Category Archives: Energy

Queensland anti-renewables group cited nonexistent papers in inquiry submissions using AI, publisher says

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Exclusive: Rainforest Reserves Australia has published submissions naming nonexistent government authorities and a nonexistent windfarm

A conservation charity known for its anti-renewables stance has made submissions to federal and state inquiries that name non-existent government authorities and a nonexistent windfarm, and cite scientific articles that the supposed publisher says don’t exist, a Guardian Australia investigation has found.

Two US-based academics and experts said Rainforest Reserves Australia’s (RRA) claims in submissions about their work were “100% misleading” and “absurd”.

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UK ministers met fossil fuel lobbyists 500 times in first year of power, analysis shows

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Lobbyists attended 48% more meetings than Tories, as Labour accused of giving them ‘backstage pass’

Government ministers met representatives from the fossil fuel industry more than 500 times during their first year in power – equivalent to twice every working day, according to new research.

The analysis found that fossil fuel lobbyists were present at 48% more ministerial meetings during Labour’s first year in power than under the Conservatives in 2023.

Ministers at the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) met fossil fuel lobbyists 274 times, with industry figures present at almost a quarter of meetings.

Ed Miliband, the secretary for energy and climate change, met fossil fuel lobbyists 250 times – with a third of all his meetings attended by industry figures.

During the same period DESNZ ministers met trade union representatives 61 times

Three fossil fuel companies: BP, Shell and Equinor , met ministers 100 times between them.

Fossil fuel lobbyists attended almost every government meeting about the energy profits levy, a temporary windfall tax on the “extraordinary profits” of North Sea oil and gas companies.

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Sustainability professor’s talk at UK party conferences cancelled

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Academic told panel did not want dissenting view about value of North Sea oil and gas to UK economy

A prominent sustainability professor had events cancelled at Labour and Conservative conferences after hosts of a panel he was on said they did not want his views on oil and gas aired in front of MPs.

Prof Matthew Agarwala spoke on the fringe at Lib Dem conference for the panel organised by Total Politics but was then pulled from similar panels at subsequent Labour and Conservative conferences.

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Energy firms complete UK’s first ‘hydrogen blending’ trial to power grid

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A 2% blend of low-carbon gas injected into gas grid to fuel Brigg power station in North Lincolnshire is a UK first

Energy companies have injected green hydrogen into Britain’s gas grid and used the low-carbon gas to generate electricity, in a landmark development for the UK’s climate ambitions.

For the first time in the UK, a 2% blend of green hydrogen was injected into the gas grid and blended with traditional gas to fuel the Brigg power station in North Lincolnshire which generated electricity for the power system.

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Australia’s household energy bills will halve by 2050, modelling suggests

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Grattan Institute report argues fall in costs will provide federal government room for more action on climate

Australian household energy bills will halve by 2050 as solar panels, batteries and electric cars and appliances become the norm, reducing pressure on the federal government over living costs and creating room for more climate action, a thinktank study suggests.

Modelling by the Grattan Institute finds that cutting greenhouse gas emissions from electricity generation in line with the goal of reaching net zero emissions by 2050 will cut average household energy costs from about $5,800 today to about $3,000.

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Corporate ‘middlemen’ mask who really profits from Australian fossil fuel projects, report warns

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Nominee companies – paid to be listed as shareholders on behalf of unnamed investors – could be reducing accountability over financial support of industry

Three global banks are being paid to obscure who profits from 51 fossil fuel projects in Australia that produce 22m tonnes of carbon emissions each year, according to new analysis.

An analyst who authored the report says it highlights a “massive problem” in Australia that could be reducing the amount of scrutiny investors face for financial support of the fossil fuel industry.

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Trump administration spending $625m to revive dying coal industry

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White House allocating 13.1m acres of public land to coal mining, which has been on rapid decline over past 30 years

The White House will open 13.1m acres (5.3m hectares) of public land to coal mining while providing $625m for coal-fired power plants, the Trump administration has announced.

The efforts came as part of a suite of initiatives from the Department of the Interior, Department of Energy, and Environmental Protection Agency, aimed at reviving the flagging coal sector. Coal, the most polluting and costly fossil fuel, has been on a rapid decline over the past 30 years, with the US halving its production between 2008 and 2023, according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA).

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Climate activists gather in New York for ‘Sun Day’ solar energy and anti-billionaire rallies

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Sun Day national action supported renewable energy, day after ‘Make Billionaires Pay’ march ahead of Climate Week

Hundreds of environmentalists gathered in New York City’s Stuyvesant Square Park and a nearby Quaker meeting house on Sunday to rally in support of solar power and other forms of renewable energy. The event was part of a national “day of action” billed Sun Day, founded by veteran environmental activist Bill McKibben and first Earth Day coordinator Denis Hayes.

“It’s so sad to watch the sun going to waste,” McKibben said at a press conference, standing beside environmentalists and their children. “Every single day, energy from heaven going to waste while we drill down to hell for another dose of the stuff that is wrecking this planet.”

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Value of Australia’s coal and gas exports will plunge 50% in five years, treasury modelling forecasts

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Figure amounts to a $60bn fall by 2030 under any future scenario of emissions reduction in Australia, modelling predicts

The value of Australia’s coal and gas exports is predicted to plummet by 50% over the next five years as global demand for fossil fuel falls, according to Treasury modelling.

The modelling, released on Thursday as the government announced its emissions reduction target for 2035, found the annual value of fossil fuel exports is predicted to fall by more than $60bn by 2030 under any future scenario of emissions reduction within Australia.

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Ausgrid slashes safety inspectors after report finds cheaper to pay permanent disability injury compensation

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Secret report from CutlerMerz finds yearly cost of inspections – $520,219 – is more than cost of paying compensation – $28,375 a year

Ausgrid cut safety inspector numbers by more than half after receiving a secret report that said it was cheaper for the company to pay compensation for a permanent disability injury than to continue paying for the inspections.

The secret report, conducted by consultancy CutlerMerz and seen by Guardian Australia, recommended Ausgrid slash the inspections it was doing by as much as 55%, saying the cost – $520,219 per year – was “grossly disproportionate to the cost of the consequence being managed”.

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Albanese’s Oprah-style emissions target aims to please almost everyone but risks falling short on climate action

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The prime minister has a stonking majority and a progressive crossbench that wants deeper cuts. So what has happened to lower the goal?

The Australian government has announced an Oprah Winfrey-style emissions target for 2035. It has tried to promise (nearly) everyone a prize.

By choosing a target range of a 62% to 70% cut compared with 2005 levels – based on long-awaited advice from the Climate Change Authority and its chair, Matt Kean – it has opted for a political solution.

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Hopes rise for green economy boom at Africa Climate Summit

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Renewables are thriving, with Africa breaking solar energy records – but action is needed to plug financing gap

The first signs of a takeoff of Africa’s green economy are raising hopes that a transformation of the continent’s fortunes may be under way, driven by solar power and an increase in low-carbon investment.

African leaders are meeting this week in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, for the Africa Climate Summit, a precursor to the global UN Cop30 in November. They will call for an increase in support from rich countries for Africa’s green resurgence, without which they will warn it could be fragile and spread unevenly.

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Tories would maximise North Sea oil and gas extraction, Badenoch to say

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Conservative leader says it is ‘absurd’ to shift away from fossil fuels and leave ‘vital resources untapped’

The Conservative party will aim to “maximise extraction” of oil and gas in the North Sea if it wins power, Kemi Badenoch is expected to announce.

Badenoch will use a speech in Aberdeen in the coming days to set out her plans to extract as much oil and gas as possible instead of shifting away from fossil fuels, the Sunday Telegraph reported.

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Taiwan referendum on reopening last nuclear plant fails

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Clear majority backs restarting Maanshan reactor but doesn’t reach legal threshold, as president says nuclear power may be reconsidered if it becomes safe

A referendum to push for the reopening of Taiwan’s last nuclear plant has failed to reach the legal threshold to be valid, though the president said the island could return to the technology in the future if safety standards improved.

The plebiscite on Saturday, backed by the opposition, asked whether the Maanshan power plant should be reopened if it was “confirmed” there were no safety issues. The plant was closed in May as the government shifts to renewables and liquefied natural gas.

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US pipeline protester’s obstruction conviction overturned by appeals court

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New trial for Mylene Vialard after Minnesota judges find ‘pervasive’ prosecutorial misconduct in Line 3 protest case

The controversial felony conviction of a peaceful climate activist has been overturned by an appeals court due to “pervasive” prosecutorial misconduct.

Mylene Vialard, 56, was found guilty of felony obstruction in 2023 for her role in trying to halt construction of a fossil-fuel pipeline through Indigenous territory in Minnesota, in a trial beset by irregularities.

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Cost of Victoria’s renewable energy transmission plan projected to double

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Higher energy bills to cover the increased transmission costs could be offset by more renewable energy in the grid, state government says

One of Australia’s largest renewable energy transmission projects has expanded zones for solar, battery and wind developments with the cost of connection to almost double.

The latest version of Victoria’s 2025 Transmission Plan, released by state government agency VicGrid on Sunday, revealed a 200,000-hectare increase in the area available to developers.

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Commonwealth Bank urged to repay fees of 2 million low-income customers after posting record profit

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Australia’s biggest bank delivers bumper payout to shareholders as CBA vows to end lending to coal companies with no net zero plans

The Commonwealth bank has posted a record cash profit, sparking renewed calls for Australia’s biggest bank to repay more than 2 million low-income customers $270m in fees – something it has refused to do.

CBA recorded $10.25bn in annual cash profits for the year to June – a 4% lift on the previous year – and gave a bumper $2.60 payout per share to shareholders.

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Wind generator Ørsted’s shares sink as it makes $9bn cash call

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Danish company blames Donald Trump for derailing its business model after market value drops by a third

Europe’s largest wind power company has blamed Donald Trump for derailing its business model, after it unveiled a $9bn (£6.7bn) fundraising and its market value plunged by almost a third.

The share price for Denmark’s Ørsted tumbled to an all-time low after it told investors on Monday that the “extraordinary situation” facing the industry meant it would need to tap shareholders to cover the costs of its plans.

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UK ministers push ahead with discount on bills for households near new pylons

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Plans have provoked outrage from communities in areas of Great Britain expected to host new infrastructure

The government is pushing head with a plan to offer those who live near new electricity pylons a discount of £2,500 from their energy bills over the next 10 years to ease the backlash against its clean power plans.

Thousands of households within half a kilometre of new or upgraded electricity infrastructure could each receive up to £250 off their annual energy bill from next year to help speed up the rollout of infrastructure critical to the government’s targets.

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