5 h. ago Expanded state powers on fossil fuel projects and water ‘betrayal’ of Australians, nature law critics say

Extracts of planned changes to the EPBC Act prompt ‘anger’ from conservation organisations that fear nature protection will be weakenedGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastState governments could be given expanded powers to make decisions on fossil fuel developments under Labor’s proposed overhaul of environment law, prompting “shock and anger” from community-based conservation organisations that fear nature protection would be weakened.The Albanese government plans to introduce its planned changes to the national law – the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act – to parliament later this week, and has been briefing interest groups on its plans. Continue reading...

Politics

50 h. ago Trump sanctions have swift impact but will world stop buying Russian oil and gas?

Analysts say president’s war on Russia’s fossil fuel revenues is a chance to bring peace to Ukraine and profit to USDonald Trump’s stated mission to broker peace in Ukraine could come down to this simple question: can the US president convince the world to stop buying Russia’s fossil fuels?Last week, Trump imposed sanctions on Russia’s two largest oil companies, Rosneft and Lukoil, in an effort to damage Moscow’s ability to fund its war machine. Continue reading...

Politics

7 d. ago ‘A punch in the face’: Germany’s dash for gas raises questions over climate targets

Plans for a fossil fuel project in Wadden Sea nature reserve have angered local people and campaigners, as political enthusiasm for renewables wanesPeering out on a clear day from the windswept dunes that dapple the north-western tip of Germany, on a gull-shaped island in the Wadden Sea nature reserve, tourists hoping to spot seals may soon see a dark metal platform rise out of the water.The planned structure is one of several fossil fuel projects that Germany is pushing to build despite a legal deadline to stop polluting the atmosphere with carbon emissions in 20 years’ time. The joint Dutch-German venture, which received the green light from regional authorities last month, seeks to extract 13bn cubic metres of gas from just outside a protected area at the marine border between the two countries. Continue reading...

Society

9 d. ago Government aims to create 400,000 jobs through UK national green energy plan

Scheme will offer training for plumbers, welders and carpenters as well as promoting trade union recognitionPlumbers, electricians and welders will be in huge demand as part of a national plan to train people for an extra 400,000 green jobs in the next five years, Ed Miliband has said.The energy secretary revealed a new scheme to double those working in green industries by 2030, with a particular focus on training those coming from fossil fuel jobs, school leavers, the unemployed, veterans and ex-offenders. Continue reading...

Politics

1 week ago The Guardian view on Trump and the law: a restraint on the executive is morphing into its weapon | Editorial

The indictment of critics including John Bolton rings alarm bells as the US president expands his power and seeks to use the justice system to exact revenge“He who saves his country does not violate any law,” Donald Trump posted after beginning his second term – emboldened, perhaps, by the supreme court’s bombshell ruling on presidential immunity last year, which many say gave the office-holder the powers of a monarch.Millions of Americans are expected to push back against the president’s growing power at No Kings protests across the US on Saturday. The demonstrations come as former intelligence and national security officials warn that the country is sliding towards “competitive authoritarianism”, in which elections and courts survive but are systematically manipulated by the executive. Continue reading...

Politics

1 week ago Energy Department offers $1.6 billion loan guarantee to upgrade transmission lines across Midwest

The Department of Energy says it has finalized a $1.6 billion loan guarantee to a subsidiary of one of the nation’s largest power companies to upgrade nearly 5,000 miles of transmission lines across five states, mostly in the Midwest, for largely fossil fuel-run energy

Economics

1 week ago UK ministers met fossil fuel lobbyists 500 times in first year of power, analysis shows

Lobbyists attended 48% more meetings than Tories, as Labour accused of giving them ‘backstage pass’ UK politics live – latest updatesGovernment ministers met representatives from the fossil fuel industry more than 500 times during their first year in power – equivalent to twice every working day, according to new research.The analysis found that fossil fuel lobbyists were present at 48% more ministerial meetings during Labour’s first year in power than under the Conservatives in 2023.Ministers at the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) met fossil fuel lobbyists 274 times, with industry figures present at almost a quarter of meetings.Ed Miliband, the secretary for energy and climate change, met fossil fuel lobbyists 250 times – with a third of all his meetings attended by industry figures.During the same period DESNZ ministers met trade union representatives 61 timesThree fossil fuel companies: BP, Shell and Equinor , met ministers 100 times between them.Fossil fuel l...

Politics

1 week ago Labour ministers met fossil fuel lobbyists 500 times in first year of power, analysis shows

Lobbyists attended 48% more meetings than Tories, as Labour accused of giving them ‘backstage pass’ UK politics live – latest updatesGovernment ministers met representatives from the fossil fuel industry more than 500 times during their first year in power – equivalent to twice every working day, according to research.The analysis found that fossil fuel lobbyists were present at 48% more ministerial meetings during Labour’s first year in power than under the Conservatives in 2023.Ministers at the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) met fossil fuel lobbyists 274 times, with industry figures present at almost a quarter of meetings.During the same period DESNZ ministers met trade union representatives 61 times.Ed Miliband, the secretary for energy and climate change, met fossil fuel lobbyists 250 times – with a third of all his meetings attended by industry figures.Three fossil fuel companies: BP, Shell and Equinor, met ministers 100 times between them.Fossil fuel lobby...

Politics

1 week ago Electric bills 'could soar 20 per cent in the next five years', UK's top energy supplier warns

Rachel Fletcher, regulations director at Octopus, said the costs of Whitehall policies, including green levies to expand renewable power and nuclear, were increasing energy bills.

Events

1 week ago Judge dismisses suit by young climate activists against Trump’s pro

Judge said plaintiffs had ‘overwhelming evidence’ of climate crisis but a court injunction would be ‘unworkable’A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed by young climate activists that aimed to halt Donald Trump’s pro-fossil fuel executive orders.The dismissal by US district judge Dana Christensen on Wednesday came after 22 plaintiffs, ages seven to 25 and from five states, sought to block three of the president’s executive orders, including those declaring a “national energy emergency” and seeking to “unleash American energy” – as well as one aimed at “reinvigorating” the US’s production of coal. Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago More than 40 Trump administration picks tied directly to oil, gas and coal, analysis shows

Report looks at White House nominees and appointees and agencies dictating energy, environment and climate policyDonald Trump has placed dozens of people with ties to the fossil fuel sector in his administration, including more than 40 who have directly worked for oil, gas or coal companies, according to a new analysis.The report from Public Citizen, a consumer advocacy and ethics non-profit that has been critical of the Trump administration, alongside the Revolving Door Project, a corporate watchdog, analyzed the backgrounds of nominees and appointees within the White House and eight agencies dictating energy, environmental and climate policy. That includes the Environmental Protection Agency, the interior and energy departments and others. Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago Heating engineers urged to sign up to heat pump ‘giveaway’ for their own homes

The ‘start at home’ initiative aims to boost roll out of the clean technology that will be key to phasing out fossil fuel home heating.

Society

3 w. ago Renewable energy overtakes coal for first time in global 'historic shift'

A 'crucial turning point' is on the horizon for green energy as solar and wind power begin to meet the demands for electricity usage, while fossil fuel usage has seen a decline

Politics

3 w. ago Advocates raise alarm over Pfas pollution from data centers amid AI boom

Tech companies’ use of Pfas gas at facilities may mean data centers’ climate impact is worse than previously thoughtData centers’ electricity demands have been accused of delaying the US’s transition to clean energy and requiring fossil fuel plants to stay online, while their high level of water consumption has also raised alarm. Now public health advocates fear another environmental problem could be linked to them – Pfas “forever chemical” pollution.Big tech companies like Google, Microsoft and Amazon often need data centers to store servers and networking equipment that process the world’s digital traffic, and the artificial intelligence boom is driving demand for more facilities. Continue reading...

Events

3 w. ago Advocates raise alarm over Pfas pollution from datacenters amid AI boom

Tech companies’ use of Pfas gas at facilities may mean datacenters’ climate impact is worse than previously thoughtDatacenters’ electricity demands have been accused of delaying the US’s transition to clean energy and requiring fossil fuel plants to stay online, while their high level of water consumption has also raised alarm. Now public health advocates fear another environmental problem could be linked to them – Pfas “forever chemical” pollution.Big tech companies like Google, Microsoft and Amazon often need datacenters to store servers and networking equipment that process the world’s digital traffic, and the artificial intelligence boom is driving demand for more facilities. Continue reading...

Events

3 w. ago Some of UK’s biggest banks ‘investing ever larger sums into fossil fuels’

Which’s analysis follows research finding that the world’s biggest banks significantly increased their fossil fuel finance in 2024.

Economics

4 w. ago ‘I think we’re headed to a shutdown,’ says JD Vance as Mike Johnson calls for more time for negotiations – live

Congressional leaders meet with Trump over government shutdown as vice-president reportedly says Democrats ‘won’t do’ the right thingTrump officials to announce plan to boost coal outputThe US is set to announce on Monday policies to try to boost the output of coal, the interior department said, as the Trump administration seeks to reverse the decline of the fossil fuel’s use. Continue reading...

Politics

4 w. ago Trump demands Hamas accept US plan to ‘end Gaza conflict’ as Netanyahu says Israel will ‘finish the job’ if they don’t

Netanyahu says he supports Trump’s Gaza peace plan but Hamas still must agree to proposalTrump officials to announce plan to boost coal outputThe US is set to announce on Monday policies to try to boost the output of coal, the interior department said, as the Trump administration seeks to reverse the decline of the fossil fuel’s use. Continue reading...

Politics

4 w. ago Trump demands Hamas accept US plan to ‘end Gaza conflict’ as Netanyahu says Israel will ‘finish the job’ if they don’t – live

Netanyahu says he supports Trump’s Gaza peace plan but Hamas still must agree to proposalTrump officials to announce plan to boost coal outputThe US is set to announce on Monday policies to try to boost the output of coal, the interior department said, as the Trump administration seeks to reverse the decline of the fossil fuel’s use. Continue reading...

Politics

4 w. ago Trump administration spending $625m to revive dying coal industry

White House allocating 13.1m acres of public land to coal mining, which has been on rapid decline over past 30 yearsThe White House will open 13.1m acres (5.3m hectares) of public land to coal mining while providing $625m for coal-fired power plants, the Trump administration has announced.The efforts came as part of a suite of initiatives from the Department of the Interior, Department of Energy, and Environmental Protection Agency, aimed at reviving the flagging coal sector. Coal, the most polluting and costly fossil fuel, has been on a rapid decline over the past 30 years, with the US halving its production between 2008 and 2023, according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA). Continue reading...

Politics