Here, the Florence School of Regulation (FSR) provides a summary of the Green Deal Industrial Plan. Itâs broken up into: What is the Green Deal Industrial Plan? What are critical raw materials and why do they matter? Where is the EU currently standing on critical raw materials? What is the EU doing about critical raw materials? Where is the EU currently standing on clean tech? How is the EU attempting to boost its domestic clean tech sector? Can … [Read more...]
The European Green Deal isnât coping with a turbulent world. What must change?
The European Green Deal was not designed to cope with the extraordinary series of overlapping crises the world has been facing. Though the EU has ultimately been reinforced through crises, that may not continue, explain Marc-Antoine Eyl-Mazzega and Diana-Paula Gherasim at IFRI who summarise their study âHow Can the Green Deal Adapt to a Brutal World?â Costs are rising and investment is not keeping pace. Dependence on China and the burst of … [Read more...]
EU Elections 2024: the Green Deal can be an emblem of what Europe is for
Itâs a European election year, which means all of us - not just the politicians and policy-makers â need to get our heads around what the EU is for. SĂ©bastien Treyer at the IDDRI lays out the challenges faced in a moment of climate crises, war and high inflation, when voters are prone to polarisation and manipulation. He asks the difficult questions over economic security, inequalities between Member States, global influence, engagement with … [Read more...]
EU Energy Outlook to 2060: power prices and revenues predicted for wind, solar, gas, hydrogen + more
Huangluolun Zhou, Elena Dahlem and Alex Schmitt at Energy Brainpool present their updated âEU Energy Outlook 2060â, modelling how the European energy system will undergo major changes in the coming decades while continuing to guarantee a secure supply and meet its climate targets. What do these developments mean for power prices, revenue potential and risks for solar PV and wind? The two main scenarios are âCentralâ and âGoHydrogenâ for the EU 27 … [Read more...]
EUâs 40% domestic Cleantech ambition: same target for Wind (easy) and Solar (hard) doesnât make sense
The proposed Net Zero Industry Act includes a target for the EU to manufacture domestically at least 40% of its cleantech deployment needs by 2030. That includes the key technologies of solar PV panels, wind turbines (onshore and offshore), EV batteries, heat pumps and hydrogen electrolysers. But it doesnât make sense to have the same 40% target for all, explain Giovanni Sgaravatti, Simone Tagliapietra and Cecilia Trasi at Bruegel. The main … [Read more...]
How will China respond to the EUâs â40% made at homeâ clean energy tech ambition
The EUâs Net Zero Industry Act wants to drive home-grown production of eight âstrategicâ net-zero technologies, including solar, wind, batteries and CCS. The target is 40% made at home, though the policy is yet to be worked out. You Xiaoying writing for China Dialogue talks to experts in China and the EU for their predictions. Most say that Chinese firms are not very worried. Firstly, they can â and are already making moves to â set up production … [Read more...]
Europe: preventing a âcarbon wallâ between the West and the ten Central and Eastern EU nations
Diana-Paula Gherasim at the IFRI Centre for Energy & Climate summarises her 36-page data-rich report on the progress and challenges for the ten Central and Eastern EU (CEECs) countries in decarbonisation. The Russian invasion of Ukraine has focussed all minds on energy security and the best solutions: less fossils, efficiency gains and clean energy made in the EU. Gherasim says that vitally important progress is being made in avoiding a … [Read more...]
Can the Czech Republic revive its clean energy ambitions?
Although an early enthusiast for solar in 2009 the Czech Republicâs clean energy ambitions stalled. The share of green electricity was only 12% last year, with solar contributing 3% and wind just 1%. The current government is now reviving the nationâs drive towards carbon-free energy. Will new Czech policies along with EU initiatives like REPowerEU, the Green Deal and the Modernisation Fund successfully breathe new life into the Czech transition? … [Read more...]
Aviation emissions: donât wait for CORSIA. Strengthen EU ETS and Fit-for-55
The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has projected growth in flights of 40% between 2018 and 2035. So how do we reduce aviation emissions? The global implementation of the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA)Â remains low. Meanwhile, Europeâs EU ETS has helped reduce the sectorâs emissions by around 17m tonnes of CO2eq per year - but it did not bring a net decrease in emissions. Technological progress … [Read more...]
Event summary: âUnlocking the potential of Bioenergyâ
Sara Stefanini provides a written summary of our panel discussion held on Thursday March 17th 2022. Itâs a full summary of the 90 minute discussion (including audience questions), but it begins conveniently with a summary of the highlights (potential for bioenergy, hard-to-abate sectors, sustainability, policy needs). Those highlights include the need to scale bioenergy up from around 50 EJ today to 150 EJ by 2050; the importance of carbon … [Read more...]
Energy Charter Treaty: four ways to amend it and enable green investments
The European Green Deal (EGD) aims to mobilise at least âŹ1 trillion in sustainable investments over the next decade. But the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT) in its current form - designed to protect cross-border investments, enabling those whose energy projects have been shut down to sue nations â is causing fierce debate. The ECT protects all investment alike, but the result has been fossil (and nuclear) investors suing nations that have curtailed … [Read more...]
UNEP 2021 Emissions Gap report: only 11 countries have net-zero targets enshrined in law
Zeke Hausfather at Carbon Brief summarises the UNEP 2021 Emissions Gap report, released last week. It explores the impact of the net-zero emissions pledges of nations, and the âgapâ between them and the Paris targets. As COP26 gets started, 136 countries either have some form of commitment to a net-zero target or are considering it. Of those, 49 plus the EU have a firm net-zero commitment. But only 11 countries have targets enshrined in law. … [Read more...]
CEPP incentives and penalties: current design could undermine U.S. clean energy growth
The Clean Electricity Performance Program (CEPP) is a key part of President Bidenâs energy and climate plans. It will steer utilities towards clean energy with incentives and penalties, and is still being designed. Severin Borenstein and James Bushnell at the Energy Institute at Haas, Steve Cicala at Tufts University and Ryan Kellogg at the University of Chicago warn that current proposals will allow utilities to game the system, resulting in … [Read more...]
Donât let high gas prices stop the EU ETS from doing its real job
The EU ETS carbon price reached a high of over âŹ60 per tonne in September. Some are arguing that its role in the current gas price crisis is a reason why it should be reined in. But Milan Elkerbout at CEPS Policy Insights explains that the EUA (European Union Allowance) has multiple purposes. It is an incentive to invest in low-carbon solutions such as renewables, efficiencies and new methods. The sooner we pass the cost hurdle of integrating … [Read more...]
Energy-efficient and affordable housing will increase public support for the Green Deal
Energy poverty â the inability to afford basic household energy needs â affects up to one-third of U.S and European households. The energy transition can be part of the solution, says Clare Taylor. Targeted energy-efficient retrofits and newbuilds for low-income households will cut bills and improve living conditions. This will not only cut emissions, but get the beneficiaries behind wider climate change policies like the Green Deals in Europe … [Read more...]