The newly elected Labour government in the UK is promising to create a state-owned entity, GB Energy, to drive forward its energy transition. Robert Johnston at CGEP explains what it is, and how it could be a model for other nations. Up until now, the policy toolkit of high-income OECD countries has primarily been the use of subsidies, tax credits, government procurement, R&D grants, trade policy and the like. GB Energy will directly invest … [Read more...]
Carbon Pricing annual receipts are almost $100bn globally and rising
About one-quarter of global emissions are, to varying degrees, covered by carbon pricing schemes. Theyāve raised over $500bn from polluters to date. Andrew Reid at NorthStone Advisers, writing for IEEFA, summarises his report which says the annual amount raised, now almost $100bn, is set to increase with two-thirds of nations planning to use carbon pricing in their Nationally Defined Contributions. And the EUās Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism … [Read more...]
EU Carbon Prices halved in a year. But they should rise again
European carbon allowances (EUAs) are trading at around ā¬60/t. One year ago, it was at an all-time high of ā¬100/t. HƦge Fjellheim at Veyt explains why, and why prices should recover. Economically, the drop is due to two main factors: lower gas prices and shrinking energy demand from industry. Politically, additional supply of EUAs came from the EUās REPowerEU plan to accelerate the energy transition and break dependency on Russian gas by partly … [Read more...]
IMF adds climate change to its economic risk assessments, pilots new lending tools
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) says its primary role is to help countries tackle balance of payments problems, stabilise their economies, and restore sustainable economic growth. Dileimy Orozco and Njavwa Sanga at E3G and Alexia Meynier at ENGIE Impact explain that the IMF has now elevated climate change to one of its top priorities, considering it a systemic risk for the stability of the global economy and financial system. Until now, the … [Read more...]
How much protection from carbon-intensive imports will CBAM give to EU industries?
The EUās Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) is not a business-as-usual instrument that allows sectors to delay decarbonisation. It applies a levy on imported goods equal to the internal EU ETS-related carbon price, so that both EU-produced goods and those imported into the EU face similar carbon cost pressures. But sectors must use the CBAM phase-in period to decarbonise. Pablo Ruiz and Barbara Kƶlbl at Rabobank look at how different … [Read more...]
U.S. Inflation Reduction Act: one year on, a summary of impressive progress in the energy transition
The U.S. Inflation Reduction Act has been described as unprecedented in its ambition for the nationās energy transition. One year on from the passing of the bill in August 2022, Hannah Perkins and Adam Aston at RMI describe the progress on implementation as unprecedented too. The authors break their review down into categories: clean tech manufacturing, electrifying transport, greening buildings, decarbonising electricity, transforming industry, … [Read more...]
Nearly half of national climate pledges (NDCs) intend to keep extracting fossil fuels
āNationally Determined Contributionsā (NDCs) are a nationās published plans to reduce emissions and adapt to the impacts of climate change. Natalie Jones at the IISD, writing for Carbon Brief, summarises her co-authored study that reviews the fossil fuel production element of those NDCs. Nations are obliged to update their NDCs every five years, to give more detail. That added detail is a cause for concern in the latest round of NDCs: there is an … [Read more...]
How governments are defusing political opposition to the energy transition
Whatās holding up the energy transition? Not the hardware, says the energy sector: proven clean energy solutions abound and any bottlenecks are continually being addressed by innovation. Not the money, says the finance sector: there is more than enough investment queueing up for realistic returns. Itās the politics: the voters and the businesses that rationally oppose what could cost them too much. So the main obstacle is the ability of … [Read more...]
Can the Czech Republic revive its clean energy ambitions?
Although an early enthusiast for solar in 2009 the Czech Republicās 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 nationās 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...]
Fossil Fuel divestment is premature: instead, enable investment to keep prices low, and tax consumption
We need to shift investment from fossil fuels to other climate-friendly energy sources, but it must be done more intelligently than weāre doing it today, says Schalk Cloete. The rapid global economic development needed to uplift the 86% of the worldās population currently living below $1,000/month is inextricably linked to the continued and timely growth in an abundant supply of affordable energy. It would be unjust ā and probably futile ā to … [Read more...]
All estimates of the ācostā of climate action should include the savings and benefits
Too many climate mitigation scenarios calculate the cost of that transition without measuring the savings and benefits, explain Alexandre Kƶberle and Joeri Rogelj at Imperial College London, Toon Vandyck at the EC's Joint Research Centre, and Celine Guivarch at the Centre International de Recherche sur lāEnvironnement et le Developpement, writing for Carbon Brief. This leads to a pessimistic view of the challenges ahead, and public aversion to … [Read more...]
Our Hydrogen future: 27 authors imagine the world in 2030-2050
Hereās something very different for our readers today, and an opportunity for you to register for our Webinar and Q&A on Wednesday Feb 16th at 09:00 CET (register here). Itās to mark the book launch of āTouching Hydrogen Futureā, where 27 energy experts from around the world have written a chapter each. They are fictional accounts of what our world could like in the near future. The countries covered are the Netherlands (2029), Denmark … [Read more...]
EU Taxonomy: labelling Gas āgreenā is a gift to Putin
Many of todayās clean energy technologies were given their first boost in the wake of the 1973 oil crisis, explains William Todts at T&E. He now hopes the current confrontation between NATO and Russia over Ukraine will shake up and deepen Europeās commitment to the energy transition. But entirely the wrong signal was sent over the New Year, says Todts. He describes the European Commissionās inclusion of gas in the EU Taxonomy for sustainable … [Read more...]
Surging U.S. renewables on track to take 30% market share by 2026
While the U.S. Congress debates whether backing the transition is a winning strategy, the energy sector is clearly showing the nationās direction of travel. Dennis Wamsted and Seth Feaster at IEEFA look at the impressive growth of the clean energy champions, wind and solar. Since 2019, wind and utility-scale solar generation has risen by 76 TWh ā a 31% increase ā while coal and gas has fallen by 1.6%. By 2026, wind and utility-scale solar will … [Read more...]
Energy professionals: do you understand how the media works?
We energy professionals spend most of our time talking to each other. But, more than ever, climate change and the energy transition are headline news. Thatās not just in the mainstream media but also within our industry journals and the policy-maker press. So, we need to understand how the media works. More specifically for many, we need to know how to handle our PR providers. Sean Crowley says itās up to us to work more effectively with the … [Read more...]
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