Rhein on Energy and Climate

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The success of the Copenhagen Climate Conference is at great risk. International climate diplomats have lost sight of what it should achieve. They seem more concerned with creating new financial mechanisms for adapting to future climate change than getting tangible reductions of green house gases by the major emitting countries. Last Friday, the European Council… » read more

Posted by Eberhard Rhein

The 19/20 March 2009 European Council Meeting was a rare show of European unity and resolution to tackle unprecedented challenges Europe and the world are confronted with. It was visible in declarations of the leaders and the resolute Presidency Conclusions. The accusations of protectionism and the frictions between the French President and the Czech Presidency… » read more

Posted by Eberhard Rhein

The European Association of Electricity Producers (Eurelectric) is prepared to phase out its C02 emitting power plants in the course of the coming 40 years so as to become carbon-free by 2050. In return, it expects a “generous” treatment by the EU on regulatory procedures and support for alternative energies. A priori this looks as… » read more

Posted by Eberhard Rhein

A team of scientists at MIT may have achieved a breakthrough in enabling lithium-ion batteries to become the centre-piece of the future generation of electric engines in light vehicles. They found out that through appropriate design changes, it would become possible to charge and discharge these batteries 100 times faster than at present and to… » read more

Posted by Eberhard Rhein

Humanity is becoming gradually aware that climate change is taking its toll on nature and hurting men, animals and plants alike, everywhere on earth. Scientists tell us that we have to reduce carbon dioxide and methane emissions to 50 percent of 1990 levels (!) before 2050 if we want to avoid a dangerous rise of… » read more

Posted by Eberhard Rhein

PM Gordon Brown has decided to add climate change to the already overcharged agenda of the G 20 summit meeting in London April 2nd. That is a wise and courageous decision considering the poor state of preparation of the International Climate Conference to be held in December in Copenhagen. Indeed, the G 20 countries account… » read more

Posted by Eberhard Rhein

The international community is busy negotiating new C02 reduction targets for 2013-2020. There is agreement that these ought to be much tougher than those for 1990-2010. For the developed countries the ambition is for a 25-40 cut over 1990. That is a tall order! The risk is therefore high that governments will take commitments without… » read more

Posted by Eberhard Rhein

Vattenfall, the state-owned Swedish power company, has announced the take-over of Nuon, a Dutch power company heavily engaged in wind energy. This decision follows the take-over bid made by RWE, the German power giant, for another Dutch utility, Essent, and the completion of the lengthy take-over battle for the Spanish Endesa by the Italian Enel… » read more

Posted by Eberhard Rhein

The global financial crisis has also revealed that ministers of finance and journalists mean different things when talking about big numbers. When the US finance minister summarises his very latest financial package he arrives at more than $ 2000 billion. His continental European counterparts define the same amount as $ 2000 milliard. In continental European… » read more

Posted by Eberhard Rhein

Less than half of the Irish electorate has spoken: By a margin of 100 000 votes it has rejected the Lisbon Treaty. The no-votes express a bizarre mix of misconceptions and ressentiments, that had little or nothing to do with the treaty, which virtually nobody had read. It was un unreadable document, like any text… » read more

Posted by Eberhard Rhein