U.S. electricity markets face years of higher prices as clean-air regulations shut more coal-fired power plants than earlier forecast, cutting supply and forcing producers to rely more on natural gas.

The power sector crisis in Japan has entered a new stage. The recent refusal of Japanese utilities to grant grid access to new renewable energy projects should not be seen as a failure of Japan’s renewable energy policy, but as a consequential and necessary phase to extend Japan’s technological leadership into the power sector.

Japan’s trade ministry is setting stricter rules for production and sales of renewable energy in what it says is a drive to speed up development of projects and ensure stable power supply.

Earlier this month, when EPA proposed a new health-protective air quality standard for the pollutants that form “ozone,” some critics predictably pounced on it as another example of a long string of “job-killing EPA regulations.” Yet last week, we learned that the U.S. economy created about 320,000 new jobs in November, and average wages are starting to rise as the labor market tightens.

In May of 2014, Speaker of the House John Boehner responded to a climate change question with, “listen, I’m not qualified to debate the science over climate change. I am astute to understand that every proposal that has come out of this administration to deal with climate change involves hurting our economy and killing American jobs. That can’t be the prescription for dealing with changes to our climate.” Speaker Boehner is not the only one reluctant to enter into the debate on climate change. In a March interview Mitch McConnell responded to a climate change remark with, “For everybody who thinks it's warming, I can find somebody who thinks it isn't…”

In June, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed a rule to restrict the amount of carbon dioxide released from power plants. The rule calls for reducing carbon 30 percent by 2030 over 2005 levels. Many have praised the aggressive proposal, while others are less favorable.

The recent dramatic plunge in oil and natural gas prices, to their lowest level since the global recession in 2009, has some observers worried about the effect on clean tech. Conventional wisdom has it that renewables have a tougher time competing when fossil fuels are cheap, making grid parity (in the case of natural gas-fired electricity) more elusive for solar and wind power.

The proposed U.S. commitment to tackling climate change in support of a new international climate agreement is a serious and achievable plan that demonstrates the United States is ready to take significant action. Coming today, eight months before the UNFCCC Conference of the Parties in Paris this December, known as COP 21, the U.S. submission adds momentum toglobal climate negotiations and should help spur other countries to act.

European Union negotiators are endorsing an accelerated overhaul of the bloc’s carbon market after the price of emission rights fell to levels that fail to deter polluters.

More than a year after Prime Minister David Cameron publicly announced support for the Perpetuus Tidal Energy Center (PTEC), Great Britain’s Marine Management Organization (MMO) issued a license on April 20 to Royal HaskoningDHV to deploy and operate a proposed 30-MW tidal array at the center, located off the Isle of Wight.

The SEC has finally proposed its rules to allow crowd-funding under the Jumpstart Our Business Startups (JOBS) Act. What do they mean for small-scale investments in renewable energy companies and projects?

As editors we delight in learning which of the stories that we wrote or commissioned were most popular with our readers. That’s why at the end of each calendar year, we pull reports that tell us which stories we posted got the most shares, the most views, the most comments, etc. We also look at which videos were watched the most. Often, we post articles that we know will be a big hit: like explanations of controversial solar legislation. But other times you surprise us, readers, by taking great interest in articles that we felt were solid but not necessarily ground-breaking.

The U.K. risks power shortages because utilities may react to Europe’s toughest carbon emissions rules by closing plants without replacing them.

The world needs to triple the energy it gets from renewables, nuclear reactors and power plants that use emissions-capture technology to avoid dangerous levels of global warming, United Nations scientists said.

What’s a beleaguered utility to do when forced by the government to close its profitable nuclear power plants?

The Obama administration is considering cutting greenhouse-gas emissions from power plants by reaching beyond the plants themselves — an unusual approach that could run afoul of anti-pollution laws.

Vestas Wind Systems A/S said scaling back Australia’s renewable energy target would cut the value of more than A$10 billion ($9.4 billion) in large projects across the industry and discourage international investors.

European Union governments are considering the use of carbon-permit funds to help finance clean technologies and spur poorer nations toward a low-carbon economy under a planned deal on 2030 climate and energy policies.

U.S. electricity markets face years of higher prices as clean-air regulations shut more coal-fired power plants than earlier forecast, cutting supply and forcing producers to rely more on natural gas.

Japan’s trade ministry is setting stricter rules for production and sales of renewable energy in what it says is a drive to speed up development of projects and ensure stable power supply.

European Union negotiators are endorsing an accelerated overhaul of the bloc’s carbon market after the price of emission rights fell to levels that fail to deter polluters.

Iran wants to work toward a draft agreement on a comprehensive solution to a lingering nuclear row with Western powers, the foreign minister said Tuesday.

Iran's deputy foreign minister said nuclear negotiations in Vienna were useful and another round of talks was scheduled over the course of three days in April.

The International Committee of the Red Cross said Friday a Sudanese member of its staff was killed by a stray bullet in the restive Darfur region.

The provincial government in Pakistan's Sindh province is planning a literacy program to reach women and girls in remote areas via cell phones.

Since the removal of the default retirement age, there have been surprisingly few cases giving guidance as to when an employee might be lawfully retired.  Some employers have implemented their own ‘Employer Justified Retirement Age’...

Employers have a duty to carry out document checks on individuals before employing them.  The aim of the checks is to ensure that individuals have the legal right to work in the UK.  Correctly carrying out document checks gives employers a...

On 1 June 2014, China’s State Administration of Foreign Exchange (the SAFE)’s Provisions on the Administration of Foreign Exchange for Cross-Border Security (??????????) and the Administration of Foreign Exchange for Cross-Border Securit...

Mental illness, culpability and gross misconduct A recent appeal case illustrates the difficulties that can arise when dealing with instances of apparent misconduct where a mental impairment could have affected an employee’s ability to control ...

Cost–sharing for the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) is a subject close to the minds and pockets of all LGPS funds, employers and members. Consultation by the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) on cost–sharing ...

In ArjoWiggins Ltd v Ralph (in which Eversheds LLP acted for the successful appellant) the High Court has considered the extent to which the time periods within which complaints may be brought are applicable to the Pensions Ombudsman. This is a help...

SummaryThe Deputy Pensions Ombudsman has rejected a complaint by an academy against the administering authority of its Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) fund about the funding methodology used to allocate assets to the Academy when it was initi...

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) has recently launched a consultation on what it has described as “technical” changes to regulations governing the ...

The UK’s PF2 model has had a tough upbringing; launched in the wake of a constricted pipeline of PFI projects, the Government knew it faced a tough task – trying to appeal to diverse funding sources whilst increasing transparency and public value. T...

The United States Supreme Court has made it more difficult for plaintiffs to sue foreign states in US courts under the exception to sovereign immunity applicable to “any case . . . in which rights in property taken in violation of international law ...

The compatibility of investment protection treaties with the regulatory framework of European Union law has been a controversial issue for quite some time. A recent decision of the Court of Justice of the European Union in Achmea (formerly Eureko) v...

Evidence from low- and middle-income countries suggests that digital and mobile communication technology can improve management of diseases.

The post Mobile technology can improve access to healthcare in Nigeria – if it’s regulated appeared first on Premium Times Nigeria.

Fanny Amun also speaks on the debate for the extension or termination of Gernot Rohr’s contract as the Super Eagles.

The post INTERVIEW: Why Nigeria’s successful youth teams don’t succeed at senior level – Fanny Amun appeared first on Premium Times Nigeria.

HARIPUR: Three persons allegedly molested a 12-year-old boy in village Hattar, police said here on Saturday.Officials of the Hattar Police Station quoted Yasmin Bibi as saying that Arsalan, Saqib and Qasim from the same village took her son to the old labour colony where they molested him and...

Eighty-three thousand to 190 000 people in Africa could die of COVID-19 and 29 million to 44 million could get infected in the first year of the pandemic if containment measures fail, a new study by the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Office for Africa finds. The research, which is based on prediction modelling, looks at 47 countries in the WHO African Region with a total population of one billion. The new estimates are based on modifying the risk of transmission and disease severity by variables specific to each country in order to adjust for the unique nature of the region. The model predicts the observed slower...

State forbids preaching to under-18s without parents’ permission The Israeli government is threatening to take off air a Christian television channel that launched in the country to preach to Jews, warning that it will be barred if it breaks strict rules around proselytising. GOD TV , an evangelical...

Durban - After 19 hours of being beaten and forced at gunpoint to extort money from family and friends a Bellair man is lucky to be alive and counts Durban’s metro police officers as his heroes. Sibusiso Dlamini, 36, was alone at his girlfriend’s residence when there was a knock on the door at 3am last Tuesday. “I heard my name called and I went to check who it was. That was when four men armed with guns, wearing masks, abducted me.” Dlamini was taken to a river that remains unknown to him, where he begged for his life. “They kept telling me different stories that my landlord, friends and work...

Lucas Leiva can recall a 16-year-old Trent Alexander-Arnold on a 'different level' and his belief early on that the full-back would become one of the best in the world. Lucas was an important member of the Reds squad around the time Alexander-Arnold started to gain a taste of life in first-team football in the 2015-16 and...

The Rivers State Police Command has rescued a Lebanese, Bilal Nosser from a kidnappers’ den in Ndashi forest, Etche Local Government Area of the state. Bilal, popularly known as Mister Bee is said to be a renowned Nollywood actor, who was kidnapped in the early hours of Friday in Imo State and taken to a […]

Police rescue popular Nollywood actor from kidnappers’ den