In late December, China approved the world’s largest hydropower project to begin construction. The Motuo Project is expected to generate three times as much energy as the Three Gorges Dam located…Continue readingChina authorizes controversial hydropower project in landslide-prone region of Tibet
Tag: china
The latest deadline for countries to submit plans for slashing the greenhouse gas emissions fueling climate change has passed. Only 15 countries met it—less than 8% of the 194 parties currently…Continue readingOnly 15 countries have met the latest Paris agreement deadline. Is any nation serious about tackling climate change?
China’s coal plant construction surged last year to the highest level in almost a decade, conflicting with President Xi Jinping’s promise that carbon emissions would peak before 2030, researchers have said.…Continue readingChina’s construction of coal-fired power plants reaches highest in a decade
BMW has pledged to continue investing in combustion engine and hybrid technology as it warned of a “rollercoaster ride” in the US transition to electric vehicles following the return of Donald…Continue readingBMW bets on petrol cars as it warns of US ‘rollercoaster’ EV transition
U.N. officials have for several years reminded countries of a crucial looming opportunity to improve the planet’s climate trajectory — by submitting new national-level plans for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The…Continue readingMost of the world’s big polluters just blew off a major climate deadline
During the traditional 40-day period that runs before, during and after the holidays, some nine billion interprovincial passenger trips, on all forms of transport combined, are expected to be made, according…Continue readingMillions in China head home for Lunar New Year in ‘record high’ migration
The 2024 Global Water Monitor Report was produced by an international team of researchers from universities in Australia, Saudi Arabia, China, Germany and elsewhere. The team used data from thousands of…Continue readingClimate crisis ‘wreaking havoc’ on Earth’s water cycle
Thirteen of the ports with the highest supertanker traffic will be seriously damaged by just 1 metre of sea level rise, the analysis found. The researchers said two low-lying ports in…Continue reading‘Ironic’: climate-driven sea level rise will overwhelm major oil ports
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
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
“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
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
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
All over Europe alarm bells are ringing over the state of winter snow sports and fears for the future. In France, the ski resorts of Alpe du Grand Serre and Grand…Continue readingFears for future of ski tourism as resorts adapt to thawing snow season
The world’s energy watchdog has signalled a new energy era in which countries have access to more oil, gas and coal than needed to fuel their economic growth, leading to lower…Continue readingFossil fuels could become cheaper and more abundant, says IEA
It begins each day at nightfall. As the light disappears, billions of zooplankton, crustaceans and other marine organisms rise to the ocean surface to feed on microscopic algae, returning to the…Continue readingTrees and land absorbed almost no CO₂ last year. Is nature’s carbon sink failing?
Microplastic particles turned up in the vast majority of waste samples taken from Hong Kong wildlife in a Greenpeace study, the group said Monday, suggesting that animals still ingest plastics even…Continue readingGreenpeace sounds alarm on microplastics ingested by Hong Kong wildlife
Halfway through the peak flood season, China has already experienced the highest number of significant floods since record keeping began in 1998, and the hottest July since 1961, authorities said on…Continue readingChina sees highest number of significant floods since records began
Torrential rains in China have killed at least 30 people and left dozens more missing, state media said Thursday, as the country grinds through another summer of extreme weather. Confirmation of…Continue reading30 dead, dozens missing after torrential rain in central China
Nickel has upended life on the Indonesian islands of Sulawesi, Halmahera and Obi. Over a decade the region has gone from modest ore exporter to the world’s foremost refiner of the…Continue readingCheap coal, cheap workers, Chinese money: Indonesia’s nickel success comes at a price
Central China’s Henan Province has become ground zero for an ongoing deluge of rain that has hit the area stretching from Sichuan Basin to Huanghuai region, with multiple parts of the…Continue readingRecord-breaking rainfalls hit cities in C.China’s Henan
Flash floods in northern and southwest China have killed at least 20 people and left dozens missing, state media said Saturday, after a week of deadly downpours across the country. Several…Continue readingFlash floods across China kill at least 20, dozens missing
Solar-panel supply globally is forecast to reach 1,100 gigawatts by the end of this year — three times more than demand, the International Energy Agency wrote in a report released in…Continue readingChina has flooded the market with so many solar panels that people are using them as garden fencing
Chinese manufacturers seem to have made too many solar panels, according to the US, the European Union, and their allies. They’re now calling on Beijing to rein in the overcapacity of…Continue readingChina made so many solar panels that even its own grid can’t support all the energy produced
Aramco has announced contracts totalling over $25bn to advance its gas expansion in Saudi Arabia, aiming for more than a 60% increase in sales gas production by 2030 compared to 2021…Continue readingAramco announces $25bn contracts to advance gas expansion in Saudi Arabia
The world faces a “staggering” surplus of oil equating to millions of barrels a day by the end of the decade, as oil companies increase production the International Energy Agency has…Continue readingWorld faces ‘staggering’ oil glut by end of decade, energy watchdog warns
An activist with an environmental group campaigning to block a $5bn internationally financed oil pipeline running through Uganda has been released from detention, his employer says. The Environmental Governance Institute (EGI)…Continue readingDetained Uganda anti-pipeline activist released
A report by Global Energy Monitor found that coal power capacity grew by 2% last year, driven by an increase in new coal plants across China and a slowdown of plant…Continue readingWorld’s coal power capacity rises despite climate warnings
About 44% of migratory species across the world are in decline while 20% the threat of all-out extinction, according to a new report from the United Nations. About 14% of migratory…Continue readingWhy are one-fifth of the world’s migratory species facing extinction?
Planet-heating methane released by the fossil fuel industry rose to near record highs in 2023 despite technology available to curb this pollution at virtually no cost, the International Energy Agency said…Continue readingMethane emissions from energy sector rose in 2023: IEA
More than 20 stations posted all-time December lows in the early hours of Thursday. They included Hohhot, capital of the northern Inner Mongolia region, where a reading of -29.1 degrees Celsius…Continue readingMore records tumble as China cold snap persists
China’s weather office has said “foggy and hazy” conditions are prevalent in the capital Beijing, the megacity of Tianjin, and parts of the provinces of Hebei, Shandong and Hubei, home to…Continue readingChina’s smog problem
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged the world Monday to “stop the madness” of climate change as he visited Himalayan regions struggling from rapidly melting glaciers to witness the devastating impact of…Continue readingUN chief urges world to ‘stop the madness’ of climate change
The ocean floor is shaping up to be the world’s next theater of global resource competition — and China is set to dominate it. The sea is believed to hold several…Continue readingChina is set to dominate the deep sea and its wealth of rare metals
TotalEnergies has signed a 27-year agreement with Qatar to secure liquefied natural gas, extending France’s commitment to fossil fuels beyond 2050 in one of the longest ever LNG supply deals. Qatar…Continue readingFrance’s Total signs 27-year LNG deal with Qatar
If global temperatures increase by 2°C above pre-industrial levels, the 2.2 billion residents of Pakistan and India’s Indus River Valley, the one billion people living in eastern China and the 800…Continue readingClimate-driven extreme heat may make parts of Earth too hot for humans
Record rainfall in Hong Kong caused widespread flooding in the early hours of Friday, disrupting road and rail traffic just days after the city dodged major damage from a super typhoon.…Continue readingRecord rainfall causes flooding in Hong Kong days after typhoon
China is approving new coal power projects at the equivalent of two plants every week. In 2022 the government approved a record-breaking 106 gigawatts (GW) of new coal-fired power capacity. One…Continue readingChina continues coal spree despite climate goals
Dressed in a full-body protective suit, an elderly pest control worker could last no more than 15 minutes spraying pesticide along a Hong Kong pavement before the summer heat became too…Continue reading‘In a sauna’: Hong Kong’s laborers swelter as temperatures rise
Demand reached an all-time high of 103mn barrels a day in June driven by better than expected economic growth in OECD countries, strong summer air travel and surging oil consumption in…Continue readingGlobal oil demand hits record and may move higher, says International Energy Agency
Chinese social media users have reacted angrily to comments from a local Communist party official suggesting that the city of Zhuozhou and other flood-hit areas near Beijing should be used as…Continue readingAnger in China over plan to use cities as ‘moat’ to save Beijing from floods
Millions of people have been hit by extreme weather events and prolonged heatwaves around the globe in recent weeks, events that scientists say are being exacerbated by climate change. And the…Continue readingStreets become rivers as Beijing records heaviest rain in 140 years
Beijing broke a 23-year-old record on Tuesday with 27 consecutive days of temperatures above 35˚C, the China Meteorological Administration said. The temperature recorded by Beijing’s benchmark weather station in its southern…Continue readingBeijing swelters under record-breaking run of extreme heat
China Tourists flocked to a giant thermometer in China showing surface temperatures of 80 degrees Celsius (176 degress Fahrenheit) on Wednesday, the latest extreme weather sparking havoc and curiosity around the…Continue readingHeatwaves set more records across Europe, Asia and US
Extreme rainfall accompanied by deadly flooding hit the United States and several other countries over the weekend and last week. In the U.S., flooding claimed five lives in Upper Makefield Township,…Continue readingDeadly flooding hit several countries at once. Scientists say this will only be more common
Carbon emissions from China are growing faster now than before COVID-19 struck, data show, dashing hopes the pandemic may have put the world’s most polluting nation on a new emissions trajectory.…Continue readingChina is pumping out carbon emissions as if COVID never happened. That’s bad news for the climate crisis
“The world just had the hottest week on record, according to preliminary data,” the WMO said in a statement, after climate change and the early stages of the El Nino weather…Continue readingLast week the hottest worldwide on record: UN
China issued its highest-level heat alert for northern parts of the country on Friday as the capital baked in temperatures hovering around 40˚C (104˚F). A day earlier Beijing logged its hottest…Continue readingBeijing issues highest heat alert as north China swelters
Shenhai-1 marks China’s first independently developed ultra-deepwater energy station, which has become operational in June 2021. The second phase of Shenhai-1 will boost peak annual output of the gas field from…Continue readingChina expands Shenhai-1 gas field in South China Sea with eye on Greater Bay Area energy transition
Qatar has secured a second huge gas supply deal with a Chinese state-controlled company in less than a year, in a sign of the energy-hungry Asia power rushing to secure long-term…Continue readingQatar strikes second big LNG supply deal with China
Temperatures in Beijing hit a record for mid-June of 39.4 degrees Celsius (103 Fahrenheit) on Friday, China’s meteorological authority said, warning the public to stay indoors. More than two million square…Continue readingBeijing roasts in record mid-June temperatures
The researchers were able to identify the country of origin for 232 objects, with the largest percentage being from Japan at 33.6%. China was next at 32.3% followed by South Korea…Continue readingMore than 90% of identifiable trash in North Pacific Garbage Patch comes from just six countries
Huawei said the new methods had increased output per shift by almost a third. According to official figures, China had 4,400 coal mines at the end of 2022. But Huawei’s involvement…Continue reading‘Smart mines’ show coal deeply embedded in China’s future
Local governments in energy-hungry Chinese provinces approved at least 20.45 gigawatts (GW) of coal-fired power in the first three months of 2023, Greenpeace said. That is more than double the 8.63…Continue readingChina approves coal power surge despite emissions pledge: Greenpeace
Extreme temperatures described as ‘worst April heatwave in Asian history’ as records threatened in India, China, Thailand and Laos.Continue readingSevere heatwave engulfs Asia causing deaths and forcing schools to close
A total of 106 GW of new coal power projects were approved in 2022—the equivalent of two large coal plants per week.Continue readingChina ramps up coal plant approvals despite emissions pledge: report
Oil companies plan to pump crude oil from Lake Albert, Uganda to the coast of neighbouring Tanzania, with the goal of producing 1.4bn barrels over the next two decades. But the…Continue readingCounting the cost of Uganda’s east Africa oil pipeline – in pictures
QatarEnergy entered into a 27-year Sale and Purchase Agreement (SPA) with China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation (Sinopec) for the supply of 4 million tons per annum (MTPA) of LNG (liquid natural…Continue readingQatarenergy and Sinopec sign a 27-year 4 million tons per annum LNG supply agreement to China
The Ugandan government has secured support from the African, Caribbean, Pacific -European Union (ACP-EU) for proceeding with the East African crude oil pipeline project (EACOP), a 1,443km (896 mile) long pipeline…Continue readingUganda secures support from ACP-EU for East African crude oil pipeline
Human-driven climate change made the droughts that gripped large swaths of Europe, China and North America this year at least 20 times more likely, an international group of scientists has concluded.…Continue reading2022 droughts ‘virtually impossible without climate change’, study finds
China needs up to $17 trillion in additional investments for green infrastructure and technology in the power and transport sectors to meet its goal of net-zero emissions by 2060, a World…Continue readingChina needs $17 trillion to meet climate goals
China recorded its highest temperatures and one of its lowest levels of rainfall in 61 years during a two-month summer heatwave. The average national temperature in August, 22.4˚C, was 1.2˚C higher…Continue readingChina reports ‘most severe’ heatwave and third driest summer on record
Two months of scorching heatwaves and drought plunged China into an energy security crisis. The energy crisis has seen Beijing shift its political discourse and proclaim energy security as a more…Continue readingChina’s energy crisis sees the world’s top emitter investing in more coal
PetroChina Co., Sinopec and Cnooc Ltd. each said they made historic amounts of money in the January-to-June period. PetroChina’s chairman said government stimulus packages are bolstering oil demand, while top refiner…Continue readingChina’s oil giants post record profits on surging fuel prices
A giant, gentle sea creature that belongs to the manatee family is now “functionally extinct” in China with no sightings recorded since 2008, a new study said. The dugong, a strictly…Continue reading‘Charismatic’ dugong sea mammal declared functionally extinct in China
People in large parts of China have been experiencing two months of extreme heat. Hundreds of places have reported temperatures of more than 40°C (104°F), and many records have been broken.…Continue readingHeatwave in China is the most severe ever recorded in the world
To understand why it is proving so hard to break up with coal, we worked with an international team of around 35 researchers to investigate the political economy drivers of its…Continue readingMany countries continue to invest in coal
Japan has begun restarting nuclear plants that have been idle since the 2011 Fukushima disaster, with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida pledging to get at least nine reactors up and running by…Continue readingAsia goes nuclear
More than 900 million Chinese, about 65% of the population, are living under some kind of heat warning. Temperatures have reached, or exceeded, the highs that have recently tormented parts of…Continue readingHotter, Longer and More Widespread Heat Waves Scorch China
China’s year-old carbon market has given more than 2,000 power plants a taste of emissions trading, but design flaws and data fraud have meant limited large-scale greenhouse gas reductions and environmental…Continue readingA year on, China’s CO₂ market fails to drive big emission cuts
In the first quarter of 2022, Chinese regulators gave the green light to coal plants with a total capacity of 8.63 gigawatts. That is nearly half of the entire coal-fired capacity…Continue readingChina speeding up approvals for new coal plants
Mongolia expects Russia to begin construction of the “Power of Siberia 2” gas pipeline through its territory to China within two years, as Moscow moves to connect its Europe-supplying gasfields to…Continue readingMongolia says Russia-China gas pipeline will break ground in 2024
United States: In Texas, temperatures hit triple digits Fahrenheit over the weekend, with some places breaking century-old records. On Saturday, Waco reached 108˚F (42˚C), smashing the 104˚F (40˚C) high set in…Continue readingHeatwaves in the US, China and Spain
Hundreds of thousands of people have been evacuated from their homes in southern China, according to state media, amid floods and landslides triggered by the heaviest rainfall the region has seen…Continue readingHundreds of thousands evacuated in China amid heavy rains, floods
“China’s influence on coal markets is difficult to overstate”, says the International Energy Agency’s Coal 2021 report, which was published in mid-December China’s overall coal use (i.e, power plus non-power) accounts…Continue readingGlobal coal consumption: Spotlight on China’s consumption for power generation
After two years of delays, governments had been scheduled to meet in Kunming, China, for COP15 in late April to negotiate this decade’s targets to halt and reverse the rampant destruction…Continue reading‘Sleeping through extinction’: China urged to end delays to COP15 summit
Chinese leaders pledged ahead of climate negotiations in Glasgow, Scotland, last November to peak national emissions before 2030 and stop building coal power plants abroad. A study published Friday indicates that…Continue readingWith coal surge, China puts energy security and growth before climate
China is in the throes of a building boom to jump start its economy. The government of President Xi Jinping has “scrambled in recent months to try to reverse a slowdown”…Continue readingChina doubles down on coal
The Mekong dolphin population has long been IUCN red-listed as Critically Endangered. The last known river dolphin in the transboundary pool on the Cambodia-Laos border was found dead on February 15,…Continue readingDeath of the last known river dolphin in the transboundary pool in the Mekong between Laos and Cambodia
China will help its coal-fired power plants run at full capacity, the government has announced, raising further alarm about the fate of Beijing’s climate pledges. It was decided in the Monday…Continue readingChinese government to help run coal power plants at full capacity
From the U.S. to China, in Europe, India and Japan, fossil fuels are staging a comeback, clean energy stocks are taking a hammering, and the prospects for speeding the transition to…Continue readingThe great climate backslide: How governments are regressing worldwide
China’s coal production reached record levels last year as the state encouraged miners to ramp up their fossil fuel output to safeguard the country’s energy supplies through the winter gas crisis.…Continue readingChina’s coal production hit record levels in 2021
China, under fire for approving new coal power stations as other countries try to curb greenhouse gases, has completed the first 1,000-megawatt unit of the Shanghaimiao plant, the biggest of its…Continue readingChina fires up giant coal power plant in face of calls for cuts
TotalEnergies & China’s CNOOC will drill more than 431 wells in Uganda and pump the crude in a pipeline heated to 50˚C 1,450km (900 miles) to a port in Tanzania. The…Continue readingThe East African Pipeline
Taiyuan, the capital of Shanxi, recorded rainfall of 185mm, about seven times the pre-2010 average for October. Shanxi is a land-locked province SW of Beijing. About 1.75 million people have been…Continue readingFloods in China
China’s promise to stop financing coal power abroad is a positive step, but researchers say the emissions savings pale in comparison to those from its domestic coal use. “China is a…Continue readingChina’s pledge on overseas coal — by the numbers
Friday August 12: The heavy rainfall, expected to continue through Friday night, has brought about 20 inches (510mm) of rain to areas of Hubei since Wednesday, officials said. Four people were…Continue readingFlooding in China kills 21, as thousands escape to shelters
A year’s worth of rain – 640mm – fell in just three days.Continue readingDeath toll rises and thousands flee homes as floods hit China