"The money is a key component in the push for a global agreement this year to limit global warming."

"Back in 2006, SolarCity was a small Bay Area solar energy startup with a handful of employees. Before long, according to CEO Lyndon Rive, the company was doubling in size every year to keep up with voracious demand for rooftop solar systems. Today, the company has over 9,000 employees spread across 65 offices nationwide; they’re are busy every day designing, selling, and installing solar systems."

"U.S. solar companies boosted their employee rolls by 22 percent last year, and now employ 86 percent more workers than they did in 2010, driven by rising demand in the world’s third-largest market."

"In 2010, China set in motion a wave of worry around the globe when it dramatically lowered quotas on its exports of rare earth elements, which are crucial to the making of everything from cellphones to missile systems to electric-car batteries. China held 95 percent of the world's supply."

"Oil prices took another sharp turn downward on Monday to levels not seen since the depths of the 2009 recession. Several international banks predicted even lower prices later this year because of an oversupplied global crude market."

"International trade agreement proposals could roll back protections from harmful pesticides in the US and EU, according to a new report expected to be released Wednesday."

"Plummeting oil prices are bad news for much of Canada, which runs its economy largely on oil. But cheap oil has some positive benefits for Canadians, too."

"American oil and gas companies have gone heavily into debt during the energy boom, increasing their borrowings by 55% since 2010, to almost $200 billion."

"Oil prices tumbled below $50 a barrel on Monday, spooking global financial markets and signaling that the remarkable 50 percent price drop since June was continuing this year and even quickening."

"The electric power generation sector lost more than 5,800 jobs over the last three years, according to an Energy Department stat shop. The losses hit all energy sources across electric power except for renewables, the Energy Information Administration said on Friday."