Comment:Visions

EU Emissions Trading Scheme: Fit for purpose?

Editor — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 10:06:57 +0000

The EU’s emissions trading scheme (ETS), which was launched in 2005, is central to the European Union’s efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. It provides a marketplace for buying and selling emissions trading rights. By setting a price for CO2 emissions, the scheme is intended to establish the most cost-effective way of lowering emissions and encouraging investment in low carbon technologies.

This year airlines will be required to take part in the scheme and pay for emissions rights for the first time. The decision, which applies to all airlines whose planes land and take off in the EU, has been attacked by airlines based outside the EU. A group of US airlines launched a legal challenge to having to pay for emissions rights in the European Court of Justice last year. In December the ECJ backed the EU’s right to include all airlines in the scheme. Authorities in the US and China have threatened to take retaliatory action if the EU goes ahead with forcing airlines to pay.

The ETS will enter its third stage from January 2013 with a further reduction in the total amount of allowances. Seven years since the ETS started operating, there are questions about whether the scheme is being as effective as it should in contributing towards reducing CO2 emissions. The economic downturn in the EU has reduced industrial activity which has, in turn, lowered the price of carbon to under €10 a tonne, a level which experts believe is too low to incentivise the necessary investment in low carbon technologies.

Some industry groups and environmental campaigners are calling for a revision of the ETS so it plays its intended part in combating climate change. In December, MEPs on the European Parliament’s environment committee voted on draft legislation on energy efficiency to take 1.4 billion emissions trading rights out of the system in 2013-2020. This would raise the carbon price by reducing the supply of emissions certificates. Energy-intensive industries, on the other hand, oppose tightening the scheme.

The aim of this event is to examine how the ETS is working and whether it needs a major overhaul. It will discuss the impact of including additional sectors such as airlines and shipping in the scheme on efforts to cut CO2 emissions and assess the possible political consequences. The event will also look at the importance of the ETS in maintaining the EU’s global leadership role in combating climate change.

Provisional Timing

18.00-18.30 Welcome of participants and registration
(registration desk at Esplanade entrance of Altiero Spinelli (ASP) building)

18.30-18.35 Introduction of participants by Simon Taylor, news editor, European Voice

18.35-19.05 Panel discussion*

- Peter Liese MEP, opinion rapporteur for the environment committee on the energy efficiency directive and rapporteur on the inclusion of aviation into the ETS, European Parliament

- Jos Delbeke, director-general for climate action, European Commission

- Baroness Bryony Worthington, founder, Sandbag

- Robert Jeekel, director, energy & climate change

19.05-19.55 Debate (audience participation strongly encouraged)

19.55-20.00 Conclusions by David Hone, Senior Group Climate Change Advisor, Shell

20.00 Networking reception

*Please note that the speakers are in the process of being invited and we are still awaiting their confirmation

Comment:Visions is media partner for The World Biofuels Markets Congress & Exhibition, Rotterdam 2012

Alexandra Constantinescu — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 17:04:38 +0000

World Biofuels Markets: the largest and most successful Congress and Exhibition in the biofuels industry

We are proud to announce that Comment:Visions is media partner for The World Biofuels Markets Congress & Exhibition, Rotterdam 2012, helping bring together the entire value chain of the biofuels industry to do business.

Here are the highlights from last year’s conference.

Participants at the 2012 event include specialists from the following fields: aviation biofuels, advanced biofuels, biorefinery platforms, finance & investment, biodiesel production, bioethanol production, automotive futures in bioenergy, biogas in transportation and more.

Click here to book a ticket.

Energy at the crossroads

Robert Zlokower — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 10:51:15 +0000

Meeting the energy demands of our increasingly urbanised society while also cutting greenhouse gas emissions seems like an almost impossible task. It’s a formidable challenge that sees the energy sector at the crossroads. This month on Commentvisions.com we’re discussing the role that society can play in delivering a clean energy future. And we’re looking back, in this programme, at the last year in which we’ve discussed energy and the future with experts across Europe.

Pop on a pod at Heathrow

Jeremy Wilks — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 13:01:26 +0000

It’s good to realise your ambitions, and to do that it’s a good idea to keep your ambitions realistic. So for a while one of my dreams has been to ride on the Heathrow pod, the futuristic-looking new transport system that links Heathrow Terminal 5 with the Business Car Park. The pods have been under development for a decade, and under testing at LHR for many months. Given the ‘difficulties’ that T5 encountered with baggage handling when it was first opened, BAA has been cautious about inviting the press to film the pods in action until they were truly working perfectly.

And I can now say that they most definitely are working perfectly, with what the owners, Ultra Global PRT, say is an over 99% reliability rate.

So what are they? As you can see from the photo, the pods are small car-sized vehicles that easily accomodate four people and their luggage. They travel independently, without tracks or guide rails, and they can hum along at up to 40km/h. The idea is that the pods are quicker and more convenient than a bus service, and they don’t produce any emissions at their point of use.

The technology they employ is nothing new, but the way it’s integrated is. So the electric motors from Italy are already used in electric vehicles elsewhere, and the batteries and tyres are just the same as those found on a small car.

What’s more, these PRT, or Personal Rapid Transit systems are from three to five times cheaper than an urban railway system like the Docklands Light Railway in east London.

There are no high-tension electricity cables and no tracks, just some regular tarmac on raised pathways, and that makes them significantly less costly to introduce to a city environment.

Ultra imagines its PRT being used in business parks, university campuses and as a feeder to larger public transport networks. As the pods are clean and extremely quiet, they fit very well with new, traffic-free zoning policies being introduced in cities around the world.

At the moment there are 21 vehicle on the system, with 19 active at any given time, and T5 has reported a significant rise in the number of people using the business car park, so that must indicate that the customers rather like travelling by pod.

From my own experience I must say that I do too – it’s quiet, surprisingly fast, and there always seemed to be a pod ready to go at each station, meaning there was no hanging around waiting for the bus. The way the cars use lasers and computer mapping to steer their way around the track perfectly is impressive too.

Ultra says it can scale up its PRT system to at least 100 vehicles quite easily, and the firm is busy doing deals with cities in India and the Far East to install networks there.

Contributing to ‘Sustainability’ discussion on Comment:Visions

Robert Zlokower — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 13:22:14 +0000

Dear readers,

We would like to invite you to contribute a written online comment in our Comment:Visions discussion on ‘Progress towards sustainability’.

To pre-submit a comment, click here to register or e-mail me at robert@commentvisions.com.

Comment:Visions was born out of a partnership between the global channel euronews, and the Economist-owned newspaper, European Voice, in association with Shell. This project explores the views of thinkers, innovators, decision-makers, and scientists about possible solutions to global warming, overpopulation and dwindling resources.

In addition to the online community, Comment:Visions produces and broadcasts a series of programmes, and hosts face-to-face debates in Brussels, which usually take place in the European Parliament. All of this activity is also hosted on www.commentvisions.com.

Coming up on the website, we are discussing the following question: What role does society have in delivering a sustainable energy future?

Moreover, contributing is a positive way to share your message amongst an influential online community in the industry, policy, and research of energy and environment.

Let me know if you are interested in participating in this opinion-leader discussion and I’ll contact you with further information.

Yours Sincerely,

Robert Zlokower
Community Manager, Comment:Visions

+44 20 3355 8060 ext. 101

robert@commentvisions.com

Download the Shell INSIDE ENERGY app to explore interactive stories on innovation

Robert Zlokower — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 14:15:03 +0000

Our project sponsor Shell has launched a new app for iPad that showcases innovation in energy.

INSIDE ENERGY explores the role innovation plays in producing energy to power and sustain our lives. Discover new ways of finding energy, learn about advances in technology, and meet the people involved in making it happen. New stories and interactive features will be added regularly.

This Shell app opens a window onto the creative ways energy can be produced, and used.

Find out, for example, how we produce natural gas and oil thousands of metres below the ocean’s surface as you swipe down from a 3D platform into the murky depths below.

Use our interactive collage to learn more about the processes that go into making everyday items, from pillows to plastic bottles.

See inside the stove that is helping millions of the world’s poorest to breathe cleaner air, and meet some of the people whose lives have improved.

Videos, animations and photo galleries help to bring all our stories alive as we take you inside energy.

The app is currently available for iPads.

Towards greater transparency: shining a light on extractive industries

Editor — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 11:30:43 +0000

The issue

On 25 October 2011, Michel Barnier, European Commissioner for the internal market announced legislative proposals to improve transparency in the extractive industries. Commissioner Barnier said that he wants European energy and mining companies as well as forestry companies to provide more information about their global activities and their financial relationships with governments in the markets where they do business.

Photo: Jennifer Jacquemart / (c) European Voice

The proposal, which comes in the form of a revision of the existing transparency directive, is part of efforts to improve public knowledge about the activities of multinationals involved in sourcing raw materials. It reflects the conviction that governments find it harder to conceal corruption and abuse of national resources if their financial relations are publicly known. It also fits with the priorities of France’s presidency of the G20 group of the world’s richest and fastest growing countries. Nicolas Sarkozy, France’s president, wants the recent overhaul of financial market regulation agreed by the G20 to be matched by greater transparency in markets for raw materials such as oil and foodstuffs.

European companies involved in oil prospecting and extraction of raw materials argue that voluntary schemes, such as the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), are more effective than compulsory legislation. The EITI was launched in 2002 by Tony Blair, then UK prime minister, and agreed by governments, extractive industries and civil society representatives. Thirty-five countries are now signed up to EITI and 11 comply with EITI rules.

They are also concerned that disclosure rules that only apply to EU-based companies would give an advantage to their global competitors, damaging EU competitiveness.

This event will debate the importance of greater transparency in the extractive and energy sectors and explore how meaningful policies can deliver anti-corruption objectives.

The panel

- Claire Bury, director, capital and companies, DG Market, European Commission

- Reinhard Bütikofer MEP, rapporteur on an Effective Raw Materials Strategy for Europe, European Parliament

- Vicky Bowman, global practice leader, external affairs, Rio Tinto

- Simon Taylor, founding director, Global Witness

Conclusions by Andrew Vickers, vice-president, NGO and stakeholder relations at Shell International BV.

Moderation by Simon P. Taylor, news editor, European Voice

Chickens & Eggs: Euro-policies on Alternative Fuel & NGV Infrastructures

Robert Zlokower — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 14:51:16 +0000

An Interview with Dr. Franz-Xavier Soeldner

24 November 2011

The European Commission has been working with alternative fuel stakeholders to understand and assess the various elements and actions that will lead to sustainable markets for alternative fuel and vehicle technologies. The results of their work will culminate in new policy initiatives for alternative fuels and natural gas vehicles.

Dr. Franz-Xavier Soeldner, the Deputy Head of Unit Clean Transport & Urban Transport at the Directorate General for Transportation (DG Tren) has been directly involved in alternative fuel policymaking for over a decade. In 2010-2011 Dr. Soeldner lead alternative fuel stakeholders in the Future Transport Fuels Expert Group, whose work is evolving into a European Alternative Fuels Policy. He co-authored the 2003 report on Market Development of Alternative Fuels that said NGVs could replace 10% of petroleum fuels in the European transport sector by 2020.

Dr. Soeldner is the keynote speaker at the Clean Fuels Consulting Critical Issues Workshop, Chickens & Eggs: Opportunities, Challenges & Strategies Building the NGV Infrastructure on 7-8 December 2011 in Brussels. (See www.ChickensandEggs.eu) Recently he spoke to Jeffrey Seisler, CEO of Clean Fuels Consulting about the European Commission’s developing policies for alternative fuels, and specifically about the development of the NGV infrastructure. Comment:Visions is media partner to the event.

Clean Fuels Consulting: The Commission is considering creating a separate legislative proposal on alternative fuel infrastructure requirements in order to facilitate and actively stimulate market development of alternative fuels. This is part of a new, comprehensive alternative transport fuel strategy, the Clean Transport Systems (CTS) initiative that is being prepared for launch in the first quarter of 2012. Can you provide any details about the potential substance of this initiative? What types of ‘stimuli’ do you foresee being included in such legislation?

Dr. Soeldner: The Clean Transport Systems (CTS) package for a sustainable alternative fuels strategy including also the appropriate infrastructure should discuss, in a Commission Communication the main alternative fuel solutions for the different transport modes. The Communication could be accompanied by a separate legislative proposal on the build-up of alternative fuel infrastructure. This should ensure coordinated action in the EU.

Clean Fuels Consulting: Some of the recent transportation and energy initiatives of the European Commission have been focused on electric vehicles. Will this new CTS initiative be picking ‘fuel favorites’ or will it be ‘fuel and technology neutral’?

Dr. Soeldner: One of the main conclusions of the Future Transport Fuels Expert Group, advising the EC on the Alternative Fuels Strategy is that “policy and regulation should be technology neutral, founded on a scientific assessment of the well-to-wheels GHG (green house gas) emissions associated with competing transport pathways and the relevant life cycle aspects”.

Electricity as a power source for vehicle propulsion allows a radical change in energy supply to transport, from fossil fuels to a universal energy carrier which can be produced from all primary energy sources. Along with the expected decarbonisation of the EU power generation mix, electricity could efficiently contribute to decrease the CO2 emissions of the transport sector.

But electricity is only one of the alternative fuel options among others to be considered, since it could only power short distances in road transport and rail transport.

According to the 1st report of the expert group (January 2011), alternative fuel options for substituting oil as energy source for propulsion in transport are:

Electricity/hydrogen, and biofuels (liquids) as the main options
Synthetic fuels as a technology bridge from fossil to biomass based fuels
Methane (natural gas and biomethane) as complementary fuels
LPG as supplement

Clean Fuels Consulting: The Renewable Energy Directive (RED) targets 10% replacement of petroleum fuels with biofuels by 2020. But many people see that the focus of this legislation being on liquid renewable fuels. Some gas advocates say that, apart from the fact that fuels from waste are given a double counting benefit, which benefits biogas, liquid fuels seem to be benefiting at the expense of biogas. What do you think of this view?

Dr. Soeldner: The Renewable Energy Directive does not specify any replacement fuel. It establishes mandatory targets to be achieved by 2020 for a 10% share for renewable energy in the road transport sector. Not only biofuels but all forms of energy from renewable sources can contribute to this target, including biofuels – liquid or gaseous – and electricity or hydrogen produced from renewable sources. Full flexibility on the fuel options is left to Member States, who, on the other hand, had to report their Action Plans to the Commission.

Member States in the National Renewable Energy Action Plans estimate the contribution of the different forms of energy towards the 10% target. The estimated share of this contribution by 2020 is 9.3-9.5% of liquid biofuels, 1.0% of electricity from renewable sources, up to 0.2% of biomethane supplied through the gas grid and 0.001% of hydrogen from renewables.

Clean Fuels Consulting: A new, landmark initiative was announced on 19^th October to use €9.1 billion from the EU’s 2014-2020 budget to help upgrade Europe’s energy infrastructures – electricity and natural gas. Will the development of ‘bi-directional’ gas pipelines be a positive move to bring more renewable biomethane and LNG into the gas network? Will there be any synergies between the CTS and this infrastructure initiative?

Dr. Soeldner: The proposal for a Connecting Europe Facility, covering transport, energy, and information flow in Europe with total support from Community funds of €50 billion in the next Multiannual Financial Framework 2014-20 aims at a physical integration of Europe through comprehensive networks. For natural gas, the Future Transport Fuels Expert Group and the national experts have proposed to feed biomethane produced from biomass into a single methane gas network, which in turn can serve the different users in stationary heat and power generation, and in the transport sector. Biogas, with an increasing share over time, can thereby gradually decarbonise the overall methane system.

Clean Fuels Consulting: Do you have any suggestions or insights about how the natural gas vehicle industry can overcome the ‘chicken and egg’ problem, particularly at a time when all levels of policy makers seem more focused on bringing electric vehicles into the market?

Dr. Soeldner: Methane-fuelled vehicles are already established in the road transport. Natural gas vehicles cover all types of vehicles from light to heavy duty and can be applied in short and long distance transport.

In the past, private/private partnerships between oil and gas companies have successfully built up natural gas re-fuelling infrastructure in some (European) Member States. Public support, as facilitated by the energy taxation Directive and the Environmental Guidelines for state aid has also been instrumental for installing infrastructure in some Regions. More harmonized coverage across the EU might require further public intervention.

World Biofuels Markets 2012 to Offer Final Word on Food Versus Fuel Issue

Robert Zlokower — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 15:09:08 +0000

The BBC’s Jeremy Paxman to moderate interactive discussion on realities and myths of ongoing biofuels debate

The World Biofuels Markets (www.worldbiofuelsmarkets.com), Europe’s largest conference and exhibition focused on biofuels, announced an interactive keynote session entitled “Food vs. Fuel: The Global Debate Continues.” Moderated by BBC Newsnight host Jeremy Paxman, the panel of experts will address the realities and myths of the impact biofuels are having on food stocks, pricing and poverty around the world, with a goal of settling once and for all this divisive issue.

Comment:Visions is media partner to World Biofuels Markets.

“As biofuels increasingly play a larger role in the global supply of energy, this one issue continues to draw attention of scientists, policymakers, and entrepreneurs alike,” said Nadim Chaudhry, Managing Director of Green Power Conferences and World Biofuels Markets. “Mr. Paxman’s experience and expertise in this type of setting, as well as the combined knowledge of the panelists, is sure to draw out key insights and define this debate in an entirely new way than we’ve heard before.”

Although biofuels have been commercially used in some parts of the world for nearly two decades, there continues to be disagreement about the true impact their use has on the price and availability of global food supplies. Paxman will lead a discussion by key figureheads in the industry such as Farah Karimi, Executive Director of Oxfam Novib (The Netherlands) who will present their positions and facts. Delegates attending the conference will have opportunities to directly address the panel of experts throughout the session to increase the diversity of opinions and questions on this critical topic.

The 7^th annual World Biofuels Markets will take place March 13-15, 2012 at the Beurs-World Trade Center in Rotterdam, Netherlands. The event is expected to draw more than 1,500 attendees from 80 countries and will include 275 expert speakers covering key topics such as Aviation Sustainability, Energy Crops, Finance & Investment, Biofuels from Waste, and Biogas in Transportation. Co-located with World Biofuels Markets will be the Bio-Based Chemicals and Biopower Generation conferences featuring the leading companies and technologies within these emerging sectors.

World Biofuels Markets will also feature the presentation of the 2012 Sustainable Biofuels Awards, designed to recognize the tremendous innovation that is taking place in the development of truly sustainable and renewable fuels. Award nominations are now open in the ten different categories covering transportation fuels, aviation, biopower generation and biobased chemicals. More information on the awards, conference agenda, and registration is available at www.worldbiofuelsmarkets.com, by following World Biofuels Markets on Twitter @wbmnews, or by joining the LinkedIn World Biofuels Market NEWS group.

About Green Power Conferences

Green Power Conferences is the market leader in renewable energy conferences. Since 2003, over 15,000 delegates have attended more than 300 conferences, exhibitions, workshops and training courses providing strategic business intelligence to the renewable energy and sustainability industries. Green Power’s expertise lies in producing high quality, interactive events that provide ample networking opportunities for delegates, sponsors and partners. More information and a full list of current conferences is available at: www.greenpowerconferences.com.

Media Contact

Jaime Quick

Scoville PR for Green Power Conferences

james.quick@scovillepr.com, +1-206-625-0075 x3

Melanie Botting

Marketing Manager
World Biofuels Markets

Making economics environmentally friendly

Robert Zlokower — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 13:34:22 +0000

Researching how to improve and develop a sustainable world, Dr. Stanislav Shmelev published a book this month called Ecological Economics: Sustainability in Practice. The aim is to present the alternative view where logic, methodological clarity and transparency could help build the capacity to improve economies and make them more sustainable. Dr. Shmelev is also a contributor to Comment:Visions.

Economical Economics: Sustainability in Practice is the result of 10 years of Shmelev’s work in the field of sustainability research.

“It took almost three years to complete it, and I am very grateful to the Oxford University library for being such a friendly environment to complete this project,” Shmelev said.

Shmelev is an ecological economist, a photographer, a lecturer and a consultant, who has dedicated most of his life, with his ecology expertise, to contribute in somehow to improve environment and sustainability. Shmelev explains the book was designed to provide a deep insight into a new interdisciplinary field of ecological economics, stimulate new thinking in academia and government, and help to reform education programmes at the departments of economics.

“The current economic crisis shows in part the inadequacy of conceptual models and approaches applied at various levels, with this book I propose to use a ‘bigger picture’ view of economy-environment interactions, pioneered by the Nobel Prize winning economist W. Leontief in 1970; new ways of measuring progress based on multicriteria vision for sustainability inspired by the United Nations framework, and new tools for decision support based on multiple criteria,” Shmelev said.

Furthermore, the book was written to provide the interested student, policy maker or a member of an NGO with the necessary methodological tools to conduct sustainability analysis at the local, national, or international levels. The book offers a range of cutting-edge methods used in sustainability research including multicriteria decision aid (MCDA), input-output analysis, and life cycle analysis. Also, it is packed with references for students with some background in economics, environmental science or mathematics who aim to develop the analytical skills required for redirecting the development path towards sustainability in government, international organisations, academia, non-profit sector and business.

“The current trend of monetising everything (estimating the effects of economic activities on the environment in monetary terms) is worrying because we live in a multidimensional world and it is important to take social, environmental and economic dimensions of decisions into account without necessarily converting everything into money. It is such multidimensional vision that is proposed in this book,” he added.

– Paulina Breschi

Dr. Shmelev is starting a programme of invited lectures, and he can be booked to speak via his website www.environmenteurope.org

The book, published by Springer by an ex- Oxford University Senior Researcher, can be accessed via this link http://www.springer.com/978-94-007-1971-2 . And it can be purchased on Amazon http://www.amazon.co.uk/Ecological-Economics-Sustainability-Stanislav-Shmelev/dp/940071971X or in bookstores such as:

Waterstones: http://www.waterstones.com/waterstonesweb/products/stanislav+e-+shmelev/ecological+economics/8595951/
Blackwells http://bookshop.blackwell.co.uk/jsp/id/Ecological_Economics/9789400719712
Foyles http://www.foyles.co.uk/Public/Shop/Detail.aspx?rowNum=1&itemId=6746810&searchBy=1&term=Shmelev&quick=true
Germany:
Weltbild: http://www.weltbild.de/3/16893185-1/buch/ecological-economics.html