Friday, 9 October 2026

A Senate permitting measure has pulled the U.S. climate movement apart, setting groups determined to curb fossil fuels against those pushing to build out clean energy, according to Grist.

At the center is the Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act, or BAAJA, which Grist reported would clear the way for more power plants, transmission lines and gas pipelines. To do so, the legislation would roll back parts of the country's core environmental statutes, compress the time agencies take to grant permits, and limit the ability to overturn projects that already hold federal approval, Grist reported.

The fight has pitted two factions against each other, Grist reported. Activists, lawyers and environmentalists concentrating on stopping fossil fuel use sit on one side; renewable energy firms and policy specialists chasing faster clean-energy construction sit on the other.

Representative Jared Huffman, a Democrat who represents Northern California, told Grist the bill is "definitely exposing a potential fault line between the environmental community and clean energy interests".

Pressure is building ahead of Australia's federal Safeguard Mechanism review to remove the electricity sector's long-standing exemption, according to Kalkine Media.

AGL Energy's Loy Yang A brown coal station in Victoria has been named among facilities that could face individual emissions baselines, Kalkine Media reported.

In a separate dispute, Energy Secretary Chris Wright ordered Craig Unit 1 in northwestern Colorado to keep burning coal despite its scheduled closure at the end of 2025, according to Capital & Main.

Mexico's federal government aims to invest more than MXN 1.168 trillion in energy-related projects through 2030, according to Mexico Business News.

Generation projects take the largest share of the plan. They represent MXN 794 billion, more than 67.9% of the MXN 1.16 trillion total allocation, according to Mexico Business News.

The plan sets a target to raise state utility CFE's share of national power generation from 54% to at least 60%, Mexico Business News reported.

Under the energy transition targets, the government seeks to lift renewable power generation from 24% to at least 38% of the national mix, according to Mexico Business News.

US investment firm Heeney Capital is reportedly considering a deal to produce coal in Venezuela, weeks after signing a gold project agreement.

Mercuria and Heeney now hold operational and export rights to the El Choco mine in Bolivar state for 30 years.

The US government acquired a 35 percent stake in North American Blue Energy Partners and the right to buy 20 percent of its production at cost.

Companies, trade bodies and environmental groups will stage a protest in Berlin this Friday, opposing federal plans to reshape how renewable energy expands in Germany.

The demonstration was organized by the German Renewable Energy Federation (BEE), which gave it the slogan "Renewable Energy - Expand Rather Than Restrict".

At issue is the government's planned overhaul of the Renewable Energy Sources Act (EEG) and its revisions to power-grid expansion.

BEE argues that the proposed rules could make further build-out and investment in new facilities harder to achieve.

Eugene voters will decide this November whether to impose a new climate fee on some large retailers, according to KLCC and OPB.

Covered companies would pay 2% of the gross retail profits they make in Eugene before factoring in overhead. Aya Cockram estimated that the initiative would collect upwards of USD 15 million a year.

Opponents warn the initiative would lead to higher prices on everyday purchases. The measure goes before voters this November.

More than 20% of global oil supply and a comparable share of LNG were left exposed to disruption by the Strait of Hormuz crisis, according to McKinsey's Global Energy & Materials team, whose findings were discussed at an event hosted by Jefferies.

About 55% of the roughly 21 million barrels per day that once passed through Hormuz was rerouted through bypass pipelines, extra production and inventory draws, McKinsey said. Reduced consumption covered about 6.8 million barrels per day of the gap.

McKinsey mapped six responses capable of offsetting 35% to 70% of pre-crisis Hormuz flows by 2030. These range from electrification and coal replacement to alternative oil and gas supply, rerouted trade, larger inventories and demand management.

Jefferies said energy security is turning into a lasting consideration for investors, naming bypass pipelines, LNG and storage among the areas likely to draw spending.

Community groups from Gauteng, the Eastern Cape and Limpopo lined up to tell the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) to turn down Eskom's proposed electricity tariff increase and expand free power for low-income households, according to Scrolla.africa.

Under the Eskom plan, directly supplied customers would face an average 8.83% rise from 1 April 2027, Scrolla.africa reported. Municipalities would pay 8.84% more from 1 July 2027.

The groups said the 50 kWh monthly Free Basic Electricity allocation falls short and is difficult for qualifying households to access, pressing for a larger amount aimed more precisely at households in energy poverty. Zodwa Rannyadi of Soweto Cultural Senior Citizens put the figure at 350 kWh per household as a floor, saying 50 kWh leaves unemployed people short.

The higher tariffs, the groups said, could worsen energy poverty and squeeze households already paying more for food, transport and housing.

Finance Minister Taiwo Oyedele set a 30-day price cut on petrol sold through government-owned pump stations and said the measure does not amount to a subsidy, according to Semafor Net Zero.

That denial drew criticism from President Bola Tinubu's top challengers, and analysts widely rejected the claim that the discount is not a subsidy, Semafor Net Zero reported.

The earlier removal of Nigeria's fuel subsidy pushed petrol prices up sharply, with the strain deepened by the Iran war cutting energy supplies, according to Semafor Net Zero.

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and energy transition experts have called for workers and host communities to have greater involvement in developing and implementing Nigeria's energy transition policies, according to The Gazelle News.

The push centers on including both groups in the formulation and implementation stages of the policies.

One of the earliest uses of the term "energy transition" appears in US President Jimmy Carter's Address to the Nation on Energy, according to JD Supra.