healthier, happier and richer

Prashant and I agree about many things, but not about nuclear power. Climate Answers doesn’t seek to impose a party line – authors are free to write whatever they think is right.

Development charity, Practical Action, has created a new online campaign that asks people to make their point in support of energy for all.

Robert Webb comments on the strengths and weaknesses of the ‘Energy Internet’ vision.

Comment on the launch of the European Climate Foundation’s latest report, Power Perspectives 2030.

Comment by Tarquin Henderson of the ReEnergise Group on the UK government’s changes to Feed-in Tariff rates for solar photovoltaics.

Comment by Robert Webb on Dieter Helm’s claim that gas is a cheaper way to cut carbon emissions than renewables.

The failure of the UK’s first CCS competition was because the then (Labour) government restricted it to post-combustion on the grounds that this could be retrofitted, then allowed proposals for new power stations to join the competition, and took far too long making decisions. The current coalition government can learn from these mistakes, and says it remains committed to CCS.

Whatever the outcome of the Durban discussions, the EU should give priority to agreeing its draft energy efficiency directive, which will be good for human health and energy security as well as climate protection. It should also strengthen the Emissions Trading System by setting a floor price for the carbon permits.

The EU has long prided itself on leading international efforts to control climate change. Today, the issue is nowhere near the top of the EU’s agenda, having been eclipsed by the economic downturn and the eurozone debt crisis.

Is gas sufficiently low-carbon to be an adequate bridge technology? No – it’s emissions for every unit of electricity produced are over three times as high as emissions from nuclear power.