David Robert Grimes of Oxford University has written an excellent article in The Guardian about what really motivates deniers. As Grimes writes, true sceptics test a hypothesis against the evidence, but climate sceptics refuse to accept anything that contradicts their beliefs. Denying climate change isn't scepticism – it's 'motivated reasoning' The grim findings of the … Continue reading Understanding climate deniers
The truth be told . . .
H&V News reports about a new survey in the UK to get a better understanding of what British people feel about energy efficiency. Interestingly, the highest percentage has an exaggerated view about how energy efficient they are. It would be good to know how the British compare with others in Europe and globally. They probably … Continue reading The truth be told . . .
Dealing with air pollution creating greater transparency in China
China knows it has an air quality problem that has to be tackled directly and effectively. Surprisingly, this is including the disclosure of data on air pollution, as shown in the following article by Simon Denyer in the Washington Post, and now 15,000 factories are required to publicly report details on their air emissions and … Continue reading Dealing with air pollution creating greater transparency in China
Unintended impact of renewable energy targets in Romania
We have seen many EU member states retreating from high feed-in tariffs for renewable energy. We see Germany bounding ahead with renewables as its centrepiece for its energy transition. We have seen the European Commission recently propose a binding target for renewable energy for 2030, but binding only EU-wide and not for individual countries, whatever … Continue reading Unintended impact of renewable energy targets in Romania
The roller coaster approach to renewable energy policy
This article by Colm Kelpie in the Irish Independent is quite disturbing because EU and national energy policies were supposed to develop a long-term policy framework that gave investors confidence and reduced risk. Instead, we are seeing the traditional stop-start approach to energy policy. If we are serious about 2030 or 2050 energy and climate … Continue reading The roller coaster approach to renewable energy policy
Europe is losing out because of the wide energy price gap with the US
There is much discussion on Europe’s competitiveness and how the region is losing out to other countries with much lower energy prices. As Pilita Clark of the Financial Times reports, the IEA’s chief economist is of the opinion that Europe is going to have difficulties for the next couple of decades, because the price gap … Continue reading Europe is losing out because of the wide energy price gap with the US
Quote of the week
Many were disappointed with last week’s proposals from the European Commission for targets for energy and climate for 2030. It is important to reflect on the words from the inventor of the “long lasting, practical” incandescent light bulb (and much more), Thomas Edison: We are like tenant farmers chopping down the fence around our house … Continue reading Quote of the week
Impact of energy-efficient homes
A study in Ireland shows that investing in improving the energy performance of homes brings good dividends to the overall asset value. This post was written by Paul Melia of the Irish Independent. Energy-efficiency measures add 10pc to home value Homeowners have added almost 10pc to the value of their homes by investing in … Continue reading Impact of energy-efficient homes
Survey of indoor temperatures in the UK
Ian Johnston of The Independent reports on a recent study that surveyed indoor temperature has risen almost 14 % since the 1970s, with an actual decrease in average household consumption. Many from other EU countries will be surprised that the average temperature is now 17.7 degrees C. Furthermore, more than a third of people keep … Continue reading Survey of indoor temperatures in the UK
Multiannual financial framework 2014-2020 and EU budget 2014
Everyone has been concerned about the EU’s multiannual financial framework that was finally agreed upon. The budget of the EU has a considerable influence on the extent and impact of its full range of policies and programmes. The EU Bookshop has just published a report that presents the key figures of the 2014–2020 multiannual financial … Continue reading Multiannual financial framework 2014-2020 and EU budget 2014
