China's central government plans to spend 170 billion yuan ($27 billion) this year to promote energy conservation, emission reductions and renewable energy, the Ministry of Finance said in a statement on its website on Thursday.

The ministry said China plans to promote more use of energy-saving products and low or no-emission power generation such as solar and wind. It also wants to accelerate the development of renewable energy, as well as energy-saving technologies, such as electric and hybrid cars.

Record growth over the last year pushed the UK green goods and services market past the £122bn mark, according to new government figures that reveal the low carbon economy now employs almost one million people.

The sector grew 4.7 per cent against the 2009/10 figure of £116.8bn, providing an additional £5.4bn of economic activity as green industries continued to defy the sluggish progress made by the rest of the economy.

Even as drought persists in parts of Kenya's arid north, intense rains are claiming lives in other parts of the country – flooding slums in the capital Nairobi, sweeping away hikers in the Rift Valley, and destroying crops.

Many Kenyans shake their heads in dismay at the increasingly extreme and volatile weather, which is costing money as well as lives in east Africa's economic powerhouse.

The Asian Development Bank has announced participation in its first Shariah-compliant project financing by providing assistance to two projects to build wind farms near Karachi, using two partial credit guarantees worth up to $66 million to the Islamic Development Bank.

IDB will use the assistance to finance two projects that will each produce 50MW of much-needed additional power for Pakistan and lower reliance on fossil fuels.

The wind farms will avoid greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to 136,000 tons of carbon dioxide per year.

Tamil Nadu is now a leader in renewable energy, with one of the largest regional installation of wind farms. The state has excellent solar energy potential. It is also blessed with abundant biomass resources.

Being one of the most industrialised states in the country, and known for its excellence in technology, research and academia, the state has the potential to become a global leader in renewable energy.

Morocco plans to speed up tender processes for the development of a 2,000-megawatt solar energy plan, starting with the award this year of a first contract for 160 megawatts to be generated using concentrated-solar technology (CSP).

Mustafa Bakkoury, who chairs the Moroccan Agency for Solar Energy (Masen), said a winning consortium for that first phase of a 500-megawatt solar power plant, in the southern region of Ouarzazate, would be announced by the start of summer.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has participated in its first Shariah-compliant project financing, providing assistance to two projects to build wind farms close to the port city of Karachi, using two partial credit guarantees worth up to $66 million to the Islamic Development Bank (IDB).

“This transaction allows ADB to be more responsive to borrower demand and provides an opportunity to participate in the fast-growing Islamic finance market,” said ADB’s Private Sector Operations Department Senior Investment Specialist Siddhartha Shah.

Britain's ageing nuclear reactors, which were due to close in the next decade, are set to be kept open under a plan approved by the industry's regulator.

In a move that could have far-reaching implications for the government's energy policy, the Office for Nuclear Regulation has told the Guardian it is working with the country's dominant nuclear operator, the French-owned company EDF, to extend the life of its eight nuclear power stations in the UK, and that it is "content for the plants to continue to operate", as long as they pass regular safety tests.

The U.K. government Tuesday published its long-awaited draft Energy Bill, which contains mechanisms and incentives designed to encourage some GBP110 billion investment in low-carbon energy such as offshore wind and new nuclear power stations.

With around a quarter of the U.K.'s power generating capacity closing by the end of the decade as aging nuclear and old coal plants are shuttered, the legislation is part of government plans to keep the lights on while meeting binding climate change targets.

Wind developers in Pakistan have raised $133m in finance needed to press on with 100MW of capacity in the country.

The Islamic Development Bank (IDB) and Asian Development Bank, plus a consortium of local institutions, arranged the transaction under Islamic finance terms.

The deal will allow co-developers the Fauji Foundation and Tapal Group to build two wind farms in Sindh province.

The National Transmission and Distribution Company (NTDC) has signed long-term agreements to buy the power produced, says the IDB.