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

• Japan vows to become carbon neutral by 2050
  Japan has pledged to go carbon neutral by mid-century, bringing it in line with the European Union and a handful of other nations. Achieving this goal will require a major overhaul of the world's third-biggest economy.
• Indigenous rights undermined for hydropower in northern Indian state
  Villagers in Himachal Pradesh say they have been left out of a crucial decision on the second and third stage of a hydropower project with huge environmental risks.
• The future of data centres in the face of climate change
  How can businesses and society decarbonise while building better cloud solutions? We explore the viable solutions available to help data centre operators fight the rising tide of environmental challenges.
• Philippine court backs open-pit mining ban in Mindanao
  A court has upheld a ban on open-pit mining in the Philippine province of South Cotabato, home to the largest known untapped deposits of copper and gold in Southeast Asia.
• China’s climate lead offers the planet new hope
  Beijing’s plan to cut greenhouse gases could mean a global expansion of green industries following China’s climate lead.
• Fossil fuels are rapidly losing favour with investors
  From leading the market 20 years ago the big fossil fuels companies are plunging in value, as investors turn to renewables.
• Lack of finance forces Bangladesh to consider shelving coal
  Chinese and Japanese investors have lost interest in funding coal projects due to high costs, pushing the country towards natural gas – which will do little to solve problems of overcapacity, expensive power and carbon emissions.
• Solar is now ‘cheapest electricity in history’, confirms IEA
  There will be 43 per cent more solar output by 2040, partly due to new analysis showing that solar power is 20 to 50 per cent cheaper than thought, found the International Energy Agency’s World Energy Outlook 2020.
• South Korean utility Kepco moves away from coal
  In a year that has seen it commit hundreds of millions to coal ventures overseas, Kepco has announced it will no longer pursue further such projects. Activists have urged the firm to also reverse earlier planet-heating investment decisions.
• Offshore wind takes off in China
  China’s offshore wind sector, like solar and onshore wind before it, is soaring, boosted by policy support and improved technology.
• How has the pandemic really affected air pollution?
  [PODCAST] Has Covid-19 really improved air quality? Eco-Business spoke to epidemiologist Dr Vivian Pun about the air quality story behind the pandemic, and what the virus is telling us about tackling a killer of 7 million people a year.
• While governments take a Covid-induced time out from sustainability, businesses should not
  Gone are the days of shareholder primacy when all that mattered were financial returns. In this new era of corporate sustainability, no issue unites stakeholders as urgently as climate change.
• Could Thailand’s renewables sector benefit from Covid-19?
  The Covid-19 pandemic has hit the energy industry hard. Although renewables appear to be showing resilience, it is not without obstacles.
• The power of words and art in energy conservation
  Art, social media campaigns and other communication tools can help raise awareness of the need to save energy. Here's how.
• Indigenous residents protest huge coal mine plan in India
  West Bengal government’s dream to develop the world’s second-largest coal mine becomes a nightmare as elections loom.
• How can renewables overcome their human rights problems?
  [PODCAST] The clean energy sector’s poor human rights performance places its legitimacy at risk. Jessie Cato of the Business & Human Rights Resource Centre sheds light on how the industry can avoid rights violations.
• Food, waste, power: Ingenuity helps the climate
  Electricity from the gentlest winds, plastic from exhaust, old packing turned into lunch: human ingenuity helps the climate.
• Nuclear power hinders fight against climate change
  Countries investing in renewables are achieving carbon reductions far faster than those which opt to back nuclear power.
• Mining and the cost of the energy transition
  [PODCAST] Mining comes at great environmental cost, but is necessary to fuel the energy transition. Michael Salvatico talks about the risk and opportunity confronting Australia's mining sector — and what it could mean for Asia Pacific.
• How a pandemic changed the chief sustainability officer
  Some sustainability jobs have been lost recently as businesses put survival ahead of green ambitions. Others have grown in status, as firms link sustainability to resilience. Here's how Covid-19 has changed the sustainability officer.