John Rogers at the Union of Concerned Scientists presents evidence from the U.S. of the effectiveness of using standards to drive clean electrification. In principle it’s simple: set a legal requirement for the percentage of clean electricity. How it’s done depends on the efforts of all the actors affected. 30 states are using different versions of Clean Energy Standards (CES) – the first began in 1983 and more than half of them began before 2004 … [Read more...]
Saudi Arabia’s clean hydrogen plans for converting ambitions into action
The recent Memorandum of Understanding with Germany on clean hydrogen cooperation underlines Saudi Arabia’s ambition in becoming a global powerhouse producer in this field. Governments and industry players are currently considering clean hydrogen as an energy vector with key energy transition roles in an increasingly carbon-constrained world. Hydrogen has the potential to grow into a trillion-dollar commodity market, with enormous opportunities … [Read more...]
Climate Neutral Cities can be the key to winning public support for the European Green Deal
The EC is currently considering a mission proposal to achieve “100 climate neutral cities by 2030 – by and for the citizens”. Arguing for its endorsement and the proposed umbrella governance, Simon Skillings and Eleonora Moro at E3G explain why cities are an ideal laboratory for tackling the big unanswered question: which European Green Deal (EGD) pathways will win genuine public support. No one should doubt that the EGD will be disruptive. So … [Read more...]
Are Regulations and Climate Activism the main driver for coal exits, not Gas and Renewables prices?
It’s widely thought in the media and politics that market forces are now the primary driver for the demise of coal: mainly natural gas prices, and the rising adoption and competitiveness of wind and solar. However, David Drake and Jeffrey York at the University of Colorado Boulder present their research from the U.S. that suggests the two main drivers are federal policy and climate activism. They studied the retirement of 348 coal-fired units … [Read more...]
EU Taxonomy: 5 principles for avoiding unintended consequences
The EU Taxonomy is a classification system that defines a list of environmentally sustainable economic activities. If your activity is on the list you should see green finance flow your way. Hence the heated debate over what is “green”. It’s of vital interest to sectors like gas and nuclear (it’s green compared to the coal it replaces) as it will have a major effect on the cost of capital and therefore the future of the sector. Indeed, any … [Read more...]
E-mobility in Germany: a record year but still way off target
In the past few months Germany has seen record levels for electric car registrations. But will this rising trend be enough to meet the government’s target of 10 million electric cars by 2030? To answer the question Naemi Schink and Simon Göss at Energy Brainpool look at the data, proposed new regulations, and funding. Though the number of electric cars has grown by over 360% in the last year there are currently only 240,000 EVs and 200,000 … [Read more...]
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