Leaked documents reveal countries lobbying against UN climate report

A document leak has shown that several countries have lobbied to change a critical scientific report on how best to tackle climate change.

The leaked documents, first reported by BBC News, revealed that countries including Saudi Arabia, Japan, and Australia asked the UN to reduce the urgency of moving away from fossil fuel-derived energy.

The leaked documents consist of over 32,000 submissions made by governments, companies, and other parties to the team compiling a UN report designed to bring together the best scientific evidence on tackling climate change.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change produces these assessment reports every six to seven years to evaluate the science behind climate change and inform governments on what action is needed to tackle climate change.

The files name Brazil, Argentina, Australia, Japan, and Saudi Arabia as some nations invovled in the effort, as well as the intergovernmental organisation OPEC. Comments revealed in the leak include ones made by an adviser to the Saudi oil ministry who argued: “phrases like ‘the need for urgent and accelerated mitigation actions at all scales’ should be eliminated”.

EU delays classification of nuclear power for green financing

EU Financial Services Commissioner Mairead McGuinness has told The Financial Times that the bloc will take more time before coming to a decision on whether or not to include nuclear power and natural gas under its “taxonomy on sustainable financing”, originally due this autumn.

The delay comes amid the continuing energy crisis, which has led to the collapse of utility companies in the UK and has sparked calls for the EU to provide greater guidance and assistance to member states. With electricity prices surging, European leaders are now due to meet tomorrow to discuss solutions and the now-delayed taxonomy.

“As we come to the end of the year there will be more pressure to resolve this,” said McGuinness. “We don’t have a ready-made solution because this is, both technically but politically ... one of those issues where you have very divided views.

“We’re hearing from citizens and businesses about higher energy costs and keeping the lights on. We must make sure we don’t create fears that this transition is a problem because the transition is the solution.”

Iberdrola to invest $8.2bn in East Anglia offshore wind complex

Spanish energy company Iberdrola has announced plans to invest $8.2bn (£6bn) to develop the East Anglia Hub, an offshore wind complex in the UK.

The investment will be made through Iberdrola’s Scottish Power subsidiary and was announced at the Global Investment Summit ahead of the COP26 conference in Glasgow. It will complement the $13.64bn (£10bn) investment earmarked in the company’s 2020-25 plan, which is intended to increase renewable capacity and drive decarbonisation in the UK.

Located off the Suffolk coast, the East Anglia Hub includes the East Anglia One North, Two and Three wind farms. The project will have more than 3,000MW of total installed capacity and create up to 7,000 jobs, and will generate enough clean energy to power 2.7 million households in the region.

Iberdrola chairman Ignacio Galán said: “This meeting has given us the impetus we need to speed up our net-zero commitments ahead of COP26. We are fully committed to fulfilling our role in this process, and our £6bn investment in the East Anglia Hub will be a significant step toward ensuring that offshore wind is able to produce enough clean energy to power all the households in the UK by 2030.”

Vestas to combine its China and Asia-Pacific business regions

Danish wind turbine manufacturer Vestas is set to combine its businesses in China and Asia-Pacific into one single unit to cover the Greater Asia region.

The company said that the consolidation is the next step of its previously announced strategic alignment to meet the future demands of the energy market. The move is also intended to allow Vestas to allocate resources most efficiently across its manufacturing, construction and service units.

Vestas Group president and CEO Henrik Andersen said: “The global energy market is changing fast, and key to this development is the fast-growing energy demand in Asia, the continuous maturation of wind energy’s supply chain, as well as offshore wind’s rapid expansion from Europe to the rest of the world.

“By creating one Vestas business region for Greater Asia, we strengthen our regional setup to serve customers building their portfolio within both onshore and offshore, cater for our substantial supply chain footprint in China and India, establish one united and stronger leadership team, and improve our foundation to build a strong and diverse talent pipeline.”

India warns of power blackouts as coal supplies run critically low

States across India have issued panicked notices that coal supplies to thermal power plants, which convert heat from coal to electricity, are running perilously low and are warning of power blackouts.

Eight in ten thermal power stations are within days of running out, with nearly 80% of the country’s coal-fired plants in critical or “supercritical” stage, according to data from the Central Electricity Authority of India.

Experts have reacted, saying that the power issues are not due to a shortage of domestic coal production. Domestic coal production in India has exponentially risen in the past 20 years, with a minor dip in production due to the pandemic of less than 1%.

Coal India Limited, alongside energy providers, have been accused of failing to stockpile sufficient amounts to meet the predicted rise in demand.

Arvin Kejriwal, Delhi’s chief minister, wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi that the capital “could face a blackout” if power did not receive more coal. Power cuts as long as 14 hours have been experienced in states including Rajasthan, Jharkhand, and Bihar.

UK Government discusses loans for struggling utilities and businesses

The UK Government’s business minister has asked the country’s treasury to prepare support for struggling energy firms.

Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng has asked the Treasury to prepare millions of pounds for loans to larger utilities. This comes despite ministers previously speaking against market intervention earlier in the energy crisis.

The loans could also assist energy-intensive industries, where bosses have warned of disruption caused by high power prices. While regulator Ofgem enforces a price cap on consumer tariffs, businesses have no such protection.

After meeting with Kwarteng, UK Steel director general Gareth Stace said that his company needed “swift, decisive action now”. He said on Friday that some UK production lines had already paused because of poor profitability. However, he added that Kwarteng had listened but offered “no immediate solutions or guarantees” to the energy price crisis.