On his first day in office, the president signed an executive order that withdrew all parts of the outer continental shelf from new or renewed offshore leasing activity and suspended the…Continue readingTrump halts construction of big wind farm off New York coast: ‘reckless and overreaching’
Tag: oil
ExxonMobil chief executive Darren Woods received $44.1 million in pay for 2024, a 19.3% increase over the year before. Woods’ pay compares with the $32.7 million paid to Mike Wirth, boss…Continue readingExxonMobil chief’s pay rises 19% to $44.1mn
BP is shutting its low-carbon mobility team in the energy major’s latest retreat from its five-year-old attempt to diversify away from oil and gas. The unit was responsible for developing electric,…Continue readingBP’s low-carbon mobility team axed as company reverts to oil and gas
The climate crisis is on track to destroy capitalism, a top insurer has warned, with the vast cost of extreme weather impacts leaving the financial sector unable to operate. The world…Continue readingClimate crisis on track to destroy capitalism, warns top insurer
Police have raided a Quaker meeting house and arrested six women attending a gathering of the protest group Youth Demand. Youth Demand describes itself as “a youth-led nonviolent civil resistance campaign…Continue readingMet raids Quaker meeting house and arrests six women at Youth Demand talk
A new four-lane highway cutting through tens of thousands of acres of protected Amazon rainforest is being built for the COP30 climate summit in the Brazilian city of Belém. The Amazon…Continue readingAmazon forest felled to build road for climate summit
Analysis of young sable shearwaters, a migratory bird that travels between Australia’s Lord Howe Island and Japan, has found that plastic waste is causing damage to seabird chicks not apparent to…Continue readingPlastic pollution leaves seabirds with brain damage similar to Alzheimer’s, study shows
The pollution of the planet by microplastics is significantly cutting food supplies by damaging the ability of plants to photosynthesise, according to a new assessment. The analysis estimates that between 4%…Continue readingMicroplastics hinder plant photosynthesis, study finds, threatening millions with starvation
India has passed legislation intended to encourage oil and gas exploration. “[It’s a] historic day in India’s quest towards energy security and energy self-sufficiency,” oil minister Hardeep Singh Puri said after…Continue readingIndia approves legislation to boost oil and gas exploration
Lahore’s 14 million residents spent six months breathing concentrations of PM2.5—tiny particles that can penetrate the lungs and bloodstream—at levels 20 times or more than recommended by the World Health Organization.…Continue reading‘Really suffocating’: Pakistan emerges from record smog season
Nearly every country on Earth has dirtier air than doctors recommend breathing, a report has found. Only seven countries met the World Health Organization’s guidelines for tiny toxic particles known as…Continue readingOnly seven countries worldwide meet WHO dirty air guidelines, study shows
The world needs more planet-heating fossil fuel, not less, Donald Trump’s newly appointed energy secretary, Chris Wright, told oil and gas bigwigs on Monday. “The Trump administration will treat climate change…Continue readingWhat the world needs now is more fossil fuels, says Trump’s energy secretary
The first section of London’s Ulez scheme was launched in 2019 in the central part of the city. The zone was expanded across inner London boroughs in 2021 and enlarged again…Continue readingDramatic fall in London’s levels of deadly pollutants after Ulez expansion
In a two-day hearing last month, the activists, who were jailed for taking part in various disruptive protests in 2022, argued that their trial judges had erred by failing to offer…Continue readingJust Stop Oil protesters’ jail sentences shortened after appeal
“There is no peak demand on the horizon,” OPEC Secretary General Haitham al-Ghais said in the organization’s World Oil Outlook, which sees global thirst for liquid fuels increasing from 102.2 million…Continue readingFrom Sept 2024: OPEC raises long-term demand forecasts in rejecting peak oil
Saudi Arabian Oil Company, commonly known as Saudi Aramco, has announced a net income of 106.2 billion U.S. dollars in 2024, down from 121.3 billion dollars in the previous year.Continue readingSaudi Aramco records net income of 106.2 billion U.S. dollars in 2024
The Senate voted Thursday to overturn a Biden-era rule that required oil companies to pay a fine for emitting methane, a powerful greenhouse gas that has significantly contributed to climate change.…Continue readingUS congress is reversing a tax on this climate superpollutant
Oil major BP says it has slashed planned investment in renewable energy and would increase annual oil and gas spending to $10bn. Under Auchincloss’s predecessor, Bernard Looney, BP pledged in 2020…Continue readingBP drops climate targets in pivot back to oil and gas
BMW has pledged to continue investing in combustion engine and hybrid technology as it warned of a “rollercoaster ride” in the US transition to electric vehicles following the return of Donald…Continue readingBMW bets on petrol cars as it warns of US ‘rollercoaster’ EV transition
Airbus has delayed plans to fly a hydrogen-powered aircraft by 2035 in a setback for the aviation industry’s hopes to achieve net zero. The decision to abandon the deadline for the…Continue readingAirbus pushes back plans to fly hydrogen plane by 2035
German sports-car maker Porsche plans to overhaul its product portfolio to include more combustion engine and plug-in hybrid vehicles, putting additional strain on its already squeezed profit margins. The Stuttgart-based carmaker…Continue readingPorsche margins set to fall with greater combustion engine and hybrid investment
The Norwegian state-backed energy group that dropped oil from its name as part of a push into renewables is pivoting back to fossil fuels in the hunt for shareholder returns. Equinor,…Continue readingEquinor scales back renewables push 7 years after ditching ‘oil’ from its name
Ørsted is slashing investment and dropping its targets for developing new renewable energy as part of a second drastic attempt to restore its struggling share price and boost confidence in its…Continue readingWorld’s biggest offshore wind developer Ørsted slashes investment by 25%
Millions of tonnes of plastic waste are dumped in the environment and much is broken down into small fragments. Microplastics were already known to have polluted the entire planet, from the…Continue readingVehicle tyres found to be biggest source of nanoplastics in the high Alps
The human body is widely contaminated by microplastics. They have also been found in blood, semen, breast milk, placentas and bone marrow. The impact on human health is largely unknown, but…Continue readingLevels of microplastics in human brains may be rapidly rising, study suggests
In early December 2024, hopes for a landmark global treaty to curb plastic pollution were dashed as negotiations in South Korea stalled. Leading the campaign against the deal were major oil-producing…Continue readingWhile plastic dominates human consumption, the global economy will remain hooked on fossil fuels
Global demand for oil will not fall until at least 2040, according to a new forecast by the world’s largest independent energy trader, in the latest signal that economies will struggle…Continue readingOil demand to remain at current levels until at least 2040, Vitol says
A study has found microplastic and nanoplastic pollution to be significantly higher in placentas from premature births than in those from full-term births. Microplastics, broken down from plastic waste, have polluted…Continue readingMicroplastics in placentas linked to premature births, study suggests
In our Short-Term Energy Outlook, we forecast the lowest annual petroleum consumption in Japan in 2024 since at least 1980, in part due to its aging and declining population. Japan’s reduced…Continue readingJapan’s oil consumption slumps as population ages rapidly
Shell dominated the $1.4bn global market for carbon credits last year as oil and gas companies scaled back their spending on clean energy and relied more heavily on offsets to reach…Continue readingShell dominates carbon credit market as clean energy spending scaled back
I was one of a group of Just Stop Oil activists given the longest-ever UK sentences for peaceful protest after blocking a motorway. Six months into my incarceration, this is what…Continue readingWhat the UK government does to those who protest against fossil fuel production
California officials are withdrawing their final requests to enforce their nation-leading electric vehicle rules, days before President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration. State officials told U.S. EPA on Monday they wouldn’t seek federal…Continue readingCalifornia withdraws requests to enforce pollution rules ahead of Trump
Climate breakdown drove the annual global temperature above the internationally agreed 1.5˚C target for the first time last year, supercharging extreme weather and causing “misery to millions of people”. The average…Continue readingHottest year on record sent planet past 1.5˚C of heating for first time in 2024
Thirteen of the ports with the highest supertanker traffic will be seriously damaged by just 1 metre of sea level rise, the analysis found. The researchers said two low-lying ports in…Continue reading‘Ironic’: climate-driven sea level rise will overwhelm major oil ports
The paper, published in the journal Science Advances, suggests that the industrial hunting of great whales such as sperm, blue, fin and right whales “masked” the ability of these underwater giants…Continue reading‘Extraordinary longevity’: great whales can live a lot longer than we thought – if we leave them alone
By David Spratt at Climate Code Red If an unexpected leap in the global average temperature in 2023 was described by one scientist as “gobsmackingly bananas”, are there even words to…Continue readingA(nother) year of scientific shock and awe
The most profitable company in the world is Saudi Aramco, the national oil company of Saudi Arabia. It generates a daily profit of approximately 304 million dollars, which is about 3.519…Continue readingThe most profitable company in the world, the amount it earns every second is astonishing
Italian energy giant Eni is firing up the world’s most powerful supercomputer outside the US this Christmas as it races rivals to build the technology infrastructure needed to better explore for…Continue readingEni fires up €100mn supercomputer in race to find oil and gas reservoirs
The Air Quality Index (AQI) is a measure of pollution in the air, with higher numbers indicating greater health risks. Levels above 300 are considered dangerous. “Stuff I could never even…Continue reading‘Trapped inside’: The children suffocating in the smog of Lahore
A 77-year-old environmental activist will spend Christmas in prison despite having been released on an electronic tag, because the authorities cannot find an electronic device small enough to fit her wrists.…Continue readingElderly activist to spend Christmas in prison because tag does not fit
Forty people, aged from 22 to 58, will be behind bars on Christmas Day for planning or taking part in a variety of protests relating to the climate crisis or the…Continue readingRecord number of protesters will be in UK prisons this Christmas
The research, involving more than 200,000 people in Scotland, found an increase in exposure to nitrogen dioxide in particular was associated with a higher number of people being admitted to hospital…Continue readingPollution exposure linked to mental health hospital admissions
Three-quarters of Earth’s land has become drier since 1990. A new report from scientists convened by the United Nations found that an area as large as India has become arid, and…Continue readingRising desertification shows we can’t keep farming with fossil fuels
ExxonMobil announced plans to boost spending on oil production. The biggest western oil company on Wednesday said it had pencilled in $27bn-$29bn for capital expenditure next year, rising to $28bn-$33bn between…Continue readingExxon doubles down on oil production spending
British police arrest environmental protesters at nearly three times the global average rate, research has found, revealing the country as a world leader in the legal crackdown on climate activism. Only…Continue readingBritain leads the world in cracking down on climate activism, study finds
Queensland’s environment minister has told parliament he stands by his comments more than a decade ago that he was “a bit sceptical” about human involvement in climate change. Griffith University emeritus…Continue readingAustralian Queensland environment minister stands by ‘scepticism’ about human-induced climate change
Oil companies Shell and Equinor are to combine their UK offshore oil and gas assets to form a new company they say would be the biggest independent producer in the North…Continue readingShell and Equinor to combine UK offshore oil and gas assets
As the Danish renewable energy company Ørsted battled to restore its reputation following a bruising year, a rival across the North Sea had the company in its sights. After months of…Continue readingHow the world’s biggest offshore wind company was blown off course
In launching its World Energy Outlook 2024 (WEO), the IEA stated that “the future of the global energy system is electric.” This follows its assertion that demand for coal, oil and…Continue reading‘’Age of electricity’ to follow looming fossil fuel peak’’: Analysis or Science Fiction?
Consultancy firm McKinsey was paid $1.6m over 11 weeks to “inform” and “guide” Australian energy and climate policy, despite its work for the world’s biggest fossil fuel companies. The firm, whose…Continue readingMcKinsey paid $1.6m to ‘guide’ Australian climate policy despite working for fossil fuel companies
Petrobras needs to be “as big as possible” to guarantee its long-term future, says the head of Brazil’s state-controlled oil major, as the company boosts investments in activities ranging from offshore…Continue readingPetrobras must be ‘as big as possible’, says chief of Brazilian oil major
Between 2000 and 2019, annual production of plastics doubled to 460 million tons. It is expected to reach 736 million tons by 2040, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and…Continue readingWhy is a global treaty on plastic pollution dividing the world?
BUSAN, South Korea — Global talks to forge a landmark treaty aimed at reducing plastic pollution broke down after negotiators from more than 170 countries remained deadlocked over how to curb…Continue readingDivided over whether to stop making plastic, U.N. treaty talks collapse
The world soccer governing body is under fire for agreeing to an enormous sponsorship deal that is in direct opposition to its and others’ climate action goals FIFA inked a four-year…Continue readingFIFA faces enormous backlash over decision to accept sponsorship deal: ‘Might as well pour oil on the pitch and set it alight’
“Natural resources … are a gift from God. Every natural resource, whether it’s oil, gas, wind, sun, gold, silver, copper, they are all natural resources. Countries should not be blamed for…Continue readingFossil fuel supply: The elephant in the room at climate change conferences
PFAS are a class of about 15,000 compounds typically used to make products that resist water, stains and heat. They are called “forever chemicals” because they do not naturally break down…Continue readingPFAS and microplastics become more toxic when combined, research shows
The world will be “unable to cope” with the sheer volume of plastic waste a decade from now unless countries agree to curbs on production, the co-chair of a coalition of…Continue readingWorld will be ‘unable to cope’ with volume of plastic waste in 10 years, warns expert
A group of prominent scientists, advocates and policy leaders have issued an open letter to the Executive Secretary of the UNFCCC Secretariat Simon Stiell as world leaders gather in Baku for…Continue readingGlobal climate leaders want COP29 to succeed but call for urgent overhaul of the process
Kuwait Petroleum Corp. plans to spend about 10 billion dinars ($33 billion) over five years to ramp up oil production capacity, betting on robust demand for decades to come. “We’re looking…Continue readingKuwait to Spend Over $30 Billion to Boost Oil in Bet on Demand
Construction has started on a new, multi-billion-dollar refining and petrochemical complex in Fujian, China. The project involves a total investment of 71.1 billion yuan (US$9.9 billion), which is the largest industrial…Continue readingConstruction starts on $9.9bn petrochemical complex in China
Namibia could double its annual GDP growth to 8 per cent within a decade and reduce its dependence on diamonds because of new offshore oil and gas finds, according to the…Continue readingNamibia seeks to double GDP growth from oil and gas finds
About 150 miles south-east of the US city of New Orleans, Shell’s newest oil platform looms above the choppy waters of the Gulf of Mexico. Dubbed Vito, the structure embodies a…Continue readingOffshore oil is back. At what cost?
“The east African crude oil pipeline is ongoing,” Uganda’s energy minister Ruth Nankabirwa told the Financial Times at the COP29 climate summit in Baku, Azerbaijan. “We have invested a lot of…Continue readingUganda targets 2027 start for world’s longest heated oil pipeline
Saudi Arabia has been working to foil any agreements that renew a pledge to transition away from fossil fuels, according to negotiators, says the New York Times. Negotiators say it’s part…Continue readingSaudi Arabia is a ‘wrecking ball’ in global climate talks
Although many countries have explicitly promised to reduce fossil fuel subsidies to combat climate change, this has proven difficult to accomplish. As a result, fossil fuels remain relatively inexpensive, and their…Continue readingCountries spend huge sums on fossil fuel subsidies
At least 480 lobbyists working on carbon capture and storage (CCS) have been granted access to the UN climate summit. CCS lobbyists at COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan, outnumber the core national…Continue readingAlmost 500 carbon capture lobbyists granted access to COP29 climate summit
The host country of this year’s UN climate summit, Azerbaijan, has rolled out “red carpet” treatment to fossil fuel bosses and lobbyists, the Guardian can reveal. At least 132 oil and…Continue readingFossil fuel bosses get ‘red carpet’ at COP29 despite concerns over influence
At least 1,773 coal, oil, and gas lobbyists have been granted access to the United Nations climate talks in Baku, Azerbaijan. Those lobbyists outnumber the delegations of almost every country at…Continue readingOver 1,700 coal, oil and gas lobbyists granted access to COP29
Global carbon emissions from fossil fuels have reached a record high in 2024, according to new research by the Global Carbon Project science team. The 2024 Global Carbon Budget projects fossil…Continue readingFossil fuel CO₂ emissions increase again in 2024
The iShares Global Clean Energy exchange-traded fund, which holds a broad basket of climate tech stocks, declined 6.5% in the 12 months to November 4, against a 26% rise for the…Continue readingTransition to clean energy falters as green tech funding falls short
Australia and Turkey are vying to host COP31, and the Australian government hopes Turkey will exit the race in time for an announcement before next week. The hypocrisy of Australia’s bid…Continue readingClimate criminal Australia competes to host Climate-COP
Azerbaijan’s president has branded oil and gas a “gift from God” as he welcomed delegates to the COP29 climate summit. The president of the oil and gas-rich country argued, as he…Continue readingCOP29 host Azerbaijan brands oil and gas ‘gift from God’
Highlights of Energy Law of the People’s Republic of China, adopted at the 12th meeting of the Standing Committee of the 14th National People’s Congress on November 8, 2024 –Continue readingNew Energy Law passed by People’s Republic of China
The chief executive of COP29 has been filmed apparently agreeing to facilitate fossil fuel deals at the climate summit. The campaign group Global Witness posed undercover as a fake oil and…Continue readingCOP29 CEO filmed agreeing to facilitate fossil fuel deals at climate summit
Air pollution in Pakistan’s second biggest city Lahore soared on Saturday, with an official calling it a record high for the smog-choked mega city. For days, the city of 14 million…Continue readingPollution level in Pakistan megacity hits new high
Europe’s largest oil and gas company reported adjusted earnings of $6 billion for the third quarter The biggest contributor to group profits was once again Shell’s integrated gas division, which reported…Continue readingShell is delivering on promise of ‘consistent’ returns, says chief executive
A global treaty to end plastic pollution may be in jeopardy, negotiators and environmentalists said Thursday, with new signs that countries may not be able to agree on production cuts. A…Continue readingNew doubt over production cuts in plastic pollution treaty
Microplastics have been found throughout the human body — including inside lungs, blood and brains — and while it is not yet clear how harmful they are to our health, some…Continue readingHow harmful are microplastics to human health?
New global findings in the 8th annual indicator report of The Lancet Countdown on Health and Climate Change reveal that people in every country face record-breaking threats to health and survival…Continue readingExperts call for trillions of dollars spent on fossil fuels to be redirected
The concentration of planet-heating pollutants clogging the atmosphere hit record levels in 2023, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has said. It found carbon dioxide (CO2) is accumulating faster than at any…Continue readingPlanet-heating pollutants in atmosphere hit record levels in 2023
Since 2016, 21 [US] states have passed a total of 56 laws criminalizing protest or dramatically increasing the penalties for engaging in it. The state of Alabama, for example, can now punish a…Continue readingOutrageous Anti-Protest Laws Can’t Silence the Climate Movement
Schoolchildren in Pakistan’s second-largest city of Lahore have been banned from outdoor exercise until January because of hazardous smog levels, officials said Friday. The eastern megacity near the border with India…Continue readingSmog in Pakistan megacity ends outdoor play for schoolkids
Biodiversity is declining more quickly within key protected areas than outside them, according to research that scientists say is a “wake-up call” to global leaders discussing how to stop nature loss…Continue readingBiodiversity declining even faster in ‘protected’ areas, scientists warn COP16
The world’s energy watchdog has signalled a new energy era in which countries have access to more oil, gas and coal than needed to fuel their economic growth, leading to lower…Continue readingFossil fuels could become cheaper and more abundant, says IEA
Foreign aid for fossil fuel projects quadrupled in a single year, a report has found, rising from $1.2bn in 2021 to $5.4bn in 2022. The report found the top five funders…Continue readingForeign aid for fossil fuel projects quadrupled in a single year
We are seeing unprecedented rapidly intensifying tropical storms such as Hurricane Helene in the eastern United States and Super Typhoon Yagi in Vietnam. Unprecedented fires in Canada have destroyed towns. Unprecedented…Continue readingUnprecedented peril: Disaster lies ahead as we track towards 2.7°C of warming this century, researchers warn
An international coalition led by Oregon State University scientists concludes in its annual report published in BioScience that the Earth’s worsening vital signs indicate a “critical and unpredictable new phase of…Continue readingClimate report warns of escalating crisis, urges immediate action as UN summit nears
Many of Earth’s “vital signs” have hit record extremes, indicating that “the future of humanity hangs in the balance”, a group of the world’s most senior climate experts have said. More…Continue readingEarth’s ‘vital signs’ show humanity’s future in balance
Wildfires are burning through the carbon budget that humans have allocated themselves to limit global heating, a study shows. The authors said this accelerating trend was approaching – and may have…Continue readingWildfires are burning through humanity’s carbon budget