New cars, including the Mercedes A, C and E class, BMW 5 series and Peugeot 308, are now swallowing around 50% more fuel than their lab test results reveal, according to new on-the-road results compiled by NGO Transport & Environment (T&E). T&E calls for a comprehensive investigation into both air pollution and fuel economy tests across Europe and a complete overhaul of the testing system. … [Read more...]
Ad van Wijk: “The energy sector has nothing to do with energy companies anymore”
There are many developments in the world today that have far more influence on the energy sector than the energy sector itself, says technology visionary Ad van Wijk in this exclusive interview with Energy Post. The Professor in “Future Energy Systems” at Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands explains how LED lighting, a DC grid, fuel cell cars, the Internet of Things and 3D printing are upending our energy system as we know it. “The … [Read more...]
Sustainable oil from algae: the technology is ready, what about the politics?
Algae ponds covering an area the size of Sydney could satisfy the entire crude oil demand of Australia, according to a recent study from Australian researchers Bojan Tamburic and Arunima Malik. But some form of government support is critical to bring the technology up to scale. … [Read more...]
On the road: EU goes for efficient and electric, ponders biofuels
The European Commission’s strategy for decarbonising the road transport sector is finally taking shape: Brussels wants efficiency first, electrification second. But it doesn't know what to do about biofuels. “There is no appetite for [new] targets”, says Commission Director Marie Donnelly. Sonja van Renssen takes us on the bumpy road to a climate-friendly European transport sector. … [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 – 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...]
China can cut out most coal generation by 2050
A new study from the China National Renewable Energy Centre shows that China can rely on renewables for more than 60 percent of its total energy needs, including transportation, by 2050. Electricity could be supplied 85% from renewables and just 7 per cent from coal, writes Bobby Magill of Climate Central. Â But to achieve these targets, China needs to deregulate its electricity markets. … [Read more...]
IEA: Clean energy progress falls well short of what is needed
It is “realistic and economically sensible to pursue a clean energy agenda”, states the International Energy Agency (IEA) in a new edition of its annual Energy Technology Perspectives. But, it adds”: “clean energy progress is failling well short of the levels needed to limit the global increase to no more than 2 degrees Celsius”. Governments must do much more to stimulate the uptake of clean energy and energy efficiency technologies. … [Read more...]
Clean Disruption: how Silicon Valley will make oil, nuclear, gas, coal obsolete (book review)
In his new book “Clean Disruption of Energy and Transportation”, famous author, lecturer and Silicon Valley entrepreneur Tony Seba predicts that by 2030 all power generation will be solar and wind and all cars will be self-driving electric vehicles. The existing energy industry will be “obliterated”. In a review of the book, JosĂ© Cordeiro, founding energy advisor at Singularity University and Visiting Research Fellow at the Institute of … [Read more...]
viEUws VIDEO: Brussels Briefing on Environment – biofuel compromise, carbon trading clash
In this Brussels Briefing on Environment for viEUws.eu, Sonja van Renssen provides an overview of the latest EU environment and climate policy developments. Highlights: the European Parliament is heading for a compromise deal on new biofuel legislation, but for a clash with Member States on the reform plan for the EU Emission Trading Scheme (ETS). … [Read more...]
Brussels tests limits of its powers with Energy Union
Energy Post takes stock of what the proposals for an Energy Union mean and ponders the key question: can Brussels deliver? The Commission is pushing hard on a far-reaching redesign of the electricity market, which is to be driven by the EU Emission Trading Scheme and increasingly run by EU institutions. In gas Brussels also wants to take a central role. When it comes to climate policy, the Commission has some substantial new proposals on energy … [Read more...]
Highlights from the Energy Union package – and responses
The European Commission announced its plans for a far-reaching Energy Union for Europe on 25 February, with a work package full of legislative and non-legislative actions for the next two years. Brussels also presented a strategy for the UN climate talks in Paris in December and a paper on how to meet electricity interconnection targets inside the EU. We present the highlights plus some responses. For a detailed analysis, see the accompanying … [Read more...]
Brussels goes green in key EU ETS and biofuels votes
The European Parliament voted in favour of a much-needed reform to the EU Emission Trading Scheme (ETS) and new rules to guard against indirect land-use change (ILUC) from biofuels on Tuesday, opening the door to deals with member states on both files before the summer. … [Read more...]
The battle for biofuels flares up again – the stakes: survival of the European biodiesel industry
If the European Parliament get its way, higher sustainability standards will be applied to biofuels, which, industry representatives say, will spell the end of the European biodiesel industry. Several EU Member States are preparing to defend their biodiesel sectors. Meanwhile, biofuels are threatening to lose out against electro-mobility in the EU’s post-2020 plans to decarbonise the transport sector, reports Sonja van Renssen from Brussels. … [Read more...]
Vindication for Allan Hoffman: the US has turned the corner on renewables
It has been 37 years since Dr Allan Hoffman gave President Jimmy Carter the plan that could have started America’s renewable revolution. The idea was shelved after Reagan was elected. Hoffman waited, as administration after administration ignored the potential, until Barack Obama was elected. The retired senior Department of Energy executive views the growth of US renewables during 2014 as a vindication of what he and his colleagues saw decades … [Read more...]
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