A new report by the Climate Council reports that new investment in renewable energy in Australia has dropped by 70%.

“In the last five years most countries around the world had accelerated action on climate change, with China and the United States two of the global leaders on the issue, the report, Lagging Behind: Australia and the Global Response to Climate Change, said. 

But while Australia was a crucial player in global climate action, it had “moved from a leader to laggard”, the report said.

In addition, the Climate Council said the Federal Government needed to make its position on renewable energy clear, before Australia lost even more investment in new energy projects.” [ABC Online]

“Brent Crude rose for a third day in four days in a row as experts claim Chinese export demand may help sustain U.S. production output which has stalled given the recent market volatility.

Futures gained as much as 0.6 percent in London. Overseas shipments increased 11.6 percent from a year earlier, according to Chinese customs data on Nov. 8, exceeding the 10.6 percent median estimate in a Bloomberg News survey. The number of rigs drilling for oil in the U.S. last week shrank to the lowest since August, Baker Hughes Inc. said Nov. 7.

Oil prices have slumped into a bear market amid speculation of a global glut, slowing drilling at U.S. shale formations. Producers in the Organization Of Petroleum Exporting Countries are responding by cutting prices, resisting calls to reduce supply as they compete with the highest U.S. output in three decades.” [Bloomberg]

Russia and the EU have brokered a deal that will resume gas supplies to the Ukraine over the winter months following meetings of foreign officials and leaders over the weekend.

“The deal will also ensure gas supplies to EU countries via Ukraine are secure.

“There is now no reason for people in Europe to stay cold this winter,” said European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso.

European Union energy chief Guenther Oettinger said he was confident that Ukraine would be able to afford to pay for the gas it needed.

He added that the agreement might be the “first glimmer” of hope in easing tensions between Russian and Ukraine.  [BBC News]