Year: 2014


All I want for Christmas is new taxation – and….

Have you been naughty or nice this year? If you were the former, congratulations – you just helped the federal budget. As Craig Morris points out, our efforts to do the right thing have a hidden price tag – they reduce tax revenue. Most of all, he wonders why more people haven’t asked for the thing he wants for everyone from Santa this year.

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Local energy brings greater democracy in Poland

Poland is clearly far from being a leader on climate action – it still uses coal to generate nearly 90 per cent of its electricity. However, below the doom and gloom headlines there are glimmers of hope that reveal a burgeoning will to join the global transition towards a clean energy future. Philippa Nuttall Jones finds that a growing sector of the population is increasingly seeing community energy as a means to a more democratic future.

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Energiewende movers: the federal states

Much of the success of the German energy transition depends on the support of the country’s 16 federal states. A new study shows which German federal states are leading and which are slowing down the development of renewable energy. Komila Nabiyeva summarizes the findings.

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EU Energy Commissioner Canete’s COMECON

Instead of dealing with more pressing issues, Europe’s new energy commissioner Cañete wants to eradicate differences in power prices across Europe. In reality, equal prices are not only impossible to achieve, but make no economic sense, says Jan Ondřich.

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