A quarter of the nation’s electricity would still come from coal in 2030, so it’s hard to view the Obama administration’s proposed Clean Power Plan as the wholesale remaking of the U.S. power sector that the increasingly dire science on global warming would seemingly compel. Nevertheless, a new U.S. Energy Information Administration analysis shows the… Keep reading →
Global investment in renewable energy sources in 2014 rose almost 17 percent year-on-year to $270.2 billion with investments in developing countries growing by 36 percent, finds a new UNEP Global Trends in Renewable Energy Investment 2015 report prepared by the Frankfurt School-UNEP Centre in collaboration with Bloomberg (BNEF). Overall, the research underscores the positive role… Keep reading →
Voters go to the polls in the U.K. on Thursday after a campaign that, by many accounts, has failed to engage the electorate, despite the many weighty issues in play – such as climate change. Perhaps that’s because on the surface, there’s not much space between the leading parties on climate policy – nothing like in the U.S.… Keep reading →
The world’s oceans cover about 71 percent of the earth’s surface and their value is incalculable for both the planet and mankind. They are a vital, complex and all-encompassing natural resource ranging from a vital food resource in many parts of the world, renewable energy resource, and potential water supply reservoir. Additionally, many still unexplored… Keep reading →
Nothing’s changed in the long run; California is still aiming to cut its greenhouse gas emissions 80 percent from 1990 levels by 2050. But with one marker along the way – parity with 1990 emissions by 2020 – apparently in the bag, Gov. Jerry Brown on Wednesday set a bold new interim target: a reduction of… Keep reading →
Why the US should strive for a Holistic Regional Framework on Sustainable Offshore Natural Resource Development Over the weekend, the US assumed the two-year rotating chairmanship of the Arctic Council, an intergovernmental forum, at the conclusion of the 2015 ministerial meeting in Iqaluit (Canada). The US has outlined a policy agenda with a focus on… Keep reading →
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has just released its US Greenhouse Gas Inventory Report for the time period of 1990-2013. In this report the EPA tracks total annual US emissions and removals by source, economic sector, as well as greenhouse gas using national energy data, data on national agricultural activities, et alia in order… Keep reading →
Mark Lynas has spent the last decade or so researching and writing about global warming, and his work has been especially important in detailing the real dangers posed by rising temperatures. His 2007 book Six Degrees: Our Future on a Hotter Planet won the Royal Society’s Science Book Prize. But Lynas has become a controversial figure among greens for his support… Keep reading →
An oil company CEO endorsing a global carbon tax? Forbes energy reporter Christopher Helman says he’s never heard the head of an American oil giant do it, although many – including ExxonMobil – factor a carbon price into their long-term planning. So he was surprised this week when recently installed Statoil CEO Eldar Saetre offered up just… Keep reading →
It’s going to take a while – until 2030 for full implementation – but nine countries, ten oil companies and six development institutions have joined a World Bank effort to end the practice of routine gas flaring at oil production sites. “Gas flaring is a visual reminder that we are wastefully sending CO2 into the atmosphere,” said World Bank President… Keep reading →
