A long-awaited UN report on how to curb climate change says the world must rapidly move away from carbon-intensive fuels.

Concerns about nuclear safety drew tens of thousands of people in Taiwan to a street protest in Taipei on Saturday that called for the government to stop work on a nuclear reactor being built in the north of the earthquake-prone nation.

Saudi Arabia is fast becoming a leading investor in alternative energy with the government announcing various solar energy projects that are aimed to ensure sustainable long-term supply of energy across the Kingdom.

An audacious plan to lay a multibillion-dollar wind power transmission spine under the seabed from southern Virginia to the New York City area will take a step forward on Tuesday with an announcement of plans for the first leg, a 189-mile segment running from Jersey City to a spot south of Atlantic City.

Micron Technology said it will lay off at least 30 workers as it retreats on plans to develop energy-efficient lighting technology, a move that marks the latest blow to alternative energy initiatives in Idaho.

A reactor at South Korea's Younggwang nuclear power complex automatically shut down Monday afternoon after detecting signs of malfunctioning, an official at Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co., or KHNP, said Tuesday.

In an ironic scenario, just as India marked its 1GW milestone for solar photovoltaic installations, the nation was left "powerless" for two days in a row.

Global investment in clean energy surged 24% in the second quarter, primarily on the strength of a rise in spending on solar parks and wind farms in China.

Many politicians and anti-nuclear activists in other countries are joining the international outcry against Japan and its decision to restart two reactors at the nuclear power plant in Oi, Fukui Prefecture.

The UK offshore wind industry attracted GBP1.95 billion (US$3 billion) of investment in the last financial year as the government boosted the technology to curb emissions and secure energy supplies, Energy Secretary Ed Davey said today.

At first glance, Poland's renewable energy sector appears to be doing quite well, and the government's target of producing 10.4 per cent of the country's final energy consumption from renewable energy by 2012 has already been exceeded.

Air quality in all of the 32 Chinese cities that track pollution falls short of World Health Organisation guidelines. Beijing is among the world's most polluted cities.

According to a recent UN report, the number of renewable energy jobs doubled globally between 2007 and 2011 and millions more will be employed in the sector over the next 20 years.

After suffering losses last year amid US anti-subsidy and anti-dumping investigations, Chinese solar panel manufacturers may be seeing a light near the end of the tunnel: a nuclear-free Japan.

China mapped out investment of 5 trillion yuan ($738 billion) into alternative energy over the next decade, an official with the National Energy Administration (NEA) said Tuesday.

South Korea, Asia's fourth-biggest crude oil importer, is considering expanding the list of alternative-energy equipment eligible for a tax benefit to cut reliance on fossil fuels.

Taiwan and China should cooperate on energy conservation and environmental protection, the Chairman of the island's ruling party said in a speech on July 11.

Call them philanthropic or just call them smart investors, the bottom line is that Google wants to provide an alternate solution to the greenhouse gases of laden coal power generation in the US.

A senior Chinese official has said China wants to produce one-fifth of its energy needs from renewable sources by 2020, a significant increase on the current target.

China said it will introduce a preferential tariff it will pay energy companies that use solar power for their generating capacity, as part of the government's push for greater use of clean technology.

The SEMI PV Group has recommended that China should accelerate its adoption of PV-generated electricity to reach the global average by 2014.

Strong macro factors could boost solar companies, though weak demand, falling module prices and dim profit reports from Chinese solar companies could pressure the sector in the near term.

China's unprecedented growth in recent years has come at a terrible price. Ahead of most forecasts, China in 2008 passed the US to become the world's largest source of greenhouse gases.