British Steel’s plant in Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire, employs 2,700 people, about three-quarters of the company’s entire workforce. It is the last plant in the UK capable of producing virgin steel, which is…Continue readingWhy did the government take control of British Steel?
Tag: coal
US President Donald Trump on Tuesday signed executive orders to “turbocharge coal mining” in the country, seeking to “more than double” electricity production to keep up with power-hungry artificial intelligence technology.…Continue readingTrump signs executive order to ‘turbocharge’ coal mining across the US
Donald Trump’s new tariffs are set to pummel the renewable energy industry, threatening to push up prices, disrupt supply chains and undercut US ambitions to lead the artificial intelligence revolution, clean-technology…Continue readingDonald Trump’s tariff blitz sparks turmoil for green energy sector
The climate crisis is on track to destroy capitalism, a top insurer has warned, with the vast cost of extreme weather impacts leaving the financial sector unable to operate. The world…Continue readingClimate crisis on track to destroy capitalism, warns top insurer
Lahore’s 14 million residents spent six months breathing concentrations of PM2.5—tiny particles that can penetrate the lungs and bloodstream—at levels 20 times or more than recommended by the World Health Organization.…Continue reading‘Really suffocating’: Pakistan emerges from record smog season
Nearly every country on Earth has dirtier air than doctors recommend breathing, a report has found. Only seven countries met the World Health Organization’s guidelines for tiny toxic particles known as…Continue readingOnly seven countries worldwide meet WHO dirty air guidelines, study shows
The world needs more planet-heating fossil fuel, not less, Donald Trump’s newly appointed energy secretary, Chris Wright, told oil and gas bigwigs on Monday. “The Trump administration will treat climate change…Continue readingWhat the world needs now is more fossil fuels, says Trump’s energy secretary
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
A Czech billionaire is accelerating his “contrarian approach” of acquiring carbon-intensive assets outside the EU, which has been given a boost by Donald Trump’s election as US president and promotion of…Continue readingCzech coal and gas investor Pavel Tykač sees vindication in Trump’s White House return
A climate activist who graffitied the word “liar” on the federal environment minister’s office has stood by his highly publicised actions, urging the public to stand up for their beliefs. The…Continue readingClimate activist who graffitied Tanya Plibersek’s office says he stands by his actions
Climate breakdown drove the annual global temperature above the internationally agreed 1.5˚C target for the first time last year, supercharging extreme weather and causing “misery to millions of people”. The average…Continue readingHottest year on record sent planet past 1.5˚C of heating for first time in 2024
Texas and 10 other Republican-led states are suing BlackRock, State Street and Vanguard, alleging they conspired to curtail coal supplies to further “a destructive, politicised environmental agenda”. The federal antitrust lawsuit…Continue readingRepublican US states sue BlackRock for ‘destructive’ green agenda
The Air Quality Index (AQI) is a measure of pollution in the air, with higher numbers indicating greater health risks. Levels above 300 are considered dangerous. “Stuff I could never even…Continue reading‘Trapped inside’: The children suffocating in the smog of Lahore
Forty people, aged from 22 to 58, will be behind bars on Christmas Day for planning or taking part in a variety of protests relating to the climate crisis or the…Continue readingRecord number of protesters will be in UK prisons this Christmas
The Albanese government has approved the expansion of four coalmines that climate campaigners estimate will release more than 850 megatonnes of CO2 over their lifetime – equivalent to almost double Australia’s…Continue readingAustralian government approves four coalmine expansions
British police arrest environmental protesters at nearly three times the global average rate, research has found, revealing the country as a world leader in the legal crackdown on climate activism. Only…Continue readingBritain leads the world in cracking down on climate activism, study finds
Queensland’s environment minister has told parliament he stands by his comments more than a decade ago that he was “a bit sceptical” about human involvement in climate change. Griffith University emeritus…Continue readingAustralian Queensland environment minister stands by ‘scepticism’ about human-induced climate change
As the Danish renewable energy company Ørsted battled to restore its reputation following a bruising year, a rival across the North Sea had the company in its sights. After months of…Continue readingHow the world’s biggest offshore wind company was blown off course
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?
“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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
Foreign aid for fossil fuel projects quadrupled in a single year, a report has found, rising from $1.2bn in 2021 to $5.4bn in 2022. The report found the top five funders…Continue readingForeign aid for fossil fuel projects quadrupled in a single year
We are seeing unprecedented rapidly intensifying tropical storms such as Hurricane Helene in the eastern United States and Super Typhoon Yagi in Vietnam. Unprecedented fires in Canada have destroyed towns. Unprecedented…Continue readingUnprecedented peril: Disaster lies ahead as we track towards 2.7°C of warming this century, researchers warn
An international coalition led by Oregon State University scientists concludes in its annual report published in BioScience that the Earth’s worsening vital signs indicate a “critical and unpredictable new phase of…Continue readingClimate report warns of escalating crisis, urges immediate action as UN summit nears
Many of Earth’s “vital signs” have hit record extremes, indicating that “the future of humanity hangs in the balance”, a group of the world’s most senior climate experts have said. More…Continue readingEarth’s ‘vital signs’ show humanity’s future in balance
Wildfires are burning through the carbon budget that humans have allocated themselves to limit global heating, a study shows. The authors said this accelerating trend was approaching – and may have…Continue readingWildfires are burning through humanity’s carbon budget
Rationing of goods such as meat and fuel can both effectively and fairly reduce consumption with high climate impact. Almost 40% of the public say they could accept such measures. These…Continue readingStudy finds about 40% of public supports rationing measures to fight climate change
The sentences were handed down just as Hurricane Helene hit North Carolina. As homes were smashed, trucks swept down roads that had turned into rivers and residents were killed, in the…Continue readingAs the waters rise, a two-year sentence for throwing soup. That’s the farcical reality of British justice.
The environment minister, Tanya Plibersek, approved three coalmine expansions on Tuesday. The Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF) said the three projects, all in New South Wales, would generate more than 1.3bn tonnes…Continue readingTanya Plibersek approves three coalmine expansions
More than $650bn (£494bn) a year in public subsidies goes to fossil fuel companies, intensive agriculture and other harmful industries in the developing world, new data has shown. The subsidies entrench…Continue readingMore than £494bn subsidies a year in developing world harmful to climate
Fossil fuel companies pumped at least $5.6bn (£4.2bn) of sponsorship money into motorsports, football, golf and even snow sports in an effort to “buy social licence to operate”, according to a…Continue readingFossil fuel companies sponsor $5.6bn in global ‘sportswashing’ deals
Australia is one of the world’s largest exporters of fossil fuels. While this coal and gas is burned beyond our borders, the climate-warming carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions affect us all. My…Continue readingDug up in Australia, burned around the world—exporting fossil fuels undermines climate targets
A world where global mean surface temperature has increased 3°C will be characterized by widespread and intense heat stress, extreme weather events, ruptured and unproductive marine and terrestrial ecosystems, broken food…Continue readingEarth at risk: An urgent call to end the age of destruction and forge a just & sustainable future
Global emissions of methane, a powerful planet-heating gas, are “rising rapidly” at the fastest rate in decades, requiring immediate action to help avert a dangerous escalation in the climate crisis, a…Continue readingGlobal methane emissions rising at fastest rate in decades
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
Australia’s big four banks are in “complete violation” of commitments to the Paris climate accord by funding fossil fuel expansion even as their overall lending to the sector continues to ebb,…Continue readingAustralia’s big banks lent $3.6bn to fossil fuel expansion projects in 2023
Brad Homewood describes his first steps into a maximum security facility, where he spent the first three weeks of a two-month jail sentence, as intimidating. “You’re in there with the worst…Continue readingClimate activists have received months-long sentences. Are tougher laws eroding Australians’ right to protest?
A rolling series of protests has seen at least 26 people arrested – and more than 200 passenger trains cancelled – over a two-week period. Planned by Blockade Australia, whose protest…Continue readingBlockade Australia plans more climate protests disrupting Newcastle trains, saying disobedience is the only option
President Joe Biden’s signature climate law is nearly two years old, and the tug-of-war over its future is only getting more fierce. The Biden administration is facing election year pressure from…Continue readingGas, greens and brownouts: The energy war is boiling over
The staggering electricity demand needed to power next-generation technology is forcing the US to rely on yesterday’s fuel source: coal. Retirement dates for the country’s ageing coal fleet are getting pushed…Continue readingUS slows plans to retire coal plants as power demand from AI surges
Researchers for the banking on climate chaos report, now in its 15th edition, analysed the world’s top 60 banks’ underwriting and lending to more than 4,200 fossil fuel firms and companies…Continue readingBanks have given almost $7tn to fossil fuel firms since Paris deal
By the middle of the century, global emissions from plastic production could triple, an analysis has found. The stunning new estimates from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, published on Wednesday, provide yet…Continue readingPlastic-production emissions could triple
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
Pointing to the still paltry share of renewable energy in global supply, the head of Saudi Aramco described the current energy transition strategy as a misguided failure. “In the real world,…Continue readingSaudi Aramco CEO calls energy transition strategy a failure
The data supplied to the UNFCCC, and published on its website, are typically out of date, inconsistent, and incomplete. For most countries, “I would not put much value, if any, on…Continue readingNations Are Undercounting Emissions, Putting UN Goals at Risk
Climate activists in four countries are blocking access to North Sea oil infrastructure as part of a coordinated pan-European civil disobedience protest. Blockades have been taking place at oil and gas…Continue readingClimate activists across Europe block access to North Sea oil infrastructure
Germany’s greenhouse gas emissions dropped by one-tenth last year as renewable energy grew in importance, the use of coal and gas diminished and economic pressures weighed on businesses and consumers. Germany…Continue readingGerman greenhouse gas emissions dropped sharply last year
Geologists on an international subcommission recently voted down a proposal to formally recognize that we have entered the Anthropocene, a new geological epoch representing the time when massive, unrelenting human impacts…Continue readingViewpoint: What the Anthropocene’s critics overlook, and why it really should be a new geological epoch
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
Oxford university has come under heavy criticism after its £6bn endowment fund increased its investment in fossil fuels just a few years after making a landmark commitment to divestment. About £1 out of…Continue readingOxford under fire for increasing fossil fuel investments
The Queensland government approved the Vulcan South coalmine in the Bowen Basin earlier this month without requiring an environmental impact statement (EIS). But the project still needs approval from the federal…Continue readingTanya Plibersek urged to block ‘climate-wrecking’ Queensland coalmine that would raze koala habitat
Global consumption of coal reached an all-time high in 2023, the IEA energy watchdog said Friday, as Earth experienced its hottest recorded year. The International Energy Agency reported that nations would…Continue readingCoal use hits record in 2023, Earth’s hottest year
The failure of COP28 to call for a phase-out of fossil fuels is “devastating” and “dangerous” given the urgent need for action to tackle the climate crisis, scientists have said. One called it…Continue readingFailure of Cop28 on fossil fuel phase-out is ‘devastating’, say scientists
Climate agreement may fail to result in falls in oil and gas production. The world’s largest oil producers have saluted the COP28 agreement’s focus on an “orderly” move away from fossil…Continue readingBig oil welcomes COP28 call to move away from fossil fuels in ‘orderly’ way
Australia passed breakthrough climate laws in March this year, 10 months after a new centre-left Labor government under Prime Minister Anthony Albanese took office. Even as the Albanese government passed its…Continue readingAustralia is preparing to burn – more fossil fuels
Nearly 200 nations meeting in Dubai on Wednesday approved a first-ever call for the world to transition away from fossil fuels. The biggest-ever COP meeting hosted more than 88,000 people, including…Continue readingDubai summit adopts world-first ‘transition’ from fossil fuels
The world is on track to have burned more coal, oil and gas in 2023 than it did in 2022, according to a report by the Global Carbon Project, pumping 1.1%…Continue readingGlobal carbon emissions from fossil fuels to hit record high
The president of COP28, Sultan Al Jaber, has claimed there is “no science” indicating that a phase-out of fossil fuels is needed to restrict global heating to 1.5˚C, the Guardian and…Continue readingCOP28 president says there is ‘no science’ behind demands for phase-out of fossil fuels
The vast amount of electricity that India’s growing number of ACs will require presents a significant challenge. Already during peak summertime hours, ACs have accounted for 40% to 60% of total…Continue reading‘A matter of survival’: India’s unstoppable need for air conditioners
Fine particulate matter, or PM2.5, is a term for fine particulates that are typically the by-product of car exhausts or coal-fired power plants. Their tiny size enables them to travel deep…Continue readingAir pollution behind over 250,000 deaths in Europe in 2021: agency
UK-based mining company Anglo American has secured mining lease approval for the expansion of its Lake Lindsay coal mine in Australia. The mining lease for the coal mine expansion was granted…Continue readingAnglo American gets mining lease for Lake Lindsay coal mine expansion
The world’s fossil fuel producers are planning expansions that would blow the planet’s carbon budget twice over, a UN report has found. Experts called the plans “insanity” which “throw humanity’s future…Continue reading‘Insanity’: petrostates planning huge expansion of fossil fuels
Plastics-related carbon footprints of China’s transportation, Indonesia’s electronics industry and India’s construction sector have increased more than 50-fold since 1995. In 2015, plastics caused 4.5% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Moreover,…Continue readingGrowing environmental footprint of plastics driven by coal combustion
Urgewald, a campaign group that tracks global fossil fuel finance, found that the World Bank supplied about $3.7bn (£2.95bn) in trade finance in 2022 that was likely to have ended up…Continue readingWorld Bank spent billions of dollars backing fossil fuels in 2022
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
Fossil fuels benefited from record subsidies of $13 million (£10.3m) a minute in 2022, according to the International Monetary Fund, despite being the primary cause of the climate crisis. The IMF…Continue readingFossil fuels being subsidised at rate of $13m a minute
Australian Pacific Coal has received a non-binding letter of intent from a major commodities trading firm, for up to $50m in debt funding to support the restart of Dartbrook underground coal…Continue readingAustralian Pacific Coal secures $50m funding commitment to restart Dartbrook mine
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
Whitehaven in its statement said: “High-quality thermal coal has an important role to play in providing energy security during the decarbonisation transition.”Continue readingWhitehaven coal wins legal battle for extension of Narrabri underground mine
UN secretary-general António Guterres attacked oil and gas industry attempts to justify fossil fuel expansion with carbon capture technology as “proposals to become more efficient planet wreckers”, in a speech that…Continue readingUN chief attacks oil and gas industry ‘planet wreckers’ over fossil fuel expansion
Trillions of dollars of subsidies for fossil fuels, farming and fishing are causing “environmental havoc”, according to the World Bank, severely harming people and the planet. The “toxic” subsidies total at…Continue readingVast fossil fuel and farming subsidies causing ‘environmental havoc’
Already, the Beijing office of Greenpeace is sounding the alarm. In the first three months of 2023, provincial governments in China approved more new coal-fired electricity generation than they did in…Continue readingChina ramps up coal power while pushing for renewables
The United Arab Emirates’ state oil company has been able to read emails to and from the COP28 climate summit office and was consulted on how to respond to a media…Continue reading‘Absolute scandal’: UAE state oil firm able to read COP28 climate summit emails