Rhein on Energy and Climate

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The European winter 2011-12 will go down in history as divided into two unequal parts: very mild until mid-January and in the first half of February. It is therefore appropriate to draw a few lessons. The 2011-12 winter offers no evidence that climate change is a chimera. It is there more than ever, marked by… » read more

Posted by Eberhard Rhein

The forthcoming Presidential and Congressional elections in the USA will also be of crucial importance for the future of our planet. Traditionally, Republican Administrations and Congressional majorities have cared more about oil and coal interests than about energy efficiency and renewable energies. President Obama`s ambitious climate legislation programme has been foiled by a Republican majority… » read more

Posted by Eberhard Rhein

Everywhere on earth metropolitan areas suffer from growing congestion. The situation is bound to become worse, especially in emerging countries, as everybody wants to have a car. More individual traffic cannot be the answer, not the electric car, not even car-sharing. Cities have only one solution: extend their public transport systems, make them faster and… » read more

Posted by Eberhard Rhein

Monday, January 23rd 2012, the new Belgian Prime Minister di Rupo flew to Berlin for a one-hour working lunch with his German counterpart, Chancellor Merkel, to make her personal acquaintance and prepare for the European Council meeting on January 30th. The visit has been extremely short, no more than two hours in the German capital.… » read more

Posted by Eberhard Rhein

After two years of intensive debating in the Council and EP the EU has cleared the path for more comprehensive recycling of the rising volume of electric and electronic waste. By 2020, 85 per cent of the electric and electronic equipment (refrigerators, mobile phones, TVs, radios, computers, vacuum cleaners etc.) sold in the 27 member… » read more

Posted by Eberhard Rhein

Maritime transport accounts for about three per cent of global C02 emissions, as much as air transport. In the absence of an effective international jurisdiction both transport modes have so far escaped an effective curb of their emissions. This situation will change after a decision taken by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) July 15th 2011.… » read more

Posted by Eberhard Rhein

In North America and Northern Europe roughly more than one third of CO2 emissions are due to heating, which is correlated to average temperatures from October to April. The latest estimates of the German aggregate energy consumption and CO2 emissions in 2011 confirm this rule of thumb. The total German energy consumption is expected to… » read more

Posted by Eberhard Rhein