In this Brussels Briefing on Environment for viEUws.eu, correspondent Sonja van Renssen provides an overview of the latest EU environment policy developments. … [Read more...]
The Energy Union: “a holistic approach to the energy transition”
The EU’s great new project of an “Energy Union” will represent “for the first time a holistic approach to how we need to achieve the energy transition,” said the man in charge, Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič, at a press conference in Brussels last week. His colleague, Climate and Energy Commissioner Miguel Arias Cañete, at a grand Energy Union in Riga on Friday, revealed a long list of actions to be subsumed under the Energy Union concept, but with … [Read more...]
Six steps to prepare the European energy system for the future
The European energy system is feeling increasing strain from the effects of the energy transition. New regulatory and business models are urgently needed, in particular to cope with the increasing share of variable energy sources. Pieter Boot of the Netherlands Environment Assessment Agency (PBL) and Jacques de Jong of the Clingendael International Energy Programme (CIEP) offer six practical suggestions to prepare our energy system for a … [Read more...]
India’s energy and climate change challenge
The US and India have signed a deal to "enhance cooperation" on cutting emissions and investing in low carbon energy sources. The agreement is much weaker than the historic pact signed between the US and China last year. But there are a number of good reasons India is reluctant to take strong action to curb its emissions in the short term. Mat Hope of the Carbon Brief describes India's huge energy and climate challenge. … [Read more...]
A “J’Accuse” from an ex-EU official: only a real Energy Union can save the EU energy market
An “Energy Union” in Europe means that an EU-level organisation will balance the flows of electricity, not national transmission system operators. And it means the EU will ensure security of supply - not the national member states. That is the vision of Jean-Arnold Vinois, until recently Director in charge of the internal energy market at the European Commission and co-author of a groundbreaking report from Notre Europe (Jacques Delors Institute) … [Read more...]
Bulgaria – the EU’s next gasless gas hub (Or: is Bulgaria trying to become the new Ukraine?)
In response to the cancellation of South Stream, the Bulgarian government has launched a programme to turn Bulgaria into a “gas hub” for the region – an initiative welcomed by the European Commission and the United States. Anca Elena Mihalache, Senior Analyst at the Romanian think tank Energy Policy Group, notes that Bulgaria has few sources of gas other than Russia and does not have a good record in creating liberalized energy markets. … [Read more...]
Eon’s transformation: how it will change the energy debate in Europe
With Eon’s historic decision to restructure we now for the first time will have a large energy supplier not being pulled in two directions, but acting on the single imperative of bringing new energy solutions to customers. This removes one of the key obstacles that has been hindering the energy transition, writes Simon Skillings, former Director of Strategy and Policy at Eon UK and now independent consultant and associate at environmental think … [Read more...]
The vulnerability of our electric utility system to cyber attacks
As our electric utility system is moving from dumb and centralized to smart and decentralized, it is becoming increasingly vulnerable to cyber attacks. Are utility executives paying sufficient attention to these serious new risks? Energy expert Allan Hoffman, a former senior official at the U.S. Department of Energy, says the SONY hacking case should serve as a wake-up call to the energy industry. … [Read more...]
UK “capacity market” is not a market – it’s state aid (£1 billion/year)
The UK is the first country in the EU to have started a “capacity market”. Under this scheme, the UK government offers payments to electricity suppliers for making “backup capacity” available. The first auction, held in December for capacity in 2018/2019, has resulted in contracts for £931 million for UK power generators. According to Mike Parr, Director of energy consultancy PWR, most of this money is wasted. He says the scheme is overgenerous … [Read more...]
Europe does not need the Southern Gas Corridor
The Southern Gas Corridor, the EU’s major energy diversification project, is not only unnecessary in light of gas demand projections, but also falls short on the goal of bringing energy independence from Russia. It involves large subsidies to Russian company Lukoil and it strengthens another authoritarian regime, that of Azerbaijan. Those are the main conclusions of a new study, “Pipe Dreams”, written by a group of NGO's: CEE Bankwatch Network, … [Read more...]
Christoph Frei, World Energy Council: “The real hope for ‘Paris’ is to see a connected carbon market started by the big players”
On 20 January, the World Energy Council (WEC) will publish its World Energy Issues Monitor – an annual survey of over 1,000 energy leaders in over 80 countries. WEC’s Secretary-General Christoph Frei notes the biggest changes compared to last year are that energy leaders have become more concerned with security of supply (Russia) and cyber-security. Price volatility and climate framework remain at the top of the worries list. In an in-depth … [Read more...]
Failure to liberalise energy retail markets jeopardizes Energy Union
The liberalisation and integration of European energy retail markets is still far from complete, conclude Simona Benedettini of Italian consulting firm Lear and Carlo Stagnaro of the Italian think tank Bruno Leoni Institute on the basis of extensive research. According to Benedettini and Stagnaro retail competition is still weak in many EU member states. Moreover, there are still large regulatory differences between countries which prevent the … [Read more...]
Measuring the CO2 impact of big infrastructure projects: the case of Keystone XL
Major energy infrastructure projects will be more and more put to a climate test. In the US, for example, draft environmental legislation adopted last year stipulates that climate analysis of federal projects should include “downstream” emissions. In future it will not be so easy for companies to say “if we don’t do it, somebody else will”. But how do you measure indirect climate effects? The Stockholm Environment Institute is one place where … [Read more...]
viEUws VIDEO: Top 5 Environment – All you need to know for the Latvian EU Presidency
In this special briefing for viEUws.eu, Brussels-based journalist Sonja van Renssen identifies the top 5 environment issues that will be discussed by the European institutions under the Latvian EU Presidency. … [Read more...]
The implications of $50-a-barrel oil for the world’s energy mix
Oil prices keep sliding, sending economic shockwaves around the world. Analysts are scrambling to try and understand what it means for the world's future energy mix and efforts to cut emissions. But the relationship between oil prices and energy investments is complex, writes Mat Hope for The Carbon Brief. Much depends on how low the price goes as, beyond a certain point, lots of projects are no longer economically viable. … [Read more...]
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