Fossil fuel companies have access to an obscure legal tool – the investor-state dispute settlement – that could jeopardise worldwide efforts to protect the climate

If you do a search on the EiD website for the Energy Charter, you will see many posts that show the Energy Charter Treaty could undermine efforts of the Paris climate agreement. Rachel Thrasher, Law Lecturer and Researcher at the Boston University Global Development Policy Center, Boston University; Blake Alexander Simmons, Postdoctoral Research Fellow in … Continue reading Fossil fuel companies have access to an obscure legal tool – the investor-state dispute settlement – that could jeopardise worldwide efforts to protect the climate →

One African’s view of the recent IPCC report

Victor Ongoma, Assistant Professor at Université Mohammed VI Polytechnique in Morocco writes on The Conversation website about his views on the latest IPCC report published this week. Climate change report: what we must do to avert the looming crisis Climate change is a threat to all aspects of our lives. Every degree of global warming … Continue reading One African’s view of the recent IPCC report →

New publication from OECD: Decarbonising Buildings in Cities and Regions

Accounting for nearly 40% of global carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, and sometimes up to 70% in large cities, buildings are central to the low-carbon transition. Decarbonising buildings, especially older stock, through energy efficiency improvements and renewable energy use not only reduces carbon emissions, but also generates co-benefits in health, energy affordability and the labour market. … Continue reading New publication from OECD: Decarbonising Buildings in Cities and Regions →

New EEA briefing: Europe’s air quality status 2022

Ninety-six percent of Europe’s urban population was exposed to fine particulate matter above the health-based guidelines set by the World Health Organization (WHO), according to the latest annual European Environment Agency (EEA) air quality assessment published this week Vast majority of Europe’s urban population remains exposed to unsafe levels of air pollution Despite a … Continue reading New EEA briefing: Europe’s air quality status 2022 →

The electricity alignment of Ukraine and Moldova is more than a technical integration, it is also a strategic political alignment

But more than just a technical integration of systems and capacity, electricity alignment is also a strategic political alignment not far from the level of joining the EU. Indeed, Russia’s invasion has opened a discussion across Europe and beyond about how and where countries source their energy. It might not guarantee energy security as critical … Continue reading The electricity alignment of Ukraine and Moldova is more than a technical integration, it is also a strategic political alignment →

Germany’s challenges to keep on its energy transition pathway

Trevelyan Wing, Centre Researcher and PhD Candidate, Cambridge Centre for Environment, Energy and Natural Resource Governance (CEENRG at the, University of Cambridge writes on The Conversation website about how the energy supply crisis and the war in Ukraine are causing difficulties for the German federal government to keep to its ambitious policy agenda. What are … Continue reading Germany’s challenges to keep on its energy transition pathway →

After a decade of market-driven policy failure, Britain remains the ‘cold man of Europe’

Britain has homes that are older, draughtier and harder to heat than anywhere else in western Europe. The poor are paying for the problem that is much older than the current energy crisis. Caroline Molloy discusses in an article on the Open Democracy website. Putin isn’t to blame for fuel poverty in the UK … Continue reading After a decade of market-driven policy failure, Britain remains the ‘cold man of Europe’ →

Review of the global heat pump market

Experts see heat pumps as one of the main solutions for tackling the carbon emissions associated with keeping buildings warm, both in the UK and internationally. Yet sales of the technology, often likened to a fridge running in reverse, have remained stubbornly low in many countries. Friends of EiD Jan Rosenow, principal and European programme … Continue reading Review of the global heat pump market →

National Heat Study published in Ireland

Sustainable Energy Authority Ireland recently published the National Heat Study, a comprehensive analysis of the options for reaching net zero emissions from the heating sector by 2050. Comprising a series of technical reports analysing heat supply and use across all sectors, the study provides key insights and proposed actions to decarbonise the sector. Crucially it … Continue reading National Heat Study published in Ireland →

The European Parliament’s lead negotiator has proposed tougher EU targets to reduce energy use this decade

The European Parliament’s rapporteur for the revision of the Energy Efficiency Directive (2018/2002), Niels Fuglsang (S&D, Denmark), has proposed increasing the EU’s energy efficiency target to at least 43% for final energy consumption and 45.5% for primary energy consumption, according to his draft report sent to shadow rapporteurs on Friday 18 February. Kate Abnett writes … Continue reading The European Parliament’s lead negotiator has proposed tougher EU targets to reduce energy use this decade →