The world's best thinkers on energy and climate
Congress is likely to tackle federal tax reform in 2017 and may consider new ideas. One proposal it should seriously consider is clean tax cuts—the application of supply-side tax rate cuts to investments that reduce the emissions of harmful pollutants. Cutting tax rates on income gained from clean investments such as energy efficiency improvements could incentivize investors to tap large amounts of private capital. … [Read more...]
On 8 June, the UK will head to the polls for the third time in as many years. In an election dominated by Brexit, Carbon Brief tracks the climate change and energy content of parties’ manifestos, as they are launched. … [Read more...]
If you’re in the energy business, here is a new manual for you that lays out the essentials of what energy is and how it shapes geopolitics today. Professor and long-time European Commission official Samuele Furfari has condensed his 39 years of experience in the energy sector into a two-volume tome of more than 1,250 pages. … [Read more...]
In a sign of growing recognition of the global methane opportunity, the Government of Canada today proposed new regulations that aim to curb methane emissions across the Canadian oil and gas industry. This marks the first regulatory package to be introduced by the Trudeau administration for Canada to meet its overall climate goals. … [Read more...]
Producing electricity from biomass is one of the most controversial and least understood forms of renewable energy. In this three part series, we first explored myths and facts about biopower. In this second installment we’ll try to make sense of a seemingly simple question – is biopower good for cutting our carbon emissions? It is anything but simple. … [Read more...]
Stock divestment strategies have been widely proposed to undercut financial support for fossil fuels. The German lignite industry, however, cannot be tackled in this way, writes independent energy expert Jeffrey Michel in a highly informative analysis. Lignite stations and mines are owned by regional communities in the west and a Czech consortium in the east. … [Read more...]
The Australian government has ambitious plans to expand hydropower capacity in Tasmania – and to restrict gas exports so they can be reserved for domestic use. Cle-Anne Gabriel, Lecturer in Sustainability at the University of Queensland, argues these policies are going in the right direction. Courtesy The Conversation. … [Read more...]
Starkly different visions for how conservatives view energy were on display at the Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) The Future of Energy Summit in New York City last week. Right-wing speakers seemed pulled in opposite directions by the twin realities of a changing climate, which is beginning to hit gas companies' bottom lines. … [Read more...]
Energy Secretary Rick Perry clearly has bought into the fact-challenged approach to governing perfected by President Trump and now practiced almost daily by White House spokesman Sean Spicer: In a speech last week to the National Coal Council, Perry told the group that one of key problems from the Obama administration’s energy policies is “that we’re seeing this decreased diversity in our nation’s electric generation mix.” … [Read more...]
Phase-out and reallocation of fossil fuel subsidies (FFS) is a low-hanging fruit for financing and implementing SDGs. First, it has a diverse support base of both sustainable development advocates and “government downsizers.” Second, instead of requiring financing like many sustainable development policies, it could free up hundreds of billions of dollars for implementing multiple SDGs. … [Read more...]
Today’s American nuclear power industry is in a state of upheaval. Four new, large-scale nuclear power plants are under construction in the United States, helped by large federal subsidies. All are being built by Westinghouse, and all have faced massive cost overruns and delays. Westinghouse’s parent company, Toshiba, recently posted a $6 billion loss due to Westinghouse’s nuclear woes. … [Read more...]
When Premier Li recently delivered the 2017 government work report, he stressed the importance of efficient integration of renewable energy as a measure to make Chinese skies blue again. Although China has become the biggest investor in renewable energy and has the most installed capacity, it does not reap the full benefits of these investments. … [Read more...]
Earlier this month, at an automotive testing facility just outside Detroit, President Trump announced that his administration will re-open an eleventh hour final determination by the Obama Administration that would have cemented light-duty fuel economy standards for the years 2022 to 2025. … [Read more...]
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