European Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen, has unveiled today a €545m Team Europe package to accelerate Africa's clean energy transition. This announcement is an important milestone in the ‘Scaling Up Renewables in Africa' campaign, co-hosted with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa. This campaign raises global awareness and mobilises public and private investments for clean energy generation and access across Africa.
Tag: transition
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Commission guides States on fulfilling Social Climate Plans
The European Commission has issued new guidance to help EU Member States effectively implement the Social Climate Fund (SCF) and complete their Social Climate Plans (SCPs). Starting in 2026 and mobilising over €86bn, the Social Climate Fund has been created to ensure the transition to a greener economy is fair and leaves no one behind, and to support vulnerable households and small businesses in their efforts to switch to cleaner energy and transport.
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President Xi Jinping announces China’s climate commitments
China will, by 2035, reduce economy-wide net greenhouse gas emissions by 7% to 10% from peak levels, said President Xi Jinping of China at the United Nations Climate Summit on 24 September. China will increase the share of non-fossil fuels used in its energy supply to over 30%; expand the installed capacity of wind and solar power to over six times the 2020 levels; make electric vehicles mainstream; expand the National Carbon Emissions Trading Market to cover major high-emission sectors; and establish a climate adaptive society.
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Close to 100 countries signal new climate targets
Close to 100 countries – including nearly 40 Heads of State and Government – have announced, committed to finalising or set out their commitment to implementing their new climate targets ahead of COP30 in Belém, Brazil this November. The announcements came at a Climate Summit convened by UN Secretary-General António Guterres and President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of Brazil on the margins of the 80th session of the UN General Assembly.
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Largest sand battery in the world launches in Finland
Polar Night Energy has built an industrial-scale sand battery in Pornainen for Loviisan Lämpö’s district heating network. The new sand battery delivers 1MW of thermal power and offers a storage capacity of 100MWh, making it 10 times larger than the Sand Battery launched in Kankaanpää in 2022.
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First wind turbine installed in Poland by Baltic Power
Northland Power, based in Canada, has announced the successful installation of the first turbine at the Baltic Power project which is a 1.1GW offshore wind farm in the Baltic Sea. Baltic Power is a joint venture between Northland and ORLEN Group and is expected to be Poland’s first operating offshore wind farm.
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India says it’s leading – not following – the energy transition
Shri Pralhad Joshi, Union Minister, New and Renewable Energy, said that this is not just an energy transition for India; it’s a global reset. Speaking at the inaugural Indian Venture and Alternate Capital Association’s Renewable Energy Summit, he said that India is leading the way and has already surpassed 44% non-fossil fuel capacity, achieving its 2030 target five years ahead of schedule.
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UK’s OBR: cost of climate uncertain but cost of inaction higher
The costs of climate change are highly uncertain, but represent a significant risk to the public finances in all the scenarios explored by the UK’s Office for Budgetary Responsibility (OBR). These costs come from both transitioning the economy to net zero emissions, and from damage to the economy caused by climate change. However, the latter is the more significant fiscal cost in the scenarios the OBR presents.
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Communications are central to climate action
Even the accountancy profession is talking about communications. Time and again it proclaims that financial and non-financial reporting (especially in relation to climate and nature impacts) should be integrated; but increasingly it says that this integration – and the outcomes of business strategy underpinned by green credentials – should be communicated. But it rarely is.
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Profitable growth for marketing – without fossil fuels
Campaign group Clean Creatives has put forward a way for the marketing industry to exit fossil fuel relationships while taking up the opportunities available to them from emerging high-growth industries such as renewables, the circular economy and healthcare.
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UK to become sustainable finance capital of the world
The UK Energy Secretary, Ed Miliband, has outlined plans to support banks and large companies in developing climate transition plans. To date, about 70% of FTSE 100 companies have voluntarily developed many of the key elements of a transition plan. The UK Government says that widespread transition planning will help provide long-term certainty and clarity to help scale the sustainable finance industry.
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OECD: accelerated climate action can drive growth and development
Ambitious climate targets that are underpinned by robust implementation and investment plans can provide economic opportunities, unlock investment, and support sustainable development and growth, while facilitating low-emission transitions, according to a new joint report by the OECD and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
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Planning for climate; planning for security
Severe climate impacts can come from nowhere. Their effects can cascade across society, and create a bigger problem than the sum of their individual parts. These impacts are similar to those resulting from pandemics or traditional security threats. That is why we need to plan for climate like we plan for security – at the national level, supranational level and across continents.
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Ireland: lowest energy emissions in over 30 years
The Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) has published the Interim National Energy Balance for 2024, which shows that Ireland’s energy-related emissions are now at their lowest level in over 30 years, falling a further 1.3% last year. This marks an overall decrease of 11% since carbon emissions targets were introduced in 2021 and the third consecutive year with an emissions reduction.
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Project Clover: TikTok upgrades data security in a green way
As part of Project Clover, TikTok’s data security initiative, all three buildings in its Norwegian data centre are now online. The data centre in Hamar, Norway, developed by Green Mountain, plays an important role in the local economy, but sustainability is also a core focus.