Throw a frog into boiling water, the story goes, and it will jump out. But if it is placed in cold water that is slowly heated it will not perceive the danger and will be boiled to death. This is just what is happening to the draft Energy Efficiency Directive. Each successive amendment from the… » read more
Archives for energy efficiency
The meaning of Europe’s energy dependency
April 19, 2012
Guest post by Elena Gerebizza – Today concludes the Danish EU Presidency’s informal meeting of energy and environment ministers, where Commissioners for Environment Janez Potocnik, for Climate action Connie Hedegaard and for Energy Günther Oettinger gathered to discuss how best to orient the bloc’s environment and energy policies to ensure a ‘greener Europe to help… » read more
On 8 April climate change minister Greg Barker told the Financial Times “We are working patiently and quietly behind the scenes with EU partners to convince them of the strong economic as well as environmental reasons why we should go for 30 per cent [greenhouse gas emission cuts] rather than 20 per cent”. Barker hopes… » read more
We call it salami tactics: the EU Council is cutting away the Energy Efficiency Directive slice by slice. One tactic is to count savings made prior to the directive’s implementation (see our story on ‘early action’). Another is to credit savings before they have actually been achieved. How this works: several member states are trying… » read more
Member States are rightly shunned by their peers for getting creative with budget deficit figures. So why is there so much support from national governments to apply the same methods to the EU’s draft Energy Efficiency Directive? Leaked documents from European Council meetings show that at least 12 out of 27 Member States are seeking… » read more
Europe must remain a global leader in solar and wind energy
March 26, 2012
Solar electricity generated from PV panels and mirrors is due to become one of the leading sources of power generation in the 21st century. It is abundantly available and will become cheaper to produce than fossil or nuclear electricity, due to technological advances in thin-film solar cells and conversion rates of solar irradiation. EU researchers… » read more
Our life style impacts the environment! Humanity’s environmental footprint has been deepening rapidly in the past decades placing our generation, and the ones to come, in great environmental risks and ‘ecological debts’ requiring immediate actions. The uncontrollable exploitation of natural resources in a continuous industrial, technological and structural development that has been proved ‘unsustainable’, have… » read more
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Climate & Environment, energy efficiency, English, Sustainable Dev. |
The announcement by Prime Minister Wen Jiabao to the Popular Congress that Chinese economic growth is likely to fall from 9.2 last year to only 7.5 per cent in 2012 has immediately led to a sharp decline of the shares of the world`s mining companies that anticipate lower Chinese production of steel, copper, aluminium etc.… » read more
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Climate & Environment, energy efficiency, English, Global Europe |
The EU should phase out conventional Biofuels and tighten Fuel-Efficiency Standards for cars
February 27, 2012
Since 2002 the EU has initiated two sets of policies to reduce green house gas emissions from cars: encourage the use of biofuels from sun flower seeds, rape seeds, soy beans, wheat, corn and palm oil and obtain a share of 5.75 per cent of total fuel consumption in 2010 and 10 per cent in… » read more
Changing the name of engineering in Europe – once ‘good’, then ‘better’, now ‘smart’!
February 23, 2012
By Richard Dick – President of Orgalime, the European engineering industries association Can we please stop considering industry as a ‘dirty’ word? For too long now, industry (and in particular the European engineering industry) has not been given credit where credit’s due. Orgalime, the European engineering industries association indirectly represents (through our national associations) some… » read more
Total abandons Nuclear for Solar
February 14, 2012
On February 10th 2012, Total, one of the three giant European oil and gas companies, has announced that it will scrap its nuclear ambitions and focus instead on gas and solar for complementing its huge and flourishing oil business. This is good news for several reasons. It will make Total`s business more sustainable by putting… » read more
Americans caring about the Planet`s Future should vote for Obama
February 13, 2012
The forthcoming Presidential and Congressional elections in the USA will also be of crucial importance for the future of our planet. Traditionally, Republican Administrations and Congressional majorities have cared more about oil and coal interests than about energy efficiency and renewable energies.
IMO starts addressing C02 emissions from maritime transport
January 20, 2012
Maritime transport accounts for about three per cent of global C02 emissions, as much as air transport. In the absence of an effective international jurisdiction both transport modes have so far escaped an effective curb of their emissions. This situation will change after a decision taken by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) July 15th 2011.… » read more
Airlines look for a new landing strip….
January 16, 2012
Just before Christmas the European Union Court of Justice successfully upheld EU law to include foreign airlines in its Emission Trading Scheme (ETS). From this month, the EU Aviation Directive will force all airlines to buy carbon credits for flights in and out of Europe. The response from large parts of the aviation industry has… » read more
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Climate & Environment, energy efficiency, English, EU Priorities 2020, Transport |
Since January 1st 2012, the EU is engaged in its most complex ever effort to mitigate international climate change: all aircraft landing and starting at EU airports will be subject to the EU emission cap and trading system that has been in force since 2005 for energy and industrial companies. The new legislation is the… » read more
Global Warming will reduce C02 emissions in the northern Hemisphere
December 22, 2011
In North America and Northern Europe roughly more than one third of CO2 emissions are due to heating, which is correlated to average temperatures from October to April. The latest estimates of the German aggregate energy consumption and CO2 emissions in 2011 confirm this rule of thumb. The total German energy consumption is expected to… » read more
German Power Revolution until 2022
December 16, 2011
In 10 years Germany will have to do without nuclear power, which contributed 20 per cent to German electricity supply in 2010. Will Germany replace nuclear power essentially through coal and gas; or will it be able to make a big leap forward towards renewables and higher energy efficiency? Six months after the German parliament… » read more
Private Diary of Centre Right MEP X.
November 28, 2011
Editor’s note: The latest fashion in the debate on the energy efficiency directive is to call for energy intensity targets (i.e. the number of units of energy used to create a unit of GDP) instead of the established 20% reduction in energy consumption. It is important to be aware of the vested interests behind this… » read more
Bricks and mortar
October 21, 2011
Picture this: the doorbell rings and you aren’t expecting visitors.There’s a bright eyed boy standing outside with ‘salesman’ written all over him. Thank goodness, you don’t see any of the outward signs of the zealous evangelist. No short sleeved white shirt with a name tag, no brochure-laden black rucksack. Besides, they always travel in pairs.… » read more
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Climate & Environment, energy efficiency, English, Sustainable Dev. |
Don’t buy an electric car!
September 22, 2011
If you care about the environment, don’t buy an electric car. I have just spent some time in the Great State of Michigan, and while the enthusiasm for electric cars there is palatable, the conversations I have had with people in the field have not been reassuring. Bottom line: if you care about the environment,… » read more