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		<title>Conservation news</title>
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		<link>https://news.mongabay.com/list/clean-energy/</link>
		<description>Environmental science and conservation news</description>
		<lastBuildDate>Sat, 12 Sep 2026 14:31:28 +0000</lastBuildDate>
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	<title>News on Clean Energy</title>
	<link>https://news.mongabay.com/list/clean-energy/</link>
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				<item>
					<title>On renewable energy, it’s time to debunk the ‘transition minerals’ narrative (commentary)</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/on-renewable-energy-its-time-to-debunk-the-transition-minerals-narrative-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/on-renewable-energy-its-time-to-debunk-the-transition-minerals-narrative-commentary/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>03 Sep 2026 15:18:27 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Shaan Sood]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Erik Hoffner]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/11/18094245/copper-bearing-ore-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=328582</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Alternative Energy, Business, Clean Energy, Commentary, Critical Minerals, Energy, Energy Transition, Environment, Governance, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Rights, Mining, Natural Resources, and Renewable Energy]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[There is an insidious lie that has taken root in the energy transition narrative pushed by the world’s most powerful financial, political, and environmental institutions: we need to massively scale up “critical mineral” mining to secure a green future. The World Bank claims that production of key minerals will need to increase by 500% by [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[There is an insidious lie that has taken root in the energy transition narrative pushed by the world’s most powerful financial, political, and environmental institutions: we need to massively scale up “critical mineral” mining to secure a green future. The World Bank claims that production of key minerals will need to increase by 500% by 2050 for the energy transition. According to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), 250 new mines are needed to meet emissions targets (80 new copper mines, 70 new lithium mines, 70 new nickel mines, and 30 new cobalt mines). WWF says we need to dramatically increase the supply chain for a wide range of materials, including “transition minerals” as they’re also sometimes called. We are told that mineral extraction’s countless environmental harms — the streams contaminated by toxic runoff, the razed forests, the degraded air quality, the dying wildlife — are the necessary costs of the transition to renewable energy. Lithium pools in Salinas Grandes, Argentina. Image by Pedro J Pacheco via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0 DEED) But as we at the Oakland Institute show in a new report, “transition minerals” are misnamed. The vast majority are used in industries that are either unrelated — or in direct opposition — to the clean energy transition. This trend shows no signs of changing: artificial intelligence and heightened military spending are, in fact, increasing the demand for these minerals in industries driving ecological destruction. Scaling up mining as recommended by international organizations would&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/on-renewable-energy-its-time-to-debunk-the-transition-minerals-narrative-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/on-renewable-energy-its-time-to-debunk-the-transition-minerals-narrative-commentary/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-328582</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Nepal&#8217;s new government bets on tax revenue over clean energy push</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/nepals-new-government-bets-on-tax-revenue-over-clean-energy-push/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/nepals-new-government-bets-on-tax-revenue-over-clean-energy-push/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>01 Jul 2026 11:37:35 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Rudra Pangeni]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Abhaya Raj Joshi]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/07/01093941/road-in-nepal-traffic-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=322164</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Nepal, and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Alternative Energy, Clean Energy, Development, Electric Cars, Energy, Environment, Governance, and Transportation]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[KATHMANDU — When Balendra Shah took office as Nepal’s new prime minister in March following a landslide victory for his party, he inherited a fuel crisis triggered by the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran. His government faced a choice between speeding up the clean energy transition or shoring up the public finances needed to sustain it. [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[KATHMANDU — When Balendra Shah took office as Nepal’s new prime minister in March following a landslide victory for his party, he inherited a fuel crisis triggered by the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran. His government faced a choice between speeding up the clean energy transition or shoring up the public finances needed to sustain it. In its May 29 fiscal policy, it chose the latter. Nepal imports fossil fuels at a cost of 300 billion rupees ($2 billion) a year, including cooking gas that it subsidizes about 9 billion rupees ($59.5 million) annually. On the “clean” side of that equation, nearly all its grid electricity comes from hydropower — so much so that it exports the surplus to India and Bangladesh during the wet season. And on sales of electric vehicles, Nepal ranks second globally, with EVs estimated to account for 73% of new car sales in 2025, thanks to lower import taxes compared to internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles. But the new government argues for a shift to raise revenue to fund grid upgrades that would make a clean energy transition possible in the first place. A former bureaucrat and a sitting official both told Mongabay that this logic is backward: that the tax revenue raised will be less than the savings in gas subsidies if it instead encouraged households to switch to electric stoves. In his maiden budget speech, Finance Minister Swarnim Wagle announced a 5% value-added tax on high-consuming electricity users, and fresh new taxes on EV&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/nepals-new-government-bets-on-tax-revenue-over-clean-energy-push/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/nepals-new-government-bets-on-tax-revenue-over-clean-energy-push/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-322164</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Human rights abuse allegations continue to rise in the mining sector, report finds</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/human-rights-abuse-allegations-continue-to-rise-in-the-mining-sector-report-finds/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/human-rights-abuse-allegations-continue-to-rise-in-the-mining-sector-report-finds/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>29 Jun 2026 18:41:08 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Maxwell Radwin]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Alexandra Popescu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/06/29182329/AP26121665473043-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=322054</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Asia, Europe, Global, Latin America, and Middle East]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Business, Clean Energy, Critical Minerals, Environment, Health, Human Rights, Mining, Natural Resources, Pollution, Protests, Renewable Energy, Trade, and Water Pollution]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Over the last several years, the United States and European Union have intensified efforts to secure the minerals needed for a clean energy transition. Officials have fast-tracked new projects and signed deals with countries across the globe to ensure access to copper, cobalt, lithium and other minerals that are essential for building solar panels, wind [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Over the last several years, the United States and European Union have intensified efforts to secure the minerals needed for a clean energy transition. Officials have fast-tracked new projects and signed deals with countries across the globe to ensure access to copper, cobalt, lithium and other minerals that are essential for building solar panels, wind turbines, batteries and other technologies. But as investment grows, so does conflict throughout the sector. Protests and lawsuits are common at mine sites, which can lead to attacks against human rights and environmental defenders. It’s led critics to call for stricter regulations and better communication with local communities. “Resilient mineral supply chains can only be built with respect for people, ecosystems, and local benefits,” Erica Westenberg, director of governance programs at the NGO Natural Resource Governance Institute, said in a report from the Business and Human Rights Centre. Each year, the organization releases the findings of its Transition Mineral Tracker, which monitors allegations of abuse by large-scale mining of bauxite, cobalt, copper, lithium, manganese, nickel, iron ore and zinc. For 2025, the NGO reviewed 299 mining operations and their owners, counting 329 allegations of abuse — up from 156 the year before — tied to air and water pollution, public health problems, and labor abuse like poor working conditions and union suppression. There were also 61 cases of protests, 10 strikes and 44 lawsuits, the report said. A breach at a tailing dam at a Sino-Metals Leach Zambia mine near Kitwe. (AP Photo/Richard Kille, File) The&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/human-rights-abuse-allegations-continue-to-rise-in-the-mining-sector-report-finds/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/human-rights-abuse-allegations-continue-to-rise-in-the-mining-sector-report-finds/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-322054</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Failed promises to clean air in South Africa’s coal belt take toll on public health</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/failed-promises-to-clean-air-in-south-africas-coal-belt-take-toll-on-public-health/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/failed-promises-to-clean-air-in-south-africas-coal-belt-take-toll-on-public-health/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>24 Jun 2026 06:53:15 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Joe Walsh]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Malavikavyawahare]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/06/24064856/Kusile-Power-Station-South-Africas-largest-plant-at-4800MW-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=321552</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, South Africa, and Southern Africa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Air Pollution, Clean Energy, Coal, Energy, Environment, Environmental Policy, Governance, Health, Pollution, and Water]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[eMALAHLENI, South Africa — Elisabeth Moutloang, 49, lives in the shadows of Duvha Power Station, a 3,600-MW coal-fired power station owned and operated by Eskom, South Africa’s national energy provider. Between it and her community of Masakhane, in the south of eMalahleni, is a coal mine where she used to work twenty years ago as [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[eMALAHLENI, South Africa — Elisabeth Moutloang, 49, lives in the shadows of Duvha Power Station, a 3,600-MW coal-fired power station owned and operated by Eskom, South Africa’s national energy provider. Between it and her community of Masakhane, in the south of eMalahleni, is a coal mine where she used to work twenty years ago as a weighbridge clerk, monitoring the weight of coal-laden vehicles entering and exiting the mine, before it was abandoned. She left the job after seven months but in that time had developed a serious lung problem, which was detected because the mine conducts a health screening before starting employment and when an employee leaves. “When I went to have my exit medical done, I was told that I have a hole on my left lung. That&#8217;s when I started having sinus problems, that&#8217;s when I started having chest problems. At one stage I had bronchitis,” Moutloang says. “I thought I was going to die.” At the time, she had health insurance from her employer and was able to get the right medicine for the condition. Hers is not a unique story for a resident of eMalahleni (which translates to “place of coal”) located in South Africa’s eastern province of Mpumalanga, 130 kilometers (81 miles) east of Johannesburg. The town lies in the heart of the Highveld Priority Area (HPA), spanning 31,100 km encompassing 12 municipalities, which was designated in 2007 as a priority area for tackling air pollution, because the air quality was very poor. A&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/failed-promises-to-clean-air-in-south-africas-coal-belt-take-toll-on-public-health/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/failed-promises-to-clean-air-in-south-africas-coal-belt-take-toll-on-public-health/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-321552</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Lawsuit demands accountability for Cerro de Pasco mining pollution in Peru</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/lawsuit-demands-accountability-for-cerro-de-pasco-mining-pollution-in-peru/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/lawsuit-demands-accountability-for-cerro-de-pasco-mining-pollution-in-peru/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>16 Jun 2026 21:14:58 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Maxwell Radwin]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Alexandra Popescu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/06/16210447/AP0909151105123-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=321332</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global, Latin America, Peru, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Air Pollution, Clean Energy, Conservation, Critical Minerals, Environment, Health, Mining, Pollution, Public Health, and Water Pollution]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[A mine that has been operating for decades in the Peruvian Andes continues to contaminate the soil, water and air for thousands of people living nearby, according to a lawsuit filed last month. The contamination has displaced farming and livestock, the lawsuit said, while causing cognitive issues in children, among other public health concerns. Companies [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[A mine that has been operating for decades in the Peruvian Andes continues to contaminate the soil, water and air for thousands of people living nearby, according to a lawsuit filed last month. The contamination has displaced farming and livestock, the lawsuit said, while causing cognitive issues in children, among other public health concerns. Companies working at the Cerro de Pasco mine, located in Peru’s central highlands, need to be held responsible for the pollution and public health issues that have affected more than 100,000 people, according to Cerro de Pasco Mayor Julio Rupay Malpartida and public prosecutor Darwin Alejandro Ramón Yalico, who filed the injunction petition on behalf of the municipality. “[The] environmental contamination is on such a scale that it’s present in every corner of the city,” the lawsuit said, “a consequence of the accumulation of heavy metals and toxic substances.” The area has been home to mining activity since at least the 16th century, when the Spanish discovered silver deposits during colonization. More recently, the private company Volcan Compañía Minera took over the mines in 2000 and has overseen underground and open pit operations to extract silver, copper, zinc and lead, among other metals. The lawsuit also lists Volcan subsidiaries Óxidos de Pasco, Empresa Administradora Cerro and Empresa Minera Paragsha as defendants. The Cerro de Pasco mine from above. Image courtesy of SkyTruth/Flickr. CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 Some of the operation is located in the center of the city, with a population of more than 74,000. As a result, particulate&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/lawsuit-demands-accountability-for-cerro-de-pasco-mining-pollution-in-peru/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-321332</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Bangladesh’s energy crunch highlights the promise — and limits — of solar</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/bangladeshs-energy-crunch-highlights-the-promise-and-limits-of-solar/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/bangladeshs-energy-crunch-highlights-the-promise-and-limits-of-solar/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>21 May 2026 10:22:50 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Md Jahidul Islam]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Abu Siddique]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/05/21095035/solar-panels-in-bangladesh-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=319893</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Bangladesh, and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Alternative Energy, Clean Energy, Energy, Energy Efficiency, Environment, Fossil Fuels, Politics, Renewable Energy, and Solar Power]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[As Bangladesh grapples with fuel shortages, power plant outages and rising energy import costs, the country’s small but growing solar sector is helping cushion the grid against widespread blackouts. According to the Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB), 16 of the 136 power plants and electricity import sources are solar facilities. At least 52 power plants are [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[As Bangladesh grapples with fuel shortages, power plant outages and rising energy import costs, the country’s small but growing solar sector is helping cushion the grid against widespread blackouts. According to the Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB), 16 of the 136 power plants and electricity import sources are solar facilities. At least 52 power plants are currently fully shut down because of gas and coal shortages. Despite having installed electricity generation capacity far exceeding peak demand, Bangladesh has recently struggled in recent months to generate enough power to meet its needs. Fuel supply constraints, maintenance shutdowns and technical faults have forced many gas- and coal-fired plants to operate below capacity, leading to periodic load-shedding, or blackouts, across the country. While fossil fuel-dependent plants have been hampered by supply shortages, solar plants continue generating during daylight hours and remain largely insulated from global fuel price volatility. A BPDB report published May 10 showed that Bangladesh generated and imported a combined 312,620 megawatt-hours (MWh) of electricity on May 9. Of that total, solar contributed 5,377 MWh, compared to 127,700 MWh from gas and 105,400 MWh from coal. Although solar still accounts for only a small share of the national energy mix, experts say its importance becomes more apparent during crises when fossil fuel-dependent plants can’t operate at full capacity. The same BPDB report showed that Bangladesh faced a generation shortfall of 3,868 megawatts due to gas constraints and an additional 1,668 MW due to plant shutdowns and maintenance. Several major gas-fired plants were operating below capacity because of&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/bangladeshs-energy-crunch-highlights-the-promise-and-limits-of-solar/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-319893</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Philippine fishing and Indigenous communities wary of clean energy boom in Marcos stronghold</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/philippine-fishing-and-indigenous-communities-wary-of-clean-energy-boom-in-marcos-stronghold/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/philippine-fishing-and-indigenous-communities-wary-of-clean-energy-boom-in-marcos-stronghold/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>18 May 2026 23:28:31 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Michael Beltran]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Isabel Esterman]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/05/13110218/Ed-Singson-shows-off-the-seaweed-in-his-bucket-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=319296</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Philippines, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Alternative Energy, Business, Clean Energy, Conservation, Energy, Fishing, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Rights, Islands, Just Transition, Marine, Marine Conservation, Offshore Wind, Renewable Energy, Solar Power, and Wind Power]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[PASUQUIN, Philippines — Crouched on the beach under the hot noon sun, a fisherman flattens a black sheet of seaweed on a bamboo mat rolled out on the sand. Wearing a straw hat wide enough to shade his entire body, he tucks his legs in to avoid getting burned. Gamet, a rare and coveted variety [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[PASUQUIN, Philippines — Crouched on the beach under the hot noon sun, a fisherman flattens a black sheet of seaweed on a bamboo mat rolled out on the sand. Wearing a straw hat wide enough to shade his entire body, he tucks his legs in to avoid getting burned. Gamet, a rare and coveted variety of seaweed local to the coasts of the Philippines’ Ilocos Norte province, is both a staple to fishing communities and a popular souvenir for travelers. But harvesting the highly sought-after seaweed can be a dangerous task. Like the better-known nori, it belongs to the Bangiaceae family of red algae and grows exclusively on the sharp, pointed rocks along the cooler waters of the northern Philippine coast. At the other end of the beach, Ed Singson, leader of the local fishing association, has just come ashore with a bucket of fresh gamet. Taking a handful of seaweed from his bucket, he says, “We will protest on the seas for this if we have to.” Singson, 55, and his fellow fisherfolk have learned from local authorities about plans by a foreign company to build a vast stretch of offshore wind turbines on traditional fishing grounds. They say they fear the construction, vibrations and, eventually, the completed structures could disrupt their fishing routes and local marine life. A fisher in Burgos, Ilocos Norte, flattens a sheet of Gamet to dry on the beach. Image by Michael Beltran for Mongabay. ‘Renewable energy capital’ Ilocos Norte, the northwestern tip of&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/philippine-fishing-and-indigenous-communities-wary-of-clean-energy-boom-in-marcos-stronghold/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-319296</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Solar brings power to women entrepreneurs in Borneo, but rural energy inequality remains</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/solar-brings-power-to-women-entrepreneurs-in-borneo-but-rural-energy-inequality-remains/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/solar-brings-power-to-women-entrepreneurs-in-borneo-but-rural-energy-inequality-remains/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>14 May 2026 10:36:12 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Yuda Almerio]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Mongabay Editor]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/05/14100334/solar-panels-and-cacti-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=319421</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Borneo, East Kalimantan, Indonesia, Kalimantan, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Alternative Energy, Bioenergy, Clean Energy, Climate Change, Emission Reduction, Energy, Environment, Fossil Fuels, Gender, Governance, Just Transition, Politics, Renewable Energy, and Solar Power]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[KUTAI KARTANEGARA, Indonesia — Asniah recalls nights lying in darkness listening to cicadas and the passing hum of outboard motors after her family moved to Muara Enggelam in the 1990s, an over-the-water village in the interior of Indonesian Borneo, cut off from basic services. Around the turn of the century, a handful of homes in [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[KUTAI KARTANEGARA, Indonesia — Asniah recalls nights lying in darkness listening to cicadas and the passing hum of outboard motors after her family moved to Muara Enggelam in the 1990s, an over-the-water village in the interior of Indonesian Borneo, cut off from basic services. Around the turn of the century, a handful of homes in Muara Enggelam acquired diesel generators, bringing electric lighting for the first time to the timber stilt houses that still line the last mile of the river where the Enggelam meets Borneo’s Lake Melintang. The Kutai Kartanegara district government here later expanded this basic electrification program, but residents paid several times more for power than a grid-connected urban household. Moreover, the generators ran only from dusk to dawn and would frequently break down, plunging Muara Enggelam back into the void Asniah recalled on moving here three decades earlier as a child. “We were just grateful — things had been harder before,” Asniah, a mother of three now in her early 40s, told Mongabay Indonesia at her home. “Even though there was 24-hour electricity in the city at the time,” she added. Stable energy access provides greater scope for women to develop businesses and contribute to the family economy. Image by Yuda Almerio/Mongabay Indonesia Remote work Uneven access to electricity has abetted inequality in what is now Indonesia ever since Dutch colonialists introduced captive coal plants in the 19th century to power their plantation operations. Indonesia’s Gini coefficient, a measure of inequality, records the wealth gap between&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/solar-brings-power-to-women-entrepreneurs-in-borneo-but-rural-energy-inequality-remains/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/solar-brings-power-to-women-entrepreneurs-in-borneo-but-rural-energy-inequality-remains/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-319421</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Fossil fuel transition summit seeks progress beyond stalled COP talks</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/fossil-fuel-transition-summit-seeks-progress-beyond-stalled-cop-talks/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/fossil-fuel-transition-summit-seeks-progress-beyond-stalled-cop-talks/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>11 May 2026 16:13:12 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Aimee Gabay]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Alexandra Popescu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/05/11160224/AP26118020222261-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=319140</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Colombia, Latin America, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Carbon Emissions, Clean Energy, Climate Change, Conservation, Deforestation, Energy Transition, Environment, Forest Destruction, Forest Loss, Forests, Fossil Fuels, Governance, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Impact Of Climate Change, Indigenous Peoples, Mining, Oil Drilling, Politics, and Renewable Energy]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The First Conference on Transitioning Away from Fossil Fuels in Santa Marta, Colombia, was viewed by many as a historic achievement and a momentous step toward ending fossil fuel dependency. After more than 30 years of U.N. Climate Change Conferences, or COPs, where the topic has been repeatedly blocked by states and lobbyists resistant to [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The First Conference on Transitioning Away from Fossil Fuels in Santa Marta, Colombia, was viewed by many as a historic achievement and a momentous step toward ending fossil fuel dependency. After more than 30 years of U.N. Climate Change Conferences, or COPs, where the topic has been repeatedly blocked by states and lobbyists resistant to any kind of phaseout, and many have struggled to get a seat on the table, such as Indigenous and Afro-descendent peoples, the Santa Marta conference has been hailed a success. “The conference was 100% positive,” Juan Carlos Jintiach, executive secretary of the Global Alliance of Territorial Communities (GATC), a coalition of Indigenous advocacy groups, told Mongabay over WhatsApp voice message. “These new proposals coming from the territories are being heard. It&#8217;s a responsible agenda regarding the paradigm shift of the transition, and it&#8217;s an opportunity.” During the first days of the conference, which ran from April 24-29, the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) released a new report that revealed the vast financial support fossil fuels continue to receive. According to its analysis, in 2024, fossil fuels globally received $1.2 trillion in subsidies and other forms of support, compared with $254 billion for clean energy. Florencia Ortúzar Greene, director of the climate program at the Inter-American Association for Environmental Defense (AIDA), told Mongabay over WhatsApp voice message that the conference’s free-flowing format, with ministers and stakeholders given equal opportunities to contribute, was a great relief. Attendees were unable to open their computers, meaning they could&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/fossil-fuel-transition-summit-seeks-progress-beyond-stalled-cop-talks/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/fossil-fuel-transition-summit-seeks-progress-beyond-stalled-cop-talks/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-319140</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Offshore wind’s clean energy potential remains largely untapped, say experts</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/offshore-winds-clean-energy-potential-remains-largely-untapped-say-experts/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/offshore-winds-clean-energy-potential-remains-largely-untapped-say-experts/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>27 Apr 2026 16:28:59 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Sean Mowbray]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Glenn Scherer]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/04/27143258/a.-CHINA-kilian-murphy-KtRsIaZZSfE-unsplash-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=318181</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Planetary Boundaries]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[China, Europe, and Global]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Alternative Energy, Clean Energy, Climate, Climate Change, Energy, Energy Efficiency, Environment, Oceans, Offshore Wind, Planetary Boundaries, Politics, Renewable Energy, Research, Wind, and Wind Power]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[This is Part One in a Mongabay series about trends in the offshore wind industry. Part Two describes challenges the sector faces in scaling up to meet climate goals. Winds sweep across the world’s oceans every day, and harnessing that largely unused resource has the potential to provide abundant, clean and reliable energy. Experts widely [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[This is Part One in a Mongabay series about trends in the offshore wind industry. Part Two describes challenges the sector faces in scaling up to meet climate goals. Winds sweep across the world’s oceans every day, and harnessing that largely unused resource has the potential to provide abundant, clean and reliable energy. Experts widely agree that marine wind could play a vital role in reducing fossil fuel reliance and tackling climate change, while also bolstering energy security. “The beauty of it is that the technology is tried, tested, proven, and has scaled,” says Amisha Patel, head of secretariat at the Global Offshore Wind Alliance. “This is not just about climate, it&#8217;s about having energy independence for many nations and regions as well.” Tapping into only a tiny fraction of that overall potential could reap gigantic benefits. A 2025 paper found that utilizing even just 1% of the global area suitable for offshore wind could produce roughly 20% of current global electricity demand, and cut carbon emissions by more than 2.3 billion metric tons annually. “Our key finding is that a relatively small fraction of suitable ocean area could deliver substantial climate and energy benefits,” Yi Wen, a lead author on that study with the National University of Singapore (NUS), told Mongabay in an email. But today, marine wind remains almost entirely untapped, with only around 15,000 offshore turbines producing just over 80 gigawatts of electricity, and another 150 GW of offshore wind farms under development. In 2024, energy generation&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/offshore-winds-clean-energy-potential-remains-largely-untapped-say-experts/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/offshore-winds-clean-energy-potential-remains-largely-untapped-say-experts/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-318181</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Fossil fuel subsidies and high costs stall energy transition across rural Indonesia</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/fossil-fuel-subsidies-and-high-costs-stall-energy-transition-across-rural-indonesia/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/fossil-fuel-subsidies-and-high-costs-stall-energy-transition-across-rural-indonesia/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>21 Apr 2026 11:35:35 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Luh De Suriyani]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Mongabay Editor]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/04/21113035/DJI_0067-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=317800</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Indonesia, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Alternative Energy, Bioenergy, Clean Energy, Climate Change, Emission Reduction, Energy, Environment, Fossil Fuels, Governance, Just Transition, Politics, Renewable Energy, and Solar Power]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[DENPASAR, Indonesia — Renewable energy uptake has yet to gather momentum across Indonesia’s more than 84,000 villages, a new report concludes, as the government of the world’s fourth-largest country pledges to achieve a radical energy transformation over the next decade. “Village street lighting has increased, while household use has declined due to high initial costs, [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[DENPASAR, Indonesia — Renewable energy uptake has yet to gather momentum across Indonesia’s more than 84,000 villages, a new report concludes, as the government of the world’s fourth-largest country pledges to achieve a radical energy transformation over the next decade. “Village street lighting has increased, while household use has declined due to high initial costs, minimal incentives, and the dominance of fossil fuel subsidies,” according to the Village Energy Transition Readiness Index, a report published by Jakarta-based think tank the Center of Economic and Law Studies (Celios) and Greenpeace. Indonesia’s statistics agency counted 84,291 villages across the world’s largest archipelagic nation as of 2025. Around 1.4 million people among Indonesia’s population of 270 million still lack all access to electricity, according to Eniya Listiani Dewi, the renewable energy lead at Indonesia’s mining and energy ministry. “Previously, many villages had clean energy initiatives, including solar power plants, micro-hydropower plants, and others, but the number of such initiatives has actually gone down,” said Wahyudi Askar at Celios. Despite technological progress and availability of cheaper solar hardware, the total number of villages and subdistricts reporting solar power use among households declined from 4,176 in 2021 to 3,076 in 2024, a reduction of 26.4%. However, the number of villages using street lighting powered by photovoltaics increased over the same period. Some 24,766 villages or neighborhood areas used solar to power streetlights in 2021, and this increased by 20.1% over the three-year period to 30,476 in total. For more than a decade, local governments and&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/fossil-fuel-subsidies-and-high-costs-stall-energy-transition-across-rural-indonesia/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-317800</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Oil surge sharpens calls for Indonesia to shift away from fossil fuels</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/oil-surge-sharpens-calls-for-indonesia-to-shift-away-from-fossil-fuels/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/oil-surge-sharpens-calls-for-indonesia-to-shift-away-from-fossil-fuels/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>01 Apr 2026 03:23:28 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Hans Nicholas Jong]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Hans Nicholas Jong]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/04/01031350/5A269589-C332-4BC2-B240-4088D4141843-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=316691</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Indonesia, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biofuels, Carbon Tax, Clean Energy, Climate Change, Coal, Conflict, El Nino, Energy, Fossil Fuels, Just Transition, Oil, Palm Oil, Politics, and Renewable Energy]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — As the U.S.-Israel war on Iran drives oil prices above $100 a barrel and disrupts global supply routes, Indonesia is once again confronting the costs of its dependence on fossil fuels — with growing calls not only to accelerate its renewable energy adoption, but also to make oil and gas companies help pay [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — As the U.S.-Israel war on Iran drives oil prices above $100 a barrel and disrupts global supply routes, Indonesia is once again confronting the costs of its dependence on fossil fuels — with growing calls not only to accelerate its renewable energy adoption, but also to make oil and gas companies help pay for the transition. The crisis is already testing the country’s energy system. Disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz, a chokepoint for global oil flows, have constrained supply, sending prices sharply higher from around $70 a barrel before the war began at the end of February. For Indonesia, the impact has been immediate. The country of 280 million people has been a net oil importer since 2003, and its economy remains heavily dependent on fossil fuels to power transport, industry and electricity. That dependence is now translating into rising fiscal pressure, currency risks and broader economic vulnerability. Yet the same shock is also sharpening calls to speed up the transition to renewable energy, even as policymakers move to secure more fossil fuel supplies and ramp up coal output at home. The ongoing global energy crisis, which the International Energy Agency (IEA) describes as the worst in recorded history, has laid bare the risks of Indonesia’s energy mix. The country consumes around 1.5 million barrels of oil per day but produces less than 700,000 barrels, leaving it highly reliant on imports. That exposure carries a direct cost. An analysis by the Institute for Development of Economics and&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/oil-surge-sharpens-calls-for-indonesia-to-shift-away-from-fossil-fuels/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-316691</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Amazon villages build autonomous energy systems after mega-dam failed pledges</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/02/amazon-villages-build-autonomous-energy-systems-after-mega-dam-failed-pledges/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/02/amazon-villages-build-autonomous-energy-systems-after-mega-dam-failed-pledges/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>18 Feb 2026 19:22:15 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Jorge C. Carrasco]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Alexandre de Santi]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/02/18082413/1.-Instalacoes.-Comunidade-de-Porto-Rico-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=314417</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Amazon, Brazil, Latin America, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Alternative Energy, Clean Energy, Community Development, Community-based Conservation, Dams, Development, Energy, Environment, Hydroelectric Power, Indigenous Peoples, Renewable Energy, Solar Power, Sustainable Development, and Threats To Rainforests]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Despite hosting huge hydropower plants, Amazon people still pay high energy tariffs — so they found another way.]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[When Brazil approved the construction of the Belo Monte hydroelectric complex on the Xingu River, in Pará state, the megaproject promised to profoundly change the national and local energy landscapes, creating a large offer of clean energy to power industries, illuminate homes and bring development to isolated communities that historically had little to no access to power. However, nearly a decade after the operations of the fourth-largest hydropower facility in the world began in 2016, the reality is starkly different. Vulnerable communities that highly depended on fishing have been severely economically affected, and many riverside families remain disconnected from the grid or pay some of the highest electricity bills in the country. A study published in 2024 by researchers from the State University of Campinas in Brazil and Michigan State University in the U.S., funded by the São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP), identified in a household survey covering 500 families in Altamira, Pará, that a vast majority of these families (86.8%) suffered a negative impact on electricity prices after the construction of Belo Monte. The research shows that not only did the “energy progress” promised in the past never materialize, but also that tariffs soared while communities living in the shadow of the Amazon’s largest dam still face blackouts and prohibitive costs. General view of the solar energy system after installation in the Porto Rico community. Image courtesy of Renato Chalu. Lower-income families in small communities in the Amazon region were hit the hardest, not only paying more for electricity,&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/02/amazon-villages-build-autonomous-energy-systems-after-mega-dam-failed-pledges/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-314417</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>In the race for DRC’s critical minerals, community forests are on the frontline</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/01/in-the-race-for-drcs-critical-minerals-community-forests-stand-on-the-frontline/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/01/in-the-race-for-drcs-critical-minerals-community-forests-stand-on-the-frontline/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>16 Jan 2026 08:00:37 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Didier MakalLatoya Abulu]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Latoya Abulu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://news.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/01/927W7CV-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=312862</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Cobalt Capital and Land rights and extractives]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Central Africa, and Democratic Republic Of Congo]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Clean Energy, Conservation, Critical Minerals, Environment, Environmental Policy, extractives, Forests, Illegal Mining, Industry, Land Conflict, Land Rights, Military, Mining, Politics, Savannas, and Technology]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[LIKASI, Democratic Republic of Congo — North of the limits of the Lukutwe community forest concession, two armed soldiers stepped in front of Valery Kyembo and his visitors. Wearing a bright orange vest with the logo of a reforestation project, Kyembo was guiding our journalists through a heavily deforested area in the copper-cobalt belt of [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[LIKASI, Democratic Republic of Congo — North of the limits of the Lukutwe community forest concession, two armed soldiers stepped in front of Valery Kyembo and his visitors. Wearing a bright orange vest with the logo of a reforestation project, Kyembo was guiding our journalists through a heavily deforested area in the copper-cobalt belt of the Democratic Republic of Congo, stepping around newly planted seedlings, when he was stopped by members of the FARDC, the national armed forces. Behind them stood a barrier to control access to a semi-industrial mine. &#8220;We are visiting the boundaries of our community’s property,&#8221; Kyembo tried to explain, before one of the soldiers brandished his automatic weapon to make him turn back. The land in question is the Lukutwe community forest concession (CFCL), 70 kilometers (43 miles) from Lubumbashi, the second-largest city in the DRC. The concession is a titled property created in the mineral-rich area of southeastern DRC by village leaders who sought to protect their land rights and miombo forests against a growing wave of mining companies taking up lands. Valery Kyembo walking in the Lukutwe forest concession in Likasi on November 26, 2025. Image by Glody MURHABAZI / AFP. Ten years ago, the displacement of nearby famers from the villages of Bungubungu and Shilasimba by Société d&#8217;Exploitation de Kipoi (SEK), a company owned by Australia-based Tiger Resources in search of copper and cobalt, sparked worry in Lukutwe village that their village could be next. &#8220;That’s why when the environmental project came to&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/01/in-the-race-for-drcs-critical-minerals-community-forests-stand-on-the-frontline/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-312862</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>‘The bargain of the century’: An economist’s vision for expanding clean energy access in Africa</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/the-bargain-of-the-century-an-economists-vision-for-expanding-clean-energy-access-in-africa/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/the-bargain-of-the-century-an-economists-vision-for-expanding-clean-energy-access-in-africa/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>26 Dec 2025 08:10:47 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[John Cannon]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Malavikavyawahare]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[africa]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/12/24150031/solar-panels-in-africa-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=312018</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Clean Energy, Climate, Climate Change, Climate Justice, Conservation, Energy, Environment, Extreme Weather, Finance, Food, Fossil Fuels, Geothermal Energy, Hydroelectric Power, Interviews, Interviews with conservation players, Just Transition, Politics, Renewable Energy, Social Justice, and Solar Power]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Many observers see industrialization as the key to boosting clean electricity access for people living in Africa and across the Global South. They argue that building up economies with industry will bring about the investments needed to upgrade the power grid and related infrastructure to provide power to the 600 million people in Africa who [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Many observers see industrialization as the key to boosting clean electricity access for people living in Africa and across the Global South. They argue that building up economies with industry will bring about the investments needed to upgrade the power grid and related infrastructure to provide power to the 600 million people in Africa who currently lack any electricity. But making sure the transition is fair means thinking about the coal workers who could lose their livelihoods and also about those who mine critical minerals essential for the renewable energy sector. The “just transition” toward renewable energy and away from fossil fuels got a boost at the November U.N. climate conference (COP30) in Brazil with the approval of the Belém Action Mechanism (BAM). The details of the BAM have yet to be sorted out, beyond a foundation of integrating existing endeavors toward low-carbon energy. But advocates applauded mentions of the rights of workers and Indigenous communities, as well as the inclusion of calls for more grants — as opposed to loans — to ease the transition. However, delegates failed to include a plan for phasing out oil, coal and gas. “The move to establish a just transition mechanism is positive and shows the power of civil society organising,&#8221; Friederike Strub, a climate finance campaigner at the Netherlands-based nonprofit Recourse, said in a statement. “But to make the just transition happen we need public finance backing, systemic economic reform, and a clear roadmap to end fossil fuels.” Even amid these signs&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/the-bargain-of-the-century-an-economists-vision-for-expanding-clean-energy-access-in-africa/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/the-bargain-of-the-century-an-economists-vision-for-expanding-clean-energy-access-in-africa/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-312018</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Nepal Indigenous leaders refile writ petition against hydropower project</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/nepal-indigenous-leaders-refile-writ-petition-against-hydropower-project/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/nepal-indigenous-leaders-refile-writ-petition-against-hydropower-project/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>12 Dec 2025 19:55:48 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Sonam Lama Hyolmo]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Abhaya Raj Joshi]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/12/12182421/Lungasamba-pass.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=311246</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Nepal, and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Biodiversity Hotspots, Clean Energy, Conservation, Crime, Culture, Development, Energy, Energy Efficiency, Environment, Environmental Law, Environmental Policy, Governance, Hydroelectric Power, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Rights, Infrastructure, Lakes, Land Rights, Medicine, Politics, Pollution, Protected Areas, Renewable Energy, and Rivers]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Amid rounds of court hearings and the decision pending on a 2024 writ petition, Indigenous Bhote-Lhomi Singsa community leaders of the Lungbasamba region in northeastern Nepal have filed another writ petition at the country’s Supreme Court. Community members from Ridak, one of the affected villages, say they filed the petition demanding the cancellation of the [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Amid rounds of court hearings and the decision pending on a 2024 writ petition, Indigenous Bhote-Lhomi Singsa community leaders of the Lungbasamba region in northeastern Nepal have filed another writ petition at the country’s Supreme Court. Community members from Ridak, one of the affected villages, say they filed the petition demanding the cancellation of the Chhujung River Hydropower Project (63 MW), declaring the environmental impact assessment (EIA) void and issuing an interim order to halt construction activities until the court’s final decision. “The second writ petition was timely, given the increasing impacts from construction work on the community people, their lands and livelihoods,” says Dhenduk Dhoma Bhote, one of the writ petitioners and a community leader from Ridak village. Thudam village in Lungbasamba area. Image by Chyamtang-Kathmandu Welfare Society. Chyamtang Village in Lungbasamba area. Image by Chyamtang-Kathmandu Welfare Society. “We demand the project’s cancellation and halt construction activities that have operated under a flawed EIA,” Bhote says. “Villagers are worried and fear being displaced from their ancestral lands and forests, which they have long depended on for their livelihoods,” he says. Sources say that not only about 81 households in Ridak, but also about 22 households in Thudam and 125 in Chyamtang are among the most affected by the project. While people in Chyamtang completely depend on agriculture, and those in Thudam on yak (Bos grunniens) herding, Bhote says people in Ridak rely on both herding and trading medicinal herbs for their livelihoods. “Our ancestors have not known any other&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/nepal-indigenous-leaders-refile-writ-petition-against-hydropower-project/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-311246</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>For fossil fuel-dependent islands, ocean thermal energy offers a lifeline</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/for-fossil-fuel-dependent-islands-ocean-thermal-energy-offers-a-lifeline/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/for-fossil-fuel-dependent-islands-ocean-thermal-energy-offers-a-lifeline/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>05 Dec 2025 16:20:46 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Sean Mowbray]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Jeremy Hance]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/12/03130547/8-OTEC-systems-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=310511</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Alternative Energy, Clean Energy, Climate Change, Conservation, Energy, Environment, Geothermal Energy, Infrastructure, Islands, Oceans, and Renewable Energy]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[A small floating pilot device deployed off the Canary Islands could one day prove pivotal to unlocking clean energy for tropical island and coastal communities by harnessing seawater heat. At least, that’s the hope of the EU-funded project that’s using a system known as ocean thermal energy conversion, or OTEC. Experts are hot on OTEC, [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[A small floating pilot device deployed off the Canary Islands could one day prove pivotal to unlocking clean energy for tropical island and coastal communities by harnessing seawater heat. At least, that’s the hope of the EU-funded project that’s using a system known as ocean thermal energy conversion, or OTEC. Experts are hot on OTEC, a century-old theoretical means of extracting energy from the oceans. In a closed-loop system, warm surface seawater passes through a heat exchanger to evaporate a working fluid, such as ammonia, which vaporizes to turn a turbine. Then, cold deep-ocean water is pumped up from a depth of around 750 meters (nearly 2,500 feet) as a coolant to return the gas to liquid form, completing the cycle. For the process to function, a temperature difference of 20° Celsius (36° Fahrenheit) or more is needed between surface and deep waters. “The potential for OTEC to provide power and other value-added streams is really high in the tropical and subtropical areas,” says Andrea Copping, a faculty fellow at the University of Washington in the U.S. “You really are talking about base load power, so 24/7 power, which is more than you can say, really, about pretty much any other renewable.” This is by no means a new technology or idea. OTEC was first conceived as a way to produce electricity in the 19th century. Fast forward to the 1970s and ’80s, and a host of tests were being performed. U.S. President Jimmy Carter pushed forward the idea of&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/for-fossil-fuel-dependent-islands-ocean-thermal-energy-offers-a-lifeline/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-310511</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>‘The perfect ingredients’: WRI Africa deputy director shares vision for the continent’s energy transition</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/the-perfect-ingredients-wri-africa-deputy-director-shares-vision-for-the-continents-energy-transition/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/the-perfect-ingredients-wri-africa-deputy-director-shares-vision-for-the-continents-energy-transition/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>19 Nov 2025 16:32:14 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[John Cannon]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Malavikavyawahare]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/11/19142320/UNDP-Sudan-Muhanad-Sameer-51014288750_befa1b7ee9_o-1-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=309838</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Negotiating Africa's Energy Future]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Clean Energy, Climate, Climate Change, Climate Justice, Conservation, Energy, Environment, Extreme Weather, Finance, Food, Fossil Fuels, Geothermal Energy, Hydroelectric Power, Interviews, Just Transition, Politics, Renewable Energy, Social Justice, Solar Power, Wind, and Wind Power]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The quest to bring energy to Africans who need it often centers on the relatable electrical needs that arise in the home: lighting, phone charging, and a connection to what’s going on in the broader world through a radio or a television. Indeed, 40% of the continent’s population — around 600 million people — don’t [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The quest to bring energy to Africans who need it often centers on the relatable electrical needs that arise in the home: lighting, phone charging, and a connection to what’s going on in the broader world through a radio or a television. Indeed, 40% of the continent’s population — around 600 million people — don’t even have that basic level of access. Where power access does exist, it’s often not enough to support the more intensive needs of essential services such as schools, hospitals and water treatment facilities. At the 2025 U.N. climate conference, COP30, in Belém, Brazil, running Nov. 10-21, ensuring a “just energy transition” in Africa and elsewhere that lack access has been a central topic of discussion. The overall rise in atmospheric carbon stems largely from the burning of fossil fuels, which has propelled the growth of wealthy countries’ economies. By contrast, people from less-industrialized parts of the world have contributed little to climate change, yet are often the first to face its impacts, whether from droughts, rising sea levels or more intense storms. And without ready access to electricity, they’re often — quite literally — left in the dark. Key to facilitating a just transition for Africa will be greater investments in renewables to capitalize on the continent’s abundant wind, geothermal, hydro and solar resources, according to Rebekah Shirley, deputy director for Africa at the World Resources Institute (WRI). (Already, more than half of Africa’s energy consumption is met by renewable sources, such as solar and&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/the-perfect-ingredients-wri-africa-deputy-director-shares-vision-for-the-continents-energy-transition/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-309838</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>As Zambia eyes green minerals, Kabwe’s poisoned past looms large</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/as-zambia-eyes-green-minerals-kabwes-poisoned-past-looms-large/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/as-zambia-eyes-green-minerals-kabwes-poisoned-past-looms-large/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>19 Nov 2025 07:16:17 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Chisapi Kumbutso]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Terna Gyuse]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[africa]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/11/18093815/Oliver-Nyirenda-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=309709</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Southern Africa, and Zambia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Activism, Business, Clean Energy, Degraded Lands, Energy, Environment, Environmental Law, Governance, Human Rights, Industry, Mining, Monitoring, Pollution, and Social Justice]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[LUSAKA — As Zambia looks to profit from the growing global demand for copper and other transition minerals — essential for the world’s green energy future — the story of Kabwe, a mining city poisoned by the resource, stands as a warning. If the government and the companies that mine its wealth don’t break with [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[LUSAKA — As Zambia looks to profit from the growing global demand for copper and other transition minerals — essential for the world’s green energy future — the story of Kabwe, a mining city poisoned by the resource, stands as a warning. If the government and the companies that mine its wealth don’t break with the patterns of the past, activists warn, any new mining booms will likely repeat the destruction of mining host communities’ health, livelihoods and environment. In June 2024, a coalition of young activists, journalists and environmental groups launched a campaign called “Zambia’s Sacrifice Zone,” aiming to explore the legacy of mining lead and copper in Kabwe and reinforce the push for accountability from government and mining companies. A partnership between a Zambian NGO, the Agents of Change Foundation, and Radio Workshop, a South Africa-based nonprofit that trains young community journalists across the continent, the campaign relied on a podcast, radio programs and listening parties. From left to right: Youth activist Oliver Nyirenda (in yellow), with his family in Kabwe. Image courtesy of Radio Workshop. Putting a face to a crisis At the center of the campaign is the story of Oliver Nyirenda. As Nyirenda was growing up in Kabwe, his mother noticed that his growth was stunted, his reactions slow. Tests confirmed severe lead poisoning. Decades of unregulated mining and smelting by the former Broken Hill mine company had contaminated the soil, air and water of this central Zambian city with dangerous levels of lead. When&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/as-zambia-eyes-green-minerals-kabwes-poisoned-past-looms-large/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-309709</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>‘Green’ energy transition leaves a dirty trail in the Philippines’ nickel belt</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/green-energy-transition-leaves-a-dirty-trail-in-the-philippines-nickel-belt/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/green-energy-transition-leaves-a-dirty-trail-in-the-philippines-nickel-belt/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>14 Nov 2025 00:04:41 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Bong S. Sarmiento]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Isabel Esterman]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/11/13230938/nickel-mining-caraga-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=309547</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Philippines, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Clean Energy, Energy, Environment, Human Rights, Mining, Pollution, Rainforests, and Water Pollution]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[MINDANAO, Philippines — Communities living near mining operations in the southern Philippines’ Caraga region are feeling the toll of the global energy transition, with nickel mining driving deforestation and pollution, according to a recent report. Climate Rights International (CRI), the U.S.-based NGO behind the report, highlighted harms to the environment, local livelihoods and public health [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[MINDANAO, Philippines — Communities living near mining operations in the southern Philippines’ Caraga region are feeling the toll of the global energy transition, with nickel mining driving deforestation and pollution, according to a recent report. Climate Rights International (CRI), the U.S.-based NGO behind the report, highlighted harms to the environment, local livelihoods and public health linked to nickel mines. People have also been killed or harassed for speaking out against nickel mining projects in the area, the report said. The Philippines has consistently been ranked as one of the deadliest countries for land defenders. Caraga, on the island of Mindanao, is touted as the “mining capital of the Philippines,” with 26 operating metallic mines, 23 of them nickel — a key element in batteries for electric vehicles and energy storage technologies. “Harms to local communities and the environment are being driven by the individual and cumulative activities of nickel mining projects,” CRI said. The region’s nickel production is concentrated in the provinces of Dinagat Islands, which has 10 active mines, and Surigao del Sur, with six active mines. These mines cover 24,221 hectares (59,851 acres) in the Dinagat Islands and 17,614 hectares (43,525 acres) in Surigao del Sur. Because these mines operate in close proximity to each other, CRI says it’s difficult to attribute the negative impacts experienced by frontline communities to specific companies. But according to the group’s interviews with 57 residents and workers, San Roque Metals Inc. (SRMI), Oriental Vision Mining Philippines Corporation (OVMPC) and Libjo Mining Corporation&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/green-energy-transition-leaves-a-dirty-trail-in-the-philippines-nickel-belt/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-309547</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>‘Clean energy is just one driver of mining’: Cleodie Rickard on critical minerals</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/when-critical-minerals-arent-interview-with-cleodie-rickard/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/when-critical-minerals-arent-interview-with-cleodie-rickard/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>13 Nov 2025 08:13:42 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Aimee Gabay]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Latoya Abulu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2023/03/23232540/2_ACASCIO_LiberoCopper_Stone-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=309308</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Indigenous Peoples and Conservation]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global and United Kingdom]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Clean Energy, Climate Change, Climate Justice, cobalt, Copper, Critical Minerals, Deep Sea Mining, Energy, Fossil Fuels, Human Rights, Indigenous Peoples, Land Rights, Lithium, Mining, and Renewable Energy]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[For Cleodie Rickard, the policy and campaigns manager at Global Justice Now, the term “critical” minerals, commonly used to describe the metals vital for the green energy transition, can be misleading. A new Global Justice Now report, authored by Rickard, reveals that nearly one in five minerals labeled “critical” by the U.K. aren’t essential for [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[For Cleodie Rickard, the policy and campaigns manager at Global Justice Now, the term “critical” minerals, commonly used to describe the metals vital for the green energy transition, can be misleading. A new Global Justice Now report, authored by Rickard, reveals that nearly one in five minerals labeled “critical” by the U.K. aren’t essential for the green energy transition. In fact, more than half of the 33 minerals have little to no role in the transition, with five prioritized for aerospace and weapons instead. What makes a mineral “critical,” Rickard says, depends largely on each country’s strategic and geopolitical objectives, not just its role in clean energy. She says multinational mining companies and governments can often use the green energy transition as a pretext to ramp up mining projects, even though a lot of the minerals are intended for other purposes, such as the military sector and AI infrastructure. Countries also have differing definitions of which minerals are considered “critical” or “strategic.” “The term ‘critical minerals’ is often used to secure political and economic support for resource exploration,” Filipe Gabriel Mura, a Mura Indigenous leader from Brazil, tells Mongabay via WhatsApp. “But the problem is that [the term] groups together different minerals with very different purposes. Not all of them are essential to the energy transition, and many serve the defense or agribusiness industries.” Gabriel says this is the case in the Mura Lago dos Soares community in the Amazonas state, where a potassium project, a mineral classified as essential&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/when-critical-minerals-arent-interview-with-cleodie-rickard/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-309308</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Coal-dependent South Africa struggles to make just energy transition real</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/coal-dependent-south-africa-struggles-to-make-just-energy-transition-real/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/coal-dependent-south-africa-struggles-to-make-just-energy-transition-real/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>11 Nov 2025 12:36:08 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Anna Weekes]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Terna Gyuse]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[africa]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/11/11115322/Sukumani2-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=309267</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, South Africa, and Southern Africa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Activism, Business, Clean Energy, Climate Change, Coal, Community-based Conservation, Conservation, Degraded Lands, Energy, Environment, Environmental Law, Governance, Green, Human Rights, Industry, Just Transition, Land Rights, Law Enforcement, Mining, Murdered Activists, Politics, Pollution, Protests, Renewable Energy, and Social Justice]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In the coal towns of northern KwaZulu-Natal, the promise of South Africa’s “just transition” feels like a distant dream. While government plans speak of a fair shift to clean energy and justice for those harmed by coal, in places like Dannhauser and Mtubatuba, families are still choking on coal dust, activists say they’re being threatened [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In the coal towns of northern KwaZulu-Natal, the promise of South Africa’s “just transition” feels like a distant dream. While government plans speak of a fair shift to clean energy and justice for those harmed by coal, in places like Dannhauser and Mtubatuba, families are still choking on coal dust, activists say they’re being threatened for speaking out, and new mining applications keep arriving. Communities say the country’s transition is happening everywhere except where coal is dug from the earth. In a country where 74% of the electricity is made from burning coal, the transition to renewable energy has created a fraught environment where workers who rely on coal jobs are pitted against community members whose health and livelihoods have been damaged by coal dust, blasting and water contamination from mines and power stations. People living near the Tendele mine in KwaZulu-Natal say dust from the mine coats everything in their homes. Image by Victoria Schneider for Mongabay. In 2022, the South African government defined a just transition as one that would simultaneously address health impacts and local environmental harm caused by coal mining and generation, and the job losses and economic disruption that shutting down a vital industry would cause, with particular attention to how poor communities, women, youth and people with disabilities might be affected. The framework explained how communities affected by mining were to benefit from compensation for health and land damage, and how both workers and residents would be involved in planning and decision-making. In 2024,&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/coal-dependent-south-africa-struggles-to-make-just-energy-transition-real/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/coal-dependent-south-africa-struggles-to-make-just-energy-transition-real/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-309267</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>What does the just energy transition mean for Africa?</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/what-does-the-just-energy-transition-mean-for-africa/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/what-does-the-just-energy-transition-mean-for-africa/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>10 Nov 2025 14:07:33 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[John Cannon]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Malavikavyawahare]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/11/07153651/UNDP-Zimbabwe-54585295677_0caffd97bb_o-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=309084</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Negotiating Africa's Energy Future]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Clean Energy, Climate, Climate Change, Climate Justice, Conservation, Energy, Environment, Extreme Weather, Finance, Food, Fossil Fuels, Geothermal Energy, Green, Hydroelectric Power, Just Transition, Politics, Renewable Energy, Social Justice, Solar Power, Wind, and Wind Power]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[When two Mongabay reporters visited the village of Lukwangulo in the Democratic Republic of Congo, they encountered a reality that’s common in many parts of rural Africa: Families spend valuable time harvesting wood from forests for cooking, often their primary — and sometimes their only — source of energy. Some manage to pull together enough [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[When two Mongabay reporters visited the village of Lukwangulo in the Democratic Republic of Congo, they encountered a reality that’s common in many parts of rural Africa: Families spend valuable time harvesting wood from forests for cooking, often their primary — and sometimes their only — source of energy. Some manage to pull together enough money for a solar panel that might charge a cellphone, power a radio and provide a little light for children to study by. But it’s typically not enough for the basic task of cooking. The stark contrast between this situation and the broader world that runs on that energy is readily apparent to those who currently have little to no access to it. “You come from the city — you have electricity, you have lighting. Why you and not us?” Mukalay Ngoyi, a leader from Lukwangulo, told Mongabay. “We’re human beings like you, and we need electricity too.” On Nov. 10, delegates to the U.N.’s annual climate conference, COP30, will meet in Belém, Brazil, to assess global progress toward addressing climate change by limiting carbon emissions. Key to drawing down those emissions and achieving the goal of keeping the global temperature rise well below 2° Celsius (3.6° Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels is how we meet growing energy demand, both around the globe and in places like Lukwangulo. But most community leaders won’t be in Belém, instead relying on others to make the case for a “just” energy transition. The “just” concept “means leaving no one&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/what-does-the-just-energy-transition-mean-for-africa/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/what-does-the-just-energy-transition-mean-for-africa/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-309084</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>African summit seeks clean energy future to combat climate change impacts</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/african-summit-seeks-clean-energy-future-to-combat-climate-change-impacts/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/african-summit-seeks-clean-energy-future-to-combat-climate-change-impacts/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>10 Nov 2025 12:50:27 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Christophe AssogbaModeste Dossou]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Christophe Assogba]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[africa]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/11/10124408/NoorOuarzazateSolarComplex_Morocco_MichaelTaylorIRENABYNCND2.0-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=309206</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Negotiating Africa's Energy Future]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa and West Africa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Adaptation, Adaptation To Climate Change, Business, Clean Energy, Climate Change, climate finance, Climate Justice, Energy, Environment, Finance, Governance, Politics, and Renewable Energy]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[COTONOU — Days before the COP30 climate summit kicked off this week in Belém, Brazil, a gathering of “nonstate actors” at the 6th Climate Chance Africa 2025 Summit in Benin adopted a declaration emphasizing the essential role of renewable energy in sustainable development and climate adaptation. Participants at the summit, held in Cotonou on Oct. [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[COTONOU — Days before the COP30 climate summit kicked off this week in Belém, Brazil, a gathering of “nonstate actors” at the 6th Climate Chance Africa 2025 Summit in Benin adopted a declaration emphasizing the essential role of renewable energy in sustainable development and climate adaptation. Participants at the summit, held in Cotonou on Oct. 27 and 28, called on the international community to leverage renewable energy as a tool for building climate resilience, preserving biodiversity, and achieving equitable development. The Cotonou Declaration, which follows from the Addis Ababa Declaration by heads of state in September, states that renewables are a key tool for climate adaptation, capable of securing energy access for vulnerable communities, strengthening food security, and improving public health. The declaration denounces the decline in official development assistance and calls on wealthy countries to maintain public investment in the Global South, particularly for climate projects. It proposes reinvesting a portion of carbon market revenues in climate-positive projects in Africa that respect the rights of local communities. The statement says public funds should be used as guarantees to attract private financing, particularly from within Africa, and to reduce borrowing costs that hinder renewable energy projects. Initiatives such as the Africa Climate Innovation Compact and the Accelerated Partnership for Renewables in Africa (APRA) are welcomed, but their success depends on greater inclusion of nonstate actors and accessible financial mechanisms for community-based microprojects. Participants at the Climate Chance Africa 2025 Summit in Cotonou, Benin, are calling on the international community to&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/african-summit-seeks-clean-energy-future-to-combat-climate-change-impacts/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/african-summit-seeks-clean-energy-future-to-combat-climate-change-impacts/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-309206</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>In Honduras, local communities miss out on benefits of large-scale renewables</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/in-honduras-local-communities-miss-out-on-benefits-of-large-scale-renewables/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/in-honduras-local-communities-miss-out-on-benefits-of-large-scale-renewables/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>06 Nov 2025 14:19:12 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Mie Hoejris Dahl]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Alexandra Popescu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/11/06140753/The-Marcovia-Solar-project.-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=308874</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Central America, Honduras, and Latin America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Clean Energy, Community Development, Conservation, Corporations, Deforestation, Energy, Energy Efficiency, Energy Transition, Forest Loss, Governance, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Land Conflict, Land Use Change, Renewable Energy, and Solar Power]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[CHOLUTECA, Honduras — Under the slogan “Without human rights, there is no energy sovereignty,” more than 100 community members and activists gathered in mid-July at the Casa Real Hotel in Choluteca, a city in southern Honduras near the Nicaraguan border. At the event, participants — a mix of nonprofit leaders and community members — questioned [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[CHOLUTECA, Honduras — Under the slogan “Without human rights, there is no energy sovereignty,” more than 100 community members and activists gathered in mid-July at the Casa Real Hotel in Choluteca, a city in southern Honduras near the Nicaraguan border. At the event, participants — a mix of nonprofit leaders and community members — questioned the fairness of large-scale renewable energy projects in their territories, claiming the projects leave them without water and forests, and exposed to extreme heat. Yet reliable data on the impacts of renewable energy projects in southern Honduras remain scarce. In Honduras, where fossil fuels account for about 38% of the electricity supply, and where the World Bank estimates that about 1.4 million people lack access to electricity, experts told Mongabay that there’s an urgent need for an energy transition. That need will grow as the climate warms and national energy demand rises by a projected 39% from 2025 to 2035. Yet, community members in southern Honduras say large renewable energy projects come at the expense of the environment and of their well-being. They blame solar, wind and hydroelectric projects for deforestation, droughts and floods, and describe unbearable temperatures near solar farms. Some who have opposed the large-scale renewable energy projects have been threatened, displaced or even killed. Families living adjacent to solar projects in Choluteca report still lacking access to electricity. Many say they don’t feel the benefits of the energy transition; they either pay high prices for power or remain without, while the jobs&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/in-honduras-local-communities-miss-out-on-benefits-of-large-scale-renewables/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/in-honduras-local-communities-miss-out-on-benefits-of-large-scale-renewables/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-308874</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Lithium mining may threaten a precious resource — water: Voices from the land (commentary)</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/voices-from-the-land-lithium-mining-may-threaten-a-precious-resource-water-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/voices-from-the-land-lithium-mining-may-threaten-a-precious-resource-water-commentary/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>27 Oct 2025 18:03:08 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Clemente Flores]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Latoya Abulu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/10/27174024/DSC00745-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=308379</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Indigenous Peoples and Conservation, Land rights and extractives, and Voices from the Land]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Argentina, Latin America, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Clean Energy, Climate Change, Critical Minerals, Energy, Indigenous Peoples, Land Conflict, Land Rights, Lithium, Mining, Renewable Energy, and Water]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[This series, Voices from the Land, brings together opinion pieces led and written by Indigenous peoples from around the world. Through these commentaries, we share our lived realities and reflections on urgent issues shaping our time — environmental destruction, our relationship with nature, and systemic injustice. We write from the heart of our communities, where [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[This series, Voices from the Land, brings together opinion pieces led and written by Indigenous peoples from around the world. Through these commentaries, we share our lived realities and reflections on urgent issues shaping our time — environmental destruction, our relationship with nature, and systemic injustice. We write from the heart of our communities, where the impacts of these urgent crises are deeply felt, but also where solutions are rooted. Through this series, we speak from our territories, and ensure our truths are part of the global conversation. My name is Clemente Flores and I am the president of the El Angosto Indigenous community. We began 2010 with a major concern: the presence of lithium mining companies in the province of Salta, in the community of Cangrejillos. We live alongside other communities in the Salinas Grandes and Laguna de Guayatayoc Basin, which spans two provinces in northern Argentina, Salta and Jujuy. We are more than 30 communities that have lived around the salt flats for thousands of years, according to anthropological studies. We are very concerned about the arrival of mining companies seeking to extract brine water for lithium (a critical mineral) because we fear what might happen to our way of life if we run out of this essential resource: water. The Salinas Grandes and Laguna de Guayatayoc Basin is located in the Altiplano, also known as the Puna Plateau, an extremely arid ecosystem. In this desert climate, at about 4,000 meters (13,100 feet) above sea level, it practically&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/voices-from-the-land-lithium-mining-may-threaten-a-precious-resource-water-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/voices-from-the-land-lithium-mining-may-threaten-a-precious-resource-water-commentary/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-308379</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>How to clean solar panels in arid areas? Waterless systems could improve efficiency</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/how-to-clean-solar-panels-in-arid-areas-waterless-systems-could-improve-efficiency/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/how-to-clean-solar-panels-in-arid-areas-waterless-systems-could-improve-efficiency/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>24 Oct 2025 16:41:54 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Samuel Ogunsona]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Karen Coates]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/10/24125511/Yurt_in_Gobi_Desert-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=308253</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Clean Energy, Deserts, Energy, Energy Efficiency, Environment, Fellows, Freshwater, Global Environmental Crisis, Renewable Energy, Solar Power, Water, and Water Scarcity]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[As the world grapples with the challenges of meeting rising electricity demand, particularly in developing countries, solar energy has emerged as a beacon of hope. In sub-Saharan Africa, where energy poverty is a persistent challenge, the potential for solar energy is vast. Monocrystalline photovoltaic (PV) panels have become a popular choice for solar energy generation [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[As the world grapples with the challenges of meeting rising electricity demand, particularly in developing countries, solar energy has emerged as a beacon of hope. In sub-Saharan Africa, where energy poverty is a persistent challenge, the potential for solar energy is vast. Monocrystalline photovoltaic (PV) panels have become a popular choice for solar energy generation in the region. These panels convert sunlight into electrical energy, providing a clean and renewable source of power. However, efficiency is affected by the harsh environmental conditions in arid regions. One of the major challenges facing solar panels is the accumulation of dust, bird droppings and other contaminants on the panel surface. Research has shown that dust accumulation can significantly reduce a solar panel’s power output up to 56% over time, compared with clean modules. Research also shows that the method of cleaning affects solar panel efficiency, depending on whether soap or pressurized water are used. “Cleaning using water is an effective method but it needs pressurized water or a cleaning brush to help the water to remove sticky or muddy particles,” the authors of a 2013 Energy Conservation and Management study write. The study also notes that surfactants (soap) help maintain the panel’s efficiency. A Syrian man, Abdul Razzaq Al-Jenan, cleans solar panels on his house roof, in Damascus. Image by AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed. In many parts of the world, manual cleaning of solar panels using water, brushes and mild soap is a common practice, but it has downsides: It can be labor-intensive, and&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/how-to-clean-solar-panels-in-arid-areas-waterless-systems-could-improve-efficiency/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/how-to-clean-solar-panels-in-arid-areas-waterless-systems-could-improve-efficiency/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-308253</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>With red tape, canceled rebates, Indonesia risks missing Chinese renewables investment</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/with-red-tape-canceled-rebates-indonesia-risks-missing-chinese-renewables-investment/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/with-red-tape-canceled-rebates-indonesia-risks-missing-chinese-renewables-investment/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>06 Oct 2025 07:56:31 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Jeff Hutton]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Philip Jacobson]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/10/03111034/solar-installation-indonesia-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=307037</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Indonesia, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Alternative Energy, Bioenergy, Carbon Emissions, Clean Energy, Climate, Climate Change, Coal, Emission Reduction, Energy, Environment, Environmental Law, Fossil Fuels, Governance, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Just Transition, Politics, Renewable Energy, and Solar Power]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In late June, China’s LONGi Green Energy Technology announced a tie-up with Indonesian state-owned oil and gas company Pertamina to make solar panels in West Java province. That news came just a week after its rival, Trina Solar, opened a smaller factory in Central Java province. During the first six months of this year, Indonesians [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In late June, China’s LONGi Green Energy Technology announced a tie-up with Indonesian state-owned oil and gas company Pertamina to make solar panels in West Java province. That news came just a week after its rival, Trina Solar, opened a smaller factory in Central Java province. During the first six months of this year, Indonesians bought nearly as many electric vehicles as they did in all of 2024 — almost all from Chinese brands. As competition among clean energy firms intensifies in China, its biggest EV and renewables companies are making inroads into Indonesia, positioning themselves for the day Southeast Asia weans itself off fossil fuels. One example: Trina’s 1.5 trillion rupiah ($90 million) solar panel factory at Kendal Industrial Park in Central Java. PT Trina Mas Agra Indonesia (TMAI), the company’s joint venture with a local partner, employs 640 workers producing 1 gigawatt (GW) of next-generation solar panels that last longer and perform better in cloudy conditions. TMAI chief financial officer Martha Octavia told Mongabay the factory could triple production if needed. “The important point is that we are fully prepared, both in terms of technology and infrastructure, to scale when the timing is right,” Octavia said in emailed remarks. For now, the company is positioning itself to supply panels for some of the nearly 15 GW of utility-scale solar projects in Indonesia’s pipeline, according to data published in February by Global Energy Monitor. At present, Indonesia has just over 560 megawatts (MW) of solar power feeding the grid&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/with-red-tape-canceled-rebates-indonesia-risks-missing-chinese-renewables-investment/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-307037</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Uruguay’s green hydrogen plans raise ecological concerns in Argentina &#038; at home</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/09/uruguays-green-hydrogen-plans-raise-ecological-concerns-in-argentina-at-home/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/09/uruguays-green-hydrogen-plans-raise-ecological-concerns-in-argentina-at-home/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>15 Sep 2025 19:00:36 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Ali Qassim]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Alexandra Popescu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/09/15135231/river-uruguay-768x512.png" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=305916</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Latin America, South America, and Uruguay]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Carbon Dioxide, Clean Energy, Coastal Ecosystems, Community Development, Conservation, Ecosystems, Energy, Environment, Environmental Policy, Freshwater, Just Transition, Politics, Renewable Energy, Tourism, and Wetlands]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[COLÓN, Argentina — Darío Larrosa was 15 when he learned to drive a motorboat. Decades later, he still loves taking tourists fishing along the Uruguay River’s sandy shores aboard Abuela Elisa, the boat he named after his grandmother. He does ask the lucky anglers who catch something to release the fish, to help maintain the [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[COLÓN, Argentina — Darío Larrosa was 15 when he learned to drive a motorboat. Decades later, he still loves taking tourists fishing along the Uruguay River’s sandy shores aboard Abuela Elisa, the boat he named after his grandmother. He does ask the lucky anglers who catch something to release the fish, to help maintain the river&#8217;s fish stocks. But Larrosa and the wider community in Colón, a tourist resort in Argentina’s Entre Ríos province, are worried that a major green energy project rising on the Uruguayan side of the river could undermine riverine ecosystems and local livelihoods. In Uruguay, communities in Paysandú, a city 15 kilometers (9.3 miles) south of the project, have also put up resistance, despite promises of jobs and economic growth. Planned to become operational in 2026, the Paysandú e-fuels facility is a $6 billion project by Chile-based company HIF Global aiming to produce about 700,000 metric tons of e-methanol annually using green hydrogen. The 1GW-capacity facility is one of four major hydrogen initiatives in the country, as Uruguay seeks to further decarbonize its economy and export green hydrogen. The nation is already supplying 99% of its electricity from renewables and wants to become carbon neutral by 2050. According to Uruguay’s Ministry of Industry, Energy and Mining (MIEM), developing the green hydrogen industry could bring the country $1.9 billion per year and create more than 30,000 jobs. The Uruguay River runs for more than 1,800 km (1,120 mi), from Brazil’s Serra do Mar mountains to the Río&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/09/uruguays-green-hydrogen-plans-raise-ecological-concerns-in-argentina-at-home/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-305916</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Maluku coconut growers cry crisis as Indonesia land-grabs feed energy transition</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/09/maluku-coconut-growers-cry-crisis-as-indonesia-land-grabs-feed-energy-transition/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/09/maluku-coconut-growers-cry-crisis-as-indonesia-land-grabs-feed-energy-transition/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>10 Sep 2025 10:56:49 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Achmad Rizki Muazam]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Mongabay Editor]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/09/09060319/Halmahera-women-peeling-coconuts-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=305623</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Indonesia, North Maluku, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Batteries, Clean Energy, Developing Countries, Development, Economics, Energy, Farming, Food, food security, Forests, Human Rights, Indigenous Peoples, Industry, Islands, Land Conflict, Land Rights, Mining, Pollution, Renewable Energy, and Tropical Forests]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[SOUTH WASILE, Indonesia — Rudy said South Wasile district police officers visited his home with PT Arumba Jaya Perkasa staff three times in June to recommend he take the company’s 20,000 rupiah offer, around $1.22, per square meter of his coconut grove. “But I didn’t want to do that,” Rudy, whose name has been changed, [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
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							<![CDATA[SOUTH WASILE, Indonesia — Rudy said South Wasile district police officers visited his home with PT Arumba Jaya Perkasa staff three times in June to recommend he take the company’s 20,000 rupiah offer, around $1.22, per square meter of his coconut grove. “But I didn’t want to do that,” Rudy, whose name has been changed, told Mongabay Indonesia. The officer, Rudy said, prohibited recording the interaction in Loleba village here on Halmahera, a once-remote island in North Maluku province that today is the site of a nickel mining boom to feed the global energy transition. In a statement to Mongabay Indonesia, South Wasile district police denied any involvement in whether local residents should agree to contracts of sale. The 20-year mining permit held by PT Arumba Jaya Perkasa covers 1,818 hectares (4,492 acres) of forest and community plantations in the interior of Loleba village, according to Indonesia’s Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources. It is just one of “hundreds of extractive mining company concessions” operating in North Maluku province, according to Transparency International, a nonprofit. PT Arumba Jaya Perkasa is paving a dedicated haulage road and building a small harbor in the inlet piercing Halmahera Island from the northeast. Swaths of coconut and nutmeg groves planted long ago by families in Loleba, Saramaake and Talaga Jaya villages are being razed for mining infrastructure. In Loleba village, many farmers resisted the land use change while feeling squeezed by below-market-value offers for land, which were based on valuations assessed by the local&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/09/maluku-coconut-growers-cry-crisis-as-indonesia-land-grabs-feed-energy-transition/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-305623</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Indonesia prioritizes gas over renewables to meet power demand surge</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/09/indonesia-prioritizes-gas-over-renewables-to-meet-power-demand-surge/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/09/indonesia-prioritizes-gas-over-renewables-to-meet-power-demand-surge/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>09 Sep 2025 17:38:48 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Jeff Hutton]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Philip Jacobson]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/09/09170445/chimneys-of-Suralaya-coal-power-plant-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=305649</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Indonesia, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Alternative Energy, Bioenergy, Carbon Emissions, Clean Energy, Climate, Climate Change, Coal, Emission Reduction, Energy, Environment, Environmental Law, Fossil Fuels, Governance, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Just Transition, Politics, Renewable Energy, and Solar Power]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In May, Indonesia’s state-owned electricity monopoly, PLN, vowed to increase its complement of natural gas power plants as part of a gambit, it said, to make its power supply cleaner and more reliable. The plan was part of a 10-year supply blueprint that also expanded use of all other sources of energy that it had [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
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							<![CDATA[In May, Indonesia’s state-owned electricity monopoly, PLN, vowed to increase its complement of natural gas power plants as part of a gambit, it said, to make its power supply cleaner and more reliable. The plan was part of a 10-year supply blueprint that also expanded use of all other sources of energy that it had previously used, as well as some new ones, including nuclear energy, to meet rising demand while transitioning away from dirtier coal plants and scaling up renewables. But gas was by far the energy source that would see the biggest gain initially: 9.3 gigawatts. If all the new gas generators ran at full capacity — albeit a rarity — that sort of juice would theoretically be enough to power half of Indonesia’s more than 70 million households. Cleaner-burning than coal and quicker to power up when needed, gas will lead PLN’s effort, at least in the short term, to address a rapid deterioration in the utility’s ability to meet spikes in demand from parts of its network, according to the 10-year plan, known as the RUPTL. But natural gas is still a fossil fuel, and by emphasizing it over renewables, PLN risks locking itself into an expensive source of energy at a time when most of the country’s gas-powered generating capacity is going unused. PLN may need to count on subsidies to keep electricity affordable. Coal would also see a large gain during the first year of the 10-year plan — 3.2 gigawatts — before tailing&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/09/indonesia-prioritizes-gas-over-renewables-to-meet-power-demand-surge/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-305649</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Leaders pitch homegrown solutions at Africa Climate Summit — and $100b to back them</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/09/leaders-pitch-homegrown-solutions-at-africa-climate-summit-and-100b-to-back-them/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/09/leaders-pitch-homegrown-solutions-at-africa-climate-summit-and-100b-to-back-them/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>09 Sep 2025 16:26:10 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[David Akana]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Terna Gyuse]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/09/09150028/EthiopiasAbiyAhmedKenyasWilliamRuto_AfricaClimateSummit2025AddisAbaba_AfricaClimateSummit-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=305671</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa and Ethiopia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Adaptation, Adaptation To Climate Change, Banking, Business, Clean Energy, Climate Change, climate finance, Climate Justice, Energy, Environment, Finance, Governance, Hydroelectric Power, Politics, Pollution, and Renewable Energy]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[ADDIS ABABA — African leaders attending the Africa Climate Summit in Addis Ababa this week have called for a new global partnership that treats the continent as an engine of climate solutions rather than a recipient of aid. Summit host and Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed set the tone at the opening on Sept. 8, [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[ADDIS ABABA — African leaders attending the Africa Climate Summit in Addis Ababa this week have called for a new global partnership that treats the continent as an engine of climate solutions rather than a recipient of aid. Summit host and Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed set the tone at the opening on Sept. 8, declaring, “We are not here to negotiate our survival. We are here to design the world’s next climate economy.” The summit’s three-day program will focus on nature-based solutions, technology, and energy systems on day one; adaptation and resilience in the face of advancing climate change on day two; and conclude with a decisive focus on “financing African-led solutions” on day three. Summit organizers say the goal is to bridge the persistent gap between political pledges and bankable projects. To illustrate how this solutions-first framing can extend beyond speeches, the Ethiopian hosts are showcasing several domestic initiatives: a Green Legacy campaign the government says has planted more than 48 billion seedlings since 2019; a climate-resilient wheat program and nutrition drive, known as Yelemat Tirufat, intended to cut imports and raise rural incomes; and the imminent commissioning of the 5,000-megawatt Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam as a regional clean-power anchor. Abiy paired that domestic portfolio with a continental proposal: an African Climate Innovation Compact (ACIC) that would link universities, research centers, startups and communities, aiming to surface 1,000 African solutions by 2030, underpinned — at least aspirationally — by $50 billion a year in blended finance. Solar plant&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/09/leaders-pitch-homegrown-solutions-at-africa-climate-summit-and-100b-to-back-them/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-305671</doi>				</item>
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