In launching its World Energy Outlook 2024 (WEO), the IEA stated that “the future of the global energy system is electric.” This follows its assertion that demand for coal, oil and…Continue reading‘’Age of electricity’ to follow looming fossil fuel peak’’: Analysis or Science Fiction?
Author: Shane White
A $200bn wave of new gas projects could lead to a “climate bomb” equivalent to releasing the annual emissions of all the world’s operating coal power plants, according to a report.…Continue reading‘Climate bomb’ warning over $200bn wave of new gas projects
Consultancy firm McKinsey was paid $1.6m over 11 weeks to “inform” and “guide” Australian energy and climate policy, despite its work for the world’s biggest fossil fuel companies. The firm, whose…Continue readingMcKinsey paid $1.6m to ‘guide’ Australian climate policy despite working for fossil fuel companies
Delhi’s air pollution is so bad that it’s sometimes hard to discern anything more than a few meters in front of you. And it is affecting people’s health. Breathing is uncomfortable.…Continue readingDelhi’s annual air pollution has become a human-made calamity
Japan has recorded its warmest autumn since records began 126 years ago. “This year was 1.97 degrees Celsius higher than usual… making it the hottest autumn since 1898, when statistics began,”…Continue readingJapan witnesses warmest autumn on record
The first summer on record that melts practically all of the Arctic’s sea ice, an ominous milestone for the planet, could occur as early as 2027. For the first time, an…Continue readingCountdown to an ice-free Arctic: Research warns of accelerated timelines
Petrobras needs to be “as big as possible” to guarantee its long-term future, says the head of Brazil’s state-controlled oil major, as the company boosts investments in activities ranging from offshore…Continue readingPetrobras must be ‘as big as possible’, says chief of Brazilian oil major
Norway has suspended plans to start giving licenses for deep-sea mining next year. Norway had planned to become one of the world’s first countries to start handing out rights to tens…Continue readingNorway suspends deep-sea mining projects: govt allies
Some A$13 billion in taxpayer dollars and 30 years of policy reform have failed to arrest the devastating decline in the health of Australia’s most important river system, the Murray-Darling Basin,…Continue readingLandmark study reveals stark failure to halt Murray-Darling River decline
Land degradation is expanding worldwide at the rate of 1m sq km every year, undermining efforts to stabilise the climate, protect nature and ensure sustainable food supplies, a study has highlighted.…Continue readingLand degradation expanding by 1m sq km a year, study shows
Between 2000 and 2019, annual production of plastics doubled to 460 million tons. It is expected to reach 736 million tons by 2040, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and…Continue readingWhy is a global treaty on plastic pollution dividing the world?
BUSAN, South Korea — Global talks to forge a landmark treaty aimed at reducing plastic pollution broke down after negotiators from more than 170 countries remained deadlocked over how to curb…Continue readingDivided over whether to stop making plastic, U.N. treaty talks collapse
The world soccer governing body is under fire for agreeing to an enormous sponsorship deal that is in direct opposition to its and others’ climate action goals FIFA inked a four-year…Continue readingFIFA faces enormous backlash over decision to accept sponsorship deal: ‘Might as well pour oil on the pitch and set it alight’
Every year, billions of vehicles worldwide shed an estimated 6 million tons of tire fragments. These tiny flakes of plastic, generated by the wear and tear of normal driving, eventually accumulate…Continue readingCar tires shed a quarter of all microplastics in the environment. Urgent action is needed
Crunch United Nations talks to find funding to curb the destruction of nature will resume in Rome in February, the UN said on Thursday, after negotiations this month in Colombia ended…Continue readingCOP16 biodiversity talks to restart in February: UN
“Natural resources … are a gift from God. Every natural resource, whether it’s oil, gas, wind, sun, gold, silver, copper, they are all natural resources. Countries should not be blamed for…Continue readingFossil fuel supply: The elephant in the room at climate change conferences
More than 20 Rising Tide protesters have been arrested for blocking a road to federal Parliament House after they took their protest from Newcastle to Canberra on Wednesday. It comes after…Continue readingRising Tide protesters arrested in Canberra for blocking road to Parliament House
Australia’s richest person has won community backing to open a coal mine in Canada following a bitter five-year battle punctuated by allegations that the fossil fuel lobby secretly backed citizens’ groups…Continue readingAustralia’s richest woman wins vote for controversial Canadian coal mine
PFAS are a class of about 15,000 compounds typically used to make products that resist water, stains and heat. They are called “forever chemicals” because they do not naturally break down…Continue readingPFAS and microplastics become more toxic when combined, research shows
The world will be “unable to cope” with the sheer volume of plastic waste a decade from now unless countries agree to curbs on production, the co-chair of a coalition of…Continue readingWorld will be ‘unable to cope’ with volume of plastic waste in 10 years, warns expert
Protesters formed a “blockade” in the Port of Newcastle on Sunday in the third day of unrest, calling on the federal government to rule out new coal and gas mines and…Continue readingPolice arrest 170 at NSW Rising Tide protest as activists temporarily block coal ships
A group of prominent scientists, advocates and policy leaders have issued an open letter to the Executive Secretary of the UNFCCC Secretariat Simon Stiell as world leaders gather in Baku for…Continue readingGlobal climate leaders want COP29 to succeed but call for urgent overhaul of the process
Rich and poor countries concluded a trillion-dollar deal on the climate crisis in the early hours of Sunday morning, after marathon talks and days of bitter recriminations ended in what campaigners…Continue readingCOP29 agrees $1.3tn climate finance deal but campaigners brand it a ‘betrayal’
The fact that plastics pollute the environment and generate problems has been well-researched in many areas. However, there is little information on the impacts of plastics on climate and biodiversity. In…Continue readingPlastics contribute to ‘triple planetary crisis’ impacts
There are two main types of microplastics. One is primary microplastics, which are small to begin with, like the microbeads sometimes added to personal care products. Then there are secondary microplastics:…Continue readingExperts study where microplastics are winding up—and what risks they pose
A new study led by an international team of scientists highlights tire particles (TPs) as the leading contributor to microplastics and calls for urgent, targeted research to address their unique environmental…Continue readingResearchers call for recognition of tire particles as a distinct environmental threat
Lying just off the Canadian mainland, Qikiqtaruk is a mass of sediment and permafrost piled up during the last ice age. Despite its small size, the island is packed with immense…Continue reading‘The land is tearing itself apart’: life on a collapsing Arctic isle
Northvolt is filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy after Europe’s best-funded start-up and main hope for countering Asian dominance in electric vehicle batteries failed to agree a last-minute rescue package with investors.…Continue readingBattery start-up Northvolt files for bankruptcy protection
The Middle East and North Africa, which already include some of the hottest and driest spots on Earth, are undergoing accelerated climate change and will reach warming thresholds two to three…Continue readingStaggering temperature rise predicted for the Middle East and North Africa
BP and its partners have given the green light to a $7bn gas project in Indonesia. The project is an additional development of the Tangguh liquefied natural gas project in Papua,…Continue readingBP greenlights $7bn Indonesia gas project
Kuwait Petroleum Corp. plans to spend about 10 billion dinars ($33 billion) over five years to ramp up oil production capacity, betting on robust demand for decades to come. “We’re looking…Continue readingKuwait to Spend Over $30 Billion to Boost Oil in Bet on Demand
Reefs across the north of the Great Barrier Reef have seen “substantial losses” of coral cover after a summer of extreme heat, two cyclones and major flooding, according to the first…Continue reading‘Graveyard of corals’ found after extreme heat and cyclones hit northern Great Barrier Reef
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced a proposal Wednesday to protect a wide swath of giraffes under the Endangered Species Act, the first time the animal would receive protection under…Continue readingGiraffes are about to join the endangered species list
A new study led by researchers from ETH Zurich and Vrije Universiteit Brussel and published in The Cryosphere provides the most comprehensive projections to date, projecting the future of over 200,000…Continue readingGlobal glacier melt: Major mass loss expected by 2100
The research, led by the University of Bristol and published in Nature, compares for the first time how tiny ocean organisms called plankton responded when the world last warmed significantly in…Continue readingIce Age plankton model suggests sea life will struggle to survive future global warming
A new study published in Environmental Research Letters reveals that the severity of the state’s wildfires has rapidly increased over the last several decades, contributing to greater forest loss than would…Continue readingAs climate warms, California wildfires are becoming more severe, killing more trees
Ecuador has declared a 60-day state of emergency as the South American country has been hit by a severe drought and record wildfires that have razed large swaths of territory over…Continue readingEcuador declares 60-day state of emergency to help battle wildfires
Prolonged drought and extreme weather are forcing Canada to import electricity from the US after nearly two decades of exporting excess hydropower to its neighbour. Canada is the world’s third-largest producer…Continue readingCanada imports US electricity as droughts curb hydropower
For a while, it looked like Zambia had achieved a status that almost any nation would envy. Drawing hydropower from the massive Zambezi River and its tributaries, the country could meet…Continue readingWhy hydropower is failing this nation — and could fail others
An international team of scientists using observations from NASA-German satellites found evidence that Earth’s total amount of freshwater dropped abruptly starting in May 2014 and has remained low ever since. Reporting…Continue readingNASA satellites reveal abrupt drop in global freshwater levels
People involved in the negotiations about the future of the one-time big hope for Europe’s automotive industry said that its future was likely to be decided in the coming days after…Continue readingNorthvolt’s future hangs in balance as bankruptcy looms
Construction has started on a new, multi-billion-dollar refining and petrochemical complex in Fujian, China. The project involves a total investment of 71.1 billion yuan (US$9.9 billion), which is the largest industrial…Continue readingConstruction starts on $9.9bn petrochemical complex in China
Namibia could double its annual GDP growth to 8 per cent within a decade and reduce its dependence on diamonds because of new offshore oil and gas finds, according to the…Continue readingNamibia seeks to double GDP growth from oil and gas finds
About 150 miles south-east of the US city of New Orleans, Shell’s newest oil platform looms above the choppy waters of the Gulf of Mexico. Dubbed Vito, the structure embodies a…Continue readingOffshore oil is back. At what cost?
“The east African crude oil pipeline is ongoing,” Uganda’s energy minister Ruth Nankabirwa told the Financial Times at the COP29 climate summit in Baku, Azerbaijan. “We have invested a lot of…Continue readingUganda targets 2027 start for world’s longest heated oil pipeline
Saudi Arabia has been working to foil any agreements that renew a pledge to transition away from fossil fuels, according to negotiators, says the New York Times. Negotiators say it’s part…Continue readingSaudi Arabia is a ‘wrecking ball’ in global climate talks
Donald Trump’s nomination for energy secretary has connections to fracking operations for gas in the Beetaloo basin in the Northern Territory. Chris Wright is the chief executive of Liberty Energy, a…Continue readingTrump’s new energy tsar linked to fracking in Australia’s Beetaloo basin
Although many countries have explicitly promised to reduce fossil fuel subsidies to combat climate change, this has proven difficult to accomplish. As a result, fossil fuels remain relatively inexpensive, and their…Continue readingCountries spend huge sums on fossil fuel subsidies
As the COP29 summit in the Azerbaijani capital of Baku begins its second week, representatives from Vanuatu and Tuvalu have called on Australia to stop approving new fossil fuel developments, including…Continue readingAustralia accused of ‘exporting climate destruction’ on tiny Pacific neighbours with massive gas expansion plans
Relying on natural carbon sinks such as forests and oceans to offset continued fossil fuel emissions will not stop global heating, the scientists who developed net zero have warned. Each year,…Continue readingCountries could use nature to ‘cheat’ on net zero targets, scientists warn
Countries meeting in Azerbaijan to discuss a new global financial settlement for tackling the climate crisis must “cut the theatrics” and get down to serious business, the UN has said. The…Continue readingCOP29 delegates told to ‘cut the theatrics’ and tackle climate crisis
At least 480 lobbyists working on carbon capture and storage (CCS) have been granted access to the UN climate summit. CCS lobbyists at COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan, outnumber the core national…Continue readingAlmost 500 carbon capture lobbyists granted access to COP29 climate summit
The host country of this year’s UN climate summit, Azerbaijan, has rolled out “red carpet” treatment to fossil fuel bosses and lobbyists, the Guardian can reveal. At least 132 oil and…Continue readingFossil fuel bosses get ‘red carpet’ at COP29 despite concerns over influence
Argentinian negotiators representing the government of the climate science denier Javier Milei have been ordered to withdraw from the COP29 summit after only three days. More than 80 representatives from the…Continue readingArgentina withdraws negotiators from COP29 summit
At least 1,773 coal, oil, and gas lobbyists have been granted access to the United Nations climate talks in Baku, Azerbaijan. Those lobbyists outnumber the delegations of almost every country at…Continue readingOver 1,700 coal, oil and gas lobbyists granted access to COP29
Global carbon emissions from fossil fuels have reached a record high in 2024, according to new research by the Global Carbon Project science team. The 2024 Global Carbon Budget projects fossil…Continue readingFossil fuel CO₂ emissions increase again in 2024
Residents of India’s capital New Delhi choked in a blanketing toxic smog Wednesday as worsening air pollution surged past 50 times the World Health Organization’s recommended daily maximum. Many in the…Continue readingToxic smog smothering India’s capital smashes WHO limit
Punjab with a population of 127 million has been struggling to combat smog since last month. “Over 1.8 million people visited hospitals and private clinics in the smog-hit districts in Punjab…Continue readingGrowing pollution in Pakistan has sickened 1.8M people in a month
In 2020, more than a quarter of the Maldivian islands containing mangrove forests saw their trees experiencing a gradual deterioration before dying, a condition known as dieback. Mangroves play an essential…Continue reading‘Drowning’ mangrove forests in Maldives signal global coastal threat
Over the past five years, all bird species have faced population decline after suffering from habitat loss, pesticide use, climate breakdown and bird flu. Overall, bird species have declined in number…Continue readingWild bird numbers continue ‘alarming’ decline in UK
The iShares Global Clean Energy exchange-traded fund, which holds a broad basket of climate tech stocks, declined 6.5% in the 12 months to November 4, against a 26% rise for the…Continue readingTransition to clean energy falters as green tech funding falls short
Australia and Turkey are vying to host COP31, and the Australian government hopes Turkey will exit the race in time for an announcement before next week. The hypocrisy of Australia’s bid…Continue readingClimate criminal Australia competes to host Climate-COP
A new study published today in Nature Geoscience by Dr. Andrew Jarvis at Lancaster University and Professor Piers Forster at the University of Leeds shows that humans may have already caused…Continue readingHumans have already caused 1.5°C of long-term global warming according to new estimates
Azerbaijan’s president has branded oil and gas a “gift from God” as he welcomed delegates to the COP29 climate summit. The president of the oil and gas-rich country argued, as he…Continue readingCOP29 host Azerbaijan brands oil and gas ‘gift from God’
Every US state except Alaska and Kentucky is facing drought, an unprecedented number, according to the US Drought Monitor. A little more than 45% of the US and Puerto Rico is…Continue readingNearly all of US states are facing droughts, an unprecedented number
“We’ve broken the water cycle, destroyed ecosystems and contaminated groundwater,” Antonio Guterres said at the three-day summit in New York, which gathers some 6,500 participants including a dozen heads of state…Continue readingHumanity has ‘broken the water cycle,’ UN chief warns
A distinguished international team of scientists on Tuesday issued the starkest warning yet that human activity is pushing Earth into a climate crisis that could threaten the lives of up to…Continue reading‘We Are Afraid’: Scientists Issue New Warning As World Enters ‘Uncharted Climate Territory’
Highlights of Energy Law of the People’s Republic of China, adopted at the 12th meeting of the Standing Committee of the 14th National People’s Congress on November 8, 2024 –Continue readingNew Energy Law passed by People’s Republic of China
Papua New Guinea’s decision to pull out of an upcoming UN global climate summit due to frustration over “empty promises and inaction”. Prime minister James Marape announced in August the country…Continue reading‘A total waste of time’: why Papua New Guinea pulled out of COP29
The chief executive of COP29 has been filmed apparently agreeing to facilitate fossil fuel deals at the climate summit. The campaign group Global Witness posed undercover as a fake oil and…Continue readingCOP29 CEO filmed agreeing to facilitate fossil fuel deals at climate summit
Air pollution in Pakistan’s second biggest city Lahore soared on Saturday, with an official calling it a record high for the smog-choked mega city. For days, the city of 14 million…Continue readingPollution level in Pakistan megacity hits new high
The world is striving to reach net-zero emissions as we try to ward off dangerous global warming. But will getting to net-zero actually avert climate instability, as many assume? Our new…Continue readingEarth’s climate will keep changing long after humanity hits net-zero emissions
Nearly 1.4 million hectares of tree cover was lost between 2001 and 2020 in areas where mining and related activities have taken place, analysis of University of Maryland data by the…Continue readingMining eats into more of the world’s forests
A plan by climate activists to shut down the Port of Newcastle for 50 hours has been challenged by New South Wales police who have argued in a court challenge against…Continue readingNSW police take legal action to prevent climate activists blockading Port of Newcastle
Rescuers in Spain are battling to reach areas still cut off due to heavy rains as the death toll from catastrophic floods rose to 205 in Europe’s worst weather disaster in…Continue readingDeath toll from Spain floods passes 200
Europe’s largest oil and gas company reported adjusted earnings of $6 billion for the third quarter The biggest contributor to group profits was once again Shell’s integrated gas division, which reported…Continue readingShell is delivering on promise of ‘consistent’ returns, says chief executive
A global treaty to end plastic pollution may be in jeopardy, negotiators and environmentalists said Thursday, with new signs that countries may not be able to agree on production cuts. A…Continue readingNew doubt over production cuts in plastic pollution treaty
Governments risk another decade of failure on biodiversity loss, due to the slow implementation of an international agreement to halt the destruction of Earth’s ecosystems, experts have warned. Less than two…Continue readingAlarm grows over ‘disturbing’ lack of progress to save nature at COP16
With less than a month before the annual U.N. Climate Change Conference, China is so far defying pressure to set ambitious climate targets early and to do more to help poor…Continue readingChina resists mounting pressure to do more on climate change
Microplastics have been found throughout the human body — including inside lungs, blood and brains — and while it is not yet clear how harmful they are to our health, some…Continue readingHow harmful are microplastics to human health?
New global findings in the 8th annual indicator report of The Lancet Countdown on Health and Climate Change reveal that people in every country face record-breaking threats to health and survival…Continue readingExperts call for trillions of dollars spent on fossil fuels to be redirected
The concentration of planet-heating pollutants clogging the atmosphere hit record levels in 2023, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has said. It found carbon dioxide (CO2) is accumulating faster than at any…Continue readingPlanet-heating pollutants in atmosphere hit record levels in 2023
Oxfam’s research shows that that the richest 1%, made up of 77 million people including billionaires, millionaires and those earning $310,000 ($140,000 PPP) or more a year, accounted for 16% of…Continue readingCarbon emissions of richest 1% increase hunger, poverty and deaths
Share prices of US and European clean hydrogen companies have collapsed while projects have been delayed. Shares of hydrogen companies Plug Power, Ballard Power Systems and Green Hydrogen Systems have fallen…Continue readingUS and European hydrogen stock prices collapse as prospects deflate
Since 2016, 21 [US] states have passed a total of 56 laws criminalizing protest or dramatically increasing the penalties for engaging in it. The state of Alabama, for example, can now punish a…Continue readingOutrageous Anti-Protest Laws Can’t Silence the Climate Movement
Schoolchildren in Pakistan’s second-largest city of Lahore have been banned from outdoor exercise until January because of hazardous smog levels, officials said Friday. The eastern megacity near the border with India…Continue readingSmog in Pakistan megacity ends outdoor play for schoolkids
Biodiversity is declining more quickly within key protected areas than outside them, according to research that scientists say is a “wake-up call” to global leaders discussing how to stop nature loss…Continue readingBiodiversity declining even faster in ‘protected’ areas, scientists warn COP16
Human-caused climate change worsened floods that have killed hundreds of people and displaced millions in Cameroon, Chad, Niger, Nigeria and Sudan this year, according to a study published on Wednesday. A…Continue readingClimate change worsened deadly Africa floods
The dangers of a collapse of the main Atlantic Ocean circulation, known as AMOC, have been “greatly underestimated” and would have devastating and irreversible impacts, according to an open letter released…Continue reading‘We don’t know where the tipping point is’: climate expert on potential collapse of Atlantic circulation