The REPowerEU plan to end Europe’s dependence on Russian gas would still leave it in hock to fossil-fuel companies. Pascoe Sabido has the story. A longer version originally appeared in Social Europe.
All posts tagged: European Union
Green hydrogen as a substitute to Russian gas – could Latin America be an energy partner to Europe?
Russia’s aggressive war in Ukraine means Europe has to look elsewhere to secure its energy supplies. Green hydrogen could be an important new fuel, and here Latin America has the potential to become the next energy partner to Europe. The ongoing trade talks for a EU-Mercosur free trade agreement can provide a space for such negotiations. Rebecca Bertram has the details.
LNG: The liquid path to climate chaos
Europe wonders how quickly and safely it can end its dependency on Russian gas. Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) is being promoted as a solution. The new report “LNG: The liquid path to climate chaos” raises a number of reasons to be sceptical about LNG as a choice for Europe. Eilidh Robb and Frida Kieninger have the details.
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.
Energy conservation can hurt the Russian war effort
Energy efficiency has long been overlooked to the detriment of the larger smart energy transition. Now it’s being shortchanged to the disadvantage of besieged Ukraine. Paul Hockenos explains.
Repost: Ukraine and Moldova’s synchronisation with the Continental European Electricity Grid
On 16 March 2022, following a request by Ukrenergo and Moldelectrica (the electricity transmission system operators in Ukraine and Moldova) for emergency synchronisation, ENTSO-E (the European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity) began the trial synchronisation of the Continental European Power System with the power systems of Ukraine and Moldova. This article is a repost, originally published by the European University Institute (EUI) on 17th of March 2022.
Russia’s New Climate Strategy is All About Russia, not Climate Protection
Tellingly, it was concern about the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), the EU’s proposed carbon tariff on carbon-intensive products, that pushed Moscow to get more serious about lowering emissions. Paul Hockenos investigates.
Methane pledges with no cutting edges? Is the EU Commission ready to walk the talk on tackling crucial overall emissions?
At the beginning of the COP26 the United States, the European Union and over 100 partner countries launched the so-called Global Methane Pledge – aiming at reducing global methane emissions by at least 30 percent from 2020 levels by 2030. The overarching goal is to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels (1850-1900). At the same time, the EU Commission is working on a legislative act to reduce methane emissions in the oil, gas and coal sectors. Andy Gheorghiu summarizes the state of play, explains the importance of the petrochemical sector and the supply chain and questions how ambitious the upcoming EU methane regulation might be.
Beyond Copper: How Virtual Power Plants Make the Smart Grid Smarter
Across Europe, information and communication technologies are optimizing clean-energy systems by making them more connected, intelligent, efficient, reliable, and cheaper. Germany and France lead the pack.
The EU’s New Plastics Economy is Breaking Ground
Europe is doubling down on efforts to curtail plastics production and waste. There’s much other continents can replicate – and plenty of room for improvement.