“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...]
Fukushima seven years later: case closed?
Official investigations into the Fukushima nuclear disaster conclude that upholding international safety standards alone guarantees nuclear safety, But the plant manager’s account of the catastrophe sheds  new light on the story, writes Franck Guarnieri of MINES ParisTech university. Courtesy: The Conversation.  … [Read more...]
Reducing the costs of nuclear energy in three steps
New nuclear plants shouldn’t have to be expensive, writes David Hess of  the World Nuclear Association. To reduce nuclear costs - and project times - three things need to happen: access to cheap financing should be facilitated, regulatory barriers should be lowered, and industry should improve its performance. … [Read more...]
German electricity market in 2017: records for battery storage and redispatch
Renewable energy generation is still on the rise in Germany, though at a much lower pace than in the years around 2010, writes Marius Buchmann of Jacobs University in a detailed overview of the German electricity market in 2017. Costs of the feed-in tariff are stagnating, notes Buchmann, but redispatch costs which grid operators incur to keep the system stable, reached a new record far above €1 billion. Courtesy of Buchmann’s blog Enerquire. … [Read more...]
EVs alone won’t solve our transport problem
Electric cars are a quick fix that helps tackle climate change and improve air quality to a point, but they won't get us to a sustainable mobility system, warns Martin Brueckner of Murdoch University. We need a new transport paradigm. Courtesy The Conversation. … [Read more...]
The rush for cobalt and what it means for EVs
There are no short-term alternatives to using cobalt in electric vehicle batteries today, writes financial energy specialist Gerard Reid. Even if the cobalt price continues to go up, it will be a long while before production is able to match growing demand, Reid argues. … [Read more...]
The secret of the great American fracking bubble
While politicians and the mainstream media trumpet fracking as a great American energy revolution, it has in fact been a financial disaster, writes Justin Mikulka of DeSmog blog. The American shale oil and gas boom, he writes, may be "one of the largest money-losing endeavors in the nation's history". Courtesy DeSmog blog. … [Read more...]
Boosting green investment: EU wants ecolabel for financial products
The European Commission’s recently adopted Sustainable Finance Action Plan aims to boost investment in green projects, mainly by providing more reliable information for investors, writes David Thorpe, consultant and author of books on energy efficiency. An EU "ecolabel" for financial products is in the works. … [Read more...]
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