A Q&A on a carbon tax versus cap-and-trade

Luca Taschini, Simon Dietz and Naomi Hicks of Grantham Research Institute recently provided a Q&A in the Guardian comparing a carbon tax against cap-and-trade.  This is a useful article for all EiD readers.   Carbon tax v cap-and-trade: which is better? Economists argue that, if the market is left to operate freely, greenhouse gas emissions … Continue reading A Q&A on a carbon tax versus cap-and-trade →

Roll out of smart meters hits snag in British Columbia, Canada

Justine Hunter writes in the Globe and Mail about the problems that B.C. Hydro is having in providing smart meters to all customers.  While the problem appears to be the fault of the current government, it shows that one cannot take the consumer for granted.  Now the energy company is busily trying to explain to … Continue reading Roll out of smart meters hits snag in British Columbia, Canada →

Retrofits at a fast PACE

Jim Witkin writes for the New York Times about a new financing programme for retrofits in Sacramento California.  The  programme is modelled on the PACE concept – Property Assessed Clean Energy that has no up-front costs.  As countries in Europe are starting to either implement or assess the possibility of such a scheme, it is … Continue reading Retrofits at a fast PACE →

European Environment Agency to give emphasis to climate change and energy in its new work programme

The European Environment Agency (EEA) has released its “Annual Management Plan 2013,” which outlines the EEA work programme that will address a broad range of issues including: air quality and noise; air pollutant emissions; climate change mitigation; climate change adaptation; energy; and transport. The Annual Management Plan includes sections on: EEA mission statement, vision and strategic objectives; … Continue reading European Environment Agency to give emphasis to climate change and energy in its new work programme →

Is the Green Deal a big deal?

Everyone in Europe is watching with great interest how the Green Deal will be implemented in Britain.  It is one of the big “experiments” in trying to improve financing for building retrofits.  The Green Deal has just started and it has, not surprisingly, gained much press attention.  This article by Lisa Bachelor for The Observer … Continue reading Is the Green Deal a big deal? →

Discussing the rebound effect from energy efficiency

On January 24th and 25th, there was an excellent roundtable at the IEA discussing the Macroeconomic Benefits of Energy Efficiency.  There was an extensive discussion on the rebound effect with no real conclusion other than it must be analysed.  How the results are used is up for debate.  By coincidence, that very day there were … Continue reading Discussing the rebound effect from energy efficiency →

Two new reports from the IEA

The International Energy Agency publishes many reports annually.  Two recent ones should be of special interest to EiD readers. The first is on the use and public funding of economic instruments, i.e. government financial tools, in IEA countries to support energy efficiency, particularly in the buildings sector. It is called "Mobilising investment in energy efficiency" … Continue reading Two new reports from the IEA →

Global Futures Report points to transformation policies for renewable energy

Renewable Energy Policy Network for the 21st Century (REN21), in cooperation with the Institute for Sustainable Energy Policies (ISEP), recently released its annual "REN21 Global Futures Report (GFR)," which presents a range of expert perspectives on possible renewable energy futures. The report is based on interviews with more than 170 leading experts and 50 published energy scenarios. It … Continue reading Global Futures Report points to transformation policies for renewable energy →