Energy & climate
How to build an EU energy market
18 February 2010
Unbundling the supply of energy from its transport, moving Europe towards a low-carbon energy system, and getting the Nabucco pipeline built – these were the priorities of the last energy commissioner, Andris Piebalgs. His successor, Günther Oettinger, will write his own to-do list. The EU now has a dedicated climate change commissioner, Connie Hedegard, with whom Oettinger will have to work closely.
Carbon capture and storage: What the EU needs to do
12 February 2010
Coal will be the biggest single source of electricity for decades to come. Yet the EU is doing far too little to encourage the take-up of carbon capture and storage, a technology which could make coal a low-carbon fuel.
Pipeline politics: Why Nabucco is stuck
29 January 2010
Last year, plans for the Nabucco pipeline – almost a decade in the making – appeared finally to make some headway. In March, the EU earmarked €200 million for preparatory work.
Gazprom’s uncertain outlook
18 December 2009
Many people in the EU tend to see Gazprom as a mighty giant that uses energy as a political tool on behalf of the Kremlin. They say that Russia has leverage because it controls 40 per cent of the EU’s gas imports.
Making choices over China: EU-China co-operation on energy and climate
02 November 2009
The EU needs China to move rapidly towards a low carbon economy. Even with strong leadership at the highest level in China, this will not be easy, given the country's scale, diversity and development needs.
How to meet the EU's 2020 renewables target
01 September 2009
The EU countries have promised to get 20 per cent of their energy from renewables by 2020. The EU can meet this target but only if governments take action now to boost investment in the full range of renewable energies.
Choices for Europe
01 May 2009
CER - University of Birmingham
Sluggish economic growth, high unemployment, ageing populations, climate change and security challenges on the borders of Europe have been some of the top priorities on the European agenda since the early 1990s. The EU has tried to tackle these issues, notably through its commitments to reduce greenhouse gases and its Lisbon strategy for economic growth.
Carbon price collapse threatens the EU's climate agenda
01 April 2009
The EU’s emissions trading scheme (ETS) works by capping the output of carbon dioxide and then distributing allowances to emit the gas to large energy users.
Issue 65 - 2009
27 March 2009
- Europe's flagging response to the financial crisis , Philip Whyte
- Carbon price collapse threatens the EU's climate agenda, Simon Tilford
- In the name of EU solidarity, Katinka Barysch
Why global energy markets need governing
02 February 2009
After a year of upheaval it may seem perverse to take the world’s financial system as a model for anything – least of all for governance.
Georgia, Ukraine and energy security
02 February 2009
In January 2006 Russia interrupted gas supplies to Ukraine and triggered a short, sharp shock to Europe in its ever-growing dependency on Russian gas.
Issue 64 - 2009
30 January 2009
- Why global energy markets need governing, Nick Butler
- Georgia, Ukraine and energy security, Dieter Helm
- Obama, disarmament and Iran, Tomas Valasek
After the gas conflict
23 January 2009
On January 20th, Russian gas started flowing again through Ukraine, after a two-week shut-down that had left people in South East Europe freezing and factories idle. The relief across Europe was palpable but the confusion about what happened is still there.First, both Russia and Ukraine said that the dispute was about money that Naftogaz, the Ukrainian gas company, owed to Russia’s monopoly Gazprom for last year’s deliveries. Then it was about the price the Ukrainians should pay in 2009 for the Russian (or Turkmen) gas that it uses domestically. ...
Just another gas crisis?
07 January 2009
Russia has cut off the gas flowing to and through Ukraine – again. Like in January 2006, Moscow and Kyiv are blaming each other, while a convoluted mix of political intrigues, shady middlemen and broken contracts makes it almost impossible for outsiders to ascertain which side is at fault. But the current interruption in gas supplies to Europe is different in many ways from that three years ago.
The EU's climate agenda hangs in the balance
01 December 2008
The EU has entered a severe economic downturn. Not only does Europe face the deepest recession since the 1970s, but the recovery when it does arrive will be weak and patchy.
Issue 63 - 2008
28 November 2008
- The EU's fleeting chance for global leadership, Charles Grant
- The EU's climate agenda hangs in the balance, Simon Tilford
- How the Irish government might save Lisbon, Hugo Brady
Pipelines, politics and power: The future of EU-Russia energy relations
01 October 2008
Does the Kremlin use energy as a political weapon? Why is Russia’s oil and gas output stagnating? Can and should the EU try to reduce its dependence on Russian hydrocarbons? Are the EU and Russia engaged in a pipeline war? What does energy solidarity mean? What rules should govern EU-Russia energy relations?
Europe can afford to curb greenhouse gases
02 June 2008
In March 2007 the EU pledged to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 20 per cent by 2020, from 1990 levels. But as EU governments and the Commission work on the policies needed to achieve this goal, opposition is mounting, particularly towards the Commission’s proposals for reforming the EU’s emissions trading scheme (ETS).
Issue 60 - 2008
30 May 2008
- Towards better days in EU-US relations, Tomas Valasek
- Four pillars for an EU-India partnership, Charles Grant
- Europe can afford to curb greenhouse gases, Simon Tilford
How to make EU emissions trading a success
01 May 2008
The European Union has set ambitious targets to limit greenhouse gases. But it will not be able to meet these targets without an effective market for trading carbon emissions.