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Good morning,
Fossil fuel emissions need to hit zero by end
of this century to reduce the dangerous and irreversible impacts of climate
change, says the latest IPCC report. That may seem a long way off, but global
emissions are still rising relentlessly and according to the IEA's latest World
Energy Report on current trajectories we will exhaust the global carbon budget
by as soon as 2040.
A significant step was made this Wednesday when
the world’s two biggest polluters, the US and China announced a new climate
deal. The agreement sees the US cutting emissions to 24-26% below 2005 levels by
2025, while China pledges to cap its emissions by 2030. Further and more
ambitious commitments are required to meet IPCC targets, but the agreement gives
some hope for global negotiations in Paris next year – seen by many as the last
chance for meaningful action. Whether President Obama still has the political
muscle to make good on the deal, with Republicans in control of both legislative
houses following last week’s elections, remains to be seen.
Decarbonisation is going to require a huge
deployment of renewables. Such a scenario is looking increasingly viable:
Deutsche Bank sees solar power reaching a price competitive with conventional
electricity in all but 3 US states by 2016. The IEA report shows renewables
growing strongly as costs fall, and on target to be the biggest source of
electricity by 2040, but more needs to be done. Governments are still
subsidising fossil fuels by $550bn a year – four times the amount spent
supporting renewables. And it isn’t just oil dependent nations; an Overseas
Development Institute report released this week found that the G20 alone spends
$88bn on fossil fuel subsidies including generous tax breaks for exploration for
new reserves.
Another expose on government support for fossil
fuels, specifically the UK government’s support for fracking, was released by
the UK Energy Research Centre this week. The report author Professor Jim Watson
said: “Shale gas has been completely oversold. Where ministers got this rhetoric
from I have absolutely no idea. It’s very misleading for the public.” Perhaps
the government could now move its charm offensive to renewables.
Best wishes,
Simone Osborn
Co-editor, Energy
Crunch
Three things you shouldn't miss this week
- Infographic: The fossil fuel
bailout
Source: ODI
- Article: End
fossil fuels by 2100 - the dramatic 'final warning' over climate
change - Fossil fuels will have to be significantly scaled back in
the coming decades, and eliminated entirely by 2100, in order to keep within
what is widely considered to be the “safe” limit for global warming.
- Article: Fracking
won't cut bills and ministers 'oversold' shale gas benefits, experts
say - Ministers must "stop banking on this idea that shale is going
to be plentiful and cheap", Government-funded UK Energy Research Centre says.
Energy Transition
America’s
solar boom, in charts - Last week, an energy analyst at Deutsche Bank came
to a startling conclusion: By 2016, solar power will be as cheap or cheaper than
electricity from the conventional grid in every state except three.
Local
communities to be offered stakes in wind farms and renewable energy stations
- People living near wind farms and hydroelectric power stations could soon be
able to buy stakes in renewable energy projects as part of community ownership
schemes.
Oil & Gas
Energy
security threatened by rising tensions, says IEA report - The US shale gas
boom is disguising serious risks to the security of global energy supplies,
according to one of the industry's leading consultancies.
Texas
oil town makes history as residents say no to fracking - The Texas town
where America’s oil and natural gas boom began has voted to ban fracking, in a
stunning rebuke to the industry.
Vladimir
Putin: oil price decline has been engineered by political forces - As
slumping oil prices dampen Russia's economic outlook, the country's President
has said that "at some moments of crisis it starts to feel like it is the
politics that prevails in the pricing of energy resources".
Russia,
China Add to $400 Billion Gas Deal With Accord - China and Russia deepened
their energy ties with a second blockbuster deal that lessens Russian reliance
on Europe.
Oil
price slump exposes Canada’s tar sands risk – report - As global oil prices
fall below US$85 a barrel, polluting tar sands ventures become a bigger gamble,
says Carbon Tracker.
Romania
does not have shale gas, PM Ponta says -
Romania has fought hard to discover shale gas that apparently does not exist,
Prime Minister Victor Ponta said late on Sunday.
Coal
India
aims to double coal production in five years - Energy minister targets a
billion tonnes of coal in 2019 to meet soaring electricity demand.
The
real story of US coal: inside the world's biggest coalmine - Despite Obama’s
pledge to cut carbon emissions, production at North Antelope Rochelle mine in
Wyoming is booming - and climate change is off the agenda.
Nuclear
Nuclear
– The Thin End of a Failing Wedge - Just over a decade ago, Stephen Pacala
and Robert Socolow of Princeton University published “Stabilization Wedges:
Solving the Climate Problem for the Next 50 Years with Current
Technologies”.
French
government on high alert after unexplained drone flights over nuclear power
stations - An epidemic of mysterious – and potentially disturbing – drone
flights over French nuclear power stations remains unexplained despite the
recent arrests.
UK
Shale
gas: George Osborne proposes north of England fund - Shale gas extraction
revenues could be held in a "sovereign wealth fund" for the north of England,
the chancellor has said.
Government
too optimistic over coal plant retirements by 2030, says study - The UK
government’s projections that coal will be off the system by 2027 are wrong,
according to modeling from Imperial College London.
Five
things we learned from DECC's annual energy statement - There's a mass of
information in the report, but you probably don't have time to read it. So here
are five things we learned from DECC's annual energy statement.
'Major'
coal find under Firth of Forth - An energy firm has announced plans to
extract gas from under the waters of the Firth of Forth following a major coal
find.
EA
likely to approve fracking bid on the Fylde coast - The Environment Agency
has said it is inclined to grant permits to allow fracking at a site in
Lancashire.
Factcheck:
Are UK fracking regulations on earthquakes 'ridiculous'? - Scientists at the
University of Glasgow have branded current rules designed to limit tremors from
fracking operations to 0.5 on the Richter scale “ridiculous”.
Climate
US
and China strike deal on carbon cuts in push for global climate pact -
Barack Obama aims for reduction of a quarter or more by 2025, while Xi Jinping
sets goal for emissions to fall after 2030.
Rich
countries subsidising oil, gas and coal companies by $88bn a year - US, UK,
Australia giving tax breaks to explore new reserves despite climate advice that
fossil fuels should be left buried
Poland
rejects IPCC target of zero emissions by 2100 - IPCC recommendation to phase
out fossil fuels by end of century to avoid dangerous global warming is
categorically rejected by Poland and other eastern European countries
Related Reports and
Commentary
WEO-2014
executive summary - International Energy Agency (IEA)
Climate
Change 2015 Synthesis report – Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
(IPCC)
Ninety
percent of future oil sands projects at risk from eroding oil price – Carbon
Tracker
The
fossil fuel bailout: G20 subsidies for oil, gas and coal exploration –
Overseas Development Institute (ODI)
A
Bridge to a Low-Carbon Future? Modelling the Long-Term Global Potential of
Natural Gas - UK Energy Research Centre (UKERC)
The
UK’s Global Gas Challenge - UK Energy Research Centre (UKERC)
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