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Australia’s new Prime Minister Julia Gillard has demonstrated strong support for her domestic renewable energy industry.

Sworn in last month to replace previous leader Kevin Rudd, Gillard said she is “committed to Australia’s largest ever investments in solar and other renewables.”

Gillard has not made specific mention of the controversial carbon cap-and-trade system which former PM Rudd had championed.

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A U.S. national weather analysis has confirmed a fact that is all too obvious to many people sweltering through this stifling summer.  Thus far, 2010 is the world’s hottest year on record, taking over the top spot from 1998.

Abnormally high temperatures have been recorded in Canada, Africa, tropical oceans and regions of the Middle East, with nations such as Britain, Thailand and Israel suffering severe droughts.

A La Nina weather pattern expected later this year could bring cooler weather globally, however it often translates into hotter and drier weather in the U.S. Midwestern farm belt, which could be detrimental to corn and soy bean crops.

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A new report from the Renewable Energy Policy Network for the 21st Century (REN21), a body affiliated with the United Nations and the International Energy Agency (IEA), says renewable energy accounts for over half of all new electricity capacity added in the United States and Europe during 2009.

The REN21 report highlights the shift in manufacturing and deployment of these new energy technologies from developed nations to growing ecnomies like China, Brazil and India.

In 2009, China produced 40% of global solar PV and 30% of all wind turbines; a massive increase from 10% in 2007.

However, despite its advances in implementing green power, China’s carbon dioxide emissions also increased in 2009.  It has overtaken the United States and now claims the title of highest emitting nation in the world.

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After 85 days, BP has finally succeeded in containing the gushing oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico waters.  After closing valves and vents on the containment cap during a test on Thursday, the well has stayed in place for two full days.

Although this is a very positive sign, both BP and the White House have warned that the containment cap does not represent a permanent fix – there is still much more work to do to seal the well shut for good, and to clean up the hundreds of millions of spilled oil.  “We’re encouraged by this development, but this isn’t over,” said the U.S. government’s lead contact in the region, retired Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen.

BP will likely release the flow of oil again, siphoning it up to ships on the surface as it continues to drill a relief well to permanently shut the well with mud and cement.  The well is expected to be ready in early August.

Investors welcomed news of the containment caps success, sending BP shares higher in trading today.  However, since the rig explosion in April nearly $65 billion has been knocked off BP’s market value.

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Last week, President Obama offered a strong show of support for domestic solar power with the offer of $2 billion in loan guarantees for large scale solar projects in the Western United States.

Abengoa Solar is the recipient of the first offer, $1.45 billion to help finance the construction and start-up of a concentrating solar power (CSP) plant in Arizona.  Once operational, the “Solana” plant would add 250MW of electric capacity to the grid, enough to power 70,000 homes and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 475,000 tons.

A loan of $400 million was also offered to Abound Solar Manufacturing to for the manufacture of thin-film cadmium telluride solar panels, the first time such manufacturing will be deployed anywhere in the world.  When completed in 2013, the manufacturing plant will be capable of producing enough panels to support up to 840MW of new solar every year.

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The EU has reached a unanimous decision to create a central trading platform to manage sales of the majority of EU carbon permits which are traded through the bloc’s Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS).

The central trading platform will commence during the 2013 stage of the ETS, but individual nations will also have the freedom to opt-out and hold their own auctions.  The number of permits to be issued and dates of auction have yet to be determined.

During the first phase of the ETS trading scheme, most permits were distributed to industries for free.  However as phase 3 begins, the majority of emissions permits will be sold to companies through auctions.  This includes the aviation sector, which will be required to purchase 15% of their permits at auction when it joins the ETS in 2012.

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The official Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported that King Abdullah has ordered a halt to new oil exploration to preserve the Kingdom’s vast hydrocarbon resources.

“I told them the Cabinet that I have ordered a halt to all oil explorations so part of this wealth is left for our sons and successors,” King Abdullah told Saudi scholars studying in Washington.  However, a senior oil ministry official told Zawya Dow Jones that the King’s words should not be interpreted as a full-fledged ban, but rather as a warning that future explorations should be carried out mindfully with an eye towards future generations.

Saudi Arabia possesses the world’s largest recoverable oil resources with 260.1 billion barrels at the end of 2009.  It is the largest member of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and recently announced the discovery of a new oil field and a non-associated gas field to add it its substantial holdings.  Saudi Arabia pumped an average of 8.26 million barrels a day in June 2010, about 209,000 barrels above its target.

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Thanks to the implementation of an industry-friendly feed-in-tariff in 2007, the Italian solar PV market has taken off at a furious pace.

Data from the Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC) shows that Italy installed more photovoltaic systems than the entire United States in 2009.  What’s more, by the end of the year, Italy will have installed over 2,500 MW of solar PV power, more than one and one-half times the U.S. total.

Italy is now the world’s second largest solar PV market after Germany.  Unlike Spain, Italy is not planning to remove its feed-in-tariff anytime soon.  It has set a new target of 3,000MW for the next time period of 2011-2013, but will trim the tariffs 18% by Q3 of 2011.  Italy reached its 2010 target of 1,200MW earlier this year.  Most of these new installations are on rooftops or in distributed applications, and according to the Gestore dei Servizi Energetici, almost 1/4 are relatively small (20kW or less).

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Many of the world’s largest developed nations experienced a drop in emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases in 2009.  China and India, however, saw their own domestic emissions levels rise significantly.  Has this growth in effect “canceled out” the reductions made in developed nations?  According to the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency, the answer is yes.

Global emissions levels remained relatively unchanged in 2009 largely because of Chinese and Indian contributions, despite predictions from groups such as the International Energy Agency (IEA) which thought the global economic meltdown and decrease in manufacturing would assuredly reduce emissions worldwide.

The Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency notes that carbon dioxide emissions per person in China are now 6.1 tons, roughly equal to France which clocked in at 6.0 tons in 2009.  This figure represents a major increase for China, which in 1990 emitted only 2.2 tons per capita.    Interestingly, this increase comes Chinese wind and solar energy capacity has doubled for the fifth year in a row.

Because of its use of nuclear energy, French emissions are actually on the lower end of the scale in comparison to other developed nations.  Per capita emissions in other EU member nations were 7.9 tons in 2009, down from 9.1 tons in 1990, while per capita emissions in the United Sates fell to 17.2 tons in 2009, decreasing from 19.5 tons in 1990.

All in all, the Dutch agency now reports that 53% of 2009 global emissions came from developing nations, with 44% coming from the developed world.  International air and sea transportation accounts for the remaining 3%.

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U.S. crude prices have fallen 9.7% since March, finishing the quarter down $8.13, the first quarterly price decrease since Q4 2008.  This has triggered worries over the state of global demand in the wake of continued strain in global financial markets and sluggish job growth.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) reports growth in gasoline stocks and distillates inventories, disproving forecasts which predicted a fall.  On the other hand, crude stocks dropped by 2.01 million barrels; twice the expected rate.

The onset of Hurricane Alex actually helped to stem the price fall by forcing a stop in 26.3% of oil production and 14.4% of natural gas production in the Gulf of Mexico region.

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It appears that between the Gulf Oil spill, climate change uncertainty, rising energy costs and the availability of future supplies has finally shaken American consumers out of their comfort zone.

Long accustomed to cheap and easy access to energy, American consumers have been notoriously resistant to changing their ways to use less energy.  However, according to a recent study by GE, 79% of U.S. consumers would be willing to make short term changes in order to achieve long-term energy benefits.

A full 88% of those polled would start to use devices like smart meters to help them use energy more efficiently, and of this group, 82% say that smart meters and related devices will be “vital technologies” for the future.

Perhaps the most striking result is the 72% of respondents who agree that America’s energy use and consumption habits, if left unaltered, could stifle future economic growth.  This result, GE says, proves that “consumers are ready to think differently about how they use energy.”

“There are some things that are essential to achieving a desired quality of life,” says Bob Gilligan, VP of Digital Energy for GE Energy Services, “and Americans overwhelmingly agree that investing in our nation’s energy future is one of them.”

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In the wake of the catastrophic oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, the Obama administration moved last week to ban all offshore drilling operations in the Gulf region for six months until further investigation into the cause of the BP gusher, which has been spilling oil into the ocean since April.

However, a judge in New Orleans struck down the ruling, calling it “rash and heavy-handed.”  The Obama administration appealed immediately, saying that continued drilling poses a danger to oil workers and to the environment that “the president does not believe we can afford.”

It is a contentious issue that has even brought in Abdalla Salem El Badri, the Secretary General of OPEC.  After meeting with European ministers in Brussels, Mr. El-Badri urged the United States to reconsider its ban on offshore drilling, warning that a six month hiatus would hold back oil supplies.  “We should not really ban it and we should not jump to conclusions,” he told reporters.

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A recent survey confirms that African nations are home to the world’s most vulnerable water supplies, and face substantial risks from climate change and population growth.

British consultancy group Maplecroft crafted a “water security risk index” of 165 nations around the world based on criteria such as access to drinking water, per capita demand and dependence on water from rivers which first travel through other neighboring nations.

The survey showed primarily African and Asian nations had the most vulnerable supplies, with Somalia, Mauritania, Sudan, Niger and Iraq leading the list of “riskiest nations.”

However, poor countries are not the only ones facing increased water risk, noted Anna Moss, an author of the study.  Regions of the United States and Australia are also at high risk levels., as are European countries like Bulgaria, Belgium and Spain.

On the other end of the spectrum, the most secure water supplies can be found in Iceland, Norway and New Zealand.

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Achim Steiner, the head of the U.N. Environment Program (UNEP), says the world needs a fresh infusion of investment in the new “green economy.” So far, nations around the world have pledged $500 billion for “green spending” on a wide variety of projects, from solar plants to transportation sector initiatives.  However large that number appears, Steiner warns that it is still not sufficient.

Of the $500 billion pledged, 40% of funds comes from China, which means many developed countries are falling short in their commitment to a green economy, Steiner says.  In 2008, the UNEP called for a global investment of $750 billion, equivalent to 1% of global GDP to be funneled into a “Global Green New Deal.”

“The green economy is not a luxury, but a 21st century imperative on a planet of six billion, rising to 9 billion in just 40 years,” said Steiner and Pavan Sukhdev, leader of UNEP’s Green Economy Initiative in a statement released in advance of this weekend’s G20 Summit in Toronto.

G20 delegates re-affirmed their pledge to phase out the “inefficient” subsidies to the fossil fuel industry,  which by some estimates amount to $300-$500 billion/year.  The International Energy Agency estimates that elimination of these subsidies could help reduce greenhouse gas emissions by around 7% over the next ten years.

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In a remarkable new discovery, a small team of U.S. Pentagon officials and American geologists have found massive reserves of iron, copper, cobalt, gold and other essential metals like lithium in Afghanistan. All together, these mineral deposits could be worth nearly $1 trillion dollars, and could transform Afghanistan into a preeminent mining center, attracting investors from all over the world.

The iron and copper discoveries that have been made so far are substantial enough to turn Afghanistan into one of the world’s major producers of both valuable substances.

In addition, geologists believe dry salt lakes in western Afghanistan may contain lithium deposits large enough to rival those of Bolivia, which possesses the world’s largest known reserves.  An internal Pentagon memo says with these discoveries, Afghanistan could turn into the “Saudi Arabia of lithium.”  Lithium is an essential element used widely in high-tech production; a necessity for computer chips to batteries to wind turbine components.

Although he concedes that developing these reserves will take time and money, General David H. Petraeus, commander of the United States Central Command, says there is “stunning potential here” and that this discovery has the potential to transform the Afghan economy, which thus far has centered around opium production and the drug trade.

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Oil and gas major Total and Spain-based solar company Abengoa Solar have been appointed to construct the largest concentrating solar power (CSP) plant in the world in Masdar, the carbon-zero city and renewable energy initiative of Abu Dhabi.  Abu Dhabi aims to achieve 7% renewable energy generation by 2020.

Called “Shams 1,” this planned CSP plant will extend over an area of 2.5 square km and have a generation capacity of approximately 100MW.  Once completed, it will be the first of its kind in the Middle East region, and the first CSP plant to be registered with the United Nation’s Clean Development Mechanism (CDM).  This registration will make Shams 1 eligible for carbon credits.

“This project, which will be the first utility-scale, commercial solar power project in the UAE, represents the translation into reality of the vision the Abu Dhabi leadership had for renewable energy in the Emirate,” said Dr. Sultan Al-Jaber, CEO of Masdar.  Looking ahead, Abengoa Solar’s director of international development Michael Geyer believes this project is only the beginning.  “The Middle East,” he said,  “is a region that offers both an unlimited solar resource and infinite site locations for implementation of solar plants in its deserts.”

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A recent well explosion in Pennsylvania which blew contaminated gas and water 75 ft in the air has renewed awareness, and in some cases anxiety, over the highly productive yet controversial natural gas drilling technique known as hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking.”

Conventional gas drilling processes use approximately 80,000 gallons of water per well.  However,  the new method of horizontal drilling combined with “fracking” uses millions of gallons of water that has been laced with a cocktail of sometimes toxic chemicals.  These new techniques have opened up gas resources in many previously inaccessible areas, and dramatically increased U.S. natural gas production.

However, environmental pollution concerns have steadily increased in New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and West Virginia, across which spans the giant Marcellus Shale formation.  New York has already limited drilling in certain areas because of fears of possible groundwater contamination in watershed regions.   It is likely that similar regulations will soon be put in place to ensure protection of the environment as fracking drilling expands.

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According to the BP Statistical Review of World Energy, global emissions of CO2 and other greenhouse gas emissions decreased for the first time since 1998, dropping 1.1% to 31.13 billion tons after 2008′s peak of 31.55 billion tons.

However, despite this overall reduction, China’s greenhouse gas emissions have grown sharply as the nation rapidly industrializes and continues to construct new coal-fired power plants.  China is now the world’s leading emitter, having overtaken the United States in 2008.  This past year, China ‘s fossil fuel combustion released 7.5 billion tons of CO2 into the atmosphere.

China is not the only developing nation whose emissions have grown sharply.  India also saw an increase of 7%, and it has now overtaken Russia as the world’s third largest emitter.  In aggregate, the developing world now accounts for half of all global emissions.

United States emissions, on the other hand, fell by 6.5% to 5.9 billion tons in 2009, the lowest level since 1995.  However, “although the share of emerging markets is growing, the industrialized countries remain the preponderant source of historical greenhouse gases,” reminds Nick Robins, head of HSBC’s Climate Change Center of Excellence.

The United States and China, as well as the world’s other top emitters, now find themselves under tremendous pressure to either extend the Kyoto Protocol or formulate a successor to the climate treaty, which is set to expire in 2012.  Nations are also attempting to come up with domestic emissions reductions plans of their own.  “In terms of future emissions targets, China is ahead of the U.S. because it has set itself commitments to reduce carbon intensity, while the U.S. is struggling to get climate legislation through Congress,” remarks Robins.

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The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is urging G20 nations to end subsidies for fossil fuels and to follow through with the pledge made after last year’s gathering in Toronto to phase out these massive subsidies over the near- to medium- term.

OECD chief  Angel Gurría calls these subsidies, which by some estimates may be as much as $557 billion a year in developing nations and over $100 billion in the industrialized world, a “wasteful use of scarce budget resources.”  There is a contradiction, he says, because”many governments are giving subsidies to fossil fuel production and consumption that encourage greenhouse gas emissions, at the same time they are spending on projects to promote clean energy.”

According to some estimates, eliminating fossil fuel subsidies may help to reduce total global greenhouse emissions by 10% from their expected 2050 levels.  This would greatly assist  G20 nations with other policy initiatives to mitigate the effects of global warming.

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