The EU is switching to greener bio-energies - or so they claim. Instead of coal, it is now to be wood pallets. But nature conservation regulations are being loosened for the extraction of the new hip bioenergy source. The wood pallets industry is causing massive deforestation. The concrete, disastrous effects for the climate can already be observed in the Estonian Haanja nature reserve, as the Guardian impressively describes.

OPEC assumes a "healthy recovery in economic activity" in 2021, forecasting reality nicely. Oil giants attempt damage control and quick recovery through optimistic market estimates. OPEC's growth forecast is reported by Bloomberg.

WaterNSW warns: Sydney's water supply is at risk from the Dendrobium expansion. Despite massive environmental damage already caused by the coal mine to the wetlands and waterscapes around Sydney, the Independent Planning Commission has now approved the expansion project. Up to 38 million litres a day could be lost as a result. The decision is due by 08 February.

The steady trend towards increasingly unprofitable coal and more renewables can also be seen in New South Wales. Australia's expansion plans are driving storage projects. The two largest energy storage facilities in the country are being considered at or near former power plants and could provide dispatchable capacity for the ever decreasing coal-fired power in the future. Read more here.