage-nominated site in Western Australia, and to act swiftly to stop the multinational company behind the plans from removing Indigenous rock art.

Perdaman is planning a $4.5bn plant on the Burrup Peninsula, in the Pilbara region. The plant, which is strongly supported by the state government and was backed by the former federal government, will require the removal of Aboriginal art produced over a period starting about 50,000 years ago.

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South Australia turns to diesel generators as gas shortage and price spike hits

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Calls for faster transition away from ‘volatile’ fossil fuel supply as SA burns large amounts of gas and diesel

Australia’s east coast gas shortage has forced South Australia to turn to diesel generators in order to meet demand, prompting calls for a faster transition away from “volatile” fossil fuels towards renewable energy and storage.

According to the energy mix tracker published by the Australian Energy Market Operator (Aemo), South Australia’s energy mix around 9am Thursday morning was made up of 61% gas and 11% diesel, with wind and solar providing the rest.

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‘World of pain’: warnings of gas shortages amid soaring power prices add to Australia’s energy woes

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Aemo has identified a possible shortfall of gas supplies on Thursday in Victoria, SA and Tasmania amid ongoing burst of cold weather

Australia’s energy woes are mounting with the market operator warning of potential gas supply shortages on Thursday, one of the largest generators issuing a profit warning and more retailers turning away customers as wholesale power prices soar.

Just hours after new treasurer, Jim Chalmers, warned of “this perfect storm of energy price spikes … doing enormous damage to our employers, to our households, and to our national economy,” spot power prices were soaring towards $1,000 per megawatt hour in most of the east coast grid after an alert – now cancelled – that Victoria was facing evening reserve shortages.

More concerning, though, was a separate warning by the Australian Energy Market Operator (Aemo) that it had identified a possible shortfall of gas supplies in Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania on Thursday amid an ongoing burst of cold weather.

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G7 countries to stop funding fossil fuel development overseas

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Ministers from world’s biggest economies reach agreement that could shift estimated $33bn a year to clean energy sources

The world’s biggest economies are to stop funding any overseas fossil fuel development from the end of this year, in a move likely to choke off some of the investment in “carbon bombs” that are imperilling efforts to meet the world’s climate targets.

The agreement could shift about $33bn (£26bn) a year from fossil fuels to clean energy sources, according to analysts’ estimates.

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‘Highly implausible’ that new Galilee Basin coalmines would be profitable, study finds

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Report says Adani’s Carmichael mine in central Queensland seems ‘rather a political decision, not an economically driven one’

Any new coalmines in Australia’s Galilee Basin, including Adani’s Carmichael mine, will not be economically viable in the long run under even the most generous assumptions about the future of the fossil fuel, according to an analysis by German academics.

The study, developed in conjunction with Australian experts, found it was “highly implausible” that mines in the central Queensland basin could run profitably and there was a high chance they would end up as stranded assets.

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Australia’s oil and gas regulator criticised after chief hands out environmental ‘excellence’ awards at industry dinner

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Regulator says outgoing boss Stuart Smith had no role in selecting winners and was invited to acknowledge his work over eight years

The outgoing head of Australia’s offshore oil and gas regulator has helped hand out awards to fossil fuel companies, including Santos, Inpex and Beach Energy, prompting criticism the body could be seen as “too close” to industry.

Stuart Smith, chief executive of the National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority (Nopsema), attended an industry conference dinner in Brisbane on Wednesday and assisted in handing out environmental and safety awards.

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EU plans ‘massive’ increase in green energy to help end reliance on Russia

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European Commission says extra €210bn needed over next five years to pay for phasing out of Russian fossil fuels

The EU plans a “massive” increase in solar and wind power, and a short-term boost for coal, to end its reliance on Russian oil and gas as fast as possible.

In a plan outlined on Wednesday, the European Commission said the EU needed to find an extra €210bn (£178bn) over the next five years to pay for phasing out Russian fossil fuels and speeding up the switch to green energy.

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Industry call for Australia to ‘unlock wealth’ of new oil and gas fields at odds with IEA warning

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Increasing supply is ‘absolutely part of the solution’ to decarbonising the economy, Appea chair tells conference

Fossil fuel representatives have joined the Morrison government in rejecting scientific warnings that no new oil and gas fields should be opened if the world is to deal with the climate crisis, with a national conference hearing Australia should be “smart enough” to back continued expansion.

Increased gas and oil supply was “absolutely part of the solution” to decarbonising the economy, the annual conference of gas industry group the Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association (Appea) was told.

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John Kerry warns a long Ukraine war would threaten climate efforts

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Exclusive: US presidential envoy says limiting global heating to 1.5C could be made harder by conflict

The longer the war in Ukraine carries on, the worse the consequences will be for the climate, the US presidential envoy John Kerry has warned.

Many countries are struggling with an energy crisis while also urgently needing to cut greenhouse gas emissions to limit global heating to 1.5C, he said.

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Keeping coal-fired power plants running is a ‘dangerous game’ for Queensland Labor, expert says

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Political scientist says state’s decision to rule out closing power stations shows major parties are ‘wedged’ on climate change

Queensland’s Labor government is playing “a dangerous game” with coal that could hurt the party’s chances in inner-city Brisbane in the federal election, according a political expert.

On Wednesday, the state energy minister, Mick de Brenni, ruled out closing any of Queensland’s eight coal-fired power plants, despite plans to achieve net zero emissions by 2050.

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How the oil and gas industry is trying to hold US public schools hostage

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Fossil fuel interest groups are telling New Mexicans: let us keep drilling or the state’s education system will collapse

The oil and gas industry wants to play a word-and-picture association game with you. Think of four images: a brightly-colored backpack stuffed with pencils, a smiling teacher with a tablet tucked under her arm, a pair of glasses resting on a stack of pastel notebooks, and a gleaming school bus welcoming a young student aboard.

“What do all of these have in common?” an April 6 Facebook post by the New Mexico Oil and Gas Association (NMOGA), asked. “They are powered by oil and natural gas!”

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Mike Cannon-Brookes buys up AGL shares in bid to block energy giant’s demerger

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AGL says it’s determined to go ahead with the merger despite the purchase, which has made Cannon-Brookes the company’s largest single shareholder

AGL Energy, Australia’s biggest electricity generator, says it remains determined to pursue its plan to split despite a bid for a blocking stake by technology billionaire Mike Cannon-Brookes.

In a second tilt at the company in three months, Cannon-Brookes bought 11.28% of the AGL shares through his family’s Grok Ventures firm, making him the largest single shareholder.

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Four climate activists charged over protests at motorway service stations

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Protesters charged with causing criminal damage of more than £5,000, Surrey Police said

Four climate activists have been charged after protests at two motorway service stations in Surrey.

Nathan McGovern, 22, Amber Alexander, 18, Louis Hawkins, 22, and Rosa Sharkey, 22, have been charged with causing criminal damage of more than £5,000, Surrey police said.

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Barnaby Joyce refuses to use term energy ‘transition’ because it ‘equals unemployment’

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Deputy prime minister made comments in coal community of Gladstone in Queensland as Scott Morrison makes $300m NT energy and jobs announcement

Deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce believes a “transition” from coal to cleaner energy “equals unemployment” in the regions, declaring the Coalition would not use the term during the election.

The Nationals leader has also backed the government’s clean energy fund to support coal, and for other government infrastructure funds to finance the construction of coal-fired power stations, but not for the building of cleaner hydrogen plants.

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