Rhein on Energy and Climate

On October 9th 2010, the 192 member governments of the ICAO have agreed on a resolution to address C02 emissions from air traffic, which has rightly been dubbed “historic”. It calls upon • a 2 percent annual improvement of fuel efficiency up to 2050; • the development of C02 standards of aircraft engines by 2013;… » read more

Posted by Eberhard Rhein

On an ordinary October day 2010 the international media carried four reports concerning EU activities: EU moves to block a Polish deal with Russia; EU claims victory over aircraft C02 emissions; EU Parliament to extend motherhood vacation to 20 weeks; EU Presidency proposes compromise over environmental levies on trucks. Each of these apparently trivial and… » read more

Posted by Eberhard Rhein

US militaries have for a long time warned of the impact from climate change global security and, more directly, of the security risks resulting from excessive US dependence on imported oil from an unstable Middle East. But recently, as the New York Times reports, the Army has taken concrete steps towards weaning itself off fossil… » read more

Posted by Eberhard Rhein

In two months another climate conference will take place. Formally it will be the 16th meeting of the “Contracting Parties of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change” (COP 16). Nobody following climate issues has high expectations for its outcome. That makes it different from Copenhagen. After the failure of the climate legislation package in… » read more

Posted by Eberhard Rhein

The EU has been in a process of permanent enlargements since its very beginning in 1958. In 2010 it is negotiating with two more candidate countries: Croatia and Turkey. It has given membership promises to six West Balkan countries (Serbia, Montenegro, Macedonia, Bosnia, Albania and Kosovo). In the East, Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia also cherish… » read more

Posted by Eberhard Rhein

The Philippine President Aquino has angered the Catholic Church in his country by announcing his intention to make contraceptives freely available to couples who cannot afford them. This incident did not happen in the 20th century but at the end of September 2010! No other single institution in the world has been responsible for so… » read more

Posted by Eberhard Rhein

For the past 50 years European farmers have benefited from an exceptional set of protection and subsidies. No other group of society, with the exception of coal miners, has ever been so pampered through guaranteed prices and, in the last 15 years, direct subsidies from the EU budget. From 1995 to 2010, the cumulative budget… » read more

Posted by Eberhard Rhein

Against the backdrop of rapidly deteriorating climate conditions on our planet – warming of the Arctic Sea, progressive destruction of coral reefs, increasingly violent floods and droughts – it is good to occasionally pause on some optimistic developments. The decisions taken in the last few years by the governments of Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, Jordan and… » read more

Posted by Eberhard Rhein

Within just five years China has established itself as the dominant world manufacturer of solar panels and wind turbines. In 2010, it looks poised to account for about half of global production for what are the key market segments of renewable energies, with a focus on EU and USA, the two major markets. It has… » read more

Posted by Eberhard Rhein