Global Trends in Renewable Energy Investment 2015 is the eighth edition of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) report. Based on data from Bloomberg New Energy Finance, it has become the world’s foremost reference document on renewable energy investment, and for the examination of trends by region, country, sector and investment type. The report, commissioned by the Frankfurt School-UNEP Collaborating Centre, can be downloaded from http://fs-unep-centre.org/publications/global-trends-renew...

Imagine life without electricity. With no lights, electric stove, or water pump, you must travel miles to fetch water and firewood, running a particular risk of attack if you are a girl or a woman. At home, you cook over a smoky stove or an open fire, raising your odds of getting lung and heart disease. If you are pregnant, you may die in the dark, giving birth at a clinic that lacks air conditioning and modern medical equipment. Without vaccines, which require refrigeration, your children remain vulnerable to deadly diseases. At night, they study by the light of a kerosene lamp, which causes burns when the fuel spills. Earning a living isn’t easy, either. No electricity means no sewing machines or rice mills, no pumps for irrigating crops, and no way to keep drinks cold or keep a store...

Infrastructure major GMR India is to enter into an agreement with Bangladesh to export 500 MW electricity from two hydropower projects it is constructing in Nepal, according to officials here. GMR has already signed an agreement with the Nepal government to build the 900-MW Upper Karnali project in western Nepal and is in the final stages of acquiring permission for constructing the 600-MW Upper Marsyangdi-II project in central Nepal. An agreement for the export of power to Bangladesh will be signed during the three-day regional energy conference star...

Chancellor George Osborne is facing renewed calls to reform North Sea oil and gas taxation as experts warn of an economic “triple whammy” for the industry. David Glen, head of tax at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) in Scotland, said there is a “real danger” plunging oil prices could result in investment becoming uneconomic, leading to diminishing field life and speeding up decommissioning. The latest economic report from the University of Strathclyde’s Fraser of Allander Institute, sponsored by PwC, joins calls for the Chancellor to take act...