Energy news as COP23 is taking place in Germany
A selection of climate and energy news as COP23 is taking place in Bonn, Germany.
Germany
France is late on its energy transition
I came across several articles on my home country lately and thought it was the occasion to keep everyone updated on how the French energy transition is going on.
G7 to phase out fossil fuels subsidies by 2025
This could be another turnaround for the fight against climate change as the G7 is willing to eliminate subsidies for oil, coal and natural gas within the decade.
21 countries decouple economic growth from emissions
21 countries from Austria to the United States have cut their greenhouse gases emissions while growing their economies in the past 15 years. This proves that decoupling economic growth and greenhouse gases emissions is feasible.
Europe goes fast forward on climate
Over the past few weeks I collected a series of news on how the European Union is going fast forward on climate change. One can expect emissions will keep on decreasing in the near future, and this albeit the fact they are already 23 percent below their 1990 levels.
The European Union already cut its emissions by 23 percent
While the European Union officials – not ” leaders ” – keep on clinging to 20 % emissions reductions by 2020, the Union has already slashed its emissions by 23 percent. This is taking place ahead of the Paris Climate Conference later this year.
G7 Nations to decarbonize their economies
Now these are great news but there is a major catch, or perhaps two… The first one the date : by 2100, as in 85 years… The second one, they didn’t say even how they would cut emissions.
7.7 million people are now working in renewables
Last year I was reporting that we were 6.5 million people working in the Renewable Energy Industries. If I have – temporarily – left it, many more have joined as now this figure reaches 7.7 million people.
6.5 million people ( and I )
This is the amount of people that are currently working in the renewable energy industries according to a recent report from the IRENA (International Renewable Energy Agency ) Bioenergy ( everything from liquid biofuels to modern biomass and biogas ) have the largest contingency with 2.5 million people (with 1.4 million, 0.8 million and 0.3 …
Germany sets new record on renewables
According to Think Progress : ” On Sunday, Germany’s impressive streak of renewable energy milestones continued, with renewable energy generation surging to a record portion — nearly 75 percent — of the country’s overall energy demand.” ” With wind and solar in particular filling such a huge portion of the country’s power demand, electricity prices actually …
Global wind capacity grew by 12.5 % in 2013
To Enerdata ” global wind capacity increased by 12.5% in 2013, reaching 318,137 MW. During the year, 35,467 MW were installed worldwide, which is almost 10 GW below capacity additions in 2012. “ ” US installations were badly impacted by a policy gap created by the US Congress in 2012; in Europe, installations grew by …
The energy transition already creates jobs
The energy transition from our model based on a huge majority of polluting fossil fuels to a model based on cleantech technologies such as energy efficiency and renewable energy sources will require a lot of money. Indeed, we have seen recently that up to a trillion dollar would be needed every year to do so. …