Jeremy Corbyn vows to vote down Chequers deal as he calls for UK to stay in a customs union September 26, 2018 Jeremy Corbyn has confirmed he would vote down Theresa May's Brexit plan as part of a gamble to trigger a general election. In his keynote speech to Labour's conference on Wednesday, Corbyn said his MPs would not back May's so-called Chequers proposal, but would also oppose leaving the EU without any trade deal. He claimed [...]
Fossil Fuel divestment: The feel-good climate change policy that would undermine public pension funds September 2, 2015 Most would agree that climate change could pose a threat to the economy. However, measures to combat it will ultimately prove counter-productive if they conflict with the interests of the taxpayer. Forcing government to pursue losses from taxpayer-funded investments in the name of environmentalism, for example, would be an obvious misuse of public [...]
Denmark scales back climate goals that are proving “too expensive” for businesses August 20, 2015 Denmark is scaling back its green ambitions, after the country’s government said the previous target was “too expensive for businesses”. In a goal set by the country’s previous government, Denmark had promised to reduce its carbon emissions at least 40 per cent by 2020, against 1990 levels. This is proving too expensive though, so the [...]
UK energy consumption falls below 1965 levels as industrial output declines and energy efficiency rises August 3, 2015 The UK is the only country where total energy consumption is lower today than it was in 1965, according to newly released energy data from BP. Energy consumption has gone down by close to five per cent over the past 50 years – even as the economy has tripled in size and population. This makes [...]
US power sector hits back at Barack Obama’s tough climate change rules August 3, 2015 President Barack Obama is set to present the US’ most ambitious climate change plans to date, but they come fiercely opposed by both his political rivals and the energy sector. The Obama administration will reveal state-specific details of the initiative, called the clean power plan, on Monday, but overall it will impose reductions of carbon [...]
Germany just set a new record in renewable energy, with solar, wind, biomass and hydro accounting for 78pc of the country’s energy consumption July 31, 2015 Germany set a new record in renewable energy, with over three-quarters of the country’s consumption coming from green energy. A few sunny hours last Saturday were enough for a new high in renewables, as green energy accounted for 78 per cent of Germany’s energy consumption. Solar and wind alone accounted for 40.65 gigawatts of the [...]
Drax Group share price powering up as firm swings back into profit July 28, 2015 Shares in power station firm Drax Group leapt up by almost 10 per cent yesterday, after the company swung back to a profit in the six months to 30 June. Drax posted pre-tax profit of £53m, up from a loss of £11m in the same period last year, and increased its dividend to 5.1p per [...]
Government to stop funding Green Deal due to low take up rates and concerns over taxpayer money July 23, 2015 After not enough people took up the government on its offer, it quietly announced today that funding for the Green Deal, its household energy efficiency programme, has been cut. Read more: Green Deal faces criticism with uptake of only 1,612 last year Under the scheme, households could use cheap long-term loans to make their homes more energy efficient [...]
World’s first solar-powered plane Solar Impulse 2 grounded; halts its record-breaking round-the-world flight until 2016 July 15, 2015 The world's completely solar-powered plane, Solar Impulse 2, has had to halt its round-the-world journey in Hawaii after overheating its batteries in a record-breaking flight. Pilots of the experimental plane, the first of its kind, were attempting to circle the globe powered only by the sun’s rays. But today its website was updated: Breaking news: [...]
Oil giant Petroleum Development Oman plans huge solar farm to extract oil July 14, 2015 It sounds like the opening line of a gag: an oil giant is set to built the world’s largest solar project. An unexpected alliance will have Petroleum Development Oman, the country's state oil company, teaming up with Californian solar power startup Glasspoint to build a solar plant with capacity for more than a gigawatt of [...]