Accelerating the energy transition in France: drawing inspiration from best practice in our European neighbours
The success of energy transition is first and foremost a question of good governance, which must be based on expertise and collective deliberation.
Sino-American Climate Diplomacy
During COP26, Beijing and the Biden administration committed to reviving Sino-American cooperation on climate issues, in the name of their common interest in climate stability.
India’s Energy and Climate Policies Post COVID-19: Short Term Slowdown, Longer Term Boom in Renewables
India has long been a positive and committed partner in global and domestic climate change mitigation efforts.
The Herculean Task of Decarbonizing the American Power System by 2035
The Biden Administration has so far taken the focus of the Biden candidate on climate issues seriously, especially the commitment made during the campaign of a net zero power system by 2035.
Green Recovery for Sub-Saharan Africa: Boosting Sustainable Electrification
If sub-Saharan Africa followed the same model of economic development as the rest of the world, focused on the growth of carbon intensive industries, cities and infrastructures, it would seal the planet's climate future. Africa’s emissions today are among the lowest per capita in the world: 0.8 tons/capita.
The Potential of Digital Technologies for Centralized Electricity Systems in Sub-Saharan Africa
Affordable and reliable electricity access is a prerequisite for the economic development of sub-Saharan Africa.
Solar Power in Sub-Saharan Africa after COVID-19: Healing the Ills of the Sector
The electrification of sub-Saharan Africa is one of the great challenges of the 21st century. It is essential if we are to succeed in creating the 20 million jobs each year necessary to absorb the demographic growth of the region,[1] which is set to have 2.1 billion inhabitants in 2050, compared to 1.1 billion today.[2]
The Gulf Economies and Energy Transition
The economies of the Persian Gulf are highly dependent on their petrol exports, particularly to Asia.
Academic: Higher carbon price needed to ramp up EU biomethane production
The price of CO2 credits on Europe’s emissions trading scheme needs to rise to around €50 per tonne in order to drive the long-term development of Europe’s biomethane industry, says Marc-Antoine Eyl-Mazzega, a French researcher.
The future of biogas in Europe: it’s a local affair
The prospects for biogas in Europe look bright, with conservative estimates pointing to a tenfold increase in production by 2030. However, the industry will need to stay rooted in the local economy and come clean on environmental credentials if it wants to avoid a green backlash, analysts say.
The need for a strategic recycling approach to take up the challenge of critical metals
In September 2010, China stopped all exports of rare earths and associated products to Japan, depriving Japan’s industry of essential raw materials. This decision highlighted the tensions around the trade of critical materials and China’s monopoly on a group of particular metals. Western countries had already taken some initiatives so as to reduce, or at least to analyse their vulnerabilities in the segment of critical materials.
Japan’s Hydrogen Strategy and Its Economic and Geopolitical Implications
With the Basic Hydrogen Strategy (hereafter, the Strategy) released on December 26, 2017, Japan reiterated its commitment to pioneer the world’s first “Hydrogen Society”. The Strategy primarily aims to achieve the cost parity of hydrogen with competing fuels, such as gasoline in transport and Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) in power generation.
More renewables in the European Union? Yes, we can
The European Union is about to adopt new renewable energy targets for 2030. While going beyond the initially-planned 27% is absolutely feasible, the EU strategy can only be credible if it is based on a good mix between performance and effort obligations, and also includes possible review clauses.
Trump's Tax Reform and Trade Policy: Renewables Spared, Oil Industry Wins
The energy sector is one where the break between the Trump and Obama administrations is the most pronounced. The three officials in charge, Rick Perry at the Department of Energy (DoE), Scott Pruitt at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Ryan Zinke at the head of the Department of the Interior (DoI), share the same indifference to the issue of climate change, the same will to encourage oil and gas production in the USA in order to bring an era of American “energy dominance”, the same desire to promote the extraction of “beautiful, clean coal”, to paraphrase President Trumps’s State of the Union address, and the same deep mistrust of renewable energies such as wind and solar.
South Korea's New Electricity Plan. Cosmetic Changes or a Breakthrough for the Climate?
Shortly after his inauguration in May 2017, the President of South Korea, Moon Jae-In, announced a major policy shift away from nuclear and coal power, and toward renewables and gas. This would have meant a complete U-turn from previous policies, considering that nuclear and coal produced 40% and 30% respectively of Korea’s total electricity in 2016.
Renewable Energy in India: Solutions to the Financing Challenge
India has committed to ambitious action on climate change, but financing its renewable energy goals remains a significant challenge.
Solar Photovoltaic Energy Policy in Europe: Losing Sight of What is Right: Current Developments and Lessons Learned for Policymakers and Industry
Europe has set ambitious but drastic targets in order to fight climate change. The 20-20-20 objectives demonstrate this. By 2020, emissions are to be reduced by 20%, the share of renewable energy sources (RES) in energy consumption is targeted to rise to 20%, and energy efficiency is planned to increase by 20% in comparison to the 1990 levels in Europe.
Powering Kuwait into the 21st Century: Alternatives for Power Generation
Kuwait is facing a surge in the consumption of power. The current power fuel mix, based on oil, appears unsustainable. Yet Kuwait has a large number of assets.
German Nuclear: Green Is Good Politics
In polarized politics, the voter must take on faith the wisdom inherent in the principled political position. Who cannot be impressed by the nuclear catastrophe at Fukushima, especially after living through the fallout from Chernobyl? But is it reasonable to send the voter to the booth with only half the information? Does the German voter have any idea what it means to shut down its nuclear power in just ten years? Have German politicians made any effort to tell them?
European Energy Policy: Energy Savings Glass 2/3 Empty
Summing up Europe’s climate policies suggests we still haven’t grasped the full potential for energy savings. We act as if we were living in a system with infinite resources easily exploited by human innovation and ingenuity. We focus on the efficiencies we can gain from components of our system, but not on the system as a whole and we do not consider how the other billions of people on earth can achieve our level of comfort with a resource or carbon-constrained future and with aspirations that necessarily imply sharply growing energy consumption.
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