According to analysts from UK investment bank HSBC, the low oil price is on balance good for the climate. French private investment firm Kepler Chevreux goes a step further and sees the oil price collapse as one of a number of signals indicating a global energy transition is underway. "The debate over fossil fuels now touches not only on the climate, but on global financial stability." Giles Parkinson of Reneweconomy.com.au has the story. … [Read more...]
Archives for January 2015
Governments can reshape the energy business: they are the biggest users
In our energy system we treat electricity as a commodity, which is sold by the unit, writes Walt Patterson, Associate Fellow at Chatham House. This provides an incentive to suppliers to maximise consumption â which is why our user-technology is so wasteful. But according to Patterson, electricity is not a commodity, itâs a process in infrastructure. What matters is not the functioning of some âelectricity marketâ but long-term investment in this … [Read more...]
2015: an energy year in which everything gets connected?
It is often said that there are major trade-offs between energy security, equity and sustainability. But what if this is a misconception? Energy Post editor Karel Beckman argues that by creating a new sustainable energy system we can at the same time advance energy security and reduce energy poverty. … [Read more...]