Sources:
Beijing keeps room for manoeuvre a key part of clean energy push
Energy major accused of ‘unprecedented attack on shareholder rights’ for refusal to allow vote at AGM
Climate Change Committee report comes after days of turbulence in global energy markets
Key Takeaways U.S. investors increasingly expect board-level oversight and disclosure of AI governance, with most favoring formalized oversight structures and transparent reporting. Among S&P 100 companies, just over half disclose board-level AI oversight and fewer than one-third disclose both oversight and a formal AI policy, which may reflect uneven governance practices amid limited regulatory guidance. […]
The top 25 corporate sustainability leaders in the United States are forging ahead despite Washington backlash
The post How big business is rewriting the U.S. sustainability story appeared first on Corporate Knights.
Soaring oil and gas prices have thrust into plain sight the risk investors in commercial real estate face if they don’t make their buildings less reliant on old-world energy.
The Australian arm of London-based investment manager Foresight Group Holdings Ltd. will acquire New Zealand renewables developer NZ Clean Energy, with plans to invest A$500 million ($360 million) over the next twelve months.
The high temperatures will cut into California’s snowpack, raising the risk that drought will return.
An unusually early heat wave is set to grip Los Angeles and much of the Southwest, putting California’s already fragile snowpack, and therefore its water supplies, at risk.
The cost of meeting net zero is less than a single fossil fuel price shock, the UK’s official climate adviser said.
Scientists have found further evidence that pet flea treatments are widespread in rivers across the UK.
Scientists have found further evidence that pet flea treatments are widespread in rivers across the UK.
Climate change committee finds move to renewable energy would also bring health, economic and security benefitsAchieving the UK’s net zero target by 2050 will cost less than a single oil shock and bring health and economic benefits while insulating the country against future costs, the government’s climate advisers have forecast.Eliminating the UK’s reliance on fossil fuels by adopting renewable energy and green technologies, such as electric vehicles and heat pumps, would be the best and most cost-effective option for the future economy, the Climate Change Committee (CCC) found. Continue reading...
Analysis has found more than 3,000 mining operations within the most naturally precious areas of the planet, a much bigger footprint than previously thoughtWeda Bay is just one example of a global trend that could see the mining industry expand into some of Earth’s last areas of wilderness in search of minerals and materials to feed the global economy.Analysis produced for the Guardian by a group of academic researchers found more than 3,267 mining operations within key biodiversity areas (KBAs), accounting for nearly 5% of the mining sector’s global footprint. China, Brazil, Argentina and Mexico top the rankings for total surface mining area within key biodiversity areas, the most naturally precious areas of the planet. Continue reading...
Britain’s whole energy economy needs to be reformed – decarbonising the grid is only part of the mixBritain is once again paying the price of an energy system that is more effective at extracting profits than delivering security. Illegal war and geopolitical disruption are sending fossil fuel prices soaring – and because our electricity market turns volatile gas prices into higher electricity bills, families here risk paying the cost. The government is already unpopular. How it responds to this crisis, and the wider crisis of affordability, will define its legacy. Its instinct has been to double down on clean power. That has strong merit – but understanding that strategy’s limits shows why deeper reform is urgently necessary.The government’s goal is clear: achieve stable prices by removing gas from the grid. Britain’s electricity market uses a marginal pricing system, which means that the price paid for all electricity at any moment is set by the most expensive source needed to meet demand. Even though gas produces only about a quarter of our electricity, it sets the price around 85% of the time. That means even when renewables are generating most of the country’s power, your bill doesn’t reflect the cost of solar or wind. And because gas is a global commodity with the price set by the international market, the closing of the Strait of Hormuz translates into rising electricity bills in Hull – even as the horizon grows thick with wind turbines and the share of clean power on the grid grows every year.Mathew Lawrence is the director of Common Wealth Continue reading...
The Guardian reporter Leyland Cecco visits an almost 100ft-tall snow mountain, one of six created in Toronto to store all the snow cleared from roads and paths across the city.Toronto has spent more than C$1bn dollars over a decade to successfully re-naturalise the mouth of the Don River. But this is at risk because the salt contained in the snow mountains is likely to end up in water systems, causing an 'ecological crisis'.More than 130,000 tonnes of salt were used during the winter's record snowfall and remains trapped in the snow mountains, along with oil, metals and dirt. Once the mountains thaw in the summer, the salt will make its way to the groundwater and become toxic to fish in freshwater systems Continue reading...
Environmentalists say the war’s effects on oil and gas prices are an argument for countries to get off fossil fuels. But the reality is likely to be messier.
The low-grade oil has been used to fuel power plants amid Iran’s international isolation. Tanks of mazut may now be burning near the city.