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.
Is Germany now bad for traditional utilities?
And then there were three… E.ON, one of Germany’s Big Four utilities, is selling its conventional power plant fleet. Is this a special case, or is E.ON setting an example for the other utilities? Craig Morris investigates.
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.
Electro-mobility gets going in Germany – albeit slowly
Germany is a bit of a laggard when it comes to electric cars, and the Energiewende has not focused on the transport sector enough. But it seems like this is about to change. Craig Morris investigates.
What neighboring countries think of Germany’s energy transition
Last month, BP – the oil company – conducted a survey in five countries bordering Germany to see what they thought about the Energiewende. Craig Morris investigates.
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.
German government passes climate package
Yesterday, Chancellor Merkel’s cabinet officially adopted a set of new laws to help the country reach its 2020 carbon emissions reduction target of 40 percent relative to 1990. Craig Morris says the winner is… efficiency!
Christmas comes early for Central and Eastern Europe in the form of free carbon credits from Brussels
The EU’s 2030 climate package contains free emissions trading allowances for Central and Eastern Europe’s carbon-intensive industries. Thereby, Brussels not only conceded to the environmental damage and long overdue changes to the market, but also to the possibility of corruption. Jan Ondrich explains.
The role of Latin America in global emissions
What is holding Latin American countries back from reducing carbon emissions? Sandra Guzman points to the central role that fossil fuels play in key economies of South America. With the discovery of non-conventional sources of fossil fuels in countries like Brazil and Mexico, tackling an energy transition might become even more challenging.