It has been another record year for renewable energy, despite the Covid-19 pandemic and rising costs for raw materials around the world, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). About 290GW of new renewable energy generation capacity, mostly in the form of wind turbines and solar panels, has been installed around the world this year, beating the previous record last year. On current trends, renewable energy generating capacity will exceed that of fossil fuels and nuclear energy combined by 2026. – Guardian
An 11th hour bid has been launched to try to halt plans by Royal Dutch Shell to explore for oil in vital whale breeding grounds along the Wild Coast of eastern South Africa. Campaigners filed an urgent legal challenge against the seismic survey, which was scheduled to begin on Wednesday, in a last-ditch bid to prevent it harming whales, dolphins and seals in the relatively untouched marine environment. – Guardian
Directors at the money transfer company Wise have told its billionaire chief executive to hire professional advisers after he was fined for defaulting on his taxes Wise said its board had launched a review after Kristo Kaarmann, its co-founder, was penalised for late payment of his personal tax bill in 2017/18. – Telegraph
The healthcare technology company led by Lord Drayson, the former business and science minister, has been fined and censured by the London stock exchange for “serious failures” relating to the secret payment of £1 million of executive bonuses, including to the peer. An investigation by the exchange has found that Sensyne Health misled Peel Hunt, the company’s nominated adviser, over cash bonuses of £850,000 to Drayson, the founder, chief executive and largest shareholder, and £200,000 to Lorimer Headley, its chief financial officer at the time. – The Times
Financial firms face a “shock” rise of more than 90 per cent in the minimum cost of being regulated, under new proposals from the City watchdog. The Financial Conduct Authority’s regulatory fee and levies proposals for next year set out an increase from £1,151 to £2,200 in what firms must pay. The plans relate to its “Block A” category, which includes small firms paying the minimum cost of being regulated. The amount a firm pays depends on the type and extent of regulated activity it carries out and how much it costs to oversee those activities. – The Times
