Royal Dutch Shell’s $70 billion purchase of Britain’s BG Group – if approved by regulators – will make the energy giant the biggest global producer of liquefied natural gas. “Shell, already a leader in liquefied natural gas (LNG) for shipping and transport, will meld BG’s gas reserves, including assets in Australia, Brazil and Africa. That will increase its overall crude oil and natural gas reserves by 25% and 20%, adding to its production capacity.” [USA Today]

A recent study in “Nature Climate Change,” by Bjorn Nykvist and Mans Nilsson of the Stockholm Environment Institute, has highlighted that electric vehicle batteries have become cheaper much faster than expected. “From 2007 to 2011, average battery costs for battery-powered electric vehicles fell by about 14 percent a year. For the leading electric vehicle makers, Tesla and Nissan, costs fell by 8 percent a year. This astounding decline puts battery costs right around the level that the International Energy Agency predicted they would reach in 2020.” [Bloomberg View]

The Abbott government has dismissed climate change as a priority in the country’s energy policy following the release of a long-awaited white paper. “Australia’s power generation and transport fuel use will be left to the market to decide. The government promises a hands-off “technology neutral” approach to the electricity market and the future of transport fuels, saying it will not try to shut down old coal-fired power plants or push new technologies into the market to try to reduce greenhouse emissions.” [The Guardian]