Since 2013, public finance from China, Japan and South Korea accounted for more than 95% of total foreign financing toward coal-fired power plants. This financing enabled the construction and operation of coal power plants in developing countries, where investment in power supply does not match demand. By Shuang Liu, Ye Wang and Yan Wang World Resources Institute These investments also […]
Translating complex climate science into language people understand has always been difficult. At various times, the aim of different climate policies has been holding average global temperature rise to 2°C or 1.5°C, or ensuring emissions peak by a particular year. Net zero targets are the most recent attempt to simplify the climate crisis in order […]
Around the globe, concern is mounting about the unfolding climate and ecological catastrophe. Yet the extraction of natural resources through mining and energy projects continues on a large scale, with disastrous environmental consequences. By Judith Verweijen, University of Sheffield and Alexander Dunlap, University of Oslo The Conversation To understand how this is possible, one place […]
Around the globe, concern is mounting about the unfolding climate and ecological catastrophe. Yet the extraction of natural resources through mining and energy projects continues on a large scale, with disastrous environmental consequences. By Judith Verweijen, University of Sheffield and Alexander Dunlap, University of Oslo The Conversation To understand how this is possible, one place […]
West Cumbria suffered a “once-in-a-thousand-year” flood in 2009. And then again in 2015. And 2019. No, it’s not that meteorologists can’t count. Climate change is increasing the risk of precisely the kind of intense downpours that triggered these floods, so that once-freak weather events now happen far more regularly. By Myles Allen, University of Oxford […]
We’re announcing retiring coal plants #332, 333, and 334 in the US! After years of advocacy by The Sierra Club & partners, Talen Energy will retire the Brandon Shores and Wagner plants in MD and Montour in PA, and will also build 1 GW of solar & storage. By Mary Ann Hitt The Sierra Club […]
255 premature deaths. 4,233 asthma attacks. 80 million pounds of sulfur dioxide. Billions of gallons of coal sludge. Carbon emissions equivalent to five million cars. These numbers represent the enormous public health and environmental harm avoided as Vistra – the #1 emitter of climate warming pollution in the US power sector – prepares to close all […]
Making a democracy work is not easy. But it is worth the effort. Dysfunction and incompetence of the legislative and executive branches of the United States national government are at shocking heights. Short-term improvements are possible via upcoming elections, but long-term solution almost surely requires an approach that explicitly addresses the present extreme polarization of […]
The world’s best solar power schemes now offer the “cheapest…electricity in history” with the technology cheaper than coal and gas in most major countries. That is according to the International Energy Agency’s World Energy Outlook 2020. The 464-page outlook, published this week by the IEA, also outlines the “extraordinarily turbulent” impact of coronavirus and the “highly uncertain” […]
In his speech to the UN General Assembly last week, President Xi Jinping of China announced that China will scale up its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) to tackling climate change by adopting more vigorous policies and measures in an effort to peak carbon dioxide emissions before 2030 and reach carbon neutrality before 2060. By Rampang […]
These are very challenging times for U.S. fossil fuel-producing states, such as Wyoming, Alaska and North Dakota. The COVID-19 economic downturn has reduced energy demand, with uncertain prospects for the extent of its recovery. Meanwhile, rising concern about climate change and the declining cost of renewable energy are precipitating a sharp decline in demand for […]
One of the few positive outcomes of the Covid-19 lock-down has been the clear skies, rise in air quality and drop in carbon levels. With the lock-downs easing in much of Europe and governments keen to get their economies back on track, there is at least an acknowledgement that a return to the old ‘normal’ […]
The world’s fleet of coal-fired power stations has got smaller for the first time on record, with more capacity retired in the first half of 2020 than the amount opened. This is according to the latest Global Coal Plant Tracker (GCPT) results by Global Energy Monitor (GEM), which we completed last month and report for the first time here. […]
Between 2005 and 2017, 41 U.S. states and the District of Columbia reduced their energy-related carbon dioxide emissions while increasing real gross domestic product, debunking the myth that economic growth can only occur by compromising the health of the planet. By Devashree Saha and Joel Jaeger World Resources Institute In a new report, America’s New Climate Economy, we […]
Dear Representatives, According to the House Calendar, HB 2025 will be brought before the entire House tomorrow. As you consider the bill’s merits, please consider the old axiom: “penny wise dollar foolish.” There is much discussion and fear about rumors of RGGI closing coal fired electric generating in Pennsylvania. The reality is that coal plants will […]