Month: January 2014

Explaining the drop in energy consumption in Australia

Hugh Saddler, a research associate at the Centre for Climate Economics and Policy at Australian National University, analyses the recent drop in energy demand in Australia in an excellent article in the Climate Spectator.   The demand drop mystery explained Until 2010, for well over a century, through two world wars and the Great Depression, … Continue reading Explaining the drop in energy consumption in Australia →

More gloom in retrofitting houses in Britain

Several EiD posts in the past few months have reported on the difficulties in getting the new energy efficiency financing schemes in the UK – the Green Deal and the Energy Company Obligation – to achieve their expected impact. Damian Carrington writes in the Guardian about, as Andrew Warren of the Association for the Conservation … Continue reading More gloom in retrofitting houses in Britain →

Will there be a new approach to Germany’s energy transition?

Jeanette Seiffert writes on the Deutsche Welle website about the views from the new economics minister on what it will take to reform Germany’s energy transition.  Now that Germany has a new coalition government, it will be interesting to watch how the country’s energy policies evolve.   Germany's economics minister Gabriel seeks reform for renewable … Continue reading Will there be a new approach to Germany’s energy transition? →

Views on sustainability

The environmentalist Tony Juniper writes an excellent article in the Guardian hoping sustainability will be firmly on the political agenda in 2014 but fearing the philosophy of growth at any cost will continue.   The growth versus environment narrative needs to change in 2014 The last year was not a landmark one for progress on … Continue reading Views on sustainability →

Romania takes new approach to renewables

EurActiv and Reuters report that Romania is cutting support for renewable energy projects. Importantly, the government sees this as an important measure to cut price increases to consumers, both residential and industrial.  It is difficult to know what this means for Romania to meet its 2020 objectives. Romania slashes renewable energy subsidies Romania will cut … Continue reading Romania takes new approach to renewables →