( Clean Energy Wire) – An abrupt halt to economic activity and greatly reduced mobility in reaction to the coronavirus outbreak have let Germany’s energy consumption plummet in the first half of 2020. While all fossil fuels and especially coal experienced a sharp drop in demand, energy produced with renewables increased its share and absolute […]
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Coal
Frankenfuel: The Market is done with Big Oil and Coal, but will they Lumber on with Gov’t Subsidies?
Southwest Harbor, Maine (Special to Informed Comment) – Are the big oil stocks headed for collapse? Citizens as diverse as climate activist and 350.org founder Bill McKibben and CNBC finance guru Jim Cramer seem to think so. Here is Cramer as reported by Axios in early February even before the historic plunge in crude prices.\ […]
Coronavirus Effect: In One Year, Share of Coal in German Public Power Supply Cratered to 16% from 30%
By Freja Eriksen | — ( Clean Energy Wire) – Coal’s share in Germany’s net public power production fell to around 16 percent in April 2020, shows data by Fraunhofer ISE’s Energy Charts. The institute’s Energy Charts project does not include data on the amount of power the generating facilities consume themselves to operate, or […]
US Oil “Technically Worthless,” and Coal Plants Shuttered, as a Tidal Wave of Bankruptcies Looms
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – May contracts for West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil went as low as -$37.63 on Monday. So report Jillian Ambrose and Martin Farrer at The Guardian. The price, well below zero, was a first for the US oil market, and showed the conviction of traders that the economy would not […]
Is Covid-19 Killing the Coal Industry in Egypt and around the World? In the Meantime, Solar Shines
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Simon Nicholas at South Africa’s Business Live reports that the proposed huge new Hamrawein coal-fueled power plant in Egypt has been shelved. There are now no new coal plants planned in Egypt, which is pivoting toward renewables after years of mainly relying on fossil fuels. One cause for the demise […]
Killing off the Animals: By Burning Fossil Fuels, we’ll destroy 50% of their Habitat this Century
By Christopher Trisos and Alex Pigot | – The impacts of climate change on species and ecosystems are already evident. Poleward shifts in the geographic distributions of species, catastrophic forest fires and mass bleaching of coral reefs all bear the fingerprints of climate change. But what will the world’s biodiversity look like in the future? […]
Coalxit? Germany, 4th Largest Economy, Officially Approves Phase-Out of Coal
By Benjamin Wehrmann | – ( Clean Energy Wire) – The German government has officially approved the end of coal-fired power production in Germany. Chancellor Angela Merkel’s cabinet adopted a law detailing plant shutdowns and compensation payments for coal companies, confirming a commission proposal made last year to end coal no later than 2038. The […]
The Anti-Trump: Merkel’s Germany dumps 20% of Its Coal Use, CO2 Falls 7%, Renewables at 40%
By Julian Wettengel | – ( Clean Energy Wire) – Germany has seen a second year of significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions in 2019, as coal use fell by more than 20 percent and energy production from renewables increased, preliminary calculations by energy research group AG Energiebilanzen show. While the country’s overall energy use […]
Turning point in Climate Activism? Germans Block Coal Mines with their Bodies
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Deutsche Welle reports that that more than 1,000 green activists made their way past police lines and blocked trains at 3 important coal mines in eastern Germany on Saturday. A few clashes took place between police and protesters. The environmental group End of the Road claimed more like 4,000 people […]