Tag: Greenhouse gas emissions

US Solar Panel Makers Try to Catch China With a Big Leap in Technology

Media Library

Producers of solar panels in the United States say they are on the cusp of a technological breakthrough that could upend the industry and even threaten China’s grip on it. The manufacturers are racing to develop new kinds of panels that can generate 25 percent more energy than most such devices available today. If they are successful, the advance will allow the world to meet the rapidly rising demand for electricity with less land and roof area. The new technology, known as tandem solar, involves adding second and third layers…

China’s falling emissions amid Iran war spark hope of decarbonisation watershed

Media Library

China’s carbon dioxide emissions fell by 1% after the outbreak of the US-Israeli war on Iran, thanks to a sharp reduction in oil consumption and a steady rise in the use of electric vehicles and public transport, analysis shows. The report reveals the role of clean energy in cushioning the price shocks caused by the strait of Hormuz crisis to the world’s biggest oil importer. It also reinforces hopes that China, which is the world’s biggest greenhouse gas emitter, may be nearing a turning point in decarbonising its economy. China…

Britain and other countries with lower emissions must not pass the climate buck | Letters

Media Library

Thank you for Ajit Niranjan’s article (‘But we’re just 1% of emissions’: do smaller countries’ climate efforts matter?, 30 June). This helpfully examines arguments frequently used to undermine the UK’s and other nations’ plans for emission reduction. In my opinion this article misses an important counter-argument: carbon emissions per capita. This shows that, for example, the UK emits 4.5 tonnes of carbon per person per year, China 8.7 tonnes, United States 14.2 tonnes, India 2.2 tonnes and Vietnam 3.7 tonnes. Many smaller European nations have similar or greater emissions per…

China Moves the Price of Oil, Even When It Buys Less

Media Library

After the war in Iran cut off a fifth of the world’s oil supply, oil prices jumped, at one point reaching nearly $120 a barrel. But they didn’t spike higher, even though some analysts warned ominously of $200 oil, and prices have since come down. At more than $80 a barrel, oil is expensive. But it could be a lot higher. One major reason was China. The biggest oil buyer in the world, China has kept a lid on prices by rapidly reducing the amount of oil it imports. Before…

UK car sales hit post-Covid high for May as Chinese EV makers gain ground

Media Library

British car sales rose in May to their strongest level for the month since before the Covid pandemic, driven in part by strong growth from the Chinese manufacturers BYD and Chery. Car registrations rose by 7% to 160,662 during the month, according to figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), a lobby group. Sales of battery electric cars rose the fastest, accounting for more than 27% of the market. Chery sold 8,200 cars during May across its Chery, Jaecoo and Omoda brands, while BYD sold 5,200. Over…

Revealed: the internal BHP memo that slammed the brakes on world’s biggest miner’s climate push

Media Library

In the middle of 2019, London was sweltering through a heatwave. Temperature records tumbled. Frail, ill and elderly people died in their hundreds. In a city not built for heat, trains were brought to a halt. Railway lines threatened to buckle and sagging power lines caused spot fires along the tracks. Across the channel, Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany also hit record temperatures. During the hottest week in late July, the then global chief executive of one of the world’s worst polluters was preparing to take the stage at a…

BHP quietly scrapped plan to build Pilbara plant that would have drastically cut emissions

Media Library

BHP quietly dumped plans for an iron ore processing facility that would have cut emissions drastically, despite internally rating it as having “excellent social value” and being “well-aligned” to its shareholder-endorsed climate plan and decarbonisation targets. In 2025 the mining giant was well advanced in its plans to build a beneficiation plant near its Jimblebar open-cut mine in the Pilbara, which would greatly improve the purity and quality of its iron ore. BHP knew higher quality iron ore was desired by steelmakers across the globe, including in China, where government…

How the Supreme Court’s Shadow Docket Upended Climate Policy

Media Library

In 2016, a surprise decision from the Supreme Court “sent both climate policy and the court itself spinning in new directions,” Jodi Kantor and Adam Liptak wrote in an investigation published last week. The one-paragraph ruling halted the Clean Power Plan, President Barack Obama’s signature environmental policy, which was aimed at reducing emissions from power plants. The decision signaled the birth of the court’s modern “shadow docket,” which the court uses to issue short opinions and bypass the time-tested procedures of hearing oral arguments and publishing detailed explanation of the…

As Iran war exposes global dependence on fossil fuels, the biggest emitters are reaping the rewards

Media Library

Oil stands at about $110 a barrel and some forecasts have predicted it could reach $150. Food prices are on the rise and are expected to leap further owing to the fertiliser supply crunch, leading the World Food Programme USA to warn that global food insecurity could reach record levels, with 45 million more people pushed into acute hunger. Industries from steel to chemicals have alerted markets that they face shortages and soaring costs, while households across the world are feeling the pinch – people have been told to turn…

The Guardian view on EV charging: China took the right lessons from Britain’s past | Editorial

Media Library

The future of electric cars arrived this week in China. The world’s biggest car seller, BYD, unveiled a new battery giving its latest electric models more than 600 miles of range. Remarkably, the Chinese motor-maker said 250 miles of range could be injected into its new batteries in just five minutes. If true, the last remaining advantages of petrol cars – long range and quick refuelling – are beginning to disappear. But such technology requires megawatt charging points. A single charger can draw as much power as a small town…