Obama’s Clean Power Plan good for renewable energy

Every day we are reading more on the impact of Obama’s recently announced Clean Power Plan. Chris Mooney provides a good article in the Washington Post about the impact on the wind industry. The boom in wind energy couldn’t be coming at a better time The Obama administration’s Clean Power Plan, released last week, … Continue reading Obama’s Clean Power Plan good for renewable energy →

Cementing change

With all of the attention that has been given to the Obama administration’s moves to implement climate change policies, it is hard to find a new angle for readers. Chris Mooney writes in the Washington Post that the current renewable energy boom in the US actually made it easy for the Environmental Protection Agency to … Continue reading Cementing change →

The impact of China’s economic slowdown on the energy sector

Nick Butler writes a good blog in the Financial Times about the dynamics of the energy sector in China, given the current economic situation. There are definitely implications for all of us, given the size of China’s economy. The energy implications of China’s downturn The Chinese economy is clearly going through its most serious … Continue reading The impact of China’s economic slowdown on the energy sector →

Irish see major cuts in support for energy efficiency

Marie O'Halloran writes in the Irish Times about grant funding to improve the energy performance of homes has been cut in the past three years from €57.6 million to €9.9 million in three years. Is Ireland still on track to meet its 2020 EU energy savings targets? Government policy home energy efficiency ‘short-sighted’ Less … Continue reading Irish see major cuts in support for energy efficiency →

Business starts to raise concerns about UK government’s reduction of subsidies for renewable energy

Pilita Clark writes a good article in the Financial Times about Siemens’ concerns about the British government’s scrapping of many subsidies for renewable energy. They worry that “doubt and uncertainty discourages investment decisions” Siemens weighs into UK green energy row One of the world’s biggest industrial conglomerates has weighed into a row about green … Continue reading Business starts to raise concerns about UK government’s reduction of subsidies for renewable energy →

France sets the bar for energy savings

This was a very strange week, with the UK deciding to cut many of its renewable energy subsidies together with ending its flagship Green Deal and France taking an opposite view. Mike Szabo writes a very good article on the Carbon Pulse website, describing the measures in the energy bill that was approved in France … Continue reading France sets the bar for energy savings →

Taiwan putting a focus on addressing energy consumption in its energy-intensive sectors

John Liu writes in the China Post about mandatory energy efficiency measures that will come in place next year in Taiwan. While the main focus is on the textile industry, the article also considers what is happening in the other energy-intensive industrial sectors. Textile industry to face mandatory energy caps Starting next year, mandatory … Continue reading Taiwan putting a focus on addressing energy consumption in its energy-intensive sectors →

Explaining climate policies in Australia

Andrea Bunting writes a thorough overview on the greenleft website on the situation in Australia to balance climate policies with its priorities to be a major energy and commodity producer. It will be interesting to see Australia’s position at the global climate summit in Paris later this year. What’s wrong with emissions trading Australia’s climate … Continue reading Explaining climate policies in Australia →

UK position on energy efficiency getting clearer but not good

Florian Kern, co-Director of the Sussex Energy Group, a Research Fellow working on a project on ‘policy synergies and trade offs for low energy innovation‘ at the Centre on Innovation and Energy Demand, and a Senior Lecturer at SPRU-Science Policy Research Unit, writes about another about face for the UK government. This blog is on … Continue reading UK position on energy efficiency getting clearer but not good →

Great expectations but . . .

Implementing energy efficiency policies and programmes is complex and quite unlike anything on the energy supply side. The stakeholders are different, the data required for monitoring are different, and the beneficiaries are different. Countries have been encouraged to establish units within their ministries responsible for energy or at least specialised institutions that have close links … Continue reading Great expectations but . . . →