EIA forecasts Brent prices will average $61/b in 2020; with prices averaging $58/b during the first half of the year and $64/b during the second half of the year. EIA forecasts the average Brent prices will rise to an average of $68/b in 2021.

Global energy-related CO2 emissions flattened in 2019 at around 33 gigatonnes (Gt), following two years of increases.

The European Commission’s “green deal” policy package, which was announced in December, will commit the European Union to achieve climate neutrality, emitting no more greenhouse gases beyond what can be absorbed, by 2050.

Renewable energy sources alone are not capable of fully decarbonising the economy, but they can complement nuclear energy in achieving this goal. The nuclear industry, led by World Nuclear Association, has set the Harmony goal for nuclear energy to provide 25% of global electricity by 2050. This will require trebling nuclear generation from its present level.

To limit global temperature rise to the necessary 1.5 degrees by the end of this century, we must reduce emissions by 45 per cent from 2010 levels by 2030, and we must achieve climate neutrality by 2050.

Levels of heat-trapping greenhouse gases in the atmosphere have reached another new record high, according to the World Meteorological Organization. This continuing long-term trend means that future generations will be confronted with increasingly severe impacts of climate change, including rising temperatures, more extreme weather, water stress, sea level rise and disruption to marine and land ecosystems.

The Swiss government has announced it will cut its greenhouse gas emissions to a net-zero level by 2050. According to Swiss government statistics, about 60% of Switzerland's electricity generation comes from renewable sources, most of it from hydro (56.6%). Nuclear contributes about 37.6% and about 2.5% comes from fossil fuels.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called on the European Union to aim for a 55% cut in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, far more than the bloc’s current target for a 40% reduction.

POWERMAG - A new study from an economic research group shows that U.S. emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) rose about 3.4% last year, including a 1.9% rise in emissions from power generation.