In the 1970s, two big oil shocks sent inflation soaring and depressed Europe’s economy. Could history be about to repeat itself?
Read my latest for Brussels Times.
Energy
Thought of the day: energy
Spain and Germany both subsidise coal mining as well as solar energy. Schizophrenia?
East Asia’s dynamic economies could stabilise carbon emissions by 2025
China and the next five largest energy-consuming countries in East Asia could stabilise their greenhouse gas emissions by 2025 without compromising growth, according to a major new World Bank report.
The report, Winds of Change: East Asia’s Sustainable Energy Future, says that an extra investment of $80bn per year – or an average of 0.8% of regional GDP – in energy efficiency and renewables capacity could result in greenhouse-gas emissions in China, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam peaking within 15 years.
Hat tip: BusinessGreen (via ViewsFlow)
Russia does it again
Last year it was gas piped through Ukraine, now it’s oil through Belarus – how many times does Russia have to cut off Europe’s energy supplies before we wake up to the risks of being dependent on the Kremlin to keep the lights on?
Russia’s deadly embrace
I don’t usually write about such matters, but I am so shocked and outraged by the assassination of Alexander Litvinenko in London that I feel compelled to comment.