Ukraine’s conflict with Russia has left the Ukrainian gas market in a state of chaos. Russia has turned on the screws by raising the gas price for Ukraine, putting an intolerable burden on the Ukrainian government’s budget and threatening the country’s energy security, write Kinga DudziĹ„ska and Aleksandra Gawlikowska-Fyk of the Polish Institute of International Affairs (PISM). As more of than half of gas the EU imports from Russia passes through … [Read more...]
ExxonMobil releases report on stranded carbon asset risks
Climate activists are increasingly putting pressure on investors to withdraw investments from major fossil fuel companies, on the grounds that these companies' "carbon assets" are likely to be "stranded" in the future as the effects of climate change become too far-reaching for policymakers to ignore. In that event, the activists argue, the oil and other fossil fuel companies will not be allowed anymore to exploit their assets, which would leave … [Read more...]
Climate change: engineers more important than governments
The incoming president of the Institution of Chemical Engineers (IChemE), professor Geoff Maitland, is calling on engineers to take a leading role in the battle against climate change, and the transition to low carbon, renewable energies. Global energy consumption is expected to grow by over 50 percent by 2040 with fossil fuels continuing to dominate, providing up to 80 per cent of energy needs1. Over the same period, carbon dioxide … [Read more...]
EU, in search of an energy strategy, clutches at US “security”
European access to US liquid natural gas (LNG) exports would be “much easier” with a Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) in place, US President Barack Obama said at an EU-US summit in Brussels on 26 March, at which energy concerns took centre stage. But the real energy action is likely to take place next week at the EU-US Energy Council on 2 April, when the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs Catherine Ashton and Energy … [Read more...]
EU climate policy “in line” with 2050 goal – but what does that mean?
EU leaders agreed last week that the EU’s emissions reduction target for 2030 will be “fully in line with the agreed ambitious EU objective for 2050”. Sounds impressive, but the problem is that there are different views on the meaning of earlier European Council agreements. Therefore it’s still not clear what the EU’s 2030 climate target will look like, write Oliver Geden and Severin Fischer of the influential German Institute for International … [Read more...]
Energy innovation is key to EU 2030 goals
A narrative centred on the opportunities of low-carbon innovation rather than the costs of tackling climate change could yet unite stakeholders in the debate over a 2030 EU climate and energy policy. Technological and non-technological innovation are needed for Europe to create a competitive, secure, low-carbon future. At its first event in Brussels, held in partnership with Shell, Energy Post explored what kind of a 2030 package would do most … [Read more...]
EU leaders fail to connect Ukraine crisis to climate and energy policy
Decisions on a new European climate and energy policy for 2030 are relegated to autumn as heads of state are caught up in the Ukraine crisis. At their spring summit in Brussels, EU leaders gave centre stage to energy dependence. First climate change, then competitiveness, now security of supply: the shifting priorities of member states show that a holistic vision and policy for climate and energy is there on paper but not in practice. Sonja van … [Read more...]
Why there’s nothing wrong with being “dependent” on Russia
In response to the Ukraine crisis, the European Union is rushing ahead with sanctions against Russia and will take extra measures to reduce its energy dependence on Russia. According to Energy Post editor Karel Beckman these policies are misguided and based on spurious arguments. He argues that Europe should see Russia as a rival, not as an enemy. “Putin only did what any western leader – certainly any US president – would have done in his … [Read more...]
Interview Dominique Ristori, EU Commission: “EU’s governance on renewables won’t be punitive”
The new Director General for energy at the European Commission, Dominique Ristori, faces the difficult task of “selling” EU leaders his proposals on a climate and energy strategy for 2030. Initially foreseen at the European Council on 20 and 21 March, a decision has been postponed to October. In this interview with Energy Post Brussels correspondent Hughes Belin, Ristori outlines member states' first reactions to the Commission's 2030 proposals, … [Read more...]
VIDEO: Brussels Briefing on Energy – All you need to know for March 2014
Hughes Belin, leading energy journalist at viEUws.eu, provides an overview of the European Union’s most pressing energy issues: - EU Summit: EU-Russia energy relations in light of the recent developments inUkraine. “Economic ties could in this political crisis be the deterrent for escalation, that nuclear was during the Cold War”, says journalist Nicolas Gros-Verheyde from Bruxelles2 (March 20 and 21) - Discussions on energy and climate … [Read more...]
VIDEO: Interview Dominique Ristori, new Director General Energy: 2030 deal by autumn
Hughes Belin, leading energyjournalist at viEUws.eu, is joined by Dominique Ristori, Director General for Energy at the European Commission for an exclusive interview on the further steps to reach a deal on the 2030 climate and energy package. EU leaders will debate the 2030 climate and energy goals at the European Council meeting on March 20 and 21. Ristori expects that during this meeting, member states will form a strong basis for an … [Read more...]
The EU 2030 climate package: crucial questions go unanswered
Although most observers have reacted positively to the Commission’s January 2014 package of proposals on 2030 climate targets, from a business perspective, there are too many areas where delays are threatening, writes Jesse Scott, Head of the Environment and Sustainable Development Policy Unit of Eurelectric, the European association of electricity producers. ”Many crucial questions have not yet been answered”, notes Scott – most of all when it … [Read more...]
Explosive report from France: shale revolution overblown
In an explosive new report, researchers from the influential French think thank IDDRI take apart many of the myths that in their view have developed around the unconventional gas and oil “revolution” in the US. Shale has not led to an industrial renaissance in the US, they write, nor will it make the US “energy independent”. Shale gas has not even contributed significantly to lower CO2 emissions in the US. For Europe, says lead author Thomas … [Read more...]
Energiewende under siege: German energy strategy under threat from EU “paradigm shift”
The German Energiewende is running up against a “paradigm shift” in EU energy policy, which seems on the point of slowing down the transformation towards a low-carbon economy.. As Germany cannot afford to continue with the Energiewende on its own, the German government will have to do its utmost to bend EU energy policy in its direction, write Oliver Geden and Severin Fischer of the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP). … [Read more...]
Experts issue plea for new European energy policy to overcome “crisis of confidence”
On the eve of a crucial Summit of the European Heads of State and government, who will meet in Brussels on 20-21 March to discuss EU climate, energy and industrial policy, a group of prominent energy experts has issued a plea for a “new European energy policy”. The experts, led by Claude Mandil, former Executive Director of the International Energy Agency (IEA), say the state of European energy markets is “deeply unsatisfactory” as a result of … [Read more...]
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