Category Archives: Energy

Sunak government will go down in history as failing UK on climate, Greenpeace says

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Exclusive: Joint chiefs of charity accuse ministers of pursuing culture wars as extreme weather becomes the norm

• ‘You have adopted a bunker mentality’: letter to Sunak
• Cancelling Greenpeace contradicts Tory free-speech pledge

Rishi Sunak’s government will “go down in history” as the administration that failed the UK on the climate crisis while ministers pursued a dangerous culture war, the heads of Greenpeace have said.

The charity’s joint executive directors described government briefings against the organisation in the wake of its oil protest at the prime minister’s Yorkshire home as “really dark stuff”, which revealed a worrying trend towards exploiting environmental protests as a wedge issue.

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Sweden criticised over plan to build at least 10 new nuclear reactors

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Environmental experts say proposals are too expensive and will come too late to meet energy needs

Environmental experts have criticised the Swedish government’s plan to build at least 10 nuclear reactors in the next 20 years, more than doubling the current number, saying it will be too expensive and will come too late to meet energy needs.

The climate minister, Romina Pourmokhtari, announced on Wednesday that in order to meet its climate goals Sweden needed to double electricity production in the next two decades.

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Future uncertain for key Tasmania to mainland power transmission link after $2bn cost blowout

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Federal government in discussion with states after cost of Marinus Link nearly doubles, putting decarbonisation and energy goals at risk

Tasmania is optimistic the Albanese government will lift funding for a key new transmission link to the mainland after projected costs blew out by at least $2bn.

The Marinus Link was originally priced at $3bn in 2021 for its two-stage construction of separate cables across the Bass Strait, each with 750 megawatt capacity.

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Fury as Alberta cuts renewables during Canada’s worst fire season ever

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Critics of the policy expressed concern that decision will weaken investor confidence in solar and wind energy in the region

A decision by Canada’s largest oil and gas-producing province to halt new wind and solar projects has prompted disbelief among environmental groups and economists. The move comes as the country struggles with its worst wildfire season on record, a situation that experts agree is worsened by the climate crisis and a reliance on fossil fuels.

Alberta last week announced a six-month moratorium on large solar and wind projects so it can review policies surrounding the projects’ construction and impact on the power grid, as well as rules for their eventual decommissioning.

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Amazon leaders fail to commit to end deforestation by 2030

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Eight South American presidents including Brazil’s Lula say rich countries need to pledge more resources to help protect rainforest

Amazon leaders have called on rich countries to help them develop a Marshall-style plan to protect the world’s largest rainforest – but stopped short of committing to zero deforestation across the biome by 2030 amid divisions over oil extraction.

In a joint declaration at the end of a two-day summit in the Brazilian city of Belém on Wednesday, the eight South American countries that are home to the Amazon rainforest said ensuring its survival could not be solely up to them, as resources from the forest were consumed globally.

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Australia politics live: Pocock claims Labor adopting Coalition’s ‘gas-led recovery’ and doing bare minimum on climate crisis

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Doctors press Labor over NT gas projects

More than 2,000 doctors, GPs and health professionals have now signed a letter to the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, demanding the government reconsider subsidising the Middle Arm project and “intervene to prevent gas fracking in the Beetaloo Basin, acknowledging that the emissions cannot be fully offset”.

We do not want these industries to be established in Darwin due to the risk they pose to the population and the risk they pose to the whole of Australia by driving the climate crisis.

We would like governments around Australia to put the health of their people first and understand the principle of first do no harm when considering the approval of projects like this.

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Starmer says Sunak’s lack of investment in wind power is ‘gift to Putin’

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Labour leader claims Conservatives’ onshore turbine ban costs families £180 each and makes UK reliant on gas imports

Keir Starmer has condemned the prime minister’s climate policies, declaring the failure to invest in renewables such as wind turbines a “gift to Putin”.

The Labour leader also described the Conservatives’ onshore wind ban as “ludicrous” and said it now means every family in the country is paying £180 more on their energy bills.

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US scientists achieve net energy gain for second time in a fusion reaction

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The Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s National Ignition Facility achieved the feat using lasers to fuse two atoms

US scientists have achieved net energy gain in a nuclear fusion reaction for the second time since a historic breakthrough in December last year in the quest to find a near-limitless, safe and clean source of energy

Scientists at the California-based Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory repeated the breakthrough in an experiment in the National Ignition Facility (NIF) on 30 July that produced a higher energy yield than in December, a Lawrence Livermore spokesperson said.

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Help with UK energy bills unlikely this winter, suggests Grant Shapps

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Energy secretary says government wants to focus on cutting taxes once inflation falls

Grant Shapps has suggested it is unlikely the government will step in to protect households from rising energy bills this winter.

The energy secretary said in an interview with the Times that once inflation had fallen the government would “absolutely” need to cut taxes.

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Will Ghana’s gas gamble perpetuate a cycle of fossil-fuel related debt?

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West African country is enduring hard times – and critics say plan to import liquefied natural gas will only make things worse

John Gakpo has milled corn to make kenkey – a cornmeal dumpling and Ghana’s staple food – in a dimly lit wooden shack in a suburb of the capital, Accra, for 15 years.

In the past, his earnings have been sufficient to provide for his family – but not any more.

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Victorian electricity transmission charges could more than double if Australia’s longest power line proceeds

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Proposed 800km VNI West will be costlier than alternatives and won’t solve grid bottlenecks holding back new solar and wind, thinktank says

Victorians face a more than doubling of transmission charges on electricity bills if the state government proceeds with plans for what is likely to be the most costly and longest single power line in Australia’s history, a thinktank says in a new report.

The report by the Victoria Energy Policy Centre (VEPC) argues the proposed 500 kilovolt VNI West transmission line linking Melbourne’s outskirts with Wagga Wagga on an 800km path will be far costlier than alternatives and faces extensive landholder opposition. It also will not solve grid bottlenecks holding back new solar and windfarms in the state.

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Billionaire investor threatens to pull out of UK amid global outcry at new oil rush

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Australian mining entrepreneur Andrew Forrest criticises ‘clickbait’ fossil fuel plans as others say Britain has lost credibility

The billionaire Australian mining tycoon and investor Andrew Forrest has led international condemnation of the UK’s new oil rush, saying he would pull his major investment from the country if the prime minister pursued “clickbait” fossil fuel policies.

The iron ore magnate, who also runs the Minderoo Foundation philanthropic organisation, threatened to move his investments out of the UK over Rishi Sunak’s swivel towards new oil and gas drilling.

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Leak reveals ‘touchy’ issues for UAE’s presidency of UN climate summit

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Exclusive: Long list of ‘sensitive’ topics for petrostate include oil and gas production, emissions and Yemen war crimes

A comprehensive list of “touchy and sensitive issues” for the United Arab Emirates, which is running the next UN climate summit, has been revealed in a document leaked to the Guardian.

The document sets out the government-approved “strategic messages” to be used in response to media requests about the issues, which range from the UAE’s increasing production of oil and gas to people trafficking.

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NSW won’t ban gas in new homes as premier declares ‘I don’t need another complication’

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Chris Minns rules out following Victoria in banning new gas connections, saying state has enough serious energy challenges

Homes in New South Wales will continue being built with gas connections after the premier, Chris Minns, ruled out a Victorian-style ban on new connections, saying the state already had enough energy supply issues.

The definitive comments came after the state’s energy minister, Penny Sharpe, on Sunday refused to rule out the possibility of the state following Victoria.

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‘Project 2025’: plan to dismantle US climate policy for next Republican president

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Rightwing groups penned a conservative wish list of proposals for the next conservative president to gut environmental protections

An alliance of rightwing groups has crafted an extensive presidential proposal to bolster the planet-heating oil and gas industry and hamstring the energy transition, it has emerged.

Against a backdrop of record-breaking heat and floods this year, the $22m endeavor, Project 2025, was convened by the notorious rightwing, climate-denying thinktank the Heritage Foundation, which has ties to fossil fuel billionaire Charles Koch.

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Electricity prices down almost 60% a year on from Australia’s short-lived energy crisis

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Emissions from national electricity market also fell more than 6% in June quarter, Australian Energy Market Operator says

Emissions from Australia’s main electricity grid dropped more than 6% in the June quarter from a year ago to a record low for the period, and wholesale prices stabilised, the Australian Energy Market Operator (Aemo) said.

For the June quarter, wholesale power prices averaged $108 per megawatt hour on the national electricity market (NEM), down almost 60% from the same period a year ago when the market was suspended during a short-lived energy crisis.

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MPs urge Sunak to attend Cop28 and stay true to net zero

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All-party climate group says backing away from green policies would be catastrophic for the economy

A cross-party group of influential politicians has urged Rishi Sunak to set an example by attending the UN climate summit this November, as both major parties come under pressure over their net-zero policies.

The group of MPs and peers wants him to commit to attending Cop28 in Dubai, and to appoint a secretary of state as special envoy for the climate ahead of the UN general assembly in September, where preparations will be made for Cop28.

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Tensions emerge between state and federal governments over Australia’s energy grid roadmap

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Exclusive: disquiet points to jockeying among jurisdictions and impatience over the rollout of renewables

Cracks in the unity of the nation’s energy ministers have emerged amid disquiet over a review of power grid plans and an effort by the federal government to force carbon offsets from big new gas fields on to the states.

Almost two weeks on from a gathering of energy and climate ministers in Tasmania, senior officials expressed concern about how the review of the integrated system plan (ISP) – the grid’s roadmap – would be handled. One concern was that the federal energy minister, Chris Bowen’s department would be handling the review.

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Labor faces internal fight over native forest logging despite emissions pledge

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Labor’s Environment Action Network says draft national platform ‘very, very weak’ on opposing native forest logging and land clearing

Labor has significantly beefed up its commitment to reduce emissions in the gas industry but still faces a fight at its national conference over “weak” policies on native forest logging.

Labor’s Environment Action Network (Lean) has now signed up 294 branches for its push to end native forest logging and broad scale land clearing, but both policies were omitted from the draft national platform distributed to delegates on Monday.

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Eastern Australia hit with rising electricity prices despite record warm weather

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Wind output reached record levels in June in the national electricity market, the Australian Energy Regulator said

Eastern Australia’s wholesale power prices increased in the June quarter, although they remained well below the level reached during the energy crisis a year earlier, the Australian Energy Regulator has said.

New South Wales posted the highest spot pricing with an average of $148 a megawatt-hour, up from just over $100/MWh during the first three months of the year. During last winter’s energy squeeze, prices averaged about $320/MWh.

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