21st Century Challenges

Future of low carbon energy

March 2008

A discussion on how global investment can be encouraged to forward low carbon technologies.

Watch the talks

Europe’s biggest wind farm switches on

Europe's biggest onshore wind farm plugged itself into the grid today to provide enough electricity for up to a million people in northern Portugal. A total of 120 windmills are dotted across the highlands of the Upper Minho region of Portugal as one of western Europe's poorer nations continues to forge its reputation as a renewables champion.

Tidal energy project ‘will be funded by taxpayer’

A £22 billion tidal energy project that would provide almost 5 per cent of Britain’s electricity will receive taxpayers’ cash if it is approved, ministers indicated yesterday.

Quarter of UK homes to be offered green makeover

More than one in four homes in the UK will be offered a complete eco-makeover under ambitious plans expected to be announced this week to slash fuel bills and cut global warming pollution.

UK and China work on carbon capture

British scientists are working with their Chinese counterparts to develop a new technology to burn coal without harming the environment.

United on climate change: Obama’s Chinese revolution

US President wants the world's two biggest polluters to form a partnership in the battle against global warming. Geoffrey Lean reports

National Grid to pipe carbon dioxide emissions under North Sea

National Grid is drawing up plans for a new business unit that will pipe carbon dioxide emissions from UK power stations for storage in geological formations beneath the North Sea

Wind farms seek state aid to keep moving

Britain's wind industry is calling for ­government support to shield it from the falling pound and ensure existing wind farm projects go ahead.

Anger after government halts solar energy grant programme

The government ran into a storm of criticism yesterday after quietly closing its grant programme for solar energy last week, which campaigners said made a mockery of its commitment to build a low-carbon economy.

Warning over renewables as economic crisis leaves funding gap

Green power companies are heading for "crisis" and Britain should no longer rely on them to meet its energy security and climate change obligations, some industry experts are warning.

RSPB calls for more UK wind farms

There should be a significant increase in the number of wind farms built onshore in the UK, the RSPB has said.

‘Crunch year’ for world’s forests

Efforts to mitigate climate change could be hampered if nations do not agree to protect the world's forests by the end of the year, warn researchers.

Scotland ‘ahead of the game’ on renewables

Plans to make Scotland 50% reliant on renewable energy sources are ahead of schedule, new figures released by the Scottish Parliament today suggest.

Biomass ‘could be major emitter’

Biomass power could become one of the worst emitters of greenhouse gases, the Environment Agency (EA) has warned.

Taxpayer bails out Europe’s biggest waste-to-energy scheme in Manchester

The Treasury today stepped in to rescue a £635m waste-to-energy project in Greater Manchester, the largest such project in Europe. The scheme, being funded under the private finance initiative, had stalled after banks refused to lend enough to complete it.

Potential sites for UK nuclear power stations revealed

The energy and climate change secretary, Ed Miliband, says nuclear power is part of Britain's low-carbon future

UK set to miss climate change targets

The UK is set to miss climate change targets despite a reduction in greenhouse emissions caused by the recession, analysts have warned.

Clean coal push marks reversal of UK energy policy

Decision not to allow any new coal-powered plants to be built in Britain without carbon capture represents a major victory for the new Department for Energy and Climate Change and green pressure groups

Clean coal is future for energy supplies

Greenhouse gas emissions from new power stations will be collected and permanently stored deep underground

New coal power plants must capture carbon

New coal-fired power stations to be built in the UK must have carbon capture and storage facilities, the government said on Thursday.

Britain’s only wind turbine plant to close

Vestas is to shut down its Isle of Wight factory in the face of collapsing demand from a wind-farming industry hobbled by the recession and red tape

Rebound effect will raise fossil fuel use

Terry Barker, director of the Cambridge Centre for Climate Change Mitigation Research, predicts that by 2030, half the carbon emission savings gained from more fuel-effi-cient transport, buildings and industry will be cancelled out by a corresponding rise in consumption of fossil fuels.

Every British home to be powered by offshore wind

Every home in Britain will be powered with electricity generated by 7,000 new wind turbines around the coast, under government plans.

Government to map low-carbon road

A huge expansion of wind power, home insulation and "smart" electricity meters are among measures being planned to build the UK's low-carbon future. Ministers hope their Carbon Transition Plan will help them meet 2020 targets for cutting greenhouse gas emissions and expanding renewable energy.

UK to embrace nuclear says Ed Miliband

Ed Miliband has said the UK cannot afford to "say no" to nuclear power as he prepares to announce plans to fast-track a new generation of reactors.

Obama is going to Copenhagen

The US President will be making a one-day stopover during the first part of the UN climate conference in the Danish capital where he is expected to announce an American emissions reduction target of 17 percent.

China unveils emissions targets ahead of Copenhagen

China has unveiled its first firm target for limiting greenhouse gas emissions, two weeks before a global summit on climate change in Copenhagen. Beijing said it would aim to reduce its "carbon intensity" by 40-45% by the year 2020, compared with 2005 levels.