Eco-Business: News, Opinion, Jobs, Events, Press Releases and Research for topic Energy

• Renewable energy could power the world by 2050
  Wind, water and solar sources − the renewable energy trio − could meet almost all the needs of our power-hungry society in 30 years.
• Indonesia probes suspected nuclear waste dumping at residential area
  Officials first discovered elevated radiation levels at the site in late January during a routine check, and suspect the radioactive contamination was dumped there from a nearby research reactor outside Jakarta.
• Fossil-fuel exporters must rethink monetary policy
  In the face of the challenge posed by climate change, the focus of monetary policy often seems very short term. Central bankers must break this “curse of horizons” and take decisive steps to address fossil-fuel-related risks.
• Coronavirus has temporarily reduced China’s CO2 emissions by a quarter
  Initial analysis suggests the repercussions of the outbreak could shave up to half a per cent off global oil demand in January to September this year, but the Chinese government’s measures in response to the disruption could outweigh these shorter-term impacts on energy and emissions.
• How will BP achieve its net zero ambition?
  Oil and gas giant BP could sell its high-emission upstream assets, boost renewables and explore carbon storage avenues in the UK to meet its net zero pledge, which is not a binding target, experts said
• Developing Asia’s coal demand helped cancel out rich-world emissions cuts last year
  Even as rich nations cut carbon last year, emissions grew elsewhere as developing regions struggled to balance economic growth and climate action, while heavy industries and transport emissions were as hard to abate as ever.
• Can the Pacific become the world’s first fossil-fuel-free zone?
  With key reforms, Pacific states could move toward cleaner, more affordable sources of energy that eventually eliminate fossil fuels completely.
• Malaysia's banks are bucking global finance decarbonisation trend by funding coal, study finds
  Malaysia's major banks are bucking a global trend towards the decarbonisation of the finance industry by continuing to back new coal-fired power projects in Southeast Asia, a new report has found.
• Speeding sea level rise threatens nuclear plants
  With sea level rise accelerating faster than thought, the risk is growing for coastal cities − and for nuclear power stations.
• New renewables bill may give Indonesia chance to move away from coal
  Energy industry observers and activists have welcomed the move of Indonesia’s parliament in drafting a bill on renewable energy that will be included in its docket of priority legislation for passage this year.
• Bioenergy can land a blow against climate change
  For the last decade, bioenergy has been confined to the sidelines of climate-policy debates, owing to the environmental problems associated with its production. But recent innovations have made this option not just viable, but necessary.
• China must ‘leap over Oil Age’ to meet climate challenge
  With stronger policies, China could peak its oil consumption in 2025, report finds.
• Wastewater flushes away a river of wealth
  Waste not, want not. Especially water. The wastewater that flows through the world’s sewers has value that could be recovered.
• Europe fails to keep up on solar power
  Europe needs new factories to harness solar power, with a huge effort to install the panels they’ll make, for the world to avoid catastrophic warming.
• Why 'net zero' is not good enough
  It sounds like an ambitious goal, but the term may hide loopholes that can delay real climate action and drive land grabs and hunger.
• Mining leads to flooding in Indonesian coal capital
  Deforestation caused by coal mining operations has reduced the upstream area’s ability to absorb rainwater, resulting in greater volumes of runoff flowing into the Mahakam River, flooding the Indonesian Bornean city of Samarinda.
• China can phase out coal power in line with Paris Agreement, report finds
  Planned coal should be cancelled, inefficient plants should close, and the rest should reduce operating hours with government support.
• Banks need to take Belt and Road environmental risks seriously
  China’s banks supporting BRI projects should apply environmental risk-management policies and oversight, says Divya Narain.
• Dam that threatens orangutan habitat is ‘wholly unnecessary’, say conservationists
  A report commissioned by a group campaigning against the Batang Toru dam in Indonesia says the dam will do little to connect the few remaining isolated communities in the region to the grid.
• With LNG, the shipping industry could reach its decarbonisation target—but wreck the climate, study finds
  Switching shipping to natural gas would mean more climate-disrupting methane leaks into the atmosphere. But due to a serious flaw in the industry’s decarbonisation efforts, it would still tackle climate change—on paper.