By opting for nuclear power and shale gas, and reducing support for wind energy, the new Tory government is betting on the wrong energy horses, write Peter Strachan and Alex Russell of Robert Gordon University. "New nuclear looks a very costly and unreliable drain on the governmentâs budget, while fracking looks expensive, incompatible with emissions targets and probably uneconomic at current oil prices." … [Read more...]
Search results for Climate Policy Tags
Dimitri Pescia, Agora Energiewende: “No more baseload in 2030, no case for new nuclear in Europe”
There will be no more baseload power in Germany in 2030 and possibly not anywhere in Europe. There is no business case for new nuclear power in Europe. Renewables, not thermal power, should get capacity payments - and be responsible for balancing. These are some of the explosive messages from a new report from the influential German think tank Agora Energiewende, which represents government, industry and NGO's. In an exclusive interview with … [Read more...]
Four reasons for business to follow the Paris process
Most companies pay little attention to the complex processes going on within the UN climate negotiations. There are, however, good reasons why companies should follow the Paris process, write Maarten Neelis and Rolf de Vos of energy consultancy Ecofys, and especially the âintended nationally determined contributionsâ (INDCs). These provide companies with vital information on how climate policies will develop in different countries and what … [Read more...]
Heaven belongs to us all – the new papal encyclical
With his encyclical "Laudato Si" the Pope has written more than a moral appeal without obligation. He has presented a pioneering political analysis with great explosive power, which will probably determine the public debate on climate change, poverty and inequality for years to come, argues Brigitte Knopf from the Mercator Research Institute on Global Commons and Climate Change. Through her secular eyes the implications of the encyclical become … [Read more...]
Good luck G7 leaders – we won’t be off fossil fuels by 2100
The most powerful leaders in the West used the G7 summit in Germany to make a big statement on the environment. Their stated goal is to cut carbon emissions by 40% to 70% by 2050 and then end all fossil-fuel use by 2100. They announced a US$100bn (ÂŁ65bn) fund by 2020 comprising public and private money to help smooth the transition. My response to David Cameron, Angela Merkel and the rest is pretty simple: good luck with that. … [Read more...]
viEUws VIDEO: Brussels Briefing on Environment â All you need to know for June 2015
In this Brussels Briefing on Environment for viEUws.eu, Sonja van Renssen provides an overview of the latest EU environment policy developments. … [Read more...]
Going for gas: the risky strategy of the worldâs largest companies
They are the biggest companies in the world and they are making a huge bet: they are staking their â and our â future on natural gas. At the World Gas Conference in Paris, the major oil companies all avowed their belief that gas will be the worldâs âfuel of choiceâ, because it is âthe cleanest fossil fuelâ, âabundantâ and âcompetitiveâ. But Karel Beckman argues they are overstating the case for gas. And may even be betting on the wrong horse. … [Read more...]
Climate benefits of a natural gas bridge ‘unlikely to be significant’
Natural gas can only be a worthwhile bridge to a low carbon future if a series of tough conditions are met, according to a working paper from the influential New Climate Economy initiative. The paper says the climate benefits of gas, including shale gas, could in theory be significant. It suggests a 10% increase in global gas supplies could prevent 500 gigawatts (GW) of new coal capacity being added by 2035, avoiding 1.3 billion tonnes of annual … [Read more...]
The West must do as the Chinese: build renewables systems for energy security and abundance
In the western world renewables are burdened by the idea that they are a moral imperative, essential to fight global warming, writes professor John Mathews. By contrast China is building renewables systems as an economic imperative. Unless Western countries follow the Chinese model and intervene in their economies to build green energy and resource systems, they will continue to be defeated by China. … [Read more...]
Exclusive – JĂ©rĂŽme Ferrier, President International Gas Union: âYou cannot equate gas with coal or oil. You have to discriminate!â
Natural gas can help safeguard the planet: it can become the worldâs major energy source, be a factor for peace and help save the climate, says JĂ©rĂŽme Ferrier, President of the International Gas Union (IGU) and the French Gas Association in an interview with Energy Post. But, he adds, to enable gas to fulfill these roles, policymakers will have to make a clear choice in favour of gas over oil and coal. âThey have to discriminate!â … [Read more...]
The IMF just destroyed the main argument against clean energy
A new report by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) finds that energy (fossil fuel) subsidies are âbig and risingâ. At the presentation of the report, Vitor Gaspar, Director Fiscal Affairs Department at the IMF, noted that most subsidies go to coal and said the numbers were âshockingâ. He added that âeliminating energy subsidies can generate substantial environmental, fiscal and welfare benefitsâ. Elias Hinckley, strategic adviser at the US law … [Read more...]
Why Shell can’t quit the Arctic
Despite the damage to its reputation, Shell insists on continuing its controversial Arctic campaign. The company says that the world needs the oil and gas resources of the Arctic. But according to Energy Postâs editor-in-chief Karel Beckman, itâs really Shell itself that needs those resources. … [Read more...]
EU climate policy: time to come down to earth
For many years, the EU pursued the strategy of âleading by exampleâ in international climate negotiations. However, since the Copenhagen climate summit, frictions inside the EU and a paradigm shift have become increasingly evident, write Severin Fischer and Oliver Geden of the influential German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP). With the October 2014 compromise in the European Council on a new climate framework for 2030, the … [Read more...]
Hydropowerâs big splash â Word Energy Council projects decades of strong growth
The global hydroelectric power market, which already represents 76% of all renewable global energy, has the potential to double to 2,000GW capacity by 2050 according to a new report from the World Energy Council, âCharting The Upsurge In Hydropower Developmentâ, presented today in Beijing. This doubling could be achieved even earlier, if governments and multilateral banks give help to emerging economies where hydropower resources are … [Read more...]
Rising sun, sinking influence? Japan’s self-marginalisation from global climate politics
As other countries including the US, China, UK, Germany and Mexico lead on climate action, the lack of effort from the worldâs third largest economy and fifth largest emitter has left Japan isolated in a debate that is increasingly central to trade, investment, security and foreign policy, write Taylor Dimsale, Liz Gallagher and Camilla Born in a new report from the London-based consultancy E3G. The authors explain the reasons behind Japan's … [Read more...]
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