Over and again, legislators worldwide are confronting the same question: which technologies do we subsidise and support, when, by how much, and for how long. Get it right and those costs will reduce and should disappear once scale is reached. Solar and wind are on their way to proving that. What about biofuels? Marc-Antoine Eyl-Mazzega and Carole Mathieu of the Institut Français des Relations Internationales (IFRI) look at the last 10 years. The … [Read more...]
IEA: Renewables growth worldwide is stalling
It’s bad enough that 2018 net capacity additions did not exceed 2017’s after two decades of strong growth. It is far more troubling that nobody saw it coming, says the IEA, who have laid out the data and main cause: stop-go policies. 2018's 180 GW is only 60% of what needs to be added each year to meet climate goals. China, the EU, India and Japan all fell back. Only emerging economies, developing countries and the US (slightly) saw growth. … [Read more...]
Less politically centralised, can the EU remain a transition leader?
As a region the EU is a transition leader. Its primary energy consumption increased by only 0.2% in 2018 (globally it rose by 2.6%) and its CO2 emissions dropped by 1.7% (globally, up 1.7%). But the EU’s move towards greater “subsidiarity” and devolution of power, to counterbalance too much centralisation, has made it harder for the EU to act quickly and act big, says Lucien Chabason, Senior Advisor at the IDDRI. One example: how easily can … [Read more...]
1.5°C: IEA’s scenarios will fail, need urgent review says letter from experts, business leaders
The letter’s signatories – experts, business leaders, politicians and more - call on the IEA to make the 1.5°C target the central scenario in its highly influential annual World Energy Outlook. At present, its “New Policies Scenario” puts us on track for between 2.7°C and 3.3°C. That's a problem, because too many energy decision-makers cite it as an acceptable guide, making it a self-fulfilling prophecy. Even the “Sustainable Development … [Read more...]
U.S. buildings electrification hindered by “new” renovation policies that are already out of date
U.S. buildings renovation policies are not keeping up with technological progress and therefore risk slowing down electrification and the uptake of cleaner fuels, say Jessica Shipley and Donna Brutkoski of the think tank Regulatory Assistance Project (RAP). For example, there are policies and incentives that favour the installation of more energy efficient appliances, but ignore whether the appliance is greener. Put simply, policies need to … [Read more...]
What’s next for the geopolitics of energy transformation?
January’s IRENA report “A New World” has kick-started the debate on how the accelerating deployment of renewables will affect and alter the global distribution of political and economic power. Jan Frederik Braun and Daniel Scholten review its findings and build on the list of issues that must be faced. For example, although the IRENA report focuses on electrification the authors say power-to-gas is likely to play a major role, and we must face up … [Read more...]
Solar consumption and manufacturing: can Europe re-take the lead?
As a solar consumer Europe already plans to re-establish itself as a leader. European solar’s share of total consumption, 5% in 2018, is set to be 36% by 2050. There are three main drivers for progress: increasingly ambitious national targets, the rise of low-cost solar helped by the increase in CO2 costs, and digitalisation. But what about manufacturing? Practically all Europe’s solar cells are bought in cheaply from China and the Far East. … [Read more...]
IEEFA: IEA’s Sustainable Development Scenario is not enough
The IEA’s Sustainable Development Scenario (SDS) – if it’s followed - sees the world limiting the temperature rise to below 2°C. Even if we stick to the plan the SDS gives us only a 50% chance of success. Tim Buckley at IEEFA says those odds are not good enough. Worse, the SDS depends on carbon capture and storage (CCS) achieving commercialisation at scale by 2030. The author explains why he thinks that’s unrealistic, and calls for the IEA to … [Read more...]
Climate Auctions can reduce emissions and accelerate regulatory, financial and infrastructure goals
Auctions for delivering an amount of power at a defined price are already well established for renewables. “Climate Auctions” do the same with carbon emissions: a carbon price is guaranteed to the winning bidder, but only paid on delivery of the emissions cut. Tyeler Matsuo and Julia Meisel at Rocky Mountain Institute say this is proving particularly useful in emerging and developing countries where progress in building up their climate laws is … [Read more...]
Millennials aren’t spurning cars after all. They’re driving more than ever
We hoped Millennials would save the planet. Digitally savvy, climate conscious, they would naturally incline towards an emissions-low lifestyle. Sure enough, they were riding bikes, using public transport and, crucially, spurning cars. But Lucas Davis at the Haas School of Business at the University of California reveals data showing they are now buying and driving cars like everyone else. It was the recession that had put them on the bikes and … [Read more...]
Does the U.S. really need new gas infrastructure?
Gas prices within the U.S. vary considerably, largely due to poor local gas infrastructure: Boston’s gas prices can be triple New York’s, and Los Angeles’ over 50% higher than San Francisco’s. Should the U.S. spend billions upgrading that infrastructure? Not if money spent on assets that may one day be stranded is money wasted. Andrew Campbell, Executive Director of the Energy Institute at Haas at the University of California, says the best … [Read more...]
UK nuclear plans are in tatters. But current incentives help gas, not wind and solar, step into the gap
The scrapping of plans for a new nuclear power station in Cumbria and the suspension of work on another in Anglesey have put the brakes on the UK’s nuclear future. But the government appears more keen to fill the gap with gas rather than renewables. David Toke of Aderdeen University criticises the current incentives and regulations and makes the case for wind and solar. … [Read more...]
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