Japan hopes to restart four more nuclear reactors in time to avert any power crunch over the winter, industry minister Koichi Hagiuda said on Friday, a week after the pro-nuclear ruling party won a resounding victory in upper house elections.

“We would like to ensure the operation of a maximum of nine reactors, up from the current five operating now, by revising the construction and inspection periods for some of the nuclear power plants,” Hagiuda told a news conference.

Japan Hopes to Restart 4 More Nuclear Reactors by Winter | Devamı>>>

Japan’s public and private sectors will need to invest a total of 150 trillion yen ($1.2 trillion) in decarbonisation over the next 10 years to help achieve the nation’s ambitious goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2050, the industry ministry said on Friday.

The estimate was unveiled as part of an interim report on the country’s clean energy strategy which is expected to be finalised later this year.

“A great competition has already begun in which first movers have an advantage in the decarbonisation area,” Koichi Hagiuda, Japan’s Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry, told a panel of specialists which has been discussing the strategy.

Japan Needs to Invest $1.2 Trillion in Decarbonisation Over 10 Years | Devamı>>>

Cop26 may involve dozens of world leaders, cost billions of pounds, generate reams of technical jargon and be billed as the last chance to prevent calamitous global heating, but at its simplest the climate conference in Glasgow is a debate about dialling up or dialling down risk.

The primary objective of Cop26 is to nudge the world as low as possible within this target band, which was established under the Paris agreement.

Possible Hazards from COP26 and Global Warming | Devamı>>>

The global race to net-zero emissions has begun. But the world has much further to run.

The European Union, Japan, the UK and many other major world economies have set ambitious goals to reach net-zero emissions by 2050. China, the world’s biggest emitter, is aiming to be carbon neutral before 2060. And US President Joe Biden announced the nation’s return to the Paris Agreement and is putting the fight against climate change at the heart of his administration’s goals.

IEA Head: The World Isn’t Moving Fast Enough on Clean Energy | Devamı>>>

Asian spot prices for liquefied natural gas (LNG) jumped to their highest in more than 20 months this week on robust buying appetite ahead of a colder-than-expected winter, trade sources said.

The average LNG price for December delivery into northeast Asia LNG-AS was estimated at about $6.90 per million British thermal units (mmBtu), jumping $1.10 from the previous week. Prices were boosted by several requirements from buyers in Japan, China and South Korea. China’s Unipec sought 10 cargoes for delivery in winter, while Shenzhen Energy sought a cargo for December delivery, traders said.

Asian Spot LNG Prices Jump to 20 Month High on Firm Demand | Devamı>>>

The new BP Statistical Review of World Energy was published this week. It’s worth a look:  a treasure trove of energy data, published annually since 1952. (Full disclosure:  I led the production of the Review for a dozen years…)

The Review has comprehensive global coverage of every energy form as well as key minerals—demand, supply, trade, prices. The focus of the Review this year is, rightly, global energy demand and CO2 emissions—both of which increased last year, albeit at below-average rates.

Shock Finding: China Is The World’s Biggest Energy Producer | Devamı>>>

Battery storage systems are emerging as one of the key solutions to effectively integrate high shares of solar and wind renewables in power systems worldwide. A recent analysis from the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) illustrates how electricity storage technologies can be used for a variety of applications in the power sector, from e-mobility and behind-the-meter applications to utility-scale use cases.

Utility-scale batteries, for example, can enable a greater feed-in of renewables into the grid by storing excess generation and by firming renewable energy output.

Battery Storage Paves Way for a Renewable-Powered Future | Devamı>>>

Poland, isn’t ready to resume talks with the European Union about the mid-century climate neutrality deadline during the bloc’s summit in June, according to a senior government official.

The country endorsed the carbon neutrality goal at the bloc’s last meeting in December, but was the only member state declaring that it’s not bound by the deadline because of the effort and expense required. Coal-dependent Poland needs more time to figure out its investment needs and future energy mix, according the official, who asked not to be named.

Poland Not Ready for Talks on EU’s 2050 Climate Target in June | Devamı>>>

Modern living standards — indoor lighting, affordable food, heat in the winter, an internet connection — require energy. And every energy source has its drawbacks. It’s easy to point out the downsides of a given energy source and call for it to be banned. But if we’re not careful about weighing costs against benefits, we’re liable to end up with something even worse.

This is becoming painfully evident in the case of Japan. In 2011, a nuclear power plant in northeast Japan’s Fukushima prefecture was damaged by a huge tsunami and had multiple meltdowns.

Japan Goes Into Reverse on Going Green! | Devamı>>>

Global energy-related carbon emissions rose to a record high last year as energy demand and coal use increased, mainly in Asia, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Tuesday.

Energy-related CO2 emissions rose by 1.7 percent to 33.1 billion tonnes from the previous year, the highest rate of growth since 2013, with the power sector accounting for almost two-thirds of this growth, according to IEA estimates.

The United States’ CO2 emissions grew by 3.1 percent in 2018, reversing a decline a year earlier, while China’s emissions rose by 2.5 percent and India’s by 4.5 percent.

Global Carbon Emissions Hit Record High in 2018: IEA | Devamı>>>