Key World Energy Statistics produced by the IEA contains timely, clearly-presented data on supply, transformation and consumption of all major energy sources.
The
interested businessman, journalist or student will have at his or her
fingertips the annual Canadian production of coal, the electricity
consumption in Thailand, the price of diesel oil in Spain and thousands
of other useful energy facts.
Demand has experienced a strong post-crisis recovery,
while the North American shale gas boom and expansion of LNG trade have made
ample supplies available in the near-term and bolstered future gas supply
prospects. With mounting concerns over energy security and global climate
change, and renewed debate surrounding the future role of nuclear power, these
developments merit a deeper investigation of the prospects for, and the
implications of, a golden age of natural gas.
This special report in the World Energy Outlook 2011 series examines the key factors
that could secure for natural gas a more prominent role in the global energy
mix, and the implications for other fuels and climate change. It features a high-gas
scenario, examining how natural gas supply and demand could respond to new
impetus stemming from both market forces and government policies.
With benchmark data and projections at a regional and global level, the report provides
insights into the: extent of the prospective growth in gas supply and demand;
GERD ROSENKRANZ
Myths of Nuclear Power - An Overview
The
book, “Myths of Nuclear Power: How the Energy Lobbyists Duped Us"
delivers the long-overdue, nuclear critical know-how for the debate,
pointing to alternatives, and unmasks nuclear energy for what it is: an
irresponsible and expensive high-risk technology.
STEVE THOMAS
Myth: Nuclear Power Provides Lower Energy
Prices
Steve Thomas, the author shows the true cost of
nuclear power and makes it clear that nuclear energy in the free market
economy without government support is not competitive.
HENRY SOKOLSKI
Myth: Civilian and Military Use of
Nuclear Energy Can Be Separate
"Nuclear power plants are
building blocks for nuclear bombs," says Henry Sokolski, the disarmament
expert. Those striving for a world without nuclear weapons should not
revive civilian nuclear energy. Climate change and nuclear
non-proliferation should not be pitted against each other.
ANTONY FROGGAT / MYCLE SCHNEIDER
Systems for
Change:Nuclear Power vs. EnergyEfficiency + Renewables?
A
new myth of the nuclear lobby is the claim that nuclear power and
renewable energies are complementary forms of energy. The authors Antony
Froggat and Mycle Schneider prove the opposite: Those who build nuclear
power plants hinder the expansion of renewable energies.
OTFRIED NASSAUER
Nuclear Weapons and Nuclear Energy –
Siamese Twins or Double Zero Solution
The Oil and the Glory looks at geopolitics through the lens of energy -- a frame of reference as important as politics, war, and economics to understanding why countries behave the way they do. The blog is a must read for those attempting to understand the course of events from Abuja to Baku to Houston, asking the big questions about the world’s energy supply and the countries whose fates are intertwined with it.
Reporting on the latest boardroom deals and oil-patch catastrophes, the pursuit of the resources of today and the technologies of the future, The Oil and the Glory is meant to invite debate and discussion. We welcome suggestions and tips.
State-owned power producer Eskom moved on Monday to defend its highly unpopular application for price increases of 35% a year for the three-year period from April 1, 2010, to March 31, 2013, at the first of what would be nine provincial-based public hearings between January 11 and January 22.
The hearings form part of the second multiyear price determination period, or MYPD2.
The utility faced stiff opposition from all six of those who made oral presentations at the Nelspruit Civic Centre in Mpumalanga, as well as some challenging questions from members of the four-member National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) panel.
Pulp and paper producer Sappi, for instance, warned that South Africa's power prices were set to rise to above those of the US by 2011, should the increases be approved, while the rate of increase provided very little time and space for adaptation....[more]
Clean Energy Poised to Phase Out Coal and Avert Catastrophic Climate Change
Source: Worldwatch Institute
New technologies will permit rapid decarbonization of the world energy economy in the next two decades, according to a new report from the Worldwatch Institute. These new energy sources will make it possible to retire hundreds of coal-fired power plants that now provide 40 percent of the world’s power by 2030, eliminating up to one-third of global carbon dioxide emissions while creating millions of new jobs.
“We no longer need to say ‘in the future’ when talking about a low-carbon energy system,” says Christopher Flavin, President of Worldwatch and author of the report, Low-Carbon Energy: A Roadmap. “These technologies-unlike carbon-capture facilities-are being deployed now and are poised to make the most carbon-intensive fossil fuels obsolete.”
Reducing dependence on fossil fuels will not only strike a defiant blow to the climate crisis, it will also act as an agent of recovery for an ailing global economy. Rebuilding the global energy system has the potential to create thousands of new businesses and millions of new jobs, starting immediately.
+ Summary
+ Full Report (PDF; 2.4 MB)
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has released a final declaration (full-text, pdf) of the pan-African Ministerial Conference on Water for Agriculture and Energy in Africa: The Challenges of Climate Change (conference website). According to an FAO press release, "the Conference agreed to foster research and development of renewable energy and agriculture in Africa in order to increase resilience and adaptation to climate change."
The United Nations University - Institute of Advanced Studies (UNU-IAS) has issued a new report proposing developments in nanotechnology, ocean energy and forestry as potential solutions in responding to climate change. The report questions why innovations in these areas have not yet reached the stage of mass commercialization (summary, full-text).
The Executive summary of the evaluation of the role and contribution of UNDP in the environment and energy has been issued in advance of the forthcoming session of the Executive Board of the UN Development Programme (UNDP) and of the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) (DP/2008/46). The report argues that environment and energy are central to the core UNDP mission of poverty reduction, and makes recommendations about how to improve the UNDP programming.
UN Pulse: Permanent Link: UNDP role in environment and energy
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has posted the proceedings of the IPCC Scoping Meeting on Renewable Energy Sources (full text, pdf, 16.8 MB). The document, edited by Olav Hohmeyer and Tom Trittin, includes articles by scholars in the area, presented at the meeting held in January:
The UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) has posted three new publications to its website.
REN21 - Renewables 2007 Global Status Report
Source: Worldwatch Institute
The Renewables 2007 Global Status Report provides an integrated perspective on the global renewable energy situation. It gives testimony of the undeterred growth of electricity, heat, and fuel production capacities from renewable energy sources, including solar PV, wind power, solar hot water/heating, biofuels, hydropower, and geothermal.
The report is the product of an international team of over 140 researchers and contributors from both developed and developing countries, drawing upon wide-ranging information and expertise across technologies, markets, and countries. Sections include: Global Market Overview, Investment Flows, Industry Trends, Policy Landscape, and Rural (Off-Grid) Renewable Energy. The policy section provides overviews of: policy targets for renewable energy, power generation promotion policies, solar hot water/heating policies, biofuels policies, municipal policies, and green power purchasing and renewable electricity certificates.
+ Executive Summary
+ Full Report (PDF; 480 KB)
+ Past years’ reports
Permalink Docuticker
Financing Energy Efficiency: Lessons from Brazil, China, India, and Beyond,
is a new book recently released by the World Bank. The book focuses on
China, India, and Brazil as three of the globe's top 10 energy
consumers. The three countries hold 40 percent of the world's
population and account for well over half of all energy demand by
developing countries. By 2030, they'll be responsible for 42 percent of
growth in energy demand worldwide. The book draws extensively on the
results of a multiyear, global technical assistance effort known as the
Three Country Energy Efficiency Project,
a joint initiative of the World Bank, the UN Environment Programme's
Denmark-based Risoe Centre (URC), and partners in Brazil, China, and
India. Read more about the publication, including the press release from the website. Permanent Link: Financing Energy Efficiency
UN Pulse
The Geopolitics of Energy: From Security to Survival
Source: The Brookings Institution
The political nature of energy, linked to the sources of supply and demand, comes to public attention at moments of crisis, particularly when unstable oil markets drive up prices and politicians hear constituent protests. But energy politics have become yet more complex. Transport systems, particularly in the United States, have become largely reliant on oil, so disruption of oil markets can bring a great power to a standstill. Access to energy is critical to sustaining growth in China and India – not only to lift these countries out of poverty, but to keep pace with burgeoning populations. Failure to deliver on the hope of greater prosperity could unravel even authoritarian regimes, and even more so democratic ones, as populations become more educated and demanding. And it is these very factors that have turned the market power of energy suppliers into political power. Importers have come to compete for supplies, driving up prices, supplier wealth and the capacity to play roles in regional and international politics that go well beyond the GDP of countries such as Russia, Venezuela and Iran.
These traditional geopolitical considerations have become even more complex with global climate change. The United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has irrefutably documented that the use of fossil fuels is the principal cause of greenhouse gases that are driving up the temperature of the planet. Climate change will create severe flooding and droughts which will devastate many countries’ food production, lead to the spread of various illnesses, and cause hundreds of thousands of deaths per year, particularly for those living in the developing world. Nearly two billion people were affected by climate related disasters in the 1990s and that rate may double in the next decade. At the very same time that countries are competing for energy, they must radically change how they use and conserve energy. The politics of that debate, particularly how to pay for the costs and dissemination of new technologies, and how to compensate those who contribute little to climate change but will most severely experience its tragedies, are emerging as a new focal point in the geopolitics.
+ Full Paper (PDF; 279 KB)
Permalink Docuticker
UN Pulse
Permanent Link: Energy sources
UN-Energy/Africa, a partnership of UN agencies active in the energy sector recently launched Energy for Sustainable Development: Policy option for Africa. The publication highlights the main challenges and provides some policy guidelines to accelerate energy supply and access in Africa. UN Pulse Permanent Link: Energy for sustainable development: policy options for Africa
(More)UN Energy - a group of UN agencies, organizations and programmes that work in the area of energy, published a new report Sustainable Energy: A Framework for Decision Makers (pdf file).
The report is a comprehensive analysis of social, economic and
ecological sustainability of bio-energy industry and the risks involved
with the industry's rapid development.
From FAO Newsroom