With COVID-19 spread across the globe and spikes of cases emerging, economies have fallen into recession and energy markets have been severely impacted, bottoming out in April. The global gross domestic product (GDP) in 2020 is now projected by the International Monetary Fund to decline to -4.9%; global GDP in 2019 was 2.9%. Furthermore, historic […]
South Africa is leading the charge of developing renewable energy in sub-Saharan Africa in part due to policy that provides a conducive investment environment to entice developers to investigate projects within the nation. As load shedding is a too frequent event, the nation is adding new options to its energy mix. Recently in South Africa’s […]
After an overwhelming majority of China’s urban centers failed to meet environmental standards in 2013, Premier Li Keqiang declared a “war on pollution,” promising to improve the country’s blanketing smog endemic. In his report to parliament on Mar. 5, Premier Li Keqiang said he would fight to eliminate the air pollution problem that shrouds 95 […]
Like many other African countries, Mozambique has enormous potential, but there are many gaps to fill. Led by its natural resources, the economy has been booming with real GDP growth reaching 7.4 percent in 2012, seven percent in 2013 and is predicted to reach 8.5 percent between 2014–16, according to the World Bank. London based […]
As immigration legislation is prodded through the U.S. Senate then likely to collect mothballs in the U.S. House of Representatives, and major Supreme Court decisions are announced, the executive branch has garnered a portion of the headlines. Ready to take on another challenge, President Obama laid out his plan to combat Climate Change – a […]
From the time that Poland was selected as the host country for the next round of the United Nations climate change negotiations this upcoming November, there have been many skeptics. Poland is one of the nations most reliant on coal, the most carbon intensive of the fossil fuels, for its electricity – especially in […]
China, the largest energy consumer in the world, which derives more than two-thirds of its energy supply from coal, is choking. Beijing, with a population of around 20 million, increasing energy consumption and more than five million vehicles, is especially is choking. In mid-January, Beijing officials were forced to conduct an emergency response to hazardous […]
It is abundantly clear that if we are going to conquer our climate change demons, then we’ve got to radically reduce the burning of coal on our splendid but increasingly stressed planet. Carbon dioxide is still the primary driver of warming and coal is still the primary source of carbon dioxide from fuel combustion. Of […]
Thomson Reuters Point Carbon is reporting this morning that China is going to launch carbon-trading schemes in six regions before 2013. If all goes well, that will then lead to a nationwide carbon trading platform by 2015. According to the report (which is sitting behind a pay-wall or I would link to it), the areas […]
Further to my post from yesterday in which I noted that researchers were recording ever-increasing carbon dioxide emissions from China and, to a lesser extent, India, there have been some articles recently on the rapid rise in China’s coal consumption. The graphics here are from Elisabeth Rosenthal’s article yesterday in the NY Times about how […]
To borrow a catchphrase from Barack Obama’s presidential campaign, yes, we most certainly can eliminate coal-fired power plants. Knowing what we know, we know that we should, and sooner rather than later. I’ve decried the many harmful impacts of coal mining and burning to public health, communities and the environment here on numerous occasions. See […]
Usually, I don’t drag myself into my own blogs but the Bloom Box is the sort of energy project ultimately supposed to be aimed at people — homeowners — like me. Like most homeowners, I am not a tech geek, and, in theory, I am attracted to the idea of the Bloom Box. However, I […]
Overview 2009 was all about China. Early in the year, when energy prices crashed due to disappearing demand, oil sank to slightly more than $30 barrel from its mid-2008 high of $147 and natural gas from $14 to around $3 per thousand cubic feet. China, flush with cash, for all practical purposes stabilized the market […]
A Gallup poll done two weeks ago reveals that of all industries, Americans rated the oil and gas worst, even worse than banking, GM and lawyers. There have been some annoyed, defensive responses from workers in the oil and gas field — understandable since most people in the industry are hard-working, honest and understandably offended at […]