Rhein on Energy and Climate

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More than any other nation Germans have been seduced by the prospect of solar power generation since it has been possible to generate electricity through photovoltaic cells in the 1980`s. Behind this enthusiasm were scores of committed pioneers, tens of thousands of households eager to generate their own roof-electricity and governments setting high hopes on… » 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

In an almost three hour long press conference May 16th, President Hollande has called for a Euro-zone government to overcome recession in the EU. It should dispose of a separate budget and wide-ranging competence to harmonise taxes and economic and social policy, possess the capacity to issue debts and meet regularly under the authority of… » 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

Governance is about setting and implementing rules. It is based on reciprocal trust between governments and citizens. The more citizens share similar values and traditions the easier it is to govern. Big countries or those encompassing different cultures therefore resort to federal structures, which allow much of the rule setting to take place at regional… » read more

Posted by Eberhard Rhein