nuclear-news

New Resources Minister Josh Frydenberg, who has said there is a moral obligation to exporting coal to provide energy for millions of people without access to electricity, has been a long-time supporter of nuclear power and said in his maiden speech that it was “inexplicable that in Australia we have yet to have a constructive and thorough debate about nuclear power, the only baseload, carbon-neutral energy source”.

Showing how the nuclear debate is moving, Mr Shorten also did not rule out nuclear power in the future, saying he would watch what the  South Australian royal commission says

Nuclear power option should not be closed: federal government, Financial Review, by Laura Tingle, 27 Oct 15,  The federal government is keeping open the possibility of adopting nuclear energy to fulfil Australia’s baseload electricity needs while asserting the central role of coal to global energy needs.

The government has told the South Australian Nuclear Royal Commission…

Scrapping fossil fuel subsidies could slash carbon emissions across an economy by around 11 per cent, according to a major new study from the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) and the Nordic Council of Ministers, which argues policymakers can no longer ignore the economic savings on offer from drastic fossil fuel subsidy reform.The report, which was released late last week and is titled Tackling Fossil Fuel Subsidies and Climate Change: Levelling the energy playing field, analysed fossil fuel subsidies across 20 major economies with relatively high levels of financial support for fossil fuel industries, including the US, China, India, Russia, and Saudi Arabia.

It concluded phasing out fossil fuel subsidies between now and 2020 would cut carbon emissions by an average of 11 per cent for each economy. It added that taking 30 per cent of the financial savings realised by ending subsidies and re-investing it in low carbon…

On Monday afternoon, Indonesian President Joko Widodo cut short a visit to the United States and headed home to oversee efforts to extinguish a rash of epic wildfires that have engulfed his country.

Widodo was in Washington, DC, for a photo op with President Barack Obama, to talk about climate change, and to promote Indonesia as a choice venue for foreign investors. His trip was also supposed to include a stopover in San Francisco for meetings with tech industry executives. But Widodo’s decision to return to Indonesia early underscores the challenges his country faces in stopping the worst deforestation on Earth—deforestation that is playing a critical role in global climate change.  From: climatedesk.org