US President Joe Biden told the COP27 climate conference in Egypt on Friday (11 November) that global warming posed an existential threat to the planet and promised the United States would meet its targets for fighting it. His speech was intended pump up global ambition to prevent the worst of …
Read More »Brussels Tables Emergency EU Permitting Rules for Renewables
The European Commission on Wednesday (10 November) tabled temporary emergency rules to accelerate the deployment of renewable energies like wind and solar, saying the ongoing energy crisis fuelled by Russia’s war in Ukraine calls for exceptional measures. Under the proposal, renewable energy projects “would be presumed to be of overriding …
Read More »Romania could soon House Europe’s Largest Photovoltaic Park
Independent clean energy producer Rezolv Energy has acquired the rights to build and operate a 1,044 Megawatt solar photovoltaic plant in western Romania, which, if constructed, is expected to become Europe’s largest solar PV plant. Rezolv Energy, which acquired the rights from the Monsson Group, is investing in around 1.6 …
Read More »Austrian Government Wants to Ban Fossil Heating from 2023
The government wants to ban new oil, coal and gas heaters from 2023, extending to replacements of existing heaters, but it needs a two-thirds majority in parliament. Austria’s building sector performs way above the EU average. While buildings consume 25% of gas, their emissions are just 13% of the country’s …
Read More »EU may Block Polish Nuclear Investment, Warns Opposition
After a contract with American Westinghouse company to build the country’s first nuclear plant was announced by Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, the Left opposition warned that the investment could face problems due to non-compliance with EU rules. The Warsaw government chose Westinghouse for the nuclear project, Morawiecki tweeted on Friday, …
Read More »Brussels Cautions against EU-Wide Gas Price Cap for Electricity
The European Commission has warned countries that an EU-wide cap on the price of gas used to produce electricity could cause an increase in gas use and exports of EU-subsidised electricity, according to a document seen by Reuters. European Union countries’ energy ministers meet on Tuesday (25 October) to discuss …
Read More »Birol: World Is in Its First Truly Global Energy Crisis
Tightening markets for liquefied natural gas (LNG) worldwide and major oil producers cutting supply have put the world in the middle of “the first truly global energy crisis”, the head of the International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Tuesday (25 October). Rising imports of LNG to Europe amid the Ukraine …
Read More »Ireland, UK to Launch Joint €74 Million Initiative on Climate Research
Dublin and London will join forces to fund a programme supporting researchers working on climate change issues, both governments announced on Monday. The €74 million initiative will fund a series of virtual collaborative research centres across Ireland, and the UK focused on work related to two key areas: climate and …
Read More »Methane Emissions: the Equivalent of a Nord Stream Leak Every Two Days
When the final estimates are determined, gas escaping from the Nord Stream pipeline disaster will likely be the largest recorded release of methane from the oil and gas industry. But remarkably, those catastrophic emissions represent about the same amount of methane the industry releases worldwide every few days. According to …
Read More »TotalEnergies Boss Says Oil Price Cap will Boost Putin
The head of French energy major TotalEnergies said Wednesday (5 October) that a possible price cap on Russian oil over the Ukraine war would benefit Russian President Vladimir Putin. The group’s chairman and CEO Patrick Pouyanné made the remarks at the Energy Intelligence Forum industry gathering in central London. “Honestly, …
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