As has been widely discussed in the aftermath of President Trump’s decision to withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal, the return of sanctions on Iran could disrupt oil shipments, with estimates ranging from essentially nothing to as much as 1 million barrels per day of Iranian supply going offline. But the decision also could put an end to the OPEC agreement, writes Nick Cunningham of Oilprice.com. … [Read more...]
Archives for May 2018
The extremism of Donald Trump
Now that Donald Trump has blown up the  Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) on Iran, which he accuses of supporting “extremism and terrorism”, it seemed appropriate to hold up a mirror to the U.S. and ask whether perhaps that country has itself become an “extremist” state. No one better suited for this task than Tom Engelhardt, author a new book, A Nation Unmade by War, and editor of the website Tomdispatch.com, which has been documenting … [Read more...]
How the European Commission, European Court of Justice and Member States are scaring away investors in the energy sector
Both EU institutions and member states are actively undermining the investment climate in the energy sector, writes Alan Riley, Senior Fellow at the Institute for Statecraft in London. The European Commission is undermining investor protection by its determination to apply EU state aid law to arbitration awards. Member States are disrupting investor expectations through arbitrary political interventions in the energy sector. Worst of all, the … [Read more...]
Energy companies under pressure to improve non-financial reporting – “the accountants are taking over”
Most energy companies today report on their climate, environmental and social impacts. In the EU they are even legally obliged to do so. But how transparent are these reports? How can they be compared? And how will they be used by investors and policymakers? Clare Taylor spoke to a number of experts and learned that energy companies are increasingly under pressure to improve their non-financial reporting – and that there is more legislation to … [Read more...]
EU policy must wake up to carbon dioxide removal
Most scenarios to meet the Paris Agreement’s targets require negative emissions technologies. However, carbon dioxide removal is not part of the EU’s climate policy yet. Its integration presents a serious challenge to the EU’s low-carbon policy paradigm and experience, write Oliver Geden of the German Institute for International and Security Affairs, Vivian Scott of the University of Edinburgh and James Palmer of the University of Bristol. … [Read more...]
Interview Iberdrola’s Director of Climate Change Saenz de Mira: “Europe is losing leadership” (Energy Post Weekly)
“In renewables there are more investments today in the US and China”, says Gonzalo Saenz de Miera, Director of Climate Change at Iberdrola, a world leader in renewables, in an interview with Energy Post. “Europe is losing its leadership.” Saenz de Miera calls for a binding target for 2050, not just 2030, and for it to be more ambitious than the current 80-95% greenhouse gas emission reduction. He also advocates “polluter pays” taxation that puts … [Read more...]
Six reasons to be more optimistic about climate change than five years ago
There are reasons to be more optimistic about climate change now than five years ago, writes climate change economist Adam Whitmore. Several trends, including emissions reduction, carbon pricing or investment into low-carbon technologies, make it appear that the worst of the risks of climate change can be avoided. Courtesy Whitmore's blog On Climate Change Policy … [Read more...]
The Iran nuclear deal: to leave or not to leave
The future of the Iran nuclear deal hangs in the balance as the May 12 deadline set by US President Trump to “fix” the deal or walk away from it approaches. Rachel Brandenburg, director of the Atlantic Council’s Middle East Security Initiative interviews Matthew Kroenig, deputy director for strategy in the Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security, and Aaron Stein, senior fellow in the Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East, about whether the … [Read more...]
China’s growing oil demand creates a new geopolitical dilemma
China has become the world’s largest oil importer, and despite establishing the largely successful yuan-denominated oil futures, Beijing will have to grapple with an overlooked geopolitical and economic consequence as it seeks to quench its thirst for oil and gas, writes Tim Daiss of Oilprice.com. The country, mighty as it is, will become more dependent on OPEC, Russia - and even the U.S. Article courtesy Oilprice.com. … [Read more...]
Donald Trump versus OPEC
OPEC does have a role in today’s higher oil prices, but is this bad for the U.S., as Donald Trump is claiming? According to independent energy analyst Geoffrey Styles, in the new oil world, the U.S. economy may not be worse off with higher oil prices, even if consumers pay more at the pump. … [Read more...]
The dangers of green technology-forcing
Current technology-forcing policies imply that wind and solar power, combined with battery electric vehicles, represent our only viable energy future, observes independent researcher Schalk Cloete. Given the fundamental limitations of these technologies, this is a very dangerous notion, he argues. A shift to technology-neutral policies is needed, especially in developing nations. … [Read more...]
Gas Geoeconomics in Europe: make Russia a “normal” gas supplier again
To protect Europe from Russian gas coercion, the U.S. should take the unorthodox step of investing in European gas infrastructure, write Gabriel Collins and Anna Mikulska of the Baker Institute’s Center for Energy Studies.  Such a "geoeconomics-based strategy" would help blunt and deflect the Kremlin’s gas wedge. … [Read more...]
Egypt’s $60 billion bet on nuclear energy
Rosatom’s recent deal with Egypt to build a 4800 MW capacity nuclear plant is one of the largest nuclear energy deals in this century, writes Dan Yurman nuclear energy specialist and author of the Neutron Bytes blog. It is one of several giant nuclear projects taking shape in the Middle East, Yurman notes. … [Read more...]