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The UK government is strongly supportive of biomass as a means of increasing energy security. It also regards biomass as a major contributor to meeting the UK’s EU renewable energy target, and as an important contributor to carbon reductions – though it has stressed that not all biomass is sustainable.

This is a summary and analysis of UK’s white paper on Electricity Market Reform and Renewables Roadmap, published this week.

The EU should spend less money on agriculture and more on improving the econommies of poorer member-states and on climate protection.

The EU has made some progress on large scale CCS demonstration projects, but needs to speed up.

The US federal government passed energy acts in 2005, 2007 and 2008, each aiming to increase energy efficiency and expand renewables. The 2009 Recovery Act also had money for these, However, to get a clear picture of American energy policy, we need to look not just at federal programs, but also at what state governments are doing.

It is good news that the European Commission is addressing the nuclear waste issue. However, the draft directive is not particularly strong, not very ambitious and wrong to promote deep disposal as its preferred waste management option.

The European Union cannot be accused of failing to see the big picture on climate change. The only problem, and it is major, is that Europe lacks followers of its lead. However, for years, EU policy on energy – responsible for around two-thirds of all greenhouse gases – has seemed remarkably narrow. It has focused almost exclusively on networks and, among networks, almost exclusively on electricity and gas.

In his new book, ‘The Rough Guide to the Energy Crisis’, David Buchan outlines the ways forward.

The EU should strengthen its CHP directive so that, whenever anything is burnt to generate electricity, the heat must be used. It should also require member states to do as the Swedes do and require energy efficiency improvements whenever a property is sold or rented out.

Will the heat-wave and drought that have created so much havoc in Russia cause the leadership in that country to take climate change more seriously? The answer is important not only for Russia itself but for the world community.

With around 95% of its electricity generated from coal, Poland comes up higher in coal statistics than Australia, the US, South Africa or even China. The coal intensity of electricity generation in Poland is not only a legacy from the past, but also a conscious choice of consecutive Polish governments. As the most abundant energy resource in the country, coal is considered an important pillar of Poland’s energy security. And yet, despite the central position of coal for the energy sector and the environmental pressure from Brussels, there is little enthusiasm for CCS technology among Polish decision-makers and energy sector stakeholders.