Want to derail the energy transition? Take fossil fuels out of the mix

Amid steadily increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide levels, governments worldwide face a multidecade challenge: how to decarbonize without jeopardizing their hold on power. Energy is modern civilization’s blood oxygen—an afterthought unless something crimps access to it, at which point a multiple organ crisis rapidly ensues. Consider the tumult following staple fuel price increases in Kazakhstan in

HSBC slammed for ‘unbelievable’ 2022 fossil fuel investment

Despite “warm words” on climate action during COP26 in Glasgow, HSBC’s continued investment in fossil fuels is “unbelievable”, climate groups have said. Environmental activist group Market Forces has said it has obtained figures which show HSBC is continuing to finance oil and gas deals in 2022. The group claims this flies in the face of

What does it mean to divest from fossil fuels?

The fossil fuel divestment campaign has become one of the biggest anti-corporate campaigns. The institutions committed to divesting are estimated to be worth $39 trillion, more than the annual GDP of the US and China combined. Fossil fuel divestment is the act of investing in climate solutions and selling stakes in non-renewable energy sources. Divestment

Gas utilities push RNG and hydrogen to expand fossil fuel infrastructure

Electric and gas utilities are increasingly targeting customers, regulators, and investors with the promise of “renewable natural gas,” or biomethane, and hydrogen gas. In their promotions, the utilities have claimed that these technologies will allow them to build gas-fueled power plants and gas pipelines today while remaining on a pathway toward “net-zero” emissions climate goals.

The conservative plot against green investment

The American Legislative Exchange Council is pushing cookie-cutter laws that could lock pension funds and taxpayers into losing deals—while propping up coal and other fossil fuel firms. It all starts with an innocuous bit of jargon. “ESG pressures by national environmental groups is driving banks, insurance companies and investment managers to abandoned fossil fuels,” argues

New global shipping task-force aims for greener, safer work

The creation of a task-force to help the global shipping sector cut its climate-heating carbon emissions and support millions of workers in the transition to greener ways of operating has been hailed as a “landmark” move by industry members. Representatives of ship-owners, seafarers and the UN Global Compact, the world’s largest corporate sustainability initiative, agreed

Major fossil fuel investors are California’s public pensions

California’s climate-conscious policies aren’t matched by the investment choices of its largest public pension funds, according to a report from two environmental groups. Of the 14 top US pension funds analyzed by Stand.earth and Climate Safe Pensions Network, California Public Employees’ Retirement System, known as Calpers, and California State Teachers’ Retirement System, known as CalSTRS,

Renewable energy is getting cheaper, it could replace fossil fuels soon

The global energy sector has an impressive record of scaling-up renewables like wind and solar – but it is not so good at predicting future price changes of the clean energy these renewables produce, according to a new report. Researchers at the University of Oxford’s Institute of New Economic Thinking suggest early pricing prediction models

E-fuel-powered cars emit as much pollutants as fossil fuels, study finds

Cars powered by synthetic fuel produce similar quantities of harmful air pollutants to fossil fuels, according to a new study commissioned by the clean mobility NGO Transport & Environment. As Europe shifts to zero-emission passenger cars, the study challenges the green credentials of e-fuels, touted by the liquid fuel industry as a way to reduce

Adani’s Carmichael mine gets ready to ship coal

Billionaire Gautam Adani’s coal mine in Australia, a project that’s become a global emblem for opposition to fossil fuels, is preparing to begin exports after more than a decade of bitter dispute over its development. Proposed in 2010 and stalled by legal challenges, financing setbacks and a sustained campaign from climate activists, the operation is