In 1978 a monumental multi-departmental study was submitted to President Carter concluding that âsolar energy could make a significant contribution to U.S. energy supply by the end of this centuryâ. The study, backed by 30 federal departments, stated that âeven with todayâs subsidized energy prices, many solar technologies are already economic.â Yet no action was taken and solar power and other renewable energies stagnated for over 30 years. … [Read more...]
Archives for June 2014
Kurdish oil will find its way out
In May, Iraqi-Kurdistan for the first time ever sold oil to international markets, defying a ban on oil exports from the central government in Baghdad. According to Friedbert PflĂźger, the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) will have no problems finding investors and customers to build up its potentially huge oil and gas business. With the current crisis in Iraq, Baghdad should come to terms with the KRG if it wants to share in the proceeds. … [Read more...]
The new Oil Wars in Iraq
Underlying much of the violence that has broken out in Iraq is a struggle to obtain control over Iraqâs oil resources or at least a âfair shareâ of oil revenues, writes Michael Schwartz, author of many books and articles including âWar Without End: The Iraq War in Contextâ. According to Schwartzâs analysis,the insurgents are attempting to accomplish by force what was denied to them by the central government: a portion of the proceeds from the … [Read more...]
Corruption serious barrier to sustainable energy system in southeast Europe
High-level corruption in the energy sector is seriously affecting countries in seven countries in South Eastern Europe, according to the study Winners and Losers: Who Benefits from High Level Corruption in the South East Europe Energy Sector?. NGOs who authored the report, Â launched 24 June in Brussels during a High Level Policy Conference, call upon EU institutions to treat the reform of the energy sector in South East Europe as an urgent … [Read more...]
A warning from the IPCC: the EU 2030âs climate target cannot be based on science alone
The European Union often emphasizes that it is pursuing a âscience-basedâ climate policy. The European Councilâs long-term emission reduction target of 80-95% by 2050 explicitly refers to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Thus, it came as a surprise for many European policymakers and stakeholders that the latest IPCC report did not offer any specific guidelines on future EU climate targets. … [Read more...]
An economic disaster in the making: how Europe is losing its energy efficiency lead
A European building retrofit programme could reduce Russian gas imports by 80%. A 40% energy saving target could  remove the need for Russian gas altogether. Yet the EU currently seems unwilling to impose the measures necessary to step up energy saving. As a result, European industry is rapidly losing its international lead in efficiency, which is crucial to its international competitiveness. What is more, European companies active in energy … [Read more...]
Capacity payments: expensive solution for a non-existing problem
As of 2015, the UK will be the first European country to launch a capacity mechanism that aims at rewarding power plants for the MWâs they can produce rather than the MWâs they actually generate. Similar plans are being  prepared in other countries, including Belgium, France and Germany. According to Benedict de Meulemeester, CEO of international energy procurement consultancy E&C, it is understandable that energy companies lobby for capacity … [Read more...]
VIDEO: Circular economy: âFrance aims to lead by exampleâ stresses French Sustainable Development official
In an exclusive interview with viEUws at Green Week 2014, Jean-Paul Albertini - French Executive Commissioner for Sustainable Development at the Ministry of Ecology, Sustainable Development and Energy - talks to viEUws.eu's leading environment journalist Sonja van Renssen about the implementation of circular economy in Europe. Albertini discusses the benefits which a circular economy could bring to Europe. He claims that such an economy … [Read more...]
The days of solar power may be closer than you think
Many people are unaware quite how close we are to reaching a critical milestone in the industry. Within a fairly short space of time, solar generated electricity will be fully cost competitive with coal-powered electricity -- at least if the governments of the world's two largest energy consuming nations have their way. … [Read more...]
VIDEO: “Europe must rediscover its ambition on climate change”, urges UNEP Executive Director
Achim Steiner, Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme(UNEP), meets with viEUws.eu's leading environment journalist Sonja van Renssen to talk about climate change goals and Europeâs role in the global climate negotiations. According to Steiner, countries are looking towards UN Climate Change Conferences in Paris and Lima as an opportunity to address climate change with a greater sense of ambition and urgency. However, how … [Read more...]
New BP Statistical Review shows US oil production increase helped avoid oil crisis
The new BP Statistical Review of World Energy 2014, published on 16 June, shows that the world only narrowly escaped an oil crisis last year, thanks to a large increase of production in the US. The figures in the famous Review â the publicationâs 63rd annual edition â show âhow geopolitical events in a number of countries continued to impact oil production in 2013, with Libya suffering the largest single decline in the face of renewed civil … [Read more...]
Oil and gas producers: we subsidise government, not vice versa
Oil and gas contribute hundreds of billions of euros to European government revenues every year, a new study shows, highlighting how the industry â far from being subsidised â crucially boosts public finances in the European Union and Norway. Energy taxation and subsidies in Europe, a study commissioned by the International Association of Oil & Gas Producers (OGP) and carried out by independent consultant NERA Economic Consulting, sheds … [Read more...]
Obamaâs Clean Power Plan: why itâs smarter than you think (and beats EU policy)
The Clean Power Plan recently announced by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has been hailed for its good intentions, but also widely criticized for its âmodestâ ambitions. What most commentators have failed to note, however, is that, compared to EU climate policies, Obamaâs plan is really a smart piece of legislation. It avoids the policy failures made by Brussels and lays a solid foundation for a successful low-carbon strategy. … [Read more...]
UN starts new hub to bring investment and innovation in clean energy to Asia and the Pacific
A new regional hub launched by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP), will help mobilize investment and innovative solutions to bring clean, modern energy to those who do not have it in Asia and the Pacific. The "Asia-Pacific Sustainable Energy for All" hub will gather governments, investors, … [Read more...]
How the EU should deal with the Ukraine gas crisis
The Russian decision, on 16 June, to halt gas supplies to Ukraine spells trouble for the coming winter. Even if the current crisis is resolved, uncertainties over Ukraine will remain. Therefore, the EU needs to prepare for another gas crisis, both in the short term, by establishing crisis mechanisms, and in the medium term, to prevent future crises. Agata Ĺoskot-Strachota of the Centre for Eastern Studies (OSW) in Poland sets out the urgent steps … [Read more...]