A key stumbling block in the effort to combat global warming has been the intimate link between greenhouse gas emissions and economic growth. When times are good and industries are thriving, global energy use traditionally increases and energy-related carbon dioxide emissions also go up. Only when economies stumble and businesses shutter — as during the most recent financial crisis — does energy use typically decline, in turn bringing down planet-warming emissions.

A leaked European Commission paper concerned with the European Union’s energy union shows a preference for capacity mechanisms which will benefit coal-fired power plants within the bloc.

The overhaul of the EU electricity market, according to the document, should target ending national public support for renewables, while encouraging governments to pay energy companies in other member states for idle power stations.

New research shows that climate change mitigation efforts in Brazil's steel industry have failed. Instead of reducing greenhouse gas pollution, scientists discovered that programs under an international climate treaty led to an overall doubling of carbon dioxide emissions in the industry.

Nov. 21 (Bloomberg) -- Europe faces power shortages in the next decade unless it balances its drive for low-carbon energy with investment in clean-coal and nuclear generation, according to the International Energy Agency.

Policy makers must boost incentives for coal-fired power that includes carbon-capture technology and spur investment in new atomic plants to replace aging reactors, Maria van der Hoeven, the executive director of the IEA, said in an interview.

Faced with persistent power outages and dwindling gas reserves, Pakistan is embracing coal-fired power expansion, with a dozen new plants set for construction.

Bloomberg reports that the government is encouraging investment totalling $15bn that looks likely to see 10,000 MW of coal-fired power added to the country’s power mix by 2020.

FRANKFURT, Aug 14 (Reuters) - Germany's RWE reported a 40-percent plunge in first-half profits, blaming loss-making power plants and warning that power supplies were under threat unless an ongoing crisis in Europe's energy sector was fixed.

A new energy plan approved by Japan’s cabinet on April 11 designates coal an important long-term electricity source while falling short of setting specific targets for cleaner energy from wind, solar and geothermal. The policy also gives nuclear power the same prominence as coal in Japan’s energy strategy.