In ways that have eluded Washington pundits and policymakers, President Barack Obama is deploying a subtle geopolitical strategy that, if successful, might give Washington a fighting chance to extend its global hegemony deep into the twenty-first century, writes author and historian Alfred McCoy. In this pioneering essay, McCoy explains how Obama is countering China’s Silk Road Strategy aimed at dominating the Eurasian landmass by pursuing two … [Read more...]
Canada could be clean energy superpower
The latest report from Clean Energy Canada, a project of the Centre for Dialogue at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, British Columbia, shows that the Canadian clean energy sector employs more people than the oilsands sector and attracts more investment than agriculture. But its potential is even greater, writes Roy L. Hales of the Canadian website the EcoReport. … [Read more...]
China announces national emission trading scheme – experts react
China will launch a national emission trading scheme. In a joint US-China climate statement, issued as part of President Xi Jinping’s state visit to the United States, China said its new trading sytem will cover “key industry sectors such as iron and steel, power generation, chemicals, building materials, paper-making, and nonferrous metals”. On The Conversation, four experts react to this news. "How interesting that China the communist country … [Read more...]
China and US: new climate commitments, common vision
US President Obama and Chinese President Xi announced far-reaching new climate policy proposals on 25 September during Xi's state visit in Washington DC. Ahead of the UN Climate Summit (COP21) in Paris in December, they came out with several new pledges in areas such as climate finance and energy efficiency standards. Moreover, China announced the launch of a national emission trading system in 2017 and the implementation of a new green dispatch … [Read more...]
US desperately needs a national energy policy
The US - and indeed the world - is at a crossroads when it comes to the choice on how we want to provide energy services in the future, writes US energy expert Allan Hoffman. According to Hoffman, the US desperately needs a national energy policy that recognizes the importance of moving to a renewable energy future as quickly as possible. Without such a policy, economic growth, the environment and national security will suffer. … [Read more...]
Solar finance wizard David Arfin: “Why should people have to prepay their electricity bill for 30 years?”
With his invention of the SolarLease for SolarCity, he revolutionised the US residential solar market. Now, David Arfin, CEO of First Energy Finance, wants to take his business model to other parts of the world, including Europe, and apply it to other technologies, like wind, energy efficiency and geothermal heat pumps. In an exclusive interview with Energy Post, he explains his approach and what future financial innovations he sees coming. “Why … [Read more...]
Paris climate summit: EU chooses transformation over decarbonisation
European environment ministers have agreed a negotiating mandate for the EU for the UN climate conference in Paris in December (COP21). Under the influence of Poland and other Eastern European countries, they couched the EU’s ambitions in terms of “transformation” and “climate neutrality”, rather than decarbonisation, leaving room for coal and gas use with carbon capture and storage. The EU is also shifting from a “narrow focus on accounting” of … [Read more...]
Buying energy in the land of the free
European energy users often look with envy at the US, where energy is abundant and cheap. However, writes Benedict De Meulemeester, such simplistic comparisons ignore the many structural differences that exist between the two markets: “In the land of the free, energy markets are in many ways less free – and certainly less transparent – than in Europe.” According to De Meulemeester, Managing Director of E&C Consultants, “a US energy buyer has … [Read more...]
Global coal boom? It ends as China and world wake up to reality of carbon pollution
The idea that the world is experiencing a coal renaissance, as is sometimes assumed or proclaimed by observers, is mistaken, writes Joseph Romm, editor of the weblog Climate Progress. According to Romm, the coal boom of the first decade of the 21st Century has stalled. And there is every reason to expect that it is over for good. … [Read more...]
The Eurasian Big Bang: how China and Russia are carving out their own world order
While politicians in the United States are outdoing each other condemning the Iran nuclear agreement, the rest of the world is moving on, writes Asia Times correspondent Pepe Escobar. Virtually unreported by western media, China, Russia, India, Iran and other nations are establishing financial, economic, political and energy infrastructure partnerships that are changing global relations irrevocably. The EU meanwhile is mostly ignored. … [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...]
The new IAEA-Kazakhstani nuclear fuel bank: key enabler for global expansion of nuclear power
With all the publicity around the Iran nuclear deal, not much attention has been given to an equally significant nuclear move: Â the agreement between the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) with Kazakhstan to establish an independent Low Enriched Uranium (LEU) Fuel Bank. According to energy expert Alan Riley, this initiative could become a key enabler for the worldwide expansion of nuclear power and indeed a key support for a secure future … [Read more...]
Obama’s Clean Power Plan: a modest proposal with revolutionary implications
President Obama’s Clean Power Plan, designed to cut carbon emissions from power plants, seems pragmatic and moderate, certainly by European standards. Yet for US observers it “makes history”, because it is the first time the federal government puts limits on “carbon pollution”. … [Read more...]
Dean Oskvig, CEO Black & Veatch: physics not policy will dictate energy future
“We can make all kinds of policies and laws and regulations, but no legal system is powerful enough to violate the laws of physics,” says Dean Oskvig, President and CEO Black & Veatch Energy, part of Black & Veatch, the US-based global engineering and consulting company. In this exclusive interview, he urges policymakers to focus on infrastructure resilience, cybersecurity and responding to distributed and off-grid electricity generation. … [Read more...]
The YieldCo: the solar revolution meets Wall Street
The invention of the YieldCo is a gamechanger that will enable spectacular growth of solar PV, writes solar pioneer Peter F. Varadi. According to Varadi, the PV YieldCo offers significant advantages over investments in fossil fuel power: no fuel supply is needed, no long-term purchasing contracts for the generated electricity and less costly infrastructure. The solar revolution meets Wall Street. … [Read more...]
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