3 h. ago Fossil fuel lobbying of SNP ministers trebled since Glasgow COP26 summit

Oil and gas representatives have held more than 300 meetings with SNP ministers since November 2021 climate summit, a Sunday Mail probe found.

Politics

25 h. ago Why Scotland should learn from Spain to save fossil fuel workers from unemployment

The Scottish and UK governments need a better plan to deal with mass job losses in the North Sea oil and gas industries

Politics

43 h. ago How thousands of fossil fuel lobbyists got access to UN climate talks – and then kept drilling

Exclusive: Research shows oil, gas and coal firms’ unprecedented access to Cop26-29, blocking urgent climate actionMore than 5,000 fossil fuel lobbyists were given access to the UN climate summits over the past four years, a period marked by a rise in catastrophic extreme weather, inadequate climate action and record oil and gas expansion, new research reveals.Lobbyists representing the interests of the oil, gas and coal industries – which are mostly responsible for climate breakdown – have been allowed to participate in the annual climate negotiations where states are meant to come in good faith and commit to ambitious policies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Continue reading...

Politics

3 d. ago Experts call for new taxes on worst polluters to help poorer nations with climate crisis

Report to be discussed at Cop30 says global agreements should target carbon intensive activities and ‘ultra high net worth individuals’New taxes on the super-rich, fossil fuels, financial transactions and highly polluting and carbon-intensive activities should be explored as key ways of raising the finance needed to help poor countries, governments have been told in an influential report.The proposal is one of the top recommendations of a new blueprint for global climate finance, the Baku to Belém roadmap, drawn up by the governments of Brazil and Azerbaijan, the current and the previous president of the UN climate Cop process. Continue reading...

Events

6 d. ago Exxon funded thinktanks to spread climate denial in Latin America, documents reveal

Texas-based fossil fuel company financed Atlas Network in attempt to derail UN-led climate treaty processExxon funded rightwing thinktanks to spread climate change denial across Latin America, according to hundreds of previously unpublished documents that reveal a coordinated campaign to make the global south “less inclined” to support the UN-led climate treaty processThe documents, which include copies of the actual cheques Exxon sent, consist of internal documents and years of correspondence between the Texas-based fossil fuel company and Atlas Network, a US-based coalition of more than 500 free-market thinktanks and other partners worldwide. Continue reading...

Events

8 d. ago Minister vows to push for ‘accelerated action’ on climate at Cop30 in Brazil

Climate Action Secretary Gillian Martin will attend the UN event, which begins on November 10.

Politics

9 d. ago Shell’s profits pass $43bn after production hits new highs in Brazil and Gulf of Mexico

Oil company plans to buy back shares for 16th consecutive quarter as protesters say its earnings are ‘horror show’Profits at Shell have climbed to more than $43bn for the year so far after fossil fuel production in the Gulf of Mexico reached a 20-year high and production in Brazil set a new record.The oil company reported better than expected earnings of $5.4bn for the third quarter, a 27% increase on the $4.3bn in the previous three-month period – but lower than the $6bn recorded over the same period a year earlier. Continue reading...

Economics

1 week 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

1 week 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

2 w. 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

3 w. 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

3 w. 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

3 w. 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

3 w. 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

3 w. 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