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.

Nearly three-quarters of Japanese companies support abandoning nuclear power after last year's Fukushima disaster, although a majority set the condition that alternative energy resources must be secured, a Reuters poll showed on Friday.

The poll offers fresh evidence of the deep public distrust of nuclear power, the role of which the government is reconsidering after the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami that wrecked the Fukushima nuclear plant, triggering a radiation crisis that caused mass evacuations and widespread contamination.

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.

China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) Limited, the listed unit of the country's largest offshore oil producer, announced Thursday that the company has made a new oil discovery in the Bohai Sea.

According to CNOOC Ltd, the new discovery LD 21-2 is located in the inverted structure belt of LD 22-27 in south Liaodong Bay, with its south part adjacent to LD 27-2 oilfield. The average water depth is 20 meters.

The Ministry of Finance (MOF) announced Thursday that central government-funded expenditures on energy savings and emission reductions as well as on renewable energies development will total 97.9 billion yuan ($15.5 billion) this year, up 25.1 billion yuan from 2011.

The government's accumulative "green" investment will hit 170 billion yuan in 2012, the MOF said.

Meanwhile, the central government has budgeted 25.5 billion yuan in subsidies for expanding the consumption of energy-saving household electrical appliances this year, according to the MOF.

Bangladesh has become the partner of UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon's initiative styled "Sustainable Energy for all".

UN chief's special envoy and senior adviser to the initiative Luis Gomes formally informed Bangladesh's inclusion to this initiative to the Environment and Forest Minister Dr Hasan Mahmud when he called on him at the latter's office here on Wednesday. In a written statement, Ban Ki Moon said, the main objective of the initiative is to protect the world from pollution, poverty and ensure economic development.

People in eight remote villages in Eheliyagoda electorate received electricity supply at a cost of Rs. 2.1million under the Vidulamu Lanka project.

Funds were allocated on a request made by SLFP organizer for Eheliyagoda, Technology and Research Minister Pavithra Wanniarachchi to Power and Energy Deputy Minister Premalal Jayasekara. Sabaragamuwa Provincial Council Member Kanchana Jayarathna commissioned the projects recently with the participation of community leaders in the area.

In an otherwise ‘electricity surplus’ Gujarat, the International Finance Corporation, a member of the World Bank Group, on Thursday announced a partnership with the Self-Employed Women’s Association (SEWA) for providing solar stoves and lanterns to its two lakh rural women members in the State.

For this, IFC will provide a partial credit guarantee for a $5-million (about Rs 250 crore) loan that ICICI Bank is providing to SEWA-sponsored Grassroots Trading Network for Women (GTNW).

11th plan target could not be met due to environmental problems

The Planning Commission and Power Ministry are believed to have reached a consensus over fixing the capacity addition target at 90,000 MW for the next five years. Earlier, Power Ministry had proposed a target of adding 76,000 MW in the current 12th Five Year Plan (2012-17), keeping fuel constraints in mind. On the other hand Planning Commission wanted the target to be 1,00,000 MW, as the power demand is very high.

Bhubaneswar: Finance minister Prafulla Chandra Ghadai on Thursday urged the Centre to waive all taxes levied on petrol and roll back the hike to avoid a major economic disaster. Reacting to the Rs 7.50-paise hike per litre of petrol, he said the common people would be hit hard and it would affect the transport sector the maximum.