Switching just some of the huge subsidies supporting fossil fuels to renewables would unleash a runaway clean energy revolution, according to a new report, significantly cutting the carbon emissions that are driving the climate crisis. Coal, oil and gas get more than $370bn (£305bn) a year in support, compared with $100bn for renewables, the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) report found. Just 10-30% of the fossil fuel subsidies would pay for a global transition to clean energy, the IISD said. Ending fossil fuel subsidies has long been seen as vital to tackling the climate emergency, with the G20 nations pledging in 2009 to phase them out, but progress has been limited. In May, the UN secretary general, António Guterres, attacked subsidies, saying: “What we are doing is using taxpayers’ money – which means our money – to boost hurricanes, to spread droughts, to melt glaciers, to bleach corals. In one word: to destroy the world.”
Guardian 1st Aug 2019 read more »
The UK is to lose another coal-fired power station after German energy company RWE announced plans to close its facility in south Wales next year. The Aberthaw Power station was opened in 1971 and generates up to 1,560 megawatts of electricity, enough to power more than 1.5 million homes. Its closure will leave Britain with just four coal-fired power stations, two of which are already earmarked to be converted into gas in the next two years. The move marks another step in the Government’s bid to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to net-zero by 2050 and to phase out coal completely by 2025.
Telegraph 1st Aug 2019 read more »
Aberthaw B coal power station to close in 2020. RWE has decided to shut the 1.56GW Aberthaw B coal-fired power station in South Wales due to “challenging” market conditions. The proposed date for the closure is 31 March 2020.
Utility Week 1st Aug 2019 read more »
Business Green 1st Aug 2019 read more »
Guardian 1st Aug 2019 read more »
Switching fossil fuel subsidies to support renewables could unleash a clean energy revolution and propel the decarbonisation of the global economy, according to a new report from the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD). Despite G20 nations pledging every year since 2009 to phase out unnecessary fossil fuel subsidies, they continue to far outstrip equivalent support for renewable resources. Coal, oil, and gas currently receive more than $370bn a year, the IISD study finds – almost four times the $100bn of comparable support for renewables.
Business Green 2nd Aug 2019 read more »
A Scottish National Party (SNP) candidate and tidal energy expert said he wants Shetland to “maximise” the island’s oil and gas extraction.
Energy Voice 2nd Aug 2019 read more »
BlackRock, the world’s biggest investor, has lost an estimated $90bn over the last decade by ignoring the serious financial risk of investing in fossil fuel companies, according to economists. A report from the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) has found that BlackRock has eroded the value of its $6.5tn funds by betting on oil companies that were falling in value and by missing out on growth in clean energy investments.
Guardian 31st July 2019 read more »