Climate Science Denial Group CFACT Praises Australia’s War on Renewables

“Bravo Australia,” came the cry earlier this week from one US-based climate science denial group. The Committee for a Constructive Tomorrow was reacting to the latest efforts by the Australian Government to stifle its renewable energy industry. For a country that claims to be a “good global citizen” on climate change, the support from an organisation that […]

Shell To Proceed With Arctic Drilling Despite Damaged Icebreaker Ship Carrying Critical Emergency Gear Heading To Portland For Repairs

Shell officials are still hoping to launch exploratory drilling this month at the company’s Burger prospect, 70 miles off the coast of Alaska in the Chukchi Sea, even though a key ship in its fleet was forced back to port before it had even left the harbor last week after a 3-foot-long gash was discovered […]

Drillers Under Pressure as Low Prices, Broad Uncertainties Put Oil & Gas Industry's Financial Prospects 'In Limbo'

At a climate change conference in Paris last week, Fatih Birol, chief economist at the International Energy Agency, had a blunt message for energy companies. “We see some moves from energy companies in the direction of sustainable development. However, it is not at the level you would like to see,” Mr. Birol, who will be promoted […]

How One UK Climate Denial Think Tank's Links to ExxonMobil Led to its Downfall

This DeSmog UK epic history post examines the demise of one UK free market climate-denying think tank after its funding was linked to ExxonMobil. Chief executive Rex Tillerson’s decision, made in the ExxonMobil boardroom in Texas, to turn off the flood of funding to free market think tanks resulted in an immediate crisis for Julian Morris […]

Will a Century-Old Treaty Protect Alaska's Salmon Rivers from B.C.'s Mining Boom?

Southeast Alaskans, anxious about B.C.’s mining boom along the Alaskan border, are pinning their hopes for stronger mine management on a treaty that dates back more than a century. The International Joint Commission (IJC), operating under the Boundary Waters Treaty since 1909, is a body with six appointed members —three from Canada and three from the U.S. — […]

Peabody Energy to White House: Greenhouse Gas a 'Non-Existent Harm'

In an official submission to the White House earlier this year, U.S. coal giant Peabody Energy claims that greenhouse gas is a “non-existent harm” and a “benign gas that is essential to all life.” The March 2015 submission from Peabody further claims that “while the benefits of carbon dioxide are proven, the alleged risks of climate […]

Court Says Residents Can Sue Frackers For Earthquake Damage

The Oklahoma State Supreme Court delivered a devastating blow to the fossil fuel industry last week when it unanimously decided that homeowners in Oklahoma could sue the industry for earthquake damage linked to hydraulic fracturing. While the justices on the Court did not necessarily endorse the link between fracking and earthquakes — or frackquakes — they […]

That Time When George W Bush Delivered a Nasty Shock to the Oil Industry

In this DeSmog UK epic history series post, we remember the moment when George W. Bush declared: “America is addicted to oil.” President George W. Bush delivered a nasty shock to his oil industry sponsors when, on 31 January 2006, he delivered his State of the Union Address – watched by millions – and declared: “America […]

Are Solar Subsidies Amber Rudd’s Next Target?

Solar subsidies might be next on the DECC chopping block. Amber Rudd, secretary of state for the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC), has warned that the government is “looking carefully” at the payments. Speaking to Solar Power Portal at the official opening of the second phase of Ketton Solar Farm’s 13MW project, Rudd said: […]

Australians Tour Pennsylvania’s Gaslands as Fracking Threat Looms Over South Australia

A group of Australians who made a fracking fact-finding trip to the Marcellus Shale region will report to the Australian Parliament before any decisions are made about the future of fracking in South Australia.  In June, the group of twelve Australians—including members of Parliament, farmers, medical and legal professionals—visited communities in Pennsylvania and New York. They saw evidence […]