Renewable Energy

Rapidly growing sector could prove lucrative as Britain seeks post-Brexit trade opportunities

UK investors could seize a $24bn investment opportunity by helping to connect millions of people without access to electricity to off-grid home solar power systems.

The market for pay-as-you-go home solar packages is expected to boom in Africa, where millions of homes are using mobile technology to rent low-cost solar panels.

Facility threatens UK’s aim to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, report says

Britain’s first new deep coalmine in 30 years is unnecessary and incompatible with UK climate ambitions, according to a report.

The £165m Woodhouse colliery in Cumbria was given cross party-backing in March 2019, leading to protests from climate campaigners who said the mine would harm the UK’s efforts to reduce CO₂ emissions.

BlackRock CEO says climate crisis will now dictate investments but environmentalists remain wary

BlackRock, the world’s largest fund manager, has announced it will put sustainability at the heart of its investment decisions.

In his annual letter to chief executives, the BlackRock boss, Larry Fink, writes that the climate emergency is altering how investors view the long-term prospects of companies. “Awareness is rapidly changing, and I believe we are on the edge of a fundamental reshaping of finance.”

Related: BlackRock promises climate action, but Extinction Rebellion demands more - business live

Rollout of new turbines is in decline amid Tory subsidy cuts, jeopardising climate targets

The government’s current energy policies have led to a sharp decline in the number of new onshore windfarms, raising fears that the UK may fall short of the renewable energy it needs to generate to meet its climate targets.

Industry data shows the ­rollout of new onshore windfarms fell dramatically after the ­government scrapped subsidy schemes four years ago.

Related: Offshore windfarms 'can provide more electricity than the world needs'

New Economics Foundation calls for £50bn to reboot economy on greener footing

The government fightback against the next recession should include pumping as much as £50bn into green projects, in a move that would help reboot the economy and tackle the climate emergency, according to a left-leaning thinktank.

Against a backdrop of concern among economists that Britain is ill-equipped to combat another downturn on the scale of the 2008 financial crisis, the New Economics Foundation thinktank said a green plan to beat a future slump was required.