Overpowered: Hailing renewables, NextEra bet big on gas in Florida
At an investor conference in New York in 2015, NextEra Energy Inc.'s then-CFO, John Ketchum, delivered a striking assessment to Wall Street: Solar power had become so inexpensive that the company might be finished building natural gas plants in Florida, the state where it is headquartered and where it owns an electric utility.
CEOs, labor unions call for US to remain in Paris climate accord
During the 25th Conference of the Parties to the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change, known as COP 25, labor unions and the CEOs of more than 70 companies released a joint statement asking the U.S. to stay in the Paris Agreement on climate change.
States cut environmental budgets as attorneys general fought federal rollbacks
Some states decreased financial support or staffing levels for their own agencies' pollution control programs in 2018 compared to a decade prior even as attorneys general for 28 states stepped up their efforts to slow the pace of environmental regulatory rollbacks under the Trump administration, according to two new reports.
Global emissions up in 2019 but at slower pace due to less coal use in US, EU
Global carbon dioxide emissions are projected to hit a new peak in 2019 but are growing at a slightly slower rate than in recent years primarily due to a steep decline in coal-fired generation use in the U.S. and the EU, the Global Carbon Project reported Dec. 3.
US utility association builds team to fight gas ban movement
The American Gas Association is working to form a coalition among industry, consumers, and construction and labor groups to push back against the sharp rise of cities banning natural gas for heating and cooking in new buildings.
Repsol's net-zero emissions goal could pressure other oil majors to follow suit
Spanish oil and gas company Repsol SA's ambitious plan to reduce carbon emissions to net-zero by 2050 is attainable and is likely to prompt other oil majors to follow its lead, market sources said.
Bill to decarbonize US energy sector coming within weeks
Democratic leaders of the U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce hope to release within weeks a draft proposal for decarbonizing the country's energy sector, including electric power plants.
US EPA's mercury proposal ignores billions in health benefits, economists find
A group of economists released a report Dec. 4 suggesting that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is ignoring the latest science in its bid to scrap the legal basis for an Obama-era rule targeting mercury emissions from power plants.
Study finds since 1970s scientific global warming models have been mostly right
Scientific models on global warming published since the 1970s have been largely accurate, according to a new peer-reviewed study published in Geophysical Research Letters.
Podcast: PE's approach to ESG evolving, could be mandatory in future
Private equity investors are paying increasing attention to environmental, social and governance issues, and in response, many firms are implementing strategies to ensure portfolio companies are screened against ESG factors. This focus is likely to intensify and could become a requirement for a fund over time, representatives from some of the world's most prominent private equity firms said in the latest episode of ESG Insider, an S&P Global podcast.
Concerned over climate, PE investors looking to leave oil, gas for renewables
Roughly 40% of private equity investors said they will be reducing investments in the oil and gas sector in the next five years because of climate change concerns, according to a winter outlook survey conducted by secondary market investment firm Coller Capital Ltd.