Rhein on Energy and Climate

Archives for Climate & Environment

The EU suffers from the highest unemployment ever since its start half a century ago. Its political leaders have been unable to respond with appropriate medicines. But they are also increasingly unable to explain their citizens what the EU is all about, what it can do and where it is not competent. They are lost… » read more

Posted by Eberhard Rhein

The Nile River Basin, the longest on earth, will be confronted with rising imbalance between water demand of a rising population and declining supply, due to global climate change. This perspective risks to generate increasing tensions among the 10 riparian countries, especially Egypt and Sudan, which presently obtain 90 per cent of all Nile water,… » read more

Posted by Eberhard Rhein

Due to rising copper and iron prices the face value of 1 and 2 cent Euro coins has fallen below their material value so that the EU has made a cumulative loss of € 1.2 billion over the last 10 years. In addition, the handling costs of small change – transport from central banks to… » read more

Posted by Eberhard Rhein

North Africa and the Arab peninsula are among the best insolated regions on earth. There are very few other areas with comparable duration and intensity of sunshine. If anywhere, it is in the huge Arab desert areas that solar electricity could be generated at competitive terms, provided it will be possible to cope with the… » read more

Posted by Eberhard Rhein

During May 2013 a solar-fuelled plane, piloted by two entrepreneurial Swiss citizens, is crossing the USA from California to New York, with a few stop-overs in major cities. It is an unprecedented event aiming to encourage policy makers and business to adopt sustainable energy solutions. The SOLAR IMPULSE has been conceived by its two pilots,… » read more

Posted by Eberhard Rhein

The EU is in the process of defining its energy/climate policy beyond 2020. This is timely for two reasons: European business needs to be fixed on the policy framework for their long-term investments related to energy, transport, buildings, grids etc. The EU must have advanced on its medium-term climate strategy before engaging in the negotiations… » read more

Posted by Eberhard Rhein

In 2011 the EU Commission set out a long-term energy road-map for a Europe 2050 getting along almost without fossil energies. Though it has sketched out the direction that ought to be taken to that end it has not explained what this would mean for our practical life. The present ”vision” tries to do so.… » read more

Posted by Eberhard Rhein

At the last meeting of the UNFCCC in Doha in December 2012 the contracting parties have pledged to finalise negotiations on an international climate compact before the end of 2015 that should enter into force by 2020. This pledge will only become reality if the international community is prepared to adopt a radically new approach… » read more

Posted by Eberhard Rhein

The decision by BP to sell off 4.6 GW capacity of wind power plants and projects in North America puts an end to an expensive dream to combine renewable with fossil energies that has cost BP some $ 6.5 billion since 2005. Through their investment in 16 wind farms across nine US States, BP had… » read more

Posted by Eberhard Rhein

Investments in the energy sector require long planning horizons. Companies need to plan investments decades ahead. To minimise inherent uncertainties they should be able to rely on a regulatory framework stretching far into the future. The EU energy policy framework with its three key targets – 20 per cent reduction of green house gas emissions,… » read more

Posted by Eberhard Rhein