Politics and climate change in America

Many people I’ve talked with recently have raised concerns about the climate negotiations in Paris. The concern is that the Obama Administration may agree to an ambitious target but will Congress endorse it. Eduardo Porter writes a thoughtful article in the New York Times about the political party that we all worry about – the … Continue reading Politics and climate change in America →

Reflecting on Turkey’s sustainable energy future

Everyone is preparing for the global climate conference in Paris later this year. Dr. Jörn Richert, assistant professor for energy governance at the Institute of Political Science at the University of St. Gallen, Switzerland, discusses in the Hurriyet Daily News the issues confronting Turkey as the country tries to be an important player on the … Continue reading Reflecting on Turkey’s sustainable energy future →

Investors need clear long-term policy signals but this is unfortunately lacking in the UK, many say

Criticism of the UK’s energy policy is coming from many sides. Fiona Harvey writes a good article in The Guardian about the lack of clarity damaging investment. There is a good quote by Michael Grubb, well known to many of us: “There is no evidence that privatised or nationalised energy systems are better. What really … Continue reading Investors need clear long-term policy signals but this is unfortunately lacking in the UK, many say →

This week’s briefs

There are some good brief news items this week. • WSED Young Researchers Conference Only a few days remain to submit a paper. The deadline is October 9th. The annual World Sustainable Energy Days [http://www.wsed.at/en/world-sustainable-energy-days/] in Wels, Austria has grown from strength to strength over recent years. The World Sustainable Energy Days are organised … Continue reading This week’s briefs →

Even a Prime Minister gets involved in discussing renewable energy

You know the low carbon transition is underway when a Prime Minister takes an active role chairing a meeting on renewable energy. The Hindustan Times reports on a recent roundtable in India chaired by Prime Minister Modi. This is certainly a welcome development. Modi chairs roundtable on renewable energy with top CEOs Prime Minister … Continue reading Even a Prime Minister gets involved in discussing renewable energy →

In Ireland a dramatic number of households are starting to take energy matters into their own hands

Eoin Burke-Kennedy writes a good article in The Irish Times about predictions in Ireland that up to one-third of Irish households could be generating their own electricity within 10 years. If this does happen, just think about how we have to revise our thinking on our total energy system. No doubt the energy transition is … Continue reading In Ireland a dramatic number of households are starting to take energy matters into their own hands →

Progress being made in promoting renewables in Turkey

Turkey is hosting the G20 this year and that forum gives considerable attention to energy matters, including the energy efficiency action plan. Next year, Turkey is hosting the World Energy Council Congress. Recently a Turkish national became head of the International Energy Agency. Now Metehan Oguz writes on the Morning Consult website about the valuable … Continue reading Progress being made in promoting renewables in Turkey →

Even Saudi Arabia is seriously considering renewable energy

We know the energy transition is on when countries such as Saudi Arabia are taking renewable energy seriously. Anjli Raval writes a good article in the Financial Times about recent developments. Saudi Arabia looks beyond oil to exploit its sunshine Saudi Arabia, the world’s biggest oil exporter, is keen to start harvesting electricity from … Continue reading Even Saudi Arabia is seriously considering renewable energy →

Look at the progress in the past 50 years and yet why does no one notice?

The UK is consuming less energy than it did in 1965. Andrew Warren, a regular contributor to EiD, in a column for the September issue of Energy in Buildings and Industry asks why there is still a widespread belief that economic development and increased energy use go hand in hand. The silent revolution in … Continue reading Look at the progress in the past 50 years and yet why does no one notice? →

Once a global leader, Denmark takes a different approach to climate policies

While this was announced a couple of weeks ago, EiD believes this story needs to be told again. The Local website in Denmark wrote about plans of the new Danish government to scale back its climate change policies. How this fits into its obligations under the European Union is not certain. This is an unfortunate … Continue reading Once a global leader, Denmark takes a different approach to climate policies →