Does the energy transition benefit from low or high oil prices? Proponents of a swift energy transition have debated this question for a long time. Most believe high oil prices are beneficial, because they make alternatives more competitive. But high oil prices also lead to huge profits for fossil fuel businesses, while low prices make the more costly (and often dirtiest) projects unprofitable. According to Rick Bosman and Derk Loorbach of the … [Read more...]
Why oil price crash is good news for climate, and clean energy
According to analysts from UK investment bank HSBC, the low oil price is on balance good for the climate. French private investment firm Kepler Chevreux goes a step further and sees the oil price collapse as one of a number of signals indicating a global energy transition is underway. "The debate over fossil fuels now touches not only on the climate, but on global financial stability." Giles Parkinson of Reneweconomy.com.au has the story. … [Read more...]
2015: an energy year in which everything gets connected?
It is often said that there are major trade-offs between energy security, equity and sustainability. But what if this is a misconception? Energy Post editor Karel Beckman argues that by creating a new sustainable energy system we can at the same time advance energy security and reduce energy poverty. … [Read more...]
New German legislation will shake up EU biofuels market – but how?
New German legislation, which will become effective in 2015, has resulted in a drastic improvement of the climate performance of biodiesel produced in Germany. But the effects the new rules will have on the German and wider EU biofuels market are still highly uncertain, says Elmar Baumann, Managing Director of the VDB, the Association of the German Biofuel Industry, in an interview with Energy Post. “All we know is that they will be profound.” … [Read more...]
Why Chile’s mines run on renewables – and Australia’s don’t
Unbelievable but true: the Chilean mining industry is increasingly run on renewable energy, which will soon be bigger than conventional power sector in Chile, and cost-competitive. The Chileans ought to thank the Chinese for this, writes Australian professor John Mathews, whose new book, The Greening of Capitalism, has just been published by Stanford University Press. Mathews adds that Australian miners should take a cue from their Chilean … [Read more...]
EU issues work plan for 2015 – with pared down priorities
The number one priority for Team Juncker is a €315-billion investment plan for Europe. Second, is “better regulation”. First Vice-President Frans Timmermans presented the European Commission’s 2015 work programme to MEPs in Strasbourg on 16 December. Energy Post looks at the new initiatives, scrapped initiatives and those that hang in the balance for energy and climate policy. … [Read more...]
Maria van der Hoeven, IEA: Use cheap oil to put a price on carbon
With the drop in oil prices "delivering a shot of economic stimulus to consumers around the world", policymakers have a "once-in-a-generation" chance to take actions to cut our reliance on fossil fuels, writes Maria van der Hoeven, Executive Director of the International Energy Agency (IEA). She urges policymakers in developed countries to use the drop in oil prices to put a price on carbon. … [Read more...]
EXCLUSIVE – new Vattenfall CEO Magnus Hall: “What is true for Eon, is pretty much true for us”
Vattenfall’s CEO Magnus Hall likens the selling of its lignite operations in Germany to Eon’s recent split in two. “The problem we needed to solve was the CO2 issue,” says Hall in an exclusive interview with Energy Post. The new chief of the Swedish state-owned company has abandoned the idea of splitting up the company geographically. Its future lies in sustainability, says Hall, e.g. in offshore wind. He notes the European market is distorted by … [Read more...]
Lima: a trillion reasons why climate talks may still fail
Hopes are high at the UN Climate Conference that has started this week in Lima, Peru. There are many signs that a turning point has been reached, writes Giles Parkinson of Reneweconomy.com. But the hurdle is still high: to meet the 2C target, two-thirds of known fossil fuel reserves have to stay in the ground, costing the oil and coal sector $1 trillion a year in lost revenue. … [Read more...]
What Eon and Gazprom have in common
What does Eon’s change in corporate strategy and Gazprom’s decision not to build South Stream have in common? Quite a lot. Both decisions are responses to the increasing speed in which Europe is moving towards a low-carbon society. Both are also bold and risky decisions for the two companies involved. The rest of us probably need not be (too) concerned, writes Energy Post editor Karel Beckman. … [Read more...]
Eon’s new strategy: focus on renewables, distribution, customer solutions, get out of old power generation
Eon, the largest German energy company, will henceforth “focus on renewables, distribution networks, and customer solutions and combine its conventional generation, global energy trading, and exploration and production businesses in a new, independent company, a majority of which will be spun off to Eon SE’s shareholders. … [Read more...]
US national interest requires clean energy, not fossil fuels
Many vested interests with short-term perspectives are fighting to maintain US dependence on fossil fuels. The long-term national interest, however, requires that the US makes a speedy transition to a clean energy society, writes energy expert Allan Hoffman. According to Hoffman, the shale revolution is only a temporary phenomenon. A continued reliance on oil and gas will imperil the nation’s future. … [Read more...]
IEA: coal, nuclear, shale should be part of EU energy mix, Energy Union should not be buyers’ cartel
The European Union “has made progress in liberalising energy markets, and its global leadership on climate change is to be commended”, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said today as it released its review of EU energy policies. But the IEA also had criticisms to make. … [Read more...]
EU power system largely ready for winter, but only thanks to interconnections: ENTSO-E report
The Winter Outlook Report from ENTSO-E, Europe's electricity transmission system operators, shows that overall generation will be sufficient to cover demand this winter, even under severe conditions. However, the report notes that many countries will need imports to meet their demand. Risks due to generation shortages are identified for some countries, such as Belgium, and to a lesser extent Great Britain. The report also looks at the possibility … [Read more...]
Can we use gas as a ‘bridging fuel’ to a low carbon world?
Gas can be a bridge fuel, displacing coal and reducing carbon emissions, concludes a new report from the UK Energy Research Centre. But only for the next twenty years, and only if the world sorts out carbon capture and storage (CCS) and sees a dramatic cut in coal use. Christian Hunt of the Carbon Brief has the story. … [Read more...]
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