E.ON reports up to 15% drop as Grant Shapps writes to firms customers cutting back on energy use should not face direct debit rise
Britons have cut their gas and electricity use by more than 10% since October in the first evidence of the impact of the energy crisis on household habits, according to two of Britain’s biggest suppliers.
E.ON, Britain’s second-largest supplier, and the owner of Utility Warehouse have reported “double-digit” declines in recent weeks.
Continue reading...Calls for construction on Museum of the 20th Century to be halted until energy efficiency issues addressed
A vast modern art museum under construction in Berlin has been castigated by conservation experts and architecture critics for its poor environmental credentials, as the energy crisis intensifies scrutiny of the efficiency of new buildings.
The Museum of the 20th Century, designed by the Swiss star architects Herzog and de Meuron, is intended to propel the German capital into the top tier of world cities for modern art, competing with New York’s Moma and London’s Tate Modern.
Continue reading...The country has been told the chances of power cuts are low, but demand for old-school wax lighting is hot
Germans are seeking comfort in the warm yellow glow of open flames this Christmas, as a revival of festive traditions coupled with blackout fears make candles the target of the latest stockpiling frenzy.
On Sunday, many German households will follow tradition to light the first of four candles on their Adventskranz wreath, which is typically laid on or hung above the dining-room table.
Continue reading...Report by Deloitte warns biggest risk to jobs in the state is a carbon-fuelled economy
A Queensland government-commissioned report by Deloitte says there could be “significant” declines in wellbeing, assets left stranded and a stagnating economy if the state doesn’t quickly transition to renewables.
The report by the global accounting giant, obtained under the state’s right to information regime, also suggests Queensland could have a bright economic future should it rapidly decarbonise in coordination with the rest of the world.
Continue reading...Russian attacks cut off essential power to the stations last week, forcing all four of them into high-risk mitigation procedures
There are growing fears that Russia’s relentless targeting of Ukraine’s electricity grid will threaten the safety of the country’s nuclear power plants, in the wake of an unprecedented emergency shutdown on Wednesday.
Petro Kotin, the president of Ukraine’s nuclear power company, Energoatom, said that all safety mechanisms had worked as intended on Wednesday, but two generators were damaged in the process, delaying the restart of two reactors. Kotin said repeated shutdowns caused by more Russian missile attacks could cause extensive damage, with a potentially severe impact on Ukraine’s power supply and possibly on nuclear safety.
Continue reading...Tory MP becomes latest member of party to get behind push to drop moratorium imposed in 2014
The president of the Cop26 climate summit Alok Sharma has become the latest Conservative party MP to support lifting the ban on new onshore windfarms.
Sharma has joined his former boss Boris Johnson, who nominated him for a peerage, in backing an amendment to government legislation in an attempt to drop the moratorium on onshore wind.
Continue reading...Kingfisher says sales of loft insulation roll more than double while smart thermostats rose by nearly a third
The B&Q owner, Kingfisher, has reported higher sales as fears over higher gas and electricity costs boosted demand for energy-efficient products including insulation roll and smart thermostats.
The retail group, which also owns the hardware trade supplier Screwfix, said customers who invested in a raft of energy-saving DIY products helped increase group sales by 0.6% to £3.3bn in the three months to October. When stripping out the impact of the weaker pound, sales were up 1.7%.
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Buy now, pay later review has been coming for a while
The last time the issue was examined, under the previous government, it was decided the industry could regulate itself.
Continue reading...Kingdom’s Cop27 announcement of new storage hub part of pattern of delaying fossil fuel transition, experts say
Saudi Arabia is bolstering years of negotiation tactics designed to stymie vital climate negotiations with a focus on carbon capture technologies that experts say risk delaying a meaningful transition from fossil fuels.
The kingdom, which is the world’s second largest oil producer, accounting for roughly 15% of global output, announced plans at Cop27 in Egypt for what it labelled the “circular carbon economy”, in partnership with the national oil company, Aramco, which recently reported $42.4bn in profit.
Continue reading...The state’s treasury does not expect the taxes to make a significant impact on investment decisions
The Queensland government’s imposition of higher royalties for coal producers and China’s ban on imports from Australia are having little impact on super profits, despite a campaign against the taxes by the industry.
The state’s coal industry is a clear winner from the global energy shock as the world looks for new supplies, according to data released by the Queensland Treasury.
Continue reading...The CEO of Swiss company Energy Vault says its gravity storage technology can be built anywhere you can build a 20-storey building
The head of a Swiss energy company which has been contracted to build a solar storage battery in Victoria says its technology will be a “game changer” for rural communities because it can be built anywhere – provided the locals don’t mind having a structure that is as tall as a 20-storey building.
Energy Vault has pioneered a gravity energy storage system that uses surplus energy to raise 35-tonne blocks, made out of recycled materials, to the top of the tall battery structure. Energy is released by lowering those blocks.
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Continue reading...Queensland’s Gladstone council is pinning its hopes on a 10-year energy transition plan, amid concerns for its future in a net zero world
The 6.30am twin-engine service from Brisbane to Gladstone on Monday morning is chock full of blokes in hi-vis and heavy boots.
But this week federal public servants, journalists, renewable energy advocates and the Queensland energy minister joined the usual crowd of Fifo workers descending on the town.
Continue reading...Critics says India’s plans to increase coal production to 1bn tonnes a year are environmentally devastating and unnecessary
Three days before India’s environment minister boarded a flight to Egypt for this year’s UN climate summit, Cop27, the country’s finance minister was busy with a new announcement.
“India needs greater investment in coal production,” said Nirmala Sitharaman at the Delhi launch of India’s biggest ever coalmine auction, where 141 new sites for coalmines will be sold off to the highest bidder.
Continue reading...Carbon Tracker thinktank says investors in fossil fuels on the continent would be left with stranded assets
Expanding oil and gas exports would threaten the economic stability of many African countries, new analysis has found, despite soaring fossil fuel prices.
Demand for fossil fuels is likely to fall sharply in the medium term, according to a report published on Monday by the Carbon Tracker thinktank. That makes relying on gas exports to fuel economic growth a short-term, risky strategy, while boosting solar power would prove a better long-term bet, the analysis found.
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Andrews rules out deal with the Greens and independents in event of minority government
Dan Andrews was also asked what would happen if Labor finds itself in a minority government situation – will it do a deal with the Greens?
No deal will be offered and no deal will be done.
And independents – no deals with independents?
No deal will be offered and no deal will be done.
So if you’re in a minority situation and you hold more seats than the Liberal party, what happens? You go back to another election?
Well, I think what the best thing to do, and what happens, Michael, is we work hard for the next 13 days, we work hard to put a positive and optimistic plan out there, and we’ll see what the verdict of Victorian voters is. I’m arguing, I’m urging people to vote for a strong, stable majority Labor government, to vote for your local Labor candidate.
The new SEC – government-owned, not private for-profit, but government-owned electricity, so owned by every single Victorian – creates nearly 60,000 jobs – 6,000 of those will be apprentices. It will be 100% renewable electricity. These companies can’t be relied upon to replace themselves. They’ll just put another profit machine in place. We need to make sure that we’re looking after pensioners, we’re looking after families and, indeed, businesses. And without electricity, there is no economy, so we have to replace them. And we choose to replace them with a public option – a government-owned option. An option that’s owned by every single Victorian.
Continue reading...Delegation at climate summit tell of destruction of protected areas and carbon toll of invasion and rebuilding
Ukraine has used the Cop27 climate talks to make the case that Russia’s invasion is causing an environmental as well as humanitarian catastrophe, with fossil fuels a key catalyst of the country’s destruction.
Ukraine has dispatched two dozen officials to the summit in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, to spell out the links between the war launched by Russia in February, the soaring cost of energy due to Russia’s status as a key gas supplier, and the planet-heating emissions expelled by the offensive.
Continue reading...The heavy presence of lobbyists from Moscow suggests Russia is using the climate talks to drum up business
Russian oligarchs and executives from multiple companies under international sanctions are among the lobbyists currently attending Cop27 in Sharm el-Sheikh.
Among those at the pivotal climate talks are the billionaire and former aluminium magnate Oleg Deripaska, who is under UK sanctions, and the billionaire Andrey Melnichenko, the former head of the Russian fertiliser company the EuroChem group, who has been targeted with individual sanctions by the European Union which he disputed, calling them “absurd and nonsensical”.
Continue reading...Authority lent total of £655m over four years to owner of 53 solar parks across Britain
One of the country’s largest solar farm owners has entered administration amid the fallout from a scandal that forced an Essex council leader to resign.
Administrators at Interpath Advisory have been appointed to Toucan Energy Holdings, which owns a portfolio of 53 solar parks with a combined capacity of 513 megawatts across England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Continue reading...Environmental groups call on Queensland government to end exemptions, with six mining ventures already given green light
At least eight coalmining projects in Great Barrier Reef catchments and floodplains have been exempted from requiring environmental impact statements by the Queensland government, with six already gaining state environmental approval.
A coalition of environmental groups that includes the Australian Conservation Foundation, Birdlife and the Queensland Conservation Council is now lobbying the Palaszczuk government to end such exemptions.
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Albanese on Xi Jinping: ‘we will no doubt be at the same meetings’
Will Anthony Albanese meet with China’s president Xi Jinping in the coming week? He’s staying mum.
What I want to see with the relationship with China is cooperation where we can, but we of course will maintain our Australian values where we must. So dialogue is always good, a meeting is not locked in at this point in time. But we will no doubt be at the same meetings. The East Asia summit, the G20, and Apec is going to be a busy time in international diplomacy.
Now this act is just disgusting, targeting women who have had a pregnancy termination is about as cowardly as you can get.
I just want to say to those women this morning, we hear you, we are with you, and we love you. If you need help, please reach out and we are absolutely determined to target the criminals who have done this disgusting act.
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