Thanks to massive cost reduction, renewable energy can now be used by developing countries in their industrial growth strategies, which was unthinkable until recently, writes John Mathews of Macquarie University in Australia in a new publication from UNIDO, "Promoting Climate Resilient Industry". Mathews notes that renewables can help countries expand manufacturing and create jobs, reduce local pollution, increase energy security and reduce … [Read more...]
Archives for December 2015
COP21: a deal is in the making
As we enter the second week of the worldâs make-or-break UN climate conference, the elements of a new global climate agreement are falling into place. It will provide energy companies the world over with the certainty of a long-term climate goal and of a push from governments to make them pay for their greenhouse gas emissions. But it will also recognise that the world has changed since the Kyoto Protocol and that emerging economies like China … [Read more...]
The Autowende has begun
In the next 60 months the automotive industry will see more change than in the last 60 years, writes entrepreneur Michiel Langezaal. He notes that Asian and US manufacturers are putting massive resources into developing batteries, electric drive trains and solar cells. Nothing like this is happening on a similar scale in Europe. European car and energy companies need to go all-out for the Autowende or Europe will miss out on the next trillion … [Read more...]
Apocalypse when?
Global warming is a slow-motion apocalypse that might end civilization as we know it, writes author Tom Engelhardt of Tomdispatch.com. According to Engelhardt, to prevent such an outcome, âsuccessful negotiations in Paris can only be the start of something far more sweeping when it comes to the forms of energy we use and how we live on this planetâ . … [Read more...]
Why corporate sustainability won’t solve climate change
In the run-up to the much-anticipated COP21 international climate summit in Paris, business leaders worldwide have shown substantial support for action on greenhouse gases, writes David L. Levy, Director of the Center for Sustainable Enterprise at the University of Massachusetts Boston. But according to Levy, voluntary corporate efforts wonât solve the climate problem. We need massive structural changes in our energy and transportation systems. … [Read more...]
Why Nordstream 2 risks failure
The Nordstream 2 gas pipeline that Gazprom and a number of major European energy companies, have agreed to build, faces formidable political, legal and economic obstacles that may make the project undeliverable, writes Alan Riley, professor at City Law School in London and nonresident Senior Fellow with the Atlantic Councilâs Global Energy Center. According to Riley, the overarching problem Gazprom and its partners Shell, Engie, Wintershall, OMV … [Read more...]
Energiewende is easily affordable – if we don’t go 100% renewable
Researchers from Fraunhofer ISE have published a new report investigating the net cost of Germanyâs energy transition. The good news is that the German governmentâs current goals are likely to be affordable. The bad news is that 100 percent renewable energy is less so, writes Craig Morris of the website German Energy Transition. … [Read more...]
Energy Union as âenergy democracyâ
Citizens are at the core of the EUâs most ambitious energy strategy to date, the Energy Union, according to the European Commission. But how exactly could they get involved? Since 2012 social scientists with the R&Dialogue project have been working on processes to engage citizens, NGOs and industry in the energy transition. Their conclusion: citizens and companies should cooperate in participatory, âdemocraticâ structures to create a … [Read more...]
State of the Energy Union: the political work has yet to be done
The European Commission appears to be making a valiant effort at getting the Energy Unionâs goals internalised into an institutional process that does not scare off Member States wary of âmore Europeâ. However, writes Oliver Sartor of the Institute for Sustainable Development and International Relations (IDDRI), the key test for the Energy Union will be how well it can succeed at getting Member States to buy into its objectives. The Energy Union … [Read more...]
viEUws VIDEO: Brussels Briefing on Energy for December 2015
Brussels correspondent Hughes Belin reports on the EU's first ever State of the Energy Union report, with details on achievements to date and legislative proposals to come in 2016. He notes the many challenges the internal energy market still faces, notably from national capacity markets. The European Commission has fleshed out its thinking on a new governance system for energy, including obligations for Member States. EU Energy Ministers … [Read more...]
Stanford: world can go 100% wind, water, sun by 2050 – and save money
Reneweconomy.com A new analysis from Stanford University has laid out a roadmap for 139 countries to power their economies with solar, wind, and hydro energy by 2050. It says the world can reach 80 per cent WWS (wind, water and sunlight) by 2030 and 100 per cent by 2050 with no impact on economic growth. … [Read more...]