greenhouse gas emissions
Indonesia seals $20 billion deal with G7 to speed up clean energy transition
JAKARTA — Indonesia has struck a historic deal with the G7 group of industrialized countries on a $20 billion financing package to help it speed up its transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy. The Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP) will see the G7 plus Denmark and Norway deliver the funding to Indonesia over the […]
In new climate deal, Norway will pay Indonesia $56 million for drop in deforestation, emissions
JAKARTA — Norway has agreed to pay Indonesia $56 million in a climate agreement between the two countries, as Indonesia has succeeded in reducing carbon dioxide emissions by preserving its vast tropical rainforests. The contribution agreement, signed Oct. 19 by both governments, is a follow-up to both countries’ new climate deal, which was struck on […]
Biofertilizers cut costs and GHG emissions for Brazilian soybean producers
Brazilian soybean producers have been highly successful in using genome technology to benefit their crops, with huge economic and environmental gains, a new paper highlights. Currently, the growers are using biofertilizer on 80% of their crops and their benefits are pushing scientists to develop new bioproducts for other crops as well. Scientists in Brazil have […]
Early retirement for Indonesian coal plants could cut CO2, boost jobs, analysis says
JAKARTA — Indonesia’s plan to retire its coal-fired power plants and replace them with renewable energy by 2050 is not only feasible, but, when environmental costs are considered, will be less costly than relying on coal to power the Indonesian economy, according to a new analysis. Indonesia is often dubbed as the last bastion for […]
EU votes to keep woody biomass as renewable energy, ignores climate risk
While forest advocates had high hopes, the EU parliament voted this week not to declassify woody biomass as a renewable energy source, paving the way for more EU, U.S., and Canadian forests to be turned into wood pellets and burned.
How much does air travel warm the planet? New study gives a figure
When Milan Klöwer spoke to Mongabay, he was fresh off the train in Germany. As a postdoctoral researcher and climate scientist at the University of Oxford, Klöwer said he does his best to avoid flying in planes — one of the worst climate change culprits. “We’re climate scientists and we try to also lower our […]
Indonesian bill turns coal-derived fuels clean by ignoring true scale of emissions
JAKARTA — Indonesia looks set to continue its heavy reliance on coal in its energy mix under a legislative sleight of hand: it will define fuels derived from coal as “new energy” and ignore any carbon emissions associated with them as “minimal.” The proposal has drawn heavy criticism from energy experts, who say it contradicts […]
‘Giving up’: Amazon is losing its resilience under human pressure, study shows
The Amazon Rainforest is resilient: the largest rainforest on the planet has been around for at least 55 million years, surviving repeated ice ages and warming. But human impacts, combined with climate change, are decreasing that resiliency, causing the forest to lose its ability to bounce back from repeated disturbances, according to a new study published […]
Study: Indonesia’s forest-clearing moratorium underdelivered — but so did donors
JAKARTA — An eight-year effort by Indonesia to protect its remaining forests contributed just 4% of its emissions reduction target, yet still yielded carbon savings worth far more than it was paid under a deal with Norway. That’s the finding from a new study, which calls for better carbon pricing and financing at the global […]
2019 fires in Indonesia were twice as bad as the government claimed, study shows
JAKARTA — In 2019, fires raged through Indonesia’s rainforests and peatlands, sparked by the deliberate burning of land for agriculture, and fanned by an El Niño system bringing drier-than-usual weather conditions. Ultimately, the Indonesian Ministry of Environment and Forestry would put the total affected area at 1.64 million hectares (4.05 million acres), an area half […]