Energy in Demand News, September 15, 2024

The Hungarian presidency of the Council of the European Union proposes to exempt aviation and shipping from fuel tax for the next 20 years, according to Transport and Energy, Europe’s leading advocate for clean transport and energy. In an article posted on the eceee website, Transport and Energy says the Hungarian Presidency has put forward a compromise proposal on the Energy Taxation Directive that has been circulated to member states. The proposal exempts aviation and shipping from fuel tax for the next 20 years, with a recommendation that, after 15 years, the EU examines “whether all conditions are met to apply the same minimum level of taxation to aviation fuel as motor fuels”.  Reuters reports that the proposal came about because member states could not agree on earlier plans to introduce a minimum EU tax rate for jet fuel from 2028. “They are now considering exempting both aviation and maritime fuels from these taxes for a further 20 years.”  Jo Dardenne, aviation director at T&E, reacted: “It’s hard to find the words to describe the absurdity of a proposal to delay the introduction of a jet and maritime fuel tax.” Let’s see how far this proposal gets.

An significant new study was published this week on the nature communication website, “The challenge of phasing-out fossil fuel finance in the banking sector.” It finds that there has been no overall decline in fossil fuel lending by banks since the Paris Agreement but “regional differences are apparent”. The researchers explore the network of bank lending relationships that underlie more than $7tn of “syndicated” fossil-fuel debt – where a group of partner banks share risks. A “select cohort” of European banks – including UBS, Credit Suisse and Deutsche Bank – have led the fossil finance phase-out by decreasing “both their individual lending and their influence within the deal syndication network”, the researchers find. However, “several large Japanese and Canadian banks have increased their individual lending and syndication activity”, the study says, “indicating a trend of finance substitution”. The study shows that syndicated debt markets “are resilient to uncoordinated phase-out scenarios without regulatory limits on banks’ fossil fuel lending”, the authors say.

In the context of COP29 in Azerbaijan in November, there is a global call to the UNFCCC to include cultural heritage, the arts and creative sectors in climate policy. In the book Storytelling to Accelerate Climate Solutions, there is a valuable chapter entitled Music as a Vehicle for Climate Change Communication: The ClimateMusic Project. The chapter reviews the evidence for music-based approaches to emotional engagement, information delivery, psychological well-being and social cohesion, and their application in climate change communication.

To ensure that the zero carbon energy transition gains momentum we need a new generation of experts to continue the good work. EiD encourages all young researchers (born after 1989) in energy efficiency and biomass to submit contributions for next year’s Young Energy Researchers Conference on March 5^th as part of World Sustainable Energy Days, March 5-8, 2025 in Wels, Austria. Altogether there are six conferences and a tradeshow packed into the four days. The theme of this year’s energy efficiency conference is “2025: Competitive, collective, climate-neutral!” Submissions for the young energy researchers conference are invited from any scientific field (e.g. technology, engineering, economics, social sciences, architecture, law, arts) and must be in English only. The deadline for submissions is October 10th.  Rod is a member of the scientific committee for the young researchers’ conference.

In planning travel over the upcoming weeks, here is some useful ideas to help you along:

• Lonely Planet’s train expert provides his top 5 rail journeys in Europe for 2024.
• According to Euronews, starting in February next year, the new European Sleeper train will travel between Brussels and Venice, passing through nine different cities.
• For the best hikes in Europe in 2024, there are many good suggestions on the 57 hours website. For those who want to combine hiking with food and wine, check out the Hedonistic Hiking website.
• Climbing House provides the 11 Top Climbing Spots in Europe.
• Epic Road Rides provides their choice of the best places to cycle in September and October.
• The Guardian provides 15 tips for the reluctant camper to love life beneath the stars.

H. L. Mencken (1880-1956), an American journalist, essayist, satirist, cultural critic, and scholar of American English, puts a smile on our face this week: “It is impossible to imagine Goethe or Beethoven being good at billiards or golf.”

EiD welcomes your views about this week’s selection of posts on the zero-carbon energy transition:

• Global standards play key role in addressing climate change
• More communities are demanding accountability for the fossil fuel industry’s contributions to the climate crisis
• Democratic governments should stop using increasingly harsh, overly broad, and vague criminal laws against climate protesters and activists
• Energy upgrade the building stock, IEA tells UK government
• Extend your holidays by taking the train
• The Earth Commission says hope lies in sustainable lifestyles, a radical transformation of global politics and fair distribution of resources
• European Commission unveils State of the Energy Union Report 2024
• Nigeria’s energy transition
• Legislation makes it illegal in The Hague to advertise fossil fuel products and services with a high carbon footprint

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