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Continue reading...Category Archives: Energy
‘Danger unites us’: coalminers on the frontline of clean energy
As Romanian mines close, some cannot afford the EU-funded ‘Just Transition’ retraining
Three hundred metres below ground, Sebastian Tirintică operates an elevator at the Livezeni mine in Romania’s Jiu valley. His eyes widen with concentration as he guides the lever to lower the cage, ferrying the iron, wood, and other materials his co-workers need to extract coal. His focus keeps his fellow miners alive, which could be said for everyone working at Livezeni. Most of the equipment is more than 30 years old. Miners go underground knowing that a ceiling support could collapse or that a conveyor belt could snap. In seven years working inside the mine, Tirintică has been buried in coal three times. Each time, his co-workers pulled him out.
“Danger unites us,” he said. “The brotherhood of the underground. You know that your colleague behind you can save your life.”
Continue reading...French couple wins legal fight over wind ‘turbine syndrome’
Christel and Luc Fockaert awarded €110,000 after experiencing windfarm-related health problems
A French court has recognised “turbine syndrome” after a couple complained their health was damaged by living near a windfarm.
In what is believed to be the first judgment of its kind in France, Belgians Christel and Luc Fockaert were awarded more than €100,000 in compensation by the judge in Toulouse.
Continue reading...‘No power to stop it’: optimism turns to frustration over east Africa pipeline
Promised an income, those affected by $20bn oil project are losing their land and resources instead
A bumpy, mud-spattered road leads deep into Kakumiro district in western Uganda, where the longest heated oil pipeline in the world will pass through its homes, farms and wetlands.
The villagers in the Kijungu settlements welcomed the project when the route was announced in 2017, hoping that the government and companies involved would buy their land and change their lives for good. Their optimism has since given way to frustration.
Continue reading...More than 40 countries agree to phase out coal-fired power
Critics say pledge to end use of dirtiest fuel source in 2030s and 40s does not go far enough
More than 40 countries have agreed to phase out their use of coal-fired power, the dirtiest fuel source, in a boost to UK hopes of a deal to “keep 1.5C alive”, from the Cop26 climate summit.
Major coal-using countries, including Canada, Poland, Ukraine and Vietnam, will phase out their use of coal for electricity generation, with the bigger economies doing so in the 2030s, and smaller economies doing so in the 2040s.
More than 20 governments and financial institutions, including the UK, US and Denmark, agreed to phase out overseas finance for all fossil fuels.
Research showed that the world could be on track to limit global heating to 1.9C, if commitments from India and other countries on greenhouse gas emissions are fulfilled.
Data seen by the Guardian revealed fossil fuel companies were using the energy charter treaty to sue governments for the losses they incur from national commitments to decarbonise.
Ireland was told it would need to cull 1.3m animals to meet climate targets.
The UK chancellor, Rishi Sunak, told the Cop26 conference London would become a global hub for net zero investment.
Continue reading...The make-or-break climate summit: here’s what’s at stake at Cop26
If leaders in Glasgow do not act to ratchet up carbon cutting, the alternative is a dialling up of calamitous global heating
Cop26 may involve dozens of world leaders, cost billions of pounds, generate reams of technical jargon and be billed as the last chance to prevent calamitous global heating, but at its simplest the climate conference in Glasgow is a debate about dialling up or dialling down risk.
Continue reading...Crown gives go ahead to rival ‘net zero carbon’ North Sea schemes
Exclusive: crown estates accused of greed in selling rights to ‘incompatible’ carbon capture and windfarm projects
A clash between two multibillion pound “net zero carbon” schemes is brewing in the North Sea after the Queen’s property manager granted development rights for one patch of seabed to two different projects at the same time.
The crown estate will earn millions of pounds after agreeing to lease an area off the Yorkshire coast to the latest phase of the giant Hornsea offshore windfarm, as well as to a scheme led by BP which plans to begin storing carbon dioxide under the seabed. This has prompted concern that the giant wind turbines could interfere with seabed sensors for the carbon storage project.
Continue reading...Australia politics live: Scott Morrison in last-ditch talks with Nationals on net zero
Prime minister expected to push Liberals and Nationals to find agreement on emissions roadmap in meeting on Tuesday. Follow the latest updates live
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And also worth keeping in mind – the Liberals don’t actually need the Nationals to move ahead with the climate commitments. Nothing is going to parliament (at least at this stage – because we are talking a 2050 plan) which means there is no danger of people crossing the floor.
Scott Morrison told the Liberal party room yesterday he planned on taking Australia’s commitment to net zero by 2050 to Glasgow as an NDC – a a nationally determined contribution – which doesn’t need the parliament either. It’s essentially a pledge which says ‘we intend to do this’, and makes it a little more official, rather than just a speech. He doesn’t need the Nationals for that either.
Continue reading...Australian politics live: Victoria records 1,903 Covid cases, NSW 265; Liberals hear climate plan; Gladys Berejiklian Icac hearings begin
Liberals hear climate plan; Victoria and NSW release Covid numbers; Tasmania snap lockdown to end tonight; Icac hearings begin into Gladys Berejiklian; Barnaby Joyce ‘hopes’ climate won’t split the Coalition – follow the latest updates live
- Nationals fail to reach agreement on 2050 emissions reductions
- Australia could see Covid surge from new variants when border reopens
- NSW is opening up further today – what extra freedoms do people have?
- NSW and Victoria schools are reopening amid Covid outbreaks – what can be learned from overseas?
- Vaccine rollout tracker; cases and data tracker
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The federal treasurer and Victorian Liberal MP Josh Frydenberg has once again ramped up his attacks on the Victorian Labor government over lockdowns (you may remember some of his speeches on the Victorian lockdown last year) a theme he continued yesterday, even as the state government announced an earlier than expected loosening of restrictions.
Daniel Andrews responded to that on ABC News Breakfast this morning:
Well, look, I would just say to Josh, this is not about you and your breathless political rants don’t work against this virus. This day and this week, and the weeks to come, are all about Victorians who have done an amazing thing.
They’ve got vaccinated in record numbers and in record time. And this is their moment. It’s not for Josh. And his endless criticism and negativity, I just don’t think it goes down very well in Victoria because it doesn’t work against this virus. So, I will say no more about him.
Continue reading...Malcolm Turnbull on Murdoch, lies and the climate crisis: ‘The same forces that enabled Trump are at work in Australia’
Systematic partisan lying and misinformation from the media, both mainstream and social, has done enormous damage to liberal democracies, the former PM writes
The United States has suffered the largest number of Covid-19 deaths: about 600,000 at the time of writing. The same political and media players who deny the reality of global warming also denied and politicised the Covid-19 virus.
To his credit, Donald Trump poured billions into Operation Warp Speed, which assisted the development of vaccines in a timeframe that matched the program’s ambitious title. But he also downplayed the gravity of Covid-19, then peddled quack therapies and mocked cities that mandated social distancing and mask wearing.
Continue reading...Biden officials announce ambitious plan to dot US coastline with wind farms
- Farms envisaged on east coast, west coast and Gulf of Mexico
- Biden aims to generate enough power for 10m homes by 2030
Seven major offshore wind farms would be developed on the east and west coasts and in the Gulf of Mexico under a plan announced Wednesday by the Biden administration.
The projects are part of Joe Biden’s plan to deploy 30 gigawatts of offshore wind energy by 2030, generating enough electricity to power more than 10 million homes.
Continue reading...Will China’s plan to build more coal plants derail Cop26?
Analysis: while the short-term consequences are grim, veteran analysts talk of a wobble rather than a fall
China’s decision to build more coal plants is a setback for climate action, but analysts say it could still meet its long-term emission reduction targets and may even have scope to raise its ambition at Cop26 in Glasgow.
In recent days, Beijing has announced a buildup of coal capacity to address the most severe power cuts in a decade, which have caused rolling blackouts in half its provinces.
Continue reading...Carbon emissions ‘will drop just 40% by 2050 with countries’ current pledges’
International Energy Agency says $4tn investment needed over decade to reach net zero target
Current plans to cut global carbon emissions will fall 60% short of their 2050 net zero target, the International Energy Agency has said, as it urged leaders to use the upcoming Cop26 climate conference to send an “unmistakable signal” with concrete policy plans.
In its annual World Energy Outlook, redesigned this year as a “guidebook” for world leaders attending the summit in Glasgow, the IEA predicted that carbon emissions would decrease by just 40% by the middle of the century if countries stick to their climate pledges.
Continue reading...India faces electricity crisis as coal supplies run critically low
Eight in 10 thermal power stations within days of running out as state blackouts spark protests
India is facing a looming power crisis, as stocks of coal in power plants have fallen to unprecedentedly low levels and states are warning of power blackouts.
States across India have issued panicked warnings that coal supplies to thermal power plants, which convert heat from coal to electricity, are running perilously low.
Continue reading...Fossil fuel companies paying top law firms millions to ‘dodge responsibility’
Over the last five years, the 100 top law firms in the US represented fossil fuel clients in 358 legal cases and transactions worth $1.36tn
The world’s biggest corporate law firms have been making millions of dollars representing fossil fuel companies but, as the climate crisis intensifies, this work is coming under increasing scrutiny.
Over the last five years, the 100 top ranked law firms in the US facilitated $1.36tn of fossil fuel transactions, represented fossil fuel clients in 358 legal cases and received $35m in compensation for their work to assist fossil fuel industry lobbying, according to a “climate scorecard” published in August.
Continue reading...Nord Stream 2 approval may cool gas prices in Europe, says Russia
Deputy PM calls for rapid clearance from German regulator after prices reach an all-time high
Russia’s deputy prime minister has said certification of the Nord Stream 2 undersea gas pipeline, which is awaiting clearance from Germany’s regulator, could cool soaring European gas prices.
Prices have risen sharply in response to a recovery in demand, particularly from Asia, with storage levels low.
Continue reading...Canada invokes 1977 treaty with US as dispute over pipeline intensifies
Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer says Line 5 of pipeline is a ‘ticking time bomb’ and has ordered it shut down
The Canadian government has invoked a decades-old treaty with the United States in its latest bid to save a pipeline that critics warn could be environmentally catastrophic if it were to fail.
For nearly 67 years, Calgary-based Enbridge has moved oil and natural gas from western Canada through Michigan and the Great Lakes to refineries in the province of Ontario.
Continue reading...Australia urged to support Asian Development Bank plan to end fossil fuel financing
Thirty-five organisations implore Australia, which is ADB’s fifth-largest shareholder, to help the region ‘make a just and equitable low-carbon transition’
The Australian government is being urged to support an end to the financing of fossil fuel projects as the Asian Development Bank prepares to signs off on a new energy policy later this month.
The ADB “will not support coalmining, processing, storage, and transportation, nor any new coal-fired power generation”, according to a draft version of the policy, which also endorses “the early retirement of coal-based power plants”.
Continue reading...Huntington Beach oil spill blackens beaches and waves – in pictures
An estimated 126,000 gallons of crude oil has leaked from an underwater pipeline near Los Angeles in one of the largest disasters in recent state history. The spill near Huntington Beach has created a miles-wide sheen in the ocean and washed ashore, threatening the coastal ecosystem and marine wildlife. Crews are scrambling to clean up the area, which officials say could take weeks or even months
Continue reading...Fire shuts one of UK’s most important power cables in midst of supply crunch
Coal plants being warmed up as market prices surge to £2,500 per MWh from a norm of £40
A major fire has forced the shutdown of one of Britain’s most important power cables importing electricity from France as the UK faces a supply crunch and record high market prices.
National Grid was forced to evacuate staff from the site of the IFA high-voltage power cable, which brings electricity from France to a converter station in Kent, where 12 fire engines attended the blaze in the early hours of Wednesday morning.
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