Here’s What China Closing Coal-Power Plants Means for Emissions

China’s recent scrapping of small coal plants will avoid the release of as much as 11.4 million metric tons annually of climate-warming carbon dioxide, helping the country cut emissions for the first time in more than a decade.

Europe's carbon capture dream beset by delays, fears and doubt

Brevik, a small coastal town two hours west of Oslo, has found itself on the front line of a global battle over a technology that is hailed in some quarters as the solution to climate change, but denigrated in others as a reckless and potentially fatal gamble.

German energy revolution spells doom for village sitting on vast coal deposits

ATTERWASCH, Germany – Five days a week, a giant machine eats its way through soil at the Jaenschwalde open-cast mine in eastern Germany, exposing the brown coal buried beneath. Lignite, as this form of compressed peat is known, is becoming an increasingly important part of Germany's effort to phase out nuclear energy.

US Senate narrowly fails to pass Keystone XL pipeline bill

The US Senate has narrowly failed to pass a bill approving the controversial Keystone XL oil pipeline.

Europe's carbon cuts should be subject to Paris climate deal – EU energy chief

Europe should only push ahead with its planned cuts to carbon emissions if the rest of the world agrees to a global climate change deal at a crunch summit in Paris next year, according to the EU’s energy chief.

'Old coal' subsidy loophole to be closed by UK government

A loophole in the government’s energy policy that could have seen billpayers funding billions of pounds of subsidy for old coal plants will be closed, officials have told the Guardian.

Fracking 'could generate £33bn and 64,000 jobs for UK'

Fracking could trigger a £33bn investment bonanza and create 64,000 jobs, promises a new report for the shale industry released on Thursday and part-funded by government.

Energy State Dems In Senate Races Split From Obama

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — Scrapping to keep a West Virginia Senate seat Democratic in a state that's sprinted to the right, Natalie Tennant is counting on her allegiance to the coal industry to separate herself from an unpopular President Barack Obama.

Energy Efficiency Is Long Overdue

On a global scale, we humans are becoming more energy efficient with each passing year. Even so, we’re exploiting only a fraction of the technological opportunities to use energy more cost-effectively.

UK universities urged to pull cash from fossil fuel giants

An international campaign to urge large institutions to dump fossil fuel investments reaches the UK this week, following rapid success in the US.

Drastic reduction in new home energy efficiency targets

Energy efficiency targets for all new homes built in Wales have been cut drastically by the Welsh government. Building regulations will require an 8% cut in carbon emissions from next year, rather than the planned 40%, saving £4,000 on the cost of building a house.

Shale oil surge poses threat to renewable energy, PwC warns

A worldwide expansion of relatively cheap shale oil could put investment in renewable energy and global emissions targets under threat, as well as posing other environmental risks.

Report calls for huge expansion of experimental nuclear plants

The UK will need to develop a huge fleet of currently experimental nuclear reactors by the middle of the century, to generate around two-thirds of the country's electricity supply if it is to meet the most nuclear-intensive scenario for moving away from fossil fuels, according to a report by three of the government's most senior scientific advisers.

Coalition's energy policy blamed for insulation job losses

More than 800 jobs have already been lost in the insulation industry as a direct result of the government's flagship energy efficiency policy, a business group has claimed.

Is nuclear power necessary for solving climate change?

The relative costs and benefits of nuclear energy have been the subject of heated debate in recent years thanks to a combination of factors, including the need to cut carbon emissions and the 2011 accident at Fukushima, Japan.

EU declares no winner in carbon capture competition

The first round of a European commission contest to fund carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects failed to find a winner, the EU's executive said on Tuesday, deepening concerns that the technology will not be emerging soon to help cut emissions.

Dash for gas sees 30 new gas power plants by 2030

Britain could have 30 new gas-fired power stations running by 2030 under a dramatic expansion of generation plans to be unveiled this week.

John Hayes: 'windfarms will not replace gas or nuclear'

Windfarms are "extremely inefficient and costly" and will not be able to replace gas or nuclear power generation, according to a letter sent by the Conservative energy minister, John Hayes, which reveals the extent of his antipathy to the technology.

Renewables industry says projects displacing CO2 emissions

The renewable energy industry has published figures which, it claims, show Scotland is producing enough low carbon electricity to offset emissions from Longannet power station in Fife.

Gas power 'is undermining energy sector'

Businesses have urged the Government to set a target of slashing carbon emissions from the power sector by 2030 to stimulate investment that will drive growth.