EU Environment Ministers have agreed the EU’s negotiating position for UN climate talks at COP21 in Paris in December. But COP21 is not the only event keeping the institutions busy, says environment journalist Sonja van Renssen: several reforms and reviews are expected in the coming weeks and months, among which a new circular economy package, and progress on EU ETS reform and the highly controversial NEC directive talks. … [Read more...]
China announces national emission trading scheme – experts react
China will launch a national emission trading scheme. In a joint US-China climate statement, issued as part of President Xi Jinping’s state visit to the United States, China said its new trading sytem will cover “key industry sectors such as iron and steel, power generation, chemicals, building materials, paper-making, and nonferrous metals”. On The Conversation, four experts react to this news. "How interesting that China the communist country … [Read more...]
“Mercedes, BMW and Peugeot models consume 50% more fuel than official results”
New cars, including the Mercedes A, C and E class, BMW 5 series and Peugeot 308, are now swallowing around 50% more fuel than their lab test results reveal, according to new on-the-road results compiled by NGO Transport & Environment (T&E). T&E calls for a comprehensive investigation into both air pollution and fuel economy tests across Europe and a complete overhaul of the testing system. … [Read more...]
China and US: new climate commitments, common vision
US President Obama and Chinese President Xi announced far-reaching new climate policy proposals on 25 September during Xi's state visit in Washington DC. Ahead of the UN Climate Summit (COP21) in Paris in December, they came out with several new pledges in areas such as climate finance and energy efficiency standards. Moreover, China announced the launch of a national emission trading system in 2017 and the implementation of a new green dispatch … [Read more...]
Paris, give us carbon pricing, but give us market mechanisms too!
The world’s leading energy companies and investors, represented by the World Energy Council, have made it crystal clear they consider carbon pricing essential to generate sufficient investment for a low-carbon future, writes Joan MacNaughton, Chair of the World Energy Trilemma project of the World Energy Council. But according to MacNaughton, it is vital that policymakers in Paris don’t just put a price on carbon, but also allow for market … [Read more...]
Paris climate summit: EU chooses transformation over decarbonisation
European environment ministers have agreed a negotiating mandate for the EU for the UN climate conference in Paris in December (COP21). Under the influence of Poland and other Eastern European countries, they couched the EU’s ambitions in terms of “transformation” and “climate neutrality”, rather than decarbonisation, leaving room for coal and gas use with carbon capture and storage. The EU is also shifting from a “narrow focus on accounting” of … [Read more...]
“I fear we will see radicalisation” if Paris flops, says Connie Hedegaard, chair of 2009 Copenhagen summit
If 'Paris' flops, “there will still be lots of climate summits, but ministers will stop coming, the top people will not attend, the air will go out of it”, said Connie Hedegaard, former EU Climate Commissioner who led the word’s  last crucial climate talks in Copenhagen in 2009, at a meeting of the Sydney Democracy Network. She warned that “Paris will probably deliver, but if it doesn’t, I fear we will see a radicalisation”. Professor Nick Rowley … [Read more...]
How companies can determine their fair climate share
If energy-intensive industries were to get together and make joint climate pledges, how could they determine what would be a fair and significant contribution for each company? There are new tools available for this, including so-called Science Based Targets used by organisations like WWF, the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) and the World Resources Institute (WRI), writes Rolf de Vos in a new post on the Ecofys Paris Climate blog hosted by Energy … [Read more...]
Standardising energy efficiency: US initiative aims to transform European market
Energy efficiency remains one of the most intractable transition challenges. There are now finally plenty of funds available, yet progress remains slow. To overcome the last hurdles, major new initiatves have started up aiming to standardise energy efficiency processes to make it easier to invest in them. One of these is the Investor Confidence Project (ECP), originated by the Environmental Defense Fund. Goal: to turn energy efficiency projects … [Read more...]
Four reasons Jeremy Corbyn’s innovative energy policy is no 80s throwback
What would be the energy policy of a UK Labour government under Jeremy Corbyn, its newly elected leader? Citing Corbyn’s recently published manifesto, Protecting Our Planet, Stephen Hall, Research Fellow at the University of Leeds, argues that it would be anything but a throwback to the past. On the contrary, it meets the issues of today in innovative and practical ways. … [Read more...]
The Urgenda judgment: a “victory” for the climate that is likely to backfire
The Dutch government has decided to appeal the widely publicised “Urgenda” ruling from the district court in The Hague, ordering the Netherlands to step up its climate change actions. According to Lucas Bergkamp, Partner at Hunton & Williams and Emeritus Professor of International Environmental Liability Law at Erasmus University Rotterdam, there are good reasons why we should hope that the court of appeals will overturn the ruling. According … [Read more...]
Brussels moves against bilateral investment treaties within EU, undermines Energy Charter
The European Commission is stepping up efforts to root out intra-EU investment arbitration cases. Brussels feels it should have sole power over EU investment policy. Yet by doing so it is also putting pressure on the international Energy Charter Treaty, on which many of these cases are based. As a result, while the Commission wants the ECT to expand internationally,  it is undermining support for it at home. Italy recently even pulled out of the … [Read more...]
Global coal boom? It ends as China and world wake up to reality of carbon pollution
The idea that the world is experiencing a coal renaissance, as is sometimes assumed or proclaimed by observers, is mistaken, writes Joseph Romm, editor of the weblog Climate Progress. According to Romm, the coal boom of the first decade of the 21st Century has stalled. And there is every reason to expect that it is over for good. … [Read more...]
The Eurasian Big Bang: how China and Russia are carving out their own world order
While politicians in the United States are outdoing each other condemning the Iran nuclear agreement, the rest of the world is moving on, writes Asia Times correspondent Pepe Escobar. Virtually unreported by western media, China, Russia, India, Iran and other nations are establishing financial, economic, political and energy infrastructure partnerships that are changing global relations irrevocably. The EU meanwhile is mostly ignored. … [Read more...]
Interview Taner Yildiz, Energy Minister Turkey: “We will ensure security of supply through the market”
Turkey, faced with strong demand growth and high import dependency, is undertaking ambitious projects in new nuclear power, coal power and renewables. In an exclusive interview, Taner Yildiz, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, explains how the Turkish government is shaping the country's energy strategy, but notes that the private sector will have to make the investments. “Having put in place a transparent, competitive market structure, I … [Read more...]
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