International Renewable Energy Agency

After days of shaving off the edges of key warming issues, climate negotiators zeroed in on the tough job of dealing with the main cause of what's overheating the planet: fossil fuels.

The majority end up in landfills. Advocates say we can do better.

The United Arab Emirates on Thursday, January 12, 2023, named a veteran technocrat who both leads Abu Dhabi's state-run oil company and oversees its renewable energy efforts to be the president of the upcoming United Nations climate negotiations in Dubai, highlighting the balancing act ahead for this crude-producing nation.

An energy pact between Canada and Germany expected to be signed next week in Newfoundland and Labrador will set aggressive timelines and targets for exporting hydrogen to Germany, Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson said on Friday, August 19, 2022.

A flurry of summits this week across Dubai addressed the threat of climate change, or at least acknowledged that a pivot away from fossil fuels toward cleaner sources of power is needed to keep temperatures from rising.

The world must take “radical action” by investing $5.7 trillion in private and public money each year through 2030 to shift away from fossil fuels and ensure the planetary warming they cause doesn’t pass dangerous thresholds, the International Renewable Energy Agency says.

Almost two-thirds of wind and solar projects built globally last year will be able to generate cheaper electricity than even the world’s cheapest new coal plants, according to a report from the International Renewable Energy Agency.

Industry leaders also said the Canadian playing field has become more level after Alberta and Ontario ended government rebates on solar energy upgrades.

Clean tech advocates say there’s more to the story, in particular when it comes to the potential for manufacturing, like a recent deal to produce electric vehicles in Ontario.

Most solar manufacturers claim their panels will last for about 25 years. That means the solar e-waste glut is coming.

The short-term prospects for wind and solar power look rocky amid the economic upheaval of the coronavirus. But long term, renewables could emerge stronger than ever, especially if governments integrate support for clean energy into Covid-19 economic-recovery programs.

Asia is leading the global surge in renewable energy jobs. In 2017, the renewable energy industry broke a symbolic threshold, employing over 10 million people, according to the International Renewable Energy Association's latest research.

An annual International Renewable Energy Agency report tallied 9.8 million clean energy sector jobs globally in 2015-2016, including 3.1 million jobs in the solar PV sector.

Kinder Morgan's plan to raise money for its Trans Mountain expansion through an initial public offering could not come at a more awkward time.

Governments who are thinking about approving major fossil fuel projects should think carefully about the consequences about what happens when the infrastructure becomes obsolete.