Climate change will be the single most important global policy challenge of the 2020s.
The fossil fuel industry benefits from subsidies of $11m every minute, according to analysis by the International Monetary Fund. The IMF found the production and burning of coal, oil and gas was subsidised by $5.9tn in 2020, with not a single country pricing all its fuels sufficiently to reflect their full supply and environmental costs.
The federal government is facing a revolt from states and territories over its plan to allow subsidies for coal and gas-fired power stations as part of reforms to shore up reliability of the electricity grid.
Xi Jinping’s vow to end China’s international coal is puzzling China watchers with details on how far the promise goes still unclear.
More than two thousand leading scientists and academics have called on world leaders to commit to a new fossil fuel ‘non-proliferation treaty’, committing to urgently phase out the use of coal, gas and oil in response to the emerging threats posed by climate change.
“Blue hydrogen” is made using gas, which is a fossil fuel. Part of the production process involves capturing the carbon. It is considered to be better for the environment than gas, but some carbon is still released into the atmosphere.
Policy design and timing are critical to overcoming political costs to climate mitigation policies, as is the need to provide effective social insurance policies.
Global lender’s head Kristalina Georgieva calls on countries to step up their $100bn climate finance pledges.
To meet climate targets and avoid economic collapse, countries such as Iraq need international support in the transition to clean energy
Concluding his three-day India visit on Wednesday, COP26 president Alok Sharma said that he has requested the Indian government to consider raising ambitions in emission reduction targets and reiterated that a delivery plan on finance for developing countries is being put in place ahead of the conference in Glasgow later this year.
Renewables and nuclear power accounted for a record 66% of electricity production across the EU during the first half of 2021, with clean energy proving far more resilient to the pandemic than fossil fuels.
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