Europe can hurt the Russian war machine – and help the climate at the same time. Russian president Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine has sparked a wide-ranging revamping of energy policy in Europe with a new, no-holds-barred objective: to wean the continent from Russian fossil fuels — as rapidly and comprehensively as possible — and accelerate the continent’s green energy transition. Paul Hockenos explains.
Year: 2022
Energy in Southeast Asia Series IV: How COVID-19 Stimulus Finance could boost the Energy Transition in Malaysia
In the fourth part of our South East Asia Series, Julian Theseira is looking at the opportunity for public and civil society organizations to encourage their governments’ to change how energy is generated, distributed, and accessed. How can energy systems become more democratic, giving people and communities access to sufficient, affordable, reliable, and renewable energy?
The Climate Movement is Panicking. It shouldn’t.
In the face of setbacks, the global climate movement is at loose ends. But rather than doubt itself – and resort to violence – it has to buildout its prodigious achievements with the kind of non-violent activism that has proved so effective. Paul Hockenos has the story.
Energy in Southeast Asia Series III: Community Renewable Energy – A Tool to Accelerate Cambodia’s Energy Transition
Cambodia is ranked to be one of the top thirteen poorest countries in Asia with its Gross National Income Per Capita of US$ 1,490 in 2020. Of the country’s total population of 17 million, 76% are living in rural areas where electricity is often unreliable, unaffordable and from unsustainable sources. Just over two thirds of grid-connected households face frequent unpredictable power shortages. Oudom Ham takes a closer look as third part of our Southeast Asia Series.
Bulgaria Can Circumvent Russian Gas Freeze
Many Central and Eastern European countries rely on Russia for more of their fossil fuel than Germany does. This is one reason why Russian president Vladimir Putin targeted Bulgaria and Poland when he announced that these two EU and NATO countries would no longer receive natural gas deliveries. Paul Hockenos spoke with Bulgarian energy expert Radostina Primova.
Wintershall Dea and Russia: The fossil fuelled franchise must end!
The war in Ukraine reveals the consequences of Germany’s fossil fuel dependency on Putin’s regime in a brutal way. The international voices to cut these fossil ties are growing by the day. Many oil and gas producing companies – such as BP, Shell and ExxonMobil – have already pulled out of Russia. However, Germany’s largest oil and gas company, Wintershall Dea, is still reluctant to follow these examples. Andy Gheorghiu gives a brief overview about Wintershall’s history and explains how its deep-rooted ties with state-controlled Gazprom – including its Nord Stream projects partnerships and a swap-asset deal that hand-delivered Germany’s largest gas storage to Putin – have also deepened Germany’s dependence on Russia.
New Honduran President takes over an energy sector in shambles
In Honduras, with the election of the new president, hope for a transition towards a renewable-based and non-corrupt energy sector arises. The whole sector requires rebuilding and infrastructural expansion is urgently needed. Though the odds seem positive, open questions remain. Rebecca Bertram discusses perspectives and obstacles.
Energy in Southeast Asia Series II: Sustainability from the Start – The Origin of Raw Materials for Renewable Energy
All too often, discussions on sustainability focus on the end products, overlooking the supply chain. A recent IEA report underlined the need for sustainability criteria for minerals used in renewable energies. Bernadinus Steni has the details. This blog post sheds light on manganese mining as second part of our South East Asia Series.
Betting on biogas to help replace Russian fossil gas in Europe
Since Russia’s devastating invasion of Ukraine on February 24th, EU policy makers and energy companies have been asking themselves an inconvenient but long overdue question: how to finally achieve energy independence from Russian gas? One of their solutions: biogas. The EU recently announced plans to ramp up biogas production to a volume of 20% of current Russian gas imports by 2030. In the new plan, biogas is expected to replace parts of the Russian fossil gas used for heating, industrial processes, and electricity generation.
LNG terminals for Germany Part II: Climate impacts, possible suppliers and priorities in an energy and climate crisis
On April 4, 2022, the IPCC published he third part of the Sixth Assessment Report, Climate Change 2022: Mitigation of Climate Change. Referring to the findings and key results, UN General Secretary António Guterres said that “investing in new fossil fuel infrastructure is moral and economic madness” while also outlining that “such investments will soon become stranded assets”. In this blog post, Andy Gheorghiu explains why new LNG terminals in Germany are not an exception – even after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.