The biggest and dirtiest secret of the energy market is that most of it is lost in generating, transmitting, distributing, and using it. Solving this problem would be revolutionary, reducing competition for resources that contributes to conflict as well as climate change. Energy is one of the most valuable businesses in the world, worth trillions...
Tag: renewableenergy
$1.6 billion ‘mega’ windfarm under threat over Tasmanian devil concerns
A massive $1.6 billion windfarm project is under threat over a seemingly small detail that has some up in arms. A $1.6 billion “mega” windfarm project is under threat over its potential impacts to a healthy population of Tasmanian devils. The controversial project proposed for the remote, privately owned, Robbins Island in Tasmania’s far northwest...
Coal mining, oil industries among main sources of increasing air pollution in Africa – study
A recent study published in the journal Nature Geoscience presents evidence that shows that the burning of biomass fuel for cooking, heating, and lighting, the crude oil exploitation and coal mining industries, as well as old vehicles being shipped in from Europe are causing severe deterioration of air quality in African countries. According to the article, particulate matter concentration levels in many African...
Atlantic Ocean circulation nearing ‘devastating’ tipping point, study finds
Collapse in system of currents that helps regulate global climate would be at such speed that adaptation would be impossible. The circulation of the Atlantic Ocean is heading towards a tipping point that is “bad news for the climate system and humanity”, a study has found. The scientists behind the research said they were shocked...
Carbon Colonialism, COP28 and the Climate Crisis
By Amy Goodman & Denis Moynihan Dubai, UAE – More than 100,000 people have descended on the United Nations climate summit here in Dubai, making it the largest ever. The goal of COP28, the 28th annual “Conference of Parties” to the climate negotiations, is to halt catastrophic climate change. As the impacts of the climate emergency become increasingly...
From wind-powered islands to urban forests: Positive environmental stories from 2023
Climate anxiety is very real, but these good news stories from throughout 2023 prove there is hope for our planet. Eco-anxiety, climate doom, environmental existential dread – as green journalists, we see these terms used a lot – and often feel them ourselves. While there’s a lot to be worried about when it comes to the...
“Historic” or “Historic Failure”? Fossil Fuels at COP28
Another climate change COP has come and gone. As has become quite common by now, a complex set of intergovernmental negotiations are ultimately reduced to a fight over one particular issue. At the UN Climate Change Conference in Dubai, UAE (COP28), this issue was the phasing out of fossil fuels. The decision adopted in Dubai...
Trade rules and climate change: Africa stands to lose from proposed WTO policy tools
The World Trade Organisation launched its Trade Policy Tools for Climate Action during the COP28 conference. International economic law expert Olabisi D. Akinkugbe discusses whether the new Trade Policy Tools benefit Africa. What are the WTO’s new Trade Policy Tools? The new tools offer opportunities for countries to mitigate the climate change effect of their trade practices....
Analysis: At COP28, Sultan al-Jaber got what the UAE wanted. Others leave it wanting much more
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — As the United Nations COP28 climate summit ended Wednesday, Sultan al-Jaber walked out with what the United Arab Emirates wanted all along — the prestige of hosting negotiations that got the world to agree to transition away from fossil fuels while still being able to pump ever-more oil. That...
To save the climate, change the game for petrostates
Future negotiations should focus more on reshaping incentives for oil and gas producing countries, and less on fulminating at their villainy. Daniel Litvin is the founder of Critical Resource and a visiting senior fellow at the Grantham Research Institute at LSE. He is the author of “Empires of Profit: Commerce, Conquest and Corporate Responsibility.” He...