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	<channel>
		<title>Conservation news</title>
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		<link>https://news.mongabay.com/list/energy-efficiency/</link>
		<description>Environmental science and conservation news</description>
		<lastBuildDate>Fri, 31 Jul 2026 18:49:30 +0000</lastBuildDate>
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	<url>https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2020/05/16160320/cropped-mongabay_icon-32x32.png</url>
	<title>News on Energy Efficiency</title>
	<link>https://news.mongabay.com/list/energy-efficiency/</link>
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				<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>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/bangladeshs-energy-crunch-highlights-the-promise-and-limits-of-solar/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-319893</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>A nature-based solution to save the Mekong Delta’s water future (commentary)</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/a-nature-based-solution-to-save-the-mekong-deltas-water-future-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/a-nature-based-solution-to-save-the-mekong-deltas-water-future-commentary/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>26 Mar 2026 10:01:30 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Pham Phan Long]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Philip Jacobson]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/03/26082735/52314040736_af2758dde2_3k-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=316323</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Mekong Basin, Southeast Asia, and Vietnam]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Climate, Climate Change, Commentary, Community Development, Conservation, Drinking Water, Energy, Energy Efficiency, Environment, Freshwater, Global Environmental Crisis, Nature-based climate solutions, Rivers, Solutions, Water, Water Scarcity, and Wind Power]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The Mekong Delta of Vietnam ranks among the world’s three most climate-vulnerable regions. Known as Southeast Asia’s “rice basket,” the region is home to 18 million people, produces half of Vietnam’s rice and 65% of its aquaculture, but faces escalating threats from rising sea levels, water pollution, groundwater depletion, saltwater intrusion and land subsidence. With [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The Mekong Delta of Vietnam ranks among the world’s three most climate-vulnerable regions. Known as Southeast Asia’s “rice basket,” the region is home to 18 million people, produces half of Vietnam’s rice and 65% of its aquaculture, but faces escalating threats from rising sea levels, water pollution, groundwater depletion, saltwater intrusion and land subsidence. With only 20% of wastewater treated and more than 60% of rural residents lacking safe water and sanitation, the region’s environmental and economic stability hangs in the balance. A new proposal, the Nature-Based Mekong Delta Water Replenishment System (MD-GWRS), offers a sustainable, cost-effective solution to restore water security, leveraging the delta’s natural features and proven global technologies. The proposed MD-GWRS will increase Mekong groundwater yield by 1.5 million cubic meters per day to 4 million m3/day (53 million to 141 million cubic feet per day) at a cost of $317 million per year, with a potential benefit of $450 million per year from higher agriculture yield and aquaculture production. A region under threat The Mekong Delta’s challenges are stark. Surface water, often a mix of stormwater and untreated wastewater, is heavily contaminated. Groundwater is increasingly saline due to saltwater intrusion, affecting 1.7 million hectares (4.2 million acres), while overextraction has led to depletion and land subsidence at alarming rates (1.1-5.7 centimeters per year, or 0.4-2.2 inches, in Can Tho). Sea-level rise (2.2-13.5 millimeters per year, or 0.09-0.5 in), frequent droughts, and reduced dry-season river flows exacerbate the crisis, threatening the livelihoods of millions and the region’s&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/a-nature-based-solution-to-save-the-mekong-deltas-water-future-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/a-nature-based-solution-to-save-the-mekong-deltas-water-future-commentary/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-316323</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Rush to put AI data centers in space poses poorly understood dangers</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/rush-to-put-ai-data-centers-in-space-poses-poorly-understood-dangers/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/rush-to-put-ai-data-centers-in-space-poses-poorly-understood-dangers/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>11 Mar 2026 19:26:07 +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/20/2026/03/11174825/Image_5_NHQ202602130016orig-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=315584</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Planetary Boundaries]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Air Pollution, Artificial Intelligence, Chemicals, Climate Change, Conservation, data, Data centers, Energy, Energy Efficiency, Environment, Governance, Ozone Layer, Politics, Pollution, Remote Sensing, Research, Space, and Technology]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Plans are afoot to launch large mega-constellations of AI data centers into Earth orbit. That ambition, pursued by multiple space industry leaders, coincides with a warning from scientists of potentially “catastrophic outcomes,” as the likelihood of satellite collisions in orbit increases. If all the satellites currently in low Earth orbit were suddenly unable to maneuver [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Plans are afoot to launch large mega-constellations of AI data centers into Earth orbit. That ambition, pursued by multiple space industry leaders, coincides with a warning from scientists of potentially “catastrophic outcomes,” as the likelihood of satellite collisions in orbit increases. If all the satellites currently in low Earth orbit were suddenly unable to maneuver to avoid each other — a problem that could be triggered by a massive solar storm — then a potentially catastrophic collision would likely occur in just under four days, researchers say. That’s the latest finding from the CRASH Clock, a tool developed to monitor the timeframe during which a low Earth orbit satellite collision is likely to happen during a major solar event. Such events are difficult to predict and come with limited warning; solar activity peaks roughly every 11 years. The CRASH Clock assesses the sustainability of space operations, explains Sarah Thiele, first author on the paper and a Ph.D. student at Princeton University. “The paper demonstrates how reliant we are on the continuous successful active management of satellites in orbit, and how the margin for error in these operations is decreasing over time,” she writes in an email to Mongabay. In 2018, the CRASH estimate stood at a comfortable 164 days. But that margin of safety shrank rapidly as the proliferation of satellites surged, and was shortened to 5.5 days by June 2025, while a calculation using orbital data from January 2026 cut it to 3.8 days. “This just shows how reliant&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/rush-to-put-ai-data-centers-in-space-poses-poorly-understood-dangers/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/rush-to-put-ai-data-centers-in-space-poses-poorly-understood-dangers/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-315584</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Flores’ geothermal ambitions collide with justice, culture &#038; local resistance</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/01/flores-geothermal-ambitions-collide-with-justice-culture-local-resistance/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/01/flores-geothermal-ambitions-collide-with-justice-culture-local-resistance/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>16 Jan 2026 08:50:08 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Basten Gokkon]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Basten Gokkon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/01/13024510/Photo-3-768x512.png" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=312892</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Southeast Asian infrastructure]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, East Nusa Tenggara, Flores, Indonesia, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Alternative Energy, Climate Change, Conservation, Development, Energy, Energy Efficiency, Environment, Environmental Law, Geothermal Energy, Politics, Religions, and Renewable Energy]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[When Indonesia designated Flores a “geothermal island” in 2017, identifying up to 21 geothermal sites, the policy was framed as a cornerstone of the country’s renewable energy transition. Backed by international lenders and enshrined as a &#8220;national strategic project,&#8221; Flores was positioned as a global showcase for clean energy. Eight years later, key geothermal projects [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[When Indonesia designated Flores a “geothermal island” in 2017, identifying up to 21 geothermal sites, the policy was framed as a cornerstone of the country’s renewable energy transition. Backed by international lenders and enshrined as a &#8220;national strategic project,&#8221; Flores was positioned as a global showcase for clean energy. Eight years later, key geothermal projects on the island remain suspended, derailed by sustained resistance from Manggarai communities who argue that the transition has come at the expense of justice, safety and cultural survival, found a study published Nov. 13 in the journal Environment and Planning E: Nature and Space. Locator map of Flores Island, East Nusa Tenggara. Image by Gunkarta via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0). Flores of East Nusa Tenggara province is a rugged and mountainous island where electricity access remains uneven. As of 2025, parts of the island were still not connected to the grid, which relies heavily on imported diesel and coal, both costly and polluting. Citing energy insecurity and the nearly 1 trillion rupiah ($59 million) spent annually on electricity subsidies, the government has argued that geothermal power could meet all of the island’s electricity needs. “Flores has become a uniquely distinctive case in Indonesia’s geothermal energy transition. It may even be unprecedented globally, as an entire island has been designated a “geothermal island,” with exploration occurring simultaneously across multiple sites,” Cypri Jehan Paju Dale, a social anthropologist with Kyoto University and University of Wisconsin-Madison who is a corresponding author of the study, told Mongabay in&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/01/flores-geothermal-ambitions-collide-with-justice-culture-local-resistance/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/01/flores-geothermal-ambitions-collide-with-justice-culture-local-resistance/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-312892</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>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/nepal-indigenous-leaders-refile-writ-petition-against-hydropower-project/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-311246</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>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>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-308253</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Air quality study of East Java waste-to-energy plant sparks dispute, health warnings</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/08/air-quality-study-of-east-java-waste-to-energy-plant-sparks-dispute-health-warnings/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/08/air-quality-study-of-east-java-waste-to-energy-plant-sparks-dispute-health-warnings/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>16 Aug 2025 03:31:40 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Petrus Riski]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Basten Gokkon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/08/14103558/PLTSa-Benowo-Proyek-Berisiko-WALHI-Jatim-Tagih-Keterbukaan-Pemkot-Surabaya-EPOCHSTREAM-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=304282</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, East Java, Indonesia, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Alternative Energy, carbon, Carbon Emissions, Conservation, Development, Emission Reduction, Energy, Energy Efficiency, Environment, Environmental Law, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Industry, Politics, Pollution, Recycling, Renewable Energy, and Waste]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[A 54-day monitoring by Indonesia’s largest environmental group around a waste-to-energy plant in East Java revealed frequent air quality levels breaching World Health Organization safety limits, raising concerns for public health. Indonesian NGO Walhi has recently published its findings from stationary and mobile monitoring of the air quality at five locations in the vicinity of [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[A 54-day monitoring by Indonesia’s largest environmental group around a waste-to-energy plant in East Java revealed frequent air quality levels breaching World Health Organization safety limits, raising concerns for public health. Indonesian NGO Walhi has recently published its findings from stationary and mobile monitoring of the air quality at five locations in the vicinity of the Benowo waste-to-energy plant in Surabaya city between November 2024 and January 2025. The results show exceeding safety levels of PM2.5 and PM10, which are tiny air pollution particles about the size of dust or smoke, which can slip into the lungs, with the former being so small it can enter the bloodstream and affect the whole body. “The most dramatic spikes occurred between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m., when the incinerator was running,” said Wahyu Eka Setyawan, the executive director of Walhi East Java. The Benowo waste-to-energy plant in Surabaya turns trash into electricity. Image by Petrus Riski/Mongabay-Indonesia. Inaugurated by former President Joko Widodo on May 6, 2021, the Benowo plant is Indonesia’s first and largest, processing 1,000 tons of waste daily to generate 12 MW of electricity. The facility houses two power plants: a 1.65 MW sanitary landfill system operating since Nov. 30, 2015, and a 9 MW gasification system that began running on March 10, 2021. Using data from AirBeam3 air quality monitor devices, Walhi found that the average PM2.5 concentration across all stations was 26.78 µg/m³, with the highest recorded level reaching 78 µg/m³. Meanwhile, at some stations, PM10 concentrations exceeded&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/08/air-quality-study-of-east-java-waste-to-energy-plant-sparks-dispute-health-warnings/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/08/air-quality-study-of-east-java-waste-to-energy-plant-sparks-dispute-health-warnings/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-304282</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>EU appetite for EVs drives new wave of deforestation in tropical forests</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/06/eu-appetite-for-evs-drives-new-wave-of-deforestation-in-tropical-forests/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/06/eu-appetite-for-evs-drives-new-wave-of-deforestation-in-tropical-forests/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>09 Jun 2025 14:24:36 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Fernanda Wenzel]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Alexandre de Santi]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Amazon]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/06/05125817/rick-govic-rLTjEVGXNBA-unsplash-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=300213</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Amazon, Brazil, Europe, European Union, Latin America, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Climate Change, Critical Minerals, Deforestation, Drivers Of Deforestation, Electric Cars, Energy, Energy Efficiency, Environment, Environmental Law, Governance, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Rights, Land Rights, Mining, Politics, Pollution, Rainforest Destruction, Rainforests, Social Justice, Threats To Rainforests, Tropical Deforestation, and Tropical Forests]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Brazil, which accounts for large reserves of nickel, graphite, rare earths, lithium and niobium, would be one of the most affected countries.]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The European Union committed to becoming carbon neutral by 2050, meaning it won’t emit a single ton of carbon dioxide more than it can absorb. To reach this goal, Europeans must upgrade their transport system, which accounts for 75% of EU emissions, with electric vehicles. However, mining activities to supply this may result in new carbon emissions. According to a report commissioned by the European organizations Fern and Rainforest Foundation Norway and produced by the Institute for Ecological Economics and WU Vienna University of Economics and Business, 118,000 hectares (291,584 acres) of forests around the world may be destroyed by 2050 to meet the EU’s green aspirations. That&#8217;s equivalent to 1.8% of the total deforestation registered in tropical forests in 2024, according to the Global Forest Watch. “As some mining activities clear large forested areas, they contribute significantly to increased atmospheric CO2 levels, thereby exacerbating climate change,” the report stated. Brazil alone would account for 11.7% of that — 13,900 hectares or 34,347 acres, a small 3.6% fraction of the total deforestation registered in 2024 in Brazil’s Amazon and Atlantic Forest combined, according to data from Imazon research institute. The actual area, however, would likely be much larger, since experts considered only the direct deforestation caused by mines. Indirect clearances from infrastructure expansion, such as building access roads for heavy machinery, settlement growth or land conversion for agriculture that historically follows new roads are not included in the figures. The impact size varies depending on the type of battery cars&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/06/eu-appetite-for-evs-drives-new-wave-of-deforestation-in-tropical-forests/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/06/eu-appetite-for-evs-drives-new-wave-of-deforestation-in-tropical-forests/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-300213</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Carbon capture projects promise a climate fix — and a fossil fuel lifeline</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/06/carbon-capture-projects-promise-a-climate-fix-and-a-fossil-fuel-lifeline/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/06/carbon-capture-projects-promise-a-climate-fix-and-a-fossil-fuel-lifeline/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>04 Jun 2025 15:22:04 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Nithin Coca]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Isabel Esterman]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/06/04113435/GP0SU3HU3-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=300175</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Southeast Asia, and Thailand]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Business, carbon, Carbon Dioxide, Carbon Emissions, Carbon Sequestration, Climate, Climate Change, climate finance, Conservation, Energy, Energy Efficiency, Environment, Environmental Law, Fossil Fuels, Governance, Industry, Natural Gas, Oil, and Politics]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The Kasawari gas field, off the coast of Malaysian Borneo, was discovered in 2011 and has been seen as a lifeline for the country’s energy dreams. Malaysia has long depended on oil and gas exports for economic expansion and government revenue, and this new field promised to allow state-owned oil company Petronas and its partners [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The Kasawari gas field, off the coast of Malaysian Borneo, was discovered in 2011 and has been seen as a lifeline for the country’s energy dreams. Malaysia has long depended on oil and gas exports for economic expansion and government revenue, and this new field promised to allow state-owned oil company Petronas and its partners to continue fossil gas and petroleum production. But this time, Malaysia is seeking to harness the discovery for more than just oil and gas. The government and Petronas have announced plans to make the Kasawari field the world’s largest offshore carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) project, storing CO2 from around the world as soon as 2028. The plan is to build a fixed offshore platform 200 kilometers (120 miles) from the coast, where compressed CO2 will be reinjected into a depleted reservoir via a 138-km (86-mi) subsea pipeline. It’s part of an ambitious plan to make CCS central to Malaysia’s energy transition, after its inclusion in the National Energy Transition Roadmap, and the March passage of a Carbon Capture, Utilisation, and Storage (“CCUS”) Bill, which sets guidelines for CO2 storage and transport. The Kasawari CCS project is one of several proposed and planned across Southeast Asia, including in Indonesia and Thailand. Proponents argue that, due to the young age of the region’s existing coal and gas-fired power plants and expected growth in energy demand, renewables like wind and solar won’t be enough to meet climate and regional net-zero targets. “There is intensive discussion among Government&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/06/carbon-capture-projects-promise-a-climate-fix-and-a-fossil-fuel-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-300175</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Brazil bets on macaúba palm to make renewable diesel and aviation biofuel</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/05/brazil-bets-on-macauba-palm-to-make-renewable-diesel-and-aviation-biofuel/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/05/brazil-bets-on-macauba-palm-to-make-renewable-diesel-and-aviation-biofuel/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>21 May 2025 17:23:06 +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/20/2025/05/21140601/macauba-palm-fruits-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=299415</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Brazil, Latin America, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Alternative Energy, Biodiesel, Bioenergy, Biofuels, carbon, Carbon Emissions, Carbon Sequestration, Climate Change, Conservation, Deforestation, Degraded Lands, Drivers Of Deforestation, Emission Reduction, Energy, Energy Efficiency, Environment, Environmental Policy, Governance, Land Use Change, Palm Oil, Plantations, Politics, Pollution, Research, Soy, Transportation, and Trees]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Macaúba palm, also known as macaw palm, grows all over the Americas. Now, a drive by the Brazilian government to incentivize the decarbonization of the transportation and aviation sectors has resulted in numerous companies turning to this palm as a potential feedstock to be refined into liquid biofuels and sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) across the [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Macaúba palm, also known as macaw palm, grows all over the Americas. Now, a drive by the Brazilian government to incentivize the decarbonization of the transportation and aviation sectors has resulted in numerous companies turning to this palm as a potential feedstock to be refined into liquid biofuels and sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) across the Latin American nation. On paper, macaúba palm appears to be a miracle plant: It thrives on degraded, unproductive land, so won’t compete with food crops or cause new deforestation, and, in testing, it has yields eight to ten times higher than soy, depending on whom you ask. Soybeans already feed Brazil’s vast biofuels industry but, along with sugarcane, soy is tied to environmental harm, especially deforestation and CO2 emissions, and environmental justice issues. According to proponents, macaúba promises to sidestep these issues; it’s already dubbed as “green gold” and “rainforest-friendly palm oil.” But there are significant environmental and financial risk too, say critics. Macaúba’s promotion closely parallels past hype from investors and entrepreneurs who backed a would-be biofuel called jatropha, so offers a cautionary tale. In the 2000s, jatropha — also hailed as “green gold” — ticked many of the same boxes and its boom saw dozens of projects planting the energy crop across the tropics, only to then fail spectacularly, as it proved far more challenging to grow than claimed. The effort cost millions of dollars, and spawned widespread accusations of land grabbing, while resulting in land-use change and biodiversity loss in tropical countries.&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/05/brazil-bets-on-macauba-palm-to-make-renewable-diesel-and-aviation-biofuel/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-299415</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>As renewable diesel surges, sustainability claims are deeply questioned</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/05/as-renewable-diesel-surges-sustainability-claims-are-deeply-questioned/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/05/as-renewable-diesel-surges-sustainability-claims-are-deeply-questioned/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>12 May 2025 14:02:05 +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/20/2025/05/12093102/Image_6-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=298931</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Circular economy and Planetary Boundaries]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Brazil, European Union, Global, and United States]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Alternative Energy, Bioenergy, Biofuels, Business, carbon, Carbon Emissions, Climate Change, Climate Science, Conservation, Emission Reduction, Energy, Energy Efficiency, Environment, Fossil Fuels, Global Warming, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Oil, Politics, Pollution, Renewable Energy, Research, and Sustainability]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Renewable diesel is a biofuel made from vegetable oils and animal fats touted by proponents as an almost miraculous “drop-in” transition fuel able to drastically cut greenhouse gas emissions while easily replacing fossil diesel in all manner of engines. But this biofuel’s recent sudden surge in production and rapid expansion in applications is alarming environmentalists, [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Renewable diesel is a biofuel made from vegetable oils and animal fats touted by proponents as an almost miraculous “drop-in” transition fuel able to drastically cut greenhouse gas emissions while easily replacing fossil diesel in all manner of engines. But this biofuel’s recent sudden surge in production and rapid expansion in applications is alarming environmentalists, who warn unfettered growth could fuel climate change and tropical deforestation. Renewable diesel, or RD, can be made from a wide range of feedstocks, including waste vegetable oils, animal tallow, corn, canola (rapeseed), soy and oil palm. The feedstock used, where and how it is produced, and whether forests are felled to make way for biofuel crops, all determine RD’s carbon emissions as compared to fossil diesel. RD is often manufactured in retooled fossil fuel refineries using complex biochemical and thermochemical technologies requiring lots of energy — adding to its carbon footprint. Chevron, BP, Shell and other major fossil fuel companies are now converting excess refinery capacity to make RD and enter the market in a big way. A freight train in the U.K. run on renewable diesel. Replacing red diesel (fossil diesel specifically earmarked for rail or agricultural vehicles) with RD can cut a train’s emissions by “as much as 90%,” according to the industry. But such claims can be erroneous since some feedstocks have high carbon intensity (such as oil palm) over others (like used cooking oil). Image by Rob Reedman via Flickr (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0). A big selling point for renewable diesel&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/05/as-renewable-diesel-surges-sustainability-claims-are-deeply-questioned/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-298931</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Church pressure spurs scrutiny of Indonesian geothermal projects</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/04/church-pressure-spurs-scrutiny-of-indonesian-geothermal-projects/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/04/church-pressure-spurs-scrutiny-of-indonesian-geothermal-projects/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>23 Apr 2025 02:43:58 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Ebed de Rosary]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Philip Jacobson]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/04/22122555/Untitled-design-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=297983</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Alternative Energy, Climate Change, Conservation, Development, Energy, Energy Efficiency, Environment, Environmental Law, Geothermal Energy, Politics, Religions, and Renewable Energy]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[ENDE, Indonesia — The governor of one Indonesia’s poorest provinces said it would pause development of new geothermal energy projects on the island of Flores, following an intervention by the Catholic Church. On April 4, East Nusa Tenggara Governor Emanuel Melkiades Laka Lena said his administration would review all ongoing geothermal exploration on Flores Island, [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[ENDE, Indonesia — The governor of one Indonesia’s poorest provinces said it would pause development of new geothermal energy projects on the island of Flores, following an intervention by the Catholic Church. On April 4, East Nusa Tenggara Governor Emanuel Melkiades Laka Lena said his administration would review all ongoing geothermal exploration on Flores Island, home to more than a third of the province’s population of 5.6 million. His statement came shortly after he met with Archbishop Paulus Budi Kleden, who leads the Achrdiocese of Ende, representing the Catholic dioceses from Bali to Flores. From March 10-13, six bishops under the archdiocese issued a Lenten pastoral letter, a missive written ahead of the 40-day period leading up to Easter. “We firmly reject the development of the Flores and Lembata geothermal projects,” the letter said. “We believe that these projects will damage the existing natural ecosystem.” The letter was signed by Archbishop Paulus, in addition to five bishops in his archdiocese. “These exploitative choices clash with the main direction of development which is to make this region a leading tourism, agriculture, plantation, livestock and marine area,” the letter said. Dead heat Indonesia spans 17,000 islands that straddle the Indian and Pacific islands and form part of the Ring of Fire, where 90% of the world’s earthquakes occur. Consequently, Indonesia holds the world’s largest potential for geothermal energy, which harnesses steam from the Earth’s crust to power a turbine, generating energy with close to zero greenhouse gas emissions. Exploring these geothermal sites&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/04/church-pressure-spurs-scrutiny-of-indonesian-geothermal-projects/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/04/church-pressure-spurs-scrutiny-of-indonesian-geothermal-projects/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-297983</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Chauffeur at Indonesia energy nonprofit drives uptake of biogas by Java farmers</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/03/chauffeur-at-indonesia-energy-nonprofit-drives-uptake-of-biogas-by-java-farmers/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/03/chauffeur-at-indonesia-energy-nonprofit-drives-uptake-of-biogas-by-java-farmers/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>13 Mar 2025 07:55:29 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Toto Sudiarjo]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Philip Jacobson]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/03/13070548/biogas-man-indonesia-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=295717</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Agroecology]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Indonesia, Java, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Alternative Energy, Bioenergy, Biofuels, Clean Energy, Community-based Conservation, Energy, Energy Efficiency, Environment, Happy-upbeat Environmental, Natural Gas, Natural Resources, Nature-based climate solutions, Pollution, Renewable Energy, Solutions, Sustainability, and Waste]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[SLEMAN, Indonesia — A decade ago, Suyono’s neighbors found his antics collecting the goat and quail droppings outside his home verging on the strange. Today, it’s become the norm in many households in Minggir, a Javanese village producing its own gas. “A lot of people just laughed,” Suyono, 50, told Mongabay Indonesia. “‘Um, pak, you [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[SLEMAN, Indonesia — A decade ago, Suyono’s neighbors found his antics collecting the goat and quail droppings outside his home verging on the strange. Today, it’s become the norm in many households in Minggir, a Javanese village producing its own gas. “A lot of people just laughed,” Suyono, 50, told Mongabay Indonesia. “‘Um, pak, you can just buy it [gas] at the food stall.’” In 2014, after a period living abroad in Malaysia as a low-paid migrant worker, Suyono returned home to Minggir village, which is located a few kilometers west of the city of Yogyakarta. Once settled, he took a job as a driver at Yayasan Rumah Energi, a foundation that works on household renewable energy projects, like biogas. Biogas is produced via anaerobic digestion, where microorganisms break down animal manure, biological waste or plant residues in a sealed environment deprived of oxygen. The chemical reaction produces methane and other gases, which can be burned as alternatives to propane and butane cylinders, which governments burn billions of dollars a year on subsidizing (and whose price is determined by international markets). Chauffeuring Yayasan Rumah Energi staff sparked Suyono’s interest in the foundation’s work on biogas. After studying the basics, Suyono went to work and began producing around 1.8 kilograms (4 pounds) at a time. Within a few years, people increasingly began asking Suyono for help installing biogas infrastructure at local Islamic boarding schools and in nearby homes. Later, he helped build 500 units in farther-flung East Nusa Tenggara province. Yayasan&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/03/chauffeur-at-indonesia-energy-nonprofit-drives-uptake-of-biogas-by-java-farmers/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-295717</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Next-gen geothermal offers circular promise, but needs care and caution</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/12/next-gen-geothermal-offers-circular-promise-but-needs-care-and-caution/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/12/next-gen-geothermal-offers-circular-promise-but-needs-care-and-caution/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>18 Dec 2024 14:38:19 +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/20/2024/12/18121517/6-fossil-fuel-industry-personnel-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=291887</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Circular economy and Planetary Boundaries]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Alternative Energy, Circular Economy, Clean Energy, Conservation, Earth Science, Energy, Energy Efficiency, Environment, Geoengineering, Geothermal Energy, Global Environmental Crisis, Governance, Industry, Natural Gas, Oil, Oil Drilling, Renewable Energy, Research, Science, Technology, and Wildtech]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Next-generation geothermal technologies are gaining steam as a source of clean, renewable energy and an alternative to fossil fuels. With demonstration projects across the globe now showing strong potential, enhanced geothermal (using ever-present and bountiful heat found deep within the Earth) could one day offer energy to millions of homes, businesses and cities. But geothermal [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Next-generation geothermal technologies are gaining steam as a source of clean, renewable energy and an alternative to fossil fuels. With demonstration projects across the globe now showing strong potential, enhanced geothermal (using ever-present and bountiful heat found deep within the Earth) could one day offer energy to millions of homes, businesses and cities. But geothermal currently makes up just a fraction of global energy produced, at less than 1%. That’s because conventional geothermal methods require special conditions, including permeable land, subsurface heat, plus available water with which to tap into this energy resource. This trifecta means that, while geothermal is exploited in slightly more than 30 countries — led by the U.S., Indonesia, the Philippines and Turkey — actual production is miniscule, a mere 16,318 megawatts of installed capacity. By contrast, installed global wind capacity tipped 1 million MW over the last year. But next-gen geothermal seems poised to take a great leap forward, expanding its capacity massively because all that’s needed is underground heat and economical access to it. Instead of tapping surface hot springs, next-gen tech aims to drill deep into hot rocks to create permeability. It then injects water or other fluids, such as brackish water or treated wastewater, into the Earth to construct artificial subsurface reservoirs heated by the surrounding hot bedrock. These innovative approaches, once perfected, could drive geothermal use far higher. In the U.S. alone, it’s estimated that next-gen geothermal could provide 8.5% of the country’s energy by 2050; that’s enough to power 65&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/12/next-gen-geothermal-offers-circular-promise-but-needs-care-and-caution/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-291887</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Renewables won’t save us from climate catastrophe, experts warn; what will?</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/12/renewables-wont-save-us-from-climate-catastrophe-experts-warn-what-will/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/12/renewables-wont-save-us-from-climate-catastrophe-experts-warn-what-will/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>17 Dec 2024 21:23:59 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Gerry McGovernSue Branford]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Glenn Scherer]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/12/17165845/solar-panels-installation-2-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=291827</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Planetary Boundaries]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[China and Global]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Alternative Energy, carbon, Carbon Emissions, Clean Energy, Conservation, Electric Cars, Emission Reduction, Energy, Energy Efficiency, Environment, Fossil Fuels, Global Environmental Crisis, Planetary Boundaries, Renewable Energy, Solar Power, Subsidies, and Wind Power]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In 2022, U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres declared that the “lifeline of renewable energy can steer [the] world out of climate crisis.” In saying so, he echoed a popular and tantalizing idea: that, if we hurry, we can erase the climate emergency with widespread adoption of renewables in the form of solar panels, wind farms, electric [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In 2022, U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres declared that the “lifeline of renewable energy can steer [the] world out of climate crisis.” In saying so, he echoed a popular and tantalizing idea: that, if we hurry, we can erase the climate emergency with widespread adoption of renewables in the form of solar panels, wind farms, electric vehicles and more. But things aren’t that simple, and analysts increasingly question the naïve assumption that renewables are a silver bullet. That’s partly because the rapid transition to a global energy and transport system powered by clean energy brings with it a host of new (and old) environmental problems. To begin with, stepping up solar, wind and EV production requires many more minerals and materials in the short term than do their already well-established fossil fuel counterparts, while also creating a major carbon footprint. Also, the quicker we transition away from fossil fuel tech to renewable tech, the greater the quantity of materials needed up front, and the higher the immediate carbon and numerous other environmental costs. But this shift is now happening extremely rapidly, as companies, governments and consumers try to turn away from oil, coal and natural gas. “Renewables are moving faster than national governments can set targets,” declared International Energy Agency executive director Fatih Birol. In its “Renewables 2024” report, the IEA estimates the world will add more than 5,500 gigawatts of renewable energy capacity between 2024 and 2030 — almost three times the increase between 2017 and 2023. But this triumph&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/12/renewables-wont-save-us-from-climate-catastrophe-experts-warn-what-will/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/12/renewables-wont-save-us-from-climate-catastrophe-experts-warn-what-will/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-291827</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Just energy transition reports urge care in surge to reach global renewable energy goals</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/12/just-energy-transition-reports-urge-care-in-surge-to-reach-global-renewable-energy-goals/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/12/just-energy-transition-reports-urge-care-in-surge-to-reach-global-renewable-energy-goals/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>02 Dec 2024 19:02:49 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Latoya AbuluSonam Lama Hyolmo]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Latoya Abulu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/12/02171110/cobalt-congo-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=291034</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Alternative Energy, Climate Change, Energy, Energy Efficiency, Environment, Environmental Law, Environmental Policy, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Reserves, Indigenous Rights, Land Rights, Politics, Renewable Energy, and Resource Conflict]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Despite the 2024 U.N. climate conference, or COP29, concluding on a mixed note, attendees pushed forward greater ambitions to accelerate the clean energy transition. While the summit called on world leaders to commit even more actional measures to meet the U.N. renewable energy target, Indigenous leaders remained staunch that the process must be just, fair [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Despite the 2024 U.N. climate conference, or COP29, concluding on a mixed note, attendees pushed forward greater ambitions to accelerate the clean energy transition. While the summit called on world leaders to commit even more actional measures to meet the U.N. renewable energy target, Indigenous leaders remained staunch that the process must be just, fair and equitable. “This document defining the just energy transition and Indigenous peoples’ principles for a just transition is a first in history,” said Galina Angarova, executive director of the SIRGE Coalition, a global coalition led by a committee of Indigenous representatives that helped organize the Indigenous summit. “It will be used as a guide by Indigenous peoples’ rights advocates for years to come.” The people who signed this document include leaders part of the Local Communities and Indigenous Peoples Platform (LCIPP), a formal body with the U.N. system. The LCIPP presented this document in front of some governments at COP29. The U.N. climate target calls for tripling renewable energy capacity by 2030. Although the world’s massive surge in renewable energy is falling short of the goal, it’s still within reach, according to the International Energy Association (IEA). To meet the goal, the demand for critical minerals and metals is growing. This worries human rights advocates who say that more than only critical minerals are needed to fuel the process. The rush towards an energy transition should require respecting the ecosystems that communities depend on, respecting Indigenous rights, and a fair partnership between mining companies and&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/12/just-energy-transition-reports-urge-care-in-surge-to-reach-global-renewable-energy-goals/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-291034</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Action against forest biomass subsidies gains momentum at COP16</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/10/action-against-forest-biomass-subsidies-gains-momentum-at-cop16/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/10/action-against-forest-biomass-subsidies-gains-momentum-at-cop16/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>29 Oct 2024 14:55:41 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Justin Catanoso]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Glenn Scherer]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[global forests]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/10/29131303/Drax-is-the-largest-consumer-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=289353</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Planetary Boundaries]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Alternative Energy, Biodiesel, Biodiversity, Bioenergy, Climate Change, Conservation, Deforestation, Drivers Of Deforestation, Energy, Energy Efficiency, Environment, Environmental Law, Forestry, Forests, Governance, Industry, Planetary Boundaries, Politics, Renewable Energy, and Sustainability]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[CALI, Colombia – For years, at annual United Nations climate summits, forest advocates eager to draw critical attention to the scientifically dubious benefits of burning forest biomass to make energy were ignored, and their recommendations never added to official UN agendas for discussion or a vote. But here at the UN Biodiversity summit, known as [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[CALI, Colombia – For years, at annual United Nations climate summits, forest advocates eager to draw critical attention to the scientifically dubious benefits of burning forest biomass to make energy were ignored, and their recommendations never added to official UN agendas for discussion or a vote. But here at the UN Biodiversity summit, known as COP16, forest campaigners have attained some traction as national representatives — dedicated to addressing biodiversity loss and global deforestation — hear about how wood pellet production and biomass burning are tied intrinsically to both problems. On October 21, the first day of COP16, the Biomass Action network, a coalition of 200 civil society groups in 60 countries, held a series of events (including in Cali) to highlight research and evidence of environmental harm caused by harvesting trees for wood-pellet manufacture, and the burning of those pellets in former coal-fired power plants. This broadening awareness comes at a crucial moment: The demand for forest biomass energy is surging in the United Kingdom, European Union, Japan and South Korea, where national governments erroneously claim burning pellets produces zero emissions. Meanwhile, the supply of pellets to meet that demand (so far sourced mostly from forests in the Southeastern United States and British Columbia, Canada), is expanding rapidly into the tropics, with new pellet mills planned and opening in Vietnam and especially Indonesia. The clear cutting of forests to supply biomass is happening despite a rapidly escalating climate crisis in which intact forests — with their ability to store&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/10/action-against-forest-biomass-subsidies-gains-momentum-at-cop16/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-289353</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>As tidal power rides a wave of clean energy optimism, pitfalls persist</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/10/as-tidal-power-rides-a-wave-of-clean-energy-optimism-pitfalls-persist/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/10/as-tidal-power-rides-a-wave-of-clean-energy-optimism-pitfalls-persist/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>14 Oct 2024 20:07:34 +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/20/2024/10/14180553/Image_1-scaled-e1764628379529-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=288653</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Circular economy and Oceans]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global, Scotland, and United Kingdom]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Alternative Energy, carbon, Clean Energy, Conservation, Energy, Energy Efficiency, Environment, Happy-upbeat Environmental, Oceans, and Renewable Energy]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In the Pentland Firth off of Scotland’s coast, an array of underwater turbines churn 24/7, spun by powerful ocean tides. Operational since 2018, this tidal stream project reached a milestone last year, generating 51 gigawatt hours of power — a first anywhere in the world for tidal stream technology. Though limited to only four turbines, [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In the Pentland Firth off of Scotland’s coast, an array of underwater turbines churn 24/7, spun by powerful ocean tides. Operational since 2018, this tidal stream project reached a milestone last year, generating 51 gigawatt hours of power — a first anywhere in the world for tidal stream technology. Though limited to only four turbines, this long-running demonstration (known as the MeyGen project, and operated by the SAE Renewables company) is one of several tidal stream trials that experts say offers proof of concept and shows off the possibilities of harnessing the world’s tides as an alternative energy source. Its annual output is enough to power roughly 6,000 homes. The Pentland Firth array could eventually scale up to 269 turbines and produce up to 398 megawatts of clean power — enough to power around 175,000 homes. “MeyGen has demonstrated now beyond doubt that three-bladed, horizontal axis, seabed-mounted tidal turbines work,” says Fraser Johnson, the project’s operations and maintenance manager. But to become an alternative energy player in the coming years, he adds, the nascent tidal stream industry needs to get more turbines in the water and demonstrate ongoing proof of capabilities, while driving down costs. For now, the United Kingdom stands at the forefront of tidal stream development, with MeyGen and around half a dozen other U.K. projects currently generating enough electricity to power thousands of homes. If planned developments go ahead, around 130 megawatts of capacity will be operational in the country’s surrounding waters by 2029, though this figure&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/10/as-tidal-power-rides-a-wave-of-clean-energy-optimism-pitfalls-persist/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-288653</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Tensions flare as Indonesian islanders resist China solar development</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/10/tensions-flare-as-indonesian-islanders-resist-china-solar-development/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/10/tensions-flare-as-indonesian-islanders-resist-china-solar-development/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>10 Oct 2024 09:05:27 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Yogi Eka Sahputra]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Philip Jacobson]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/10/10074802/solar-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=288502</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Indonesia, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Clean Energy, Climate Change, Energy, Energy Efficiency, Environment, Environmental Policy, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Rights, Land Conflict, Land Rights, Politics, Renewable Energy, and Solar Power]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[BATAM, Indonesia — A major Chinese solar panel manufacturing development on an Indonesian island saw renewed clashes in September between a company allegedly controlled by an Indonesian household name and the island’s Indigenous communities resisting eviction. Siti Hawa, a 66-year-old grandmother, suffered a broken wrist after she stepped in to prevent a security guard from [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[BATAM, Indonesia — A major Chinese solar panel manufacturing development on an Indonesian island saw renewed clashes in September between a company allegedly controlled by an Indonesian household name and the island’s Indigenous communities resisting eviction. Siti Hawa, a 66-year-old grandmother, suffered a broken wrist after she stepped in to prevent a security guard from striking members of her community here on Rempang Island, which is closer to Singapore than to the Indonesian island of Sumatra. “They hit me with their strength and it broke,” Siti told Mongabay Indonesia. Sun trap The Indonesian government in August 2023 announced the Rempang Eco-City project, an initiative covering 7,000 hectares (17,000 acres) of Rempang Island. The project’s centerpiece is a $11.6 billion glass and solar panel factory by Hong Kong–based giant Xinyi International Investment. The remaining 10,000 hectares (17,300 acres) of Rempang Island would be zoned as protected forest. The government has categorized the project as one of strategic national importance, or PSN, which smooths licensing for investors. The development requires the eviction of most of Rempang’s approximately 7,500 residents, including many Indigenous seafarers. The developer of the industrial estate is PT Makmur Elok Graha (MEG), a Jakarta-based firm owned by Grideye Resources Limited, a company registered in the British Virgin Islands, a notorious tax haven and secrecy jurisdiction. Directors listed in MEG’s corporate network are affiliated with the Artha Graha Group, the diversified conglomerate of prominent businessman Tomy Winata, according to research by Trend Asia. The development on Rempang is also tied&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/10/tensions-flare-as-indonesian-islanders-resist-china-solar-development/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/10/tensions-flare-as-indonesian-islanders-resist-china-solar-development/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-288502</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Ever-smarter consumer electronics push world toward environmental brink</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/09/ever-smarter-consumer-electronics-push-world-toward-environmental-brink/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/09/ever-smarter-consumer-electronics-push-world-toward-environmental-brink/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>30 Sep 2024 15:15:21 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Gerry McGovernSue Branford]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Glenn Scherer]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/09/24083313/Agbogbloshie-2-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=287749</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Circular economy and Planetary Boundaries]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Costa Rica, Global, and Taiwan]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Business, Carbon Emissions, Carbon Footprint, charcoal, Climate Change, Coal, Consumption, E-waste, Emission Reduction, Energy, Energy Efficiency, Environment, Environmental Policy, Fossil Fuels, Global Environmental Crisis, Industry, Mining, Overconsumption, Pollution, Recycling, Research, Water, and Water Scarcity]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In recent decades, the electronics industry experienced meteoric growth as it swiftly invented and marketed a galaxy of novel products for consumers hungry for the next innovation, better performance and greater convenience. In 2024, the consumer electronics market alone is expected to top $809 billion, exceeding $1.4 trillion by 2034. But there’s a dark side [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In recent decades, the electronics industry experienced meteoric growth as it swiftly invented and marketed a galaxy of novel products for consumers hungry for the next innovation, better performance and greater convenience. In 2024, the consumer electronics market alone is expected to top $809 billion, exceeding $1.4 trillion by 2034. But there’s a dark side to this tech miracle: Our digital age love affair with ever-more-powerful cell phones, smart TVs, laptops, tablets, gaming consoles and other devices comes with a high price. The environmental and social costs of producing the trillions of silicon semiconductor chips needed to run our gadgets and to operate remote data centers is escalating incredibly fast and “fostering an environmental time bomb,” warns Ian Williams, professor of applied environmental science at the University of Southampton, U.K. “The environmental impact of making semiconductor chips is already huge and increasing rapidly,” Williams tells Mongabay. Today, the complex integrated circuitry inside an electronic device is a miracle of miniaturization and nanometer-accurate precision with each millimeter-thick, fingernail-sized silicon chip incorporating 30-100 sandwiched layers of etched interconnected transistors and electronic components. But chip structure and computing power doesn’t stand still: It must keep pace with new tech innovations. “Each new generation requires more energy and water and generates more greenhouse gases than the previous generation,” Williams explains. However, few seem aware of the looming risk. Competition among tech giants to produce faster, more advanced devices is leading to unbridled demand for increasingly sophisticated semiconductors, worsening global impacts. Unless urgent action is&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/09/ever-smarter-consumer-electronics-push-world-toward-environmental-brink/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/09/ever-smarter-consumer-electronics-push-world-toward-environmental-brink/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-287749</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Aluminum and steel vital to energy transition, but need circular solutions</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/09/aluminum-and-steel-vital-to-energy-transition-but-need-circular-solutions/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/09/aluminum-and-steel-vital-to-energy-transition-but-need-circular-solutions/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>18 Sep 2024 14:53:25 +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/20/2024/09/18124556/7-A-steel-production-site-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=287556</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Circular economy and Planetary Boundaries]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Carbon Emissions, Chemicals, Circular Economy, Climate Change, Consumption, Deforestation, Drivers Of Deforestation, Energy, Energy Efficiency, Environment, Environmental Law, Environmental Policy, Global Environmental Crisis, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Industry, Infrastructure, Law, Mining, Overconsumption, Pollution, Public Health, Rainforests, Recycling, Renewable Energy, Research, Supply Chain, and Sustainability]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[This is the second of a two-part story. Part one deals with aluminum and steel impacts; Part two explores circular solutions. Aluminum and steel have long been hailed for their relatively high recycling rates compared to other materials such as petrochemical-based plastics. But experts point to numerous supply chain faults for these metals — extending [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[This is the second of a two-part story. Part one deals with aluminum and steel impacts; Part two explores circular solutions. Aluminum and steel have long been hailed for their relatively high recycling rates compared to other materials such as petrochemical-based plastics. But experts point to numerous supply chain faults for these metals — extending from the mining of ores to finished products — resulting in significant environmental, social and health harms. If the status quo for sourcing and refining these metals continues into the future, experts warn, then these global costs are likely to rise, as production volumes ramp up to meet the needs of the energy transition and global infrastructure expansion. However, some analysts say these industries could be prime candidates for circular economy solutions, though that shift will pose extensive challenges. Both sectors would need to shift from their predominantly “take-make-waste” linear economic models, to embrace the “reduce, reuse and recycle” circular economic model. Those three R’s can be further delineated as refuse, repair, refurbish, remanufacture and repurpose. Circularity aims to turn the cradle-to-grave linear economic model of production and consumption into a closed loop of perpetual renewal. But the push for sustainability is currently going backward, not forward. The global circularity rate, defined as the share of secondary materials consumed by the global economy, declined from 9.1% in 2018 to 7.2% in 2023. This backsliding is due to rising consumption and material use, according to the most recent Circularity Gap report by Circle Economy, an NGO.&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/09/aluminum-and-steel-vital-to-energy-transition-but-need-circular-solutions/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/09/aluminum-and-steel-vital-to-energy-transition-but-need-circular-solutions/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-287556</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Aluminum and steel take environment and health toll, even as demand grows</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/09/aluminum-and-steel-take-environment-and-health-toll-even-as-demand-grows/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/09/aluminum-and-steel-take-environment-and-health-toll-even-as-demand-grows/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>17 Sep 2024 14:33:29 +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/20/2024/09/17103531/Image_6-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=287487</guid>

					
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Chemicals, Circular Economy, Climate Change, Consumption, Deforestation, Drivers Of Deforestation, Energy, Energy Efficiency, Environment, Environmental Law, Environmental Policy, Global Environmental Crisis, Health, Industry, Law, Mining, Overconsumption, Pollution, Public Health, Rainforests, Supply Chain, and Sustainability]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[This is the first part of a two-part story. Part one deals with aluminum and steel impacts; Part two explores circular solutions. Aluminum and steel are two metals vital to a thriving global industrial economy. And both will be even more in demand in future, as they supply the global energy transition and infrastructure needs [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[This is the first part of a two-part story. Part one deals with aluminum and steel impacts; Part two explores circular solutions. Aluminum and steel are two metals vital to a thriving global industrial economy. And both will be even more in demand in future, as they supply the global energy transition and infrastructure needs in developing countries. But there’s a problem: the mining and processing of these two metals negatively impact at least five of Earth’s nine planetary boundaries, helping put the “safe operating space for humanity” at grave risk. A major report published in June 2024 by advocacy group Mighty Earth underscores some of these problems: The NGO charted numerous environmental and human health concerns in major bauxite-producing countries around the globe, including Australia, Brazil, Indonesia and Guinea. Bauxite is the principal ore used in alumina production, which is a key ingredient in making aluminum. “We found … a common thread. In every place bauxite mining is touching right now there seems to be really negative impacts for people and the environment,” says Matthew Groch, senior director of decarbonization at Mighty Earth. Those impacts include deforestation, wildlife loss and often severe health impacts. Groch notes that “There seems to be a lot of pushback from local communities” on new projects as they’re announced. In Guinea, home to Africa’s largest bauxite reserves, extraction comes with big environmental and social costs, along with allegations of human rights abuses. Mining there has resulted in community exposure to toxic pollution and large&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/09/aluminum-and-steel-take-environment-and-health-toll-even-as-demand-grows/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/09/aluminum-and-steel-take-environment-and-health-toll-even-as-demand-grows/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-287487</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Indonesia’s new ‘green’ capital drives environmental damage far and wide</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/08/indonesias-new-green-capital-drives-environmental-damage-far-and-wide/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/08/indonesias-new-green-capital-drives-environmental-damage-far-and-wide/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>27 Aug 2024 09:12:38 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Hans Nicholas Jong]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Hayat Indriyatno]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/08/27084122/Upacara_HUT_ke-79_RI_di_Istana_Garuda_Nusantara_IKN_-_2024-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=286540</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Central Sulawesi, East Kalimantan, Indonesia, Kalimantan, Southeast Asia, and Sulawesi]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Air Pollution, Energy, Energy Efficiency, Environment, Infrastructure, Mining, and Pollution]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — For the first time since it declared independence in 1945, Indonesia held its official national day celebrations outside Jakarta this year. Flag-raising ceremonies were observed simultaneously on Aug. 17 in Jakarta, on the island of Java, and in Nusantara, the country’s new capital city, currently being carved out the jungles of Borneo. President [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — For the first time since it declared independence in 1945, Indonesia held its official national day celebrations outside Jakarta this year. Flag-raising ceremonies were observed simultaneously on Aug. 17 in Jakarta, on the island of Java, and in Nusantara, the country’s new capital city, currently being carved out the jungles of Borneo. President Joko Widodo oversaw the celebration in Nusantara, with Vice President Ma’ruf Amin presiding over the ceremony in Jakarta. Days earlier, the president, popularly known as Jokowi, had complained that the State Palace in Jakarta, the former seat of the Dutch colonial governor, “smells colonial,” and contrasted it with the newly built presidential palace in Nusantara. The Garuda Palace, named and designed after a mythical bird that also serves as Indonesia’s state emblem, is meant to symbolize the country’s founding value of “unity in diversity.” It’s also designed to be a “green building,” in line with Jokowi’s broader claims that the new capital will be an environmentally friendly and “smart” city. But that’s not the case, according to architect Tiyok Prasetyoadi, deputy chair of the Green Building Council Indonesia, which advises developers on minimizing their environmental and carbon footprints. The massive Garuda structure that serves as the dramatic backdrop to the new palace features a pair of wings constructed with 4,661 blades of steel, copper and brass. Each blade weighs 0.3 metric tons, for a total weight of nearly 1,400 metric tons per wing. That, said Tiyok, is “excessive.” “The Garuda statue uses a lot of&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/08/indonesias-new-green-capital-drives-environmental-damage-far-and-wide/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/08/indonesias-new-green-capital-drives-environmental-damage-far-and-wide/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-286540</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Reporting confirms alleged Indigenous rights violations in Nepal hydropower project</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/08/reporting-confirms-alleged-indigenous-rights-violations-in-nepal-hydropower-project/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/08/reporting-confirms-alleged-indigenous-rights-violations-in-nepal-hydropower-project/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>12 Aug 2024 06:00:40 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Latoya AbuluSonam Lama Hyolmo]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Latoya Abulu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/08/09123618/Yak-pasture-in-Lungbasamba-landscape-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=285929</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Indigenous Peoples and Conservation]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Himalayas, Nepal, and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Clean Energy, Conservation, Crime, Dams, Development, Energy, Energy Efficiency, Environment, Environmental Law, Environmental Policy, Governance, Hydroelectric Power, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Rights, Infrastructure, Land Rights, Politics, Pollution, Protected Areas, Renewable Energy, and Rivers]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[KATHMANDU — The list of alleged crimes and lies is long: accusations of forging local signatures, signing children&#8217;s names on contracts, creating false reports, bulldozing through farmlands under the cover of night and trapping sacred animals. While speaking with Mongabay, Karma Bhutia had dozens of legal documents running through his hands, spilling over his desk, [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[KATHMANDU — The list of alleged crimes and lies is long: accusations of forging local signatures, signing children&#8217;s names on contracts, creating false reports, bulldozing through farmlands under the cover of night and trapping sacred animals. While speaking with Mongabay, Karma Bhutia had dozens of legal documents running through his hands, spilling over his desk, enough to fill a book, all pointing to Sangrila Urja Pvt. Ltd., a Nepali hydropower company. The Chyamtang activist and adviser to the Chyamtang-Kathmandu Welfare Society was exasperated. “They [the company] put price tags on our rivers, our sacred forests and biodiversity and did not even ask what we wanted,” Karma said. “If not for the community’s resistance, we would have lost everything at the hands of government.” Nepal is experiencing a hydropower construction boom to meet its increasing energy demands, and the Himalayan Sankhuwasabha district in Lungbasamba where Bhutia lives is no exception. With this infrastructure boom also comes a trail of conflicts with nearby Indigenous communities, many of which rely directly on the land for survival, and a steady mix of reportedly illegal activities and rights violations. Often, the projects still go through, and communities say they feel swept under the rug. This particular conflict, however, briefly made global headlines after celebrity Leonardo DiCaprio amplified local outrage on social media. In this case, Mongabay was able to verify most of the claims and confirm fabricated information in the environmental impact assessment, lack of proper consultation with the community and forged signatures. We also&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/08/reporting-confirms-alleged-indigenous-rights-violations-in-nepal-hydropower-project/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/08/reporting-confirms-alleged-indigenous-rights-violations-in-nepal-hydropower-project/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-285929</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Biomass power grows in Japan despite new understanding of climate risks</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/07/biomass-power-grows-in-japan-despite-new-understanding-of-climate-risks/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/07/biomass-power-grows-in-japan-despite-new-understanding-of-climate-risks/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>29 Jul 2024 20:55:37 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Annelise Giseburt]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Jeremy Hance]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/07/29162909/logs-wood-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=285289</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Circular economy]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, California, Canada, East Asia, Japan, and North America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Adaptation To Climate Change, Bioenergy, carbon, Carbon Dioxide, Carbon Emissions, Carbon Footprint, Carbon Sequestration, Climate, Climate Change, Climate Science, Conservation, Controversial, Emission Reduction, Energy, Energy Efficiency, Environment, Environmental Law, Environmental Policy, Forest Carbon, Forests, Global Environmental Crisis, Global Warming, Globalization, Green, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Impact Of Climate Change, International Trade, Law, Mitigation, Plantations, Politics, Pollution, Research, and Temperate Forests]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Japan is at a crossroads in its controversial use of burning forest biomass to make electricity. While the government and private sector’s understanding of the fuel’s harmful environmental and climate impacts is growing, biomass power plants long in the pipeline continue to come online, requiring ever-greater volumes of imported wood pellets from primary forests in [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Japan is at a crossroads in its controversial use of burning forest biomass to make electricity. While the government and private sector’s understanding of the fuel’s harmful environmental and climate impacts is growing, biomass power plants long in the pipeline continue to come online, requiring ever-greater volumes of imported wood pellets from primary forests in Canada or plantations in Vietnam. Biomass importers and users in Japan are being forced to reevaluate their supply chains after U.S. wood pellet producer Enviva declared bankruptcy in March and prominent ecologists visiting Japan from Canada warned of the pellets’ environmental risks. In addition, new biomass policies from Japan’s biggest banks emphasize the importance of sustainable sourcing, which forest advocates say they hope will encourage biomass users to improve their practices. But ultimately, forest advocates argue that, no matter which supply chain biomass users choose, burning wood to generate electricity is fundamentally untenable, as it puts significant amounts of CO2 into the atmosphere despite the global need to drastically reduce emissions. In 2022, burning biomass accounted for roughly 6% of Japan’s total CO2 emissions, according to a Japanese climate expert. Still, under international carbon accounting rules, Japan is able to count biomass emissions as zero because trees sequester CO2 throughout their lives. Many experts say this is a misguided policy. Using forest biomass for electricity generation took off in Japan in 2012, when the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry introduced a feed-in tariff (FIT) with 20-year fixed rates to support renewable energy projects. “Before the&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/07/biomass-power-grows-in-japan-despite-new-understanding-of-climate-risks/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/07/biomass-power-grows-in-japan-despite-new-understanding-of-climate-risks/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-285289</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Indonesia civil society groups raise concerns over proposed Borneo nuclear reactor</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/05/indonesia-civil-society-groups-raise-concerns-over-proposed-borneo-nuclear-reactor/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/05/indonesia-civil-society-groups-raise-concerns-over-proposed-borneo-nuclear-reactor/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>14 May 2024 00:34:45 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Irfan Maulana]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Philip Jacobson]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/05/13135404/nuclear-protest-indoensia-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=281986</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Borneo, Indonesia, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Clean Energy, Climate Change, Coal, Energy, Energy Efficiency, Environment, Environmental Policy, Islands, Nuclear Power, Politics, Renewable Energy, and Science]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — Civil society organizations in Indonesia staged protests in late April to raise awareness of a planned nuclear plant near Pontianak, capital of West Kalimantan province on the island of Borneo. “We are advocating that West Kalimantan be kept away from the threat of a nuclear radiation disaster. Indonesia is not Chernobyl,” said Hendrikus [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — Civil society organizations in Indonesia staged protests in late April to raise awareness of a planned nuclear plant near Pontianak, capital of West Kalimantan province on the island of Borneo. “We are advocating that West Kalimantan be kept away from the threat of a nuclear radiation disaster. Indonesia is not Chernobyl,” said Hendrikus Adam, executive director of the West Kalimantan chapter of the Indonesia Forum for the Environment, a national NGO known as Walhi, referring to the site of a notorious 1986 nuclear meltdown in the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic. Indonesia’s first experimental nuclear reactor, the TRIGA Mark II, opened in the city of Bandung in February 1965. Since then, however, the world’s fourth-largest country has yet to open a full-fledged nuclear power station. In March 2023, Indonesia and the U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) signed a partnership agreement to develop small modular reactor technology for the archipelago’s power network. The agreement included a $1 million grant to PLN, the state-owned power utility, to carry out feasibility studies on a nuclear reactor. PLN has proposed a 462-megawatt facility in West Kalimantan, which would use technology supplied by NuScale Power OVS, a publicly traded company based in Oregon in the U.S. In capacity terms, that represents almost one-tenth of the giant Paiton coal-fired complex in East Java province, a mainstay of the Java-Bali power grid. Walhi&#8217;s action to reject plans to build a nuclear power plant in West Kalimantan in front of the Ministry of Energy and Mineral&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/05/indonesia-civil-society-groups-raise-concerns-over-proposed-borneo-nuclear-reactor/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/05/indonesia-civil-society-groups-raise-concerns-over-proposed-borneo-nuclear-reactor/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-281986</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Rocky rollout for Bangladesh’s ambitious solar-powered irrigation plans</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/05/rocky-rollout-for-bangladeshs-ambitious-solar-powered-irrigation-plans/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/05/rocky-rollout-for-bangladeshs-ambitious-solar-powered-irrigation-plans/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>06 May 2024 11:26:39 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Abu Siddique]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Abu Siddique]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Food systems]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/05/06110209/bangladesh-irrigation-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=281731</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Bangladesh, and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Adaptation To Climate Change, Agriculture, Alternative Energy, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Conservation, Energy, Energy Efficiency, Environment, Farming, Food, Food Industry, Impact Of Climate Change, Politics, Renewable Energy, and Solar Power]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Bangladesh plans to phase out diesel-powered irrigation pumps for solar ones to cut carbon emissions, but the country’s farmers have expressed concern about the availability of power during bad weather and the uncertainty of costs. The initiative is touted as ensuring the South Asian country will generate an additional 480 gigawatt-hours of clean energy annually, [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Bangladesh plans to phase out diesel-powered irrigation pumps for solar ones to cut carbon emissions, but the country’s farmers have expressed concern about the availability of power during bad weather and the uncertainty of costs. The initiative is touted as ensuring the South Asian country will generate an additional 480 gigawatt-hours of clean energy annually, and is part of the government’s commitments to cut emissions under the 2015 Paris climate agreement. Diesel-run irrigation pumps account for about 1.6% of Bangladesh’s total greenhouse gas emissions; the government has a goal of cutting 0.8 million tons of emissions by 2030 from irrigation more broadly. Several solar irrigation pilot programs have gone underway in recent years across Bangladesh, administered by the Infrastructure Development Company (IDCOL). The NGO has installed 2,226 solar irrigation pumps in different parts of the country, involving private sector companies. From there, farmers receive irrigation water at a fixed cost based on season and area. Solar power plant installed for irrigation at a rice field in Kushtia, Bangladesh. Image by Muhammad Mostafigur Rahman. Cutting costs and boosting clean energy share The government has also come up with a road map for phasing out diesel-run irrigation options, including the technical and financial requirements and benefits. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has contributed $42.4 million to support the transition, which will see some 45,000 solar irrigation pump (SIP) systems replace 200,000 diesel pumps. The new pumps will serve about 400,000 hectares (nearly 1 million acres) of farmland managed by more than 1.3&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/05/rocky-rollout-for-bangladeshs-ambitious-solar-powered-irrigation-plans/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-281731</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Caribbean startups are turning excess seaweed into an agroecology solution</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/04/caribbean-startups-are-turning-excess-seaweed-into-an-agroecology-solution/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/04/caribbean-startups-are-turning-excess-seaweed-into-an-agroecology-solution/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>16 Apr 2024 15:22:15 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Marlowe Starling]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Jeremy Hance]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Food systems]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/04/15182050/Sargassum-in-Cuba-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=280981</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Agroecology and Oceans]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Atlantic Ocean, Barbados, and Caribbean]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Agroecology, algae, Business, Climate Change, Coastal Ecosystems, Conservation, Conservation Solutions, Emission Reduction, Energy, Energy Efficiency, Environment, Environmental Policy, Global Environmental Crisis, Governance, Green, Industry, Land Use Change, Marine, Marine Conservation, Nutrient Pollution, Oceans, Politics, Pollution, Research, Seagrass, Solutions, and Water Pollution]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In 2015, smelly mats of a brown macroalgae called sargassum piled as high as 1.2 meter (4 feet) on the beaches of Barbados, recalls Joshua Forte. It was the fourth year in what has become an annual nightmare, with an estimated 18,100 kilograms (20 tons) of seaweed inundating Caribbean shorelines each year and wrecking the [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In 2015, smelly mats of a brown macroalgae called sargassum piled as high as 1.2 meter (4 feet) on the beaches of Barbados, recalls Joshua Forte. It was the fourth year in what has become an annual nightmare, with an estimated 18,100 kilograms (20 tons) of seaweed inundating Caribbean shorelines each year and wrecking the region’s tourism-centered economies. The onslaught of seaweed reeked of rotten eggs, but Forte smelled something else: opportunity. A year earlier, Forte founded an organic fertilizer company called Red Diamond Compost. He was already selling a soil additive from sunflower seeds called Liquid Sunshine. But the sargassum seemed too big to ignore. So, Forte started to collect the seaweed by hand, hauling 27-kg (60-pound) bags of it into the back of a pickup truck. It became the raw material for a new product called Supreme Sea, a soil additive that includes growth-stimulating plant hormones and microorganisms extracted from the sargassum. After extraction, Forte composts what’s left over into a humus-rich product that’s safe for crops. The idea was to “have as big of an impact as possible on the influx of sargassum while contributing in a positive way to agriculture,” Forte told Mongabay. Sargassum contains a slew of nutrients, minerals and microorganisms that can foster and even accelerate plant growth, such as iron, magnesium, potassium, calcium and more. But rather than add nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus into the soil, it does something savvy: Its properties help plants be more efficient at taking up those&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/04/caribbean-startups-are-turning-excess-seaweed-into-an-agroecology-solution/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-280981</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Critics fear catastrophic energy crisis as AI is outsourced to Latin America</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/03/critics-fear-catastrophic-energy-crisis-as-ai-is-outsourced-to-latin-america/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/03/critics-fear-catastrophic-energy-crisis-as-ai-is-outsourced-to-latin-america/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>21 Mar 2024 13:19:34 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Gerry McGovernSue Branford]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Glenn Scherer]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/03/21123024/fog-4666170_1920-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=280106</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Planetary Boundaries]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Central America, Chile, Costa Rica, Global, Latin America, Mexico, South America, and Taiwan]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Adaptation To Climate Change, Artificial Intelligence, Climate Change, Climate Science, Conservation, data, Drought, Energy, Energy Efficiency, Environment, Extreme Weather, Forests, Global Environmental Crisis, Governance, Politics, Protests, Renewable Energy, Technology, Tropical Forests, Water, and Water Scarcity]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[With exponential AI energy demand threatening to soon overwhelm the U.S. electric grid, analysts fear that AI’s rapid entry into Latin America could bring massive energy and water consumption, putting communities at risk.]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[“We walk for the water we need. If we don’t walk, who will give it to us?” asks Juan, a middle-aged man born in the Indigenous rural community of Maconí, Mexico. “It’s a four-hour journey each day to fetch water … Since last year, there hasn’t been rain, and this year it’s the same.” The bean crop has withered and there’s no corn to make tortillas, he told Ana Valdivia, an AI expert from the U.K.’s Oxford Internet Institute. Adding to Maconí’s climate change-driven water crisis is the extreme suck placed on its water supply by an influx of new internet data centers, whose already astronomical consumption of limited community water and electricity is about to surge again as AI drives an exponential leap in global demand for computer chips and data capacity. Valdivia, who is about to publish a paper titled “The supply chain capitalism of AI,” met Juan during an October 2023 community protest in Querétaro state, north of Mexico City, where rural people demanded fundamental water access rights. Querétaro is the only Mexican state with its entirety at high risk of drought. It is also where Big Tech has chosen to develop what could become the largest data center hub in Latin America. “Querétaro is already hosting 10 functioning data centers, and planning to install 18 more, some of them to support the growing demand of ChatGPT,” says Valdivia. “Data centers are extracting drinking water for their economic businesses, whereas Juan has to walk almost a day&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/03/critics-fear-catastrophic-energy-crisis-as-ai-is-outsourced-to-latin-america/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-280106</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>U.S. natural gas expansion would surrender world to fatal warming, experts say</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/02/u-s-natural-gas-expansion-would-surrender-world-to-fatal-warming-experts-say/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/02/u-s-natural-gas-expansion-would-surrender-world-to-fatal-warming-experts-say/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>27 Feb 2024 14:46:22 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Shanna Hanbury]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Glenn Scherer]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/02/27102502/The-LNG-carrier-Shahamah-in-Uraga-Channel-Japan-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=279218</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Planetary Boundaries]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[European Union, Global, North America, and United States]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Adaptation To Climate Change, Air Pollution, Carbon Emissions, Chemicals, Climate Change, Climate Science, Corporate Environmental Transgressors, Energy Efficiency, Environment, Fossil Fuels, Global Warming, Globalization, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Impact Of Climate Change, Industry, Infrastructure, International Trade, Natural Gas, Oil, Politics, Pollution, and Soil Carbon]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[As the Biden administration pauses to ponder licenses for 12 new LNG export facilities, it is investing billions in natural gas infrastructure abroad. Critics warn U.S. gas expansion poses a direct threat to Earth’s ecosystems and people.]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[As U.S. politicians, the oil industry and environmental activists debate the pros and cons of a massive expansion of the nation’s export infrastructure for liquified natural gas (LNG) — a fossil fuel made primarily of methane — the world’s climate teeters on the brink, with scientific experts the world over lining up against the expansion. In January, the Biden administration responded to concerns about climate impacts and domestic energy costs by temporarily halting licenses for new LNG export facilities. But the nation, which until 2016 had a ban on gas exports, is already on track to double its output by 2030 solely with the already-authorized and under-construction terminals. A U.S. natural gas fracking boom resulted in the country’s first export terminal in 2016; there are now seven active terminals, with five more under construction. If Biden ultimately approves licensing, 12 proposed LNG facilities could go ahead. Over a 20-year period, methane released to the atmosphere is 80 times more potent at warming than carbon dioxide. French climate activists protest the influx of U.S. LNG in September 2023. Experts say the move from Russian to American gas is not solving the region’s energy dependence, while worsening impacts of climate change on its citizens. Image © Jean Nicholas Guillo/Greenpeace. LNG could turbocharge the climate emergency Greenlighting licenses for more gas export infrastructure could mean up to a fourfold increase in export capacity and effectively locks in LNG dependence in Europe and other regions for decades, committing millions of tons of methane to&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/02/u-s-natural-gas-expansion-would-surrender-world-to-fatal-warming-experts-say/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-279218</doi>				</item>
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