Carbon dioxide emissions reached a record high in 2022

China ramps up coal plant approvals despite emissions pledge: report

A total of 106 GW of new coal power projects were approved in 2022—the equivalent of two large coal plants per week.

Faster, higher, hotter: What we learned about the climate system in 2022: Part 3

Faster, higher, hotter: What we learned about the climate system in 2022: Part 2

Faster, higher, hotter: What we learned about the climate system in 2022: Part 1

Banks still investing heavily in fossil fuels despite net zero pledges – study

Financial institutions signed up to GFANZ initiative accused of acting as ‘climate arsonists’.

Fossil fuel interests revealed to have sponsored more than 500 Australian community organisations

Woodside Energy, Santos and BHP among companies who have sponsorship deals with Australian arts, sport, education and community organisations

Wealthy nations offer Vietnam $15 billion-plus deal to shift from coal

Wealthy nations have offered Vietnam a $15.5 billion package to help pay for its move from coal to renewable energy, the latest in a total…

First UK coal mine in 30 years gets government go-ahead

The first coal mine in Britain for 30 years has been given the go-ahead by the government. Michael Gove, the levelling-up secretary, granted approval for…

Global carbon emissions at record levels with no signs of shrinking

The analysis, by the Global Carbon Project, calculates Earth’s “carbon budget“, which is how much CO₂ humans have released, and how much has been removed…

Coal projects in Great Barrier Reef catchments approved without environmental impact statements

At least 8 coalmining projects in Great Barrier Reef catchments and floodplains have been exempted from requiring environmental impact statements (EIS) by the Queensland government,…

Update to Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Greenhouse Gas Emissions on this site has been updated with newly published data from the Global Carbon Project.

Fossil fuel projects were stalled a year ago. Now they’re making a comeback.

The fossil fuel industry is experiencing a remarkable rebound, with sudden momentum behind more than 80 projects that range from coal-fired power plants to hulking…

Industrial mining in Indonesia accounts for 45% of global tropical deforestation

Out of 26 countries, Indonesia accounted for 58.2% of the tropical deforestation directly caused by industrial mining activities. The data covered 26 countries representing 76.7%…

Germany turns to coal for a third of its electricity

Germany is relying on highly polluting coal for almost a third of its electricity, as the impact of government policies and the war in Ukraine…

Norway prolongs life of Arctic coal mine

Norway’s last remaining coal mine on a geopolitically important Arctic archipelago will stay open. Store Norske, the state-owned mining company, said on Friday it had…

Australian Queensland government approves extension of coal mine

The Queensland government has approved the extension of Carborough Downs coal mine, located 25km east of Moranbah in the Bowen Basin, Australia. The Carborough Downs…

China’s energy crisis sees the world’s top emitter investing in more coal

Two months of scorching heatwaves and drought plunged China into an energy security crisis. The energy crisis has seen Beijing shift its political discourse and…

Huge profits for fossil-fuel giants Woodside, Whitehaven and Santos

Woodside Energy, Australia’s largest energy producer, on Tuesday capped a string of bumper results by oil, gas and coal producers. The Perth-based company said its…

Global fossil fuel subsidies almost doubled in 2021

Global public subsidies for fossil fuels almost doubled to $700 billion in 2021. Despite the huge profits of fossil fuel companies, the subsidies soared as…

New Hope’s New Acland Stage III coal project receives key approval

New Hope Group has received key approval for its New Acland Stage III coal mine project in Queensland, Australia. Queensland Minister for Resources Scott Stewart…

Spot Australian thermal coal has surged

The spot price of Australian thermal coal is higher than that of coking coal, an unprecedented situation that highlights just how the global market for…

Droughts push China towards coal power

Despite enviable earnings, shares of Three Gorges Renewables are down 15% this year and trade at 20 times forward earnings, half the level of a…

Australian Federal Government to back new fossil fuel projects that ‘stack up’ economically and environmentally

The Albanese government will continue to support new fossil fuel projects so long as they “stack up” from an economic and environmental perspective, the federal…

US banks tout fossil fuel credentials

In recent years, Wall Street firms have tried to talk up their commitment to the environment and social justice. Now they are singing a different…

Many countries continue to invest in coal

To understand why it is proving so hard to break up with coal, we worked with an international team of around 35 researchers to investigate…

Germany increases reliance on coal and oil

Coal – France, Italy, Austria and the Netherlands have all announced plans to reactivate old coal power plants. But nowhere are the plans as extensive…

Turkey’s new power plant exposes ‘huge contradictions’ of net zero pledge

The $2.17 billion Hunutlu coal fired power plant is the largest foreign direct investment in Turkey by China. Despite the efforts of campaigners, and several…

Australian Prime Minister rules out banning fossil fuel projects

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says Labor will not support a moratorium on fossil fuel projects. “That’s not in our policy and we won’t be…

Gautam Adani ramps up share of coal imports as power crisis grips India

India’s thermal coal imports hit a monthly record in June of 20.9 million tonnes, after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government called for increased purchases in…

China speeding up approvals for new coal plants

In the first quarter of 2022, Chinese regulators gave the green light to coal plants with a total capacity of 8.63 gigawatts. That is nearly…

Hungary declares ‘energy emergency’ over threat of fuel shortages

Hungary’s government has declared an “energy emergency” in response to supply disruptions and skyrocketing energy prices in Europe, an official said. There is “unlikely to…

Australian Queensland state government gives environmental approval to coalmine expansion

Queensland has granted environmental approval to a plan to expand an open-cut coalmine near Toowoomba and extend its life for another 12 years, in a…

Dutch join Germany, Austria, in reverting to coal

The Netherlands said it would lift all restrictions on power stations fired by the fossil fuel, which were previously limited to just over a third…

Germany fires up coal plants to avert gas shortage as Russia cuts supply

Germany will significantly increase its use of coal to preserve energy supplies ahead of the winter, as Russian cuts to gas exports threaten shortfalls in…

Global coal consumption: Spotlight on China’s consumption for power generation

“China’s influence on coal markets is difficult to overstate”, says the International Energy Agency’s Coal 2021 report, which was published in mid-December China’s overall coal…

Old King Coal: price reaches highest level in more than 200 years, on track for $500

Coal prices are soaring, hitting $462 per tonne today, up from $186 on the 23rd of February and likely to pass $500 this year. Russia is Europe’s…

Coal, oil price surges on Ukraine war make Asia’s richest richer

Gautam Adani and Mukesh Ambani are profiting from a surge in global commodity prices triggered by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, burnishing their fossil-fuel credentials even…

EU accepts it will burn more coal in move away from Russian gas

Brussels has given the green light for the EU to burn more coal over the next decade as it tries to end the use of…

India relaxes environment rules for coal mines, citing heatwave

India has relaxed environmental compliance rules for coal mines seeking to ramp up production as power outages exacerbate a sweltering heatwave, a government notice showed.…

Heat wave sparks blackouts, questions on India’s coal usage

An unusually early and brutal heat wave is scorching parts of India, with acute power shortages affecting millions as demand for electricity surges to record…

Boom and Bust Coal 2022

The world has more than 2,400 coal-fired power plants, for a total capacity of nearly 2,100 gigawatts (GW). An additional 176GW of coal capacity is…

With coal surge, China puts energy security and growth before climate

Chinese leaders pledged ahead of climate negotiations in Glasgow, Scotland, last November to peak national emissions before 2030 and stop building coal power plants abroad.…

China doubles down on coal

China is in the throes of a building boom to jump start its economy. The government of President Xi Jinping has “scrambled in recent months…

Narrabri coal mine expansion gets final approval from NSW planning commission

A $400 million coal mine expansion that would result in almost half a billion tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions has been conditionally approved by New…

Medium- and long-term contracts signed by Chinese coal suppliers shall account for over 80% of their resources: economic planner

China’s National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), the country’s top economic planner, will launch special investigation into the implementation of medium- and long-term contracts signed…

Chinese government to help run coal power plants at full capacity

China will help its coal-fired power plants run at full capacity, the government has announced, raising further alarm about the fate of Beijing’s climate pledges.…

The great climate backslide: How governments are regressing worldwide

From the U.S. to China, in Europe, India and Japan, fossil fuels are staging a comeback, clean energy stocks are taking a hammering, and the…

China’s coal production hit record levels in 2021

China’s coal production reached record levels last year as the state encouraged miners to ramp up their fossil fuel output to safeguard the country’s energy…

China fires up giant coal power plant in face of calls for cuts

China, under fire for approving new coal power stations as other countries try to curb greenhouse gases, has completed the first 1,000-megawatt unit of the…

Coal power’s sharp rebound is taking it to a new record in 2021, threatening net zero goals

After falling in 2019 and 2020, global power generation from coal is expected to jump by 9% in 2021 to an all-time high. Depending on…

Study – The Expanding Coal Power Fleet in Southeast Asia

Coal combustion for power generation made up 30% of global CO2 emissions in 2018. To achieve the goal of the Paris Agreement to keep global…

The world is burning the most coal ever to keep the lights on

The world likely will generate more electricity from the dirtiest source this year than ever before, indicating just how far the energy transition still needs…

‘Running out of time’: Asia struggles to kick coal addiction

Hopes for a cleaner future have been fired by pledges from top coal consumer China and other countries to go carbon neutral, but much of…

China’s pledge on overseas coal — by the numbers

China’s promise to stop financing coal power abroad is a positive step, but researchers say the emissions savings pale in comparison to those from its…

Reducing CO₂ emissions by targeting the world’s hyper-polluting power plants

Maps of fossil-fueled power plants’ CO2 emissions. Taller spikes indicate that plants emit CO2 at higher levels. Colors signify plants’ primary fuels (blue = coal,…

Global electric power demand returns to pre-pandemic levels

Carbon dioxide emissions from the global electric power sector rebounded in the first half of 2021 to above pre-pandemic levels, according to an analysis, signalling…