A new report by the IEA reveals that global spending on clean energy technologies and infrastructure is on track to hit $2tn in 2024, driven largely by attractive cost reductions, improving supply chains, energy security, and government policies. This is despite higher financing costs for new projects. The combined investment in renewable power and grids only recently overtook the amount spent on fossil fuels, in 2023. 2024 will see it at double … [Read more…]
Tariffs on China’s carmakers? Chinese joint ventures and on-shoring would be better
Both the U.S. and the EU are targeting China’s carmakers with tariffs. China is accused of providing state support that allows exported vehicles to be sold at cheaper prices than those of global rivals. The tariffs will allow U.S. and EU carmakers to build up their own domestic supply chains and catch up in competitiveness. But cheap EVs help accelerate the clean transition, so tariffs will only slow it down, certainly in the short term. And … [Read more…]
To make Clean Industry stick, the United States needs new trade mechanisms
The industrial sector throughout the world needs to decarbonise. At the same time, no one country wants to incur the costs and risk losing market share to rivals who decarbonise slowly (or not at all!) Hence the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) that imposes costs on carbon-intense imports. This protects clean EU industries while incentivising importers to get going with decarbonisation or lose their European customers. Allegra Dawes … [Read more…]
It’s time to sanction Rosatom subsidiaries, part of Russia’s LNG production chain
Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the West and its allies imposed a series of sanctions to cut dependence on Russian oil and gas imports, as well as hit Russian import earnings. Ihor Moshenets at the Central European University points to a serious sanctions blind spot: Rosatom, Russia’s nuclear major. Rosatom has avoided sanctions because it is ostensibly a nuclear technology provider, with long term commitments to Europe that do not … [Read more…]
58 national Hydrogen strategies published: a step forward, but importers’ and exporters’ plans still need to match up
So far, 58 national hydrogen strategies and roadmaps have been published. Anne-Sophie Corbeau and Rio Kaswiyanto at the Center on Global Energy Policy take a close look, summarising their regularly updated database, the “National Hydrogen Strategies and Roadmap Tracker.” Only 12 countries are planning to become importers, mostly in Asia and Europe. Most of the others plan to be exporters. Many existing fossil fuel exporters want to preserve their … [Read more…]
European support for U.S. gas pipelines can cut inflation, strengthen the energy transition and thwart Putin
Inflation isn’t just politically destabilising. It’s also the enemy of the energy transition, explains Joseph Webster at the Atlantic Council’s Global Energy Center. President Putin understands this, which is why he uses Russia’s oil and gas production to stoke global inflation. Hence, to thwart his aims, nations should increase short-term energy production from all sources, including hydrocarbons. Lower energy prices lower inflation and interest … [Read more…]
Analysis of Clean Technology Manufacturing around the world: solar PV, wind, batteries, electrolysers, heat pumps
For every nation, clean technology manufacturing can bring economic security, employment, and resilience to clean energy transitions, says the IEA. The sector is now so significant that it’s also impacting overall GDP performance: in 2023, clean technology manufacturing alone accounted for around 4% of global GDP growth and nearly 10% of global investment growth. Here, the IEA summarises its first-of-its-kind “Energy Technology Perspectives … [Read more…]
Green Steelmakers’ global future: importing the Iron from where Renewables are cheap, the Ore abundant
Governments in Europe have allocated around €5bn to 10 commercial-scale hydrogen-ready DRI (direct reduced iron) facilities for steelmaking, but even with these generous subsidies steelmakers are struggling to reach final investment decisions, citing high costs for domestic hydrogen as a barrier. And when you consider that over €400bn is needed to transition the entire European sector to hydrogen-based steelmaking, a totally new way of thinking … [Read more…]
10% of global GDP growth came from the new Clean Energy economy in 2023
The clean energy economy is making its mark on global GDP, explain Laura Cozzi, Timur GĂĽl, Thomas Spencer and Peter Levi at the IEA. It accounted for 10% of global GDP growth in 2023, primarily through three activities: manufacturing of clean energy technologies, deployment of clean power capacity, and clean equipment sales. Here, the authors present the in-depth results for four of the largest economies: the U.S, the EU, China and India, which … [Read more…]
Study: will sight of a Wind Turbine reduce your property prices?
Onshore wind turbines have a permitting problem in the U.S. and Europe. One main complaint from homeowners is that they believe the sight of a turbine will reduce their property value. Maximilian Auffhammer at the Energy Institute at Haas describes his co-authored published study that tests this assumption. The study looks at sale prices of over 300m homes in the U.S. within 10km of a turbine, sold between 1990 and before COVID hit. The clever … [Read more…]
Who is winning the Clean Energy race between China, Europe, and the US?
“X-Change: The Race to the Top” is the fourth report of an RMI series that reviews the cleantech competition between China, Europe, and the US. Kingsmill Bond, Sam Butler-Sloss and Daan Walter at RMI summarise the findings of the latest report, along with six charts, which focuses on four areas: clean technology supply chains, solar and wind deployment, EV sales, and electrification. Solar and wind deployment is still a close contest. But China … [Read more…]
Green Steel: pathways for the new hydrogen-powered DRI-EAF projects
H2-DRI-EAF uses hydrogen (H2) to produce direct reduced iron (DRI), which is then processed in an electric arc furnace (EAF) to produce steel. The two main challenges are ensuring an adequate supply of DR-grade iron ore, and cutting the end-to-end cost of making hydrogen. But right now, clean green hydrogen production is in its infancy, and therefore so are green steel plans. Soroush Basirat at IEEFA surveys the landscape, looking at the U.S., … [Read more…]
Credit Rating Agencies downgrading Coal, Oil, Gas: climate change is now a clear risk category
Credit rating agencies now clearly recognise that climate change has become its own risk category, explains Tom Sanzillo at IEEFA who summarises his 43-page report. Financially, the coal, oil and gas sectors have served the world for decades. But due to regulatory, legal, economic, financial, political and social concerns, coal is credit negative and oil and gas is no longer positive. Sanzillo’s report charts the gradual erosion of the sector’s … [Read more…]
Two years on, how is Russia’s invasion of Ukraine driving energy security and decarbonisation?
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has boosted anxiety and therefore action on energy security and dependence on oil and gas. Sanctioning Russian oil and gas imports is an opportunity to replace fossil fuels with low or no carbon alternatives, an opportunity that is being taken. And renewables like wind and solar are by their nature local and therefore good for energy security (though with notable exceptions). Charles Hendry, Ellen Wald, Olga Khakova, … [Read more…]
The link between global GDP growth and CO2 emissions is weakening rapidly. Will emissions peak well before 2030?
Economic growth has been closely tied to rising greenhouse gas emissions since the industrial age. But data now clearly shows that that GDP growth and CO2 emissions are diverging. Siddharth Singh at the IEA presents the numbers. In advanced economies that divergence now seems locked in, with 2007 marking the moment of peak emissions (and not simply because of offshoring manufacturing). Even in developing economies GDP growth is far outpacing … [Read more…]
- 1
- 2
- 3
- …
- 18
- Next Page »
