The world’s largest coal port has announced it will now be powered entirely by renewable energy.The announcement from Port of Newcastle comes as coal power generation in Australia’s national electricity market fell to its lowest level in the final three months of 2021.

The harsh midday sun beats down on the withering pawpaw plants in Maureen Adhiambo’s patch of land.The villagers in Kamenya have not seen rain for months, and when it does come, the soil is too dry and loose to retain any of the moisture or nutrients. Last year Adhiambo saw her maize dry up long before it could mature. Like many farmers in the Homa Bay region, on the south bank of Kenya’s Lake Victoria, she is staring at yet another cycle of crop failure.

American Express and BlackRock are the latest major companies to urge employees to start 2022 by working remotely as Covid-19 cases skyrocket.“We have seen an exponential increase in the spread of the Omicron variant across the world,” AmEx CEO Stephen Squeri said in a memo to employees on Tuesday. “We encourage all those who can do their jobs effectively from home to continue doing so.”New York-based AmEx said it has decided to delay the January 24 launch of a new flexible working plan that will require most employees to be in the office one to three days a week.The AmEx (AXP) CEO said the launch is delayed “until we feel comfortable bringing a large number of colleagues back together in the office.”Meanwhile, BlackRock (BLK), which is also based in Ne...

2021 was a momentous year for climate change.As well as a host of extreme, destructive events influenced by rising temperatures, the past 12 months have seen unprecedented political engagement on the issue, culminating in the COP26 summit in Glasgow in November.Progress was undoubtedly made and the overall thrust of the meeting was towards more rapid action on a whole host of measures to curb emissions.But there are now growing concerns that this momentum may dissipate over the coming months.ADVERTISEMENTThe most grievous blow comes from the US.Next move - ChinaThe potential failure of President Biden to get his Build Back Better act through Congress would significantly impact the ability of the US to meet the tough climate targets that the White House has committed to....

Earlier this year, Massachusetts passed a landmark law as part of a push towards decarbonization that requires the state to cut emissions in half by 2030.But the state’s plan to meet this ambitious goal hit a snag this fall, when residents in Maine voted down a regional clean energy project, arguing it would irreversibly damage their own natural resources in order to deliver hydropower somewhere else.