CLIMATE

1.1. World Bank reaches out to EU for climate change synergies
9 October 2009, EurActiv
The World Bank is seeking synergies with the EU in an attempt to incorporate climate change considerations into the long-term economic planning of developing countries, Michele de Nevers, senior manager of the bank’s environment department, told EurActiv.

The visit of her team to the EU institutions in Brussels, she explained, was part of the World Bank’s efforts to put together an environmental strategy for a 10-year period. 

"This is for us an opportunity for consultations with external partners and stakeholders on what space the World Bank should be occupying in providing environmental sustainability in developing countries," de Nevers said. 
She added that the World Bank recognises the EU as the leader in addressing the climate challenge, admitting that "in some ways" climate change is a new area for her financial institution, which specialises in providing leveraged loans to poorer countries. 
"Our main focus is on adaptation, because that is the main concern of the developing countries, but there are also several emerging-market developing countries that have an important role to play on the medication side as well," she explained. 
De Nevers admitted that perception of the climate change threat is different in Europe in comparison to the USA, where the World Bank is situated. 
"One thing that is very important is the high level of awareness within European civil society of the importance of climate change issues. Certainly it is much higher than in the US where we live, and the commitment to finding a solution in Copenhagen is much higher here," she said. 
De Nevers explained that the World Bank will represent the interests of developing countries at the UN climate change conference in Copenhagen in December. In this context, she praised highly the contribution of European countries for the joint elaboration of a study estimating the costs of adaptation in developing countries. The study, she explained, had become a very valuable knowledge-base for the climate change negotiations. 
A lot of the World Bank’s analytical work to address climate change was made possible due to bilateral financing with European countries, she said, highlighting the contributions of the UK, the Netherlands and Switzerland. 
Link: http://www.euractiv.com/en/climate-change/world-bank-reaches-eu-climate-change-synergies/article-186249

1.2. UN urges world leaders to take charge in climate talks
9 October 2009, Reuters

The shape of a broader and tougher climate pact is clearer after marathon talks in the Thai capital but nations need to put aside self interest to seal a deal by December, the United Nations said on Friday.

Speaking near the end of two-week U.N. talks on ways to draw in all nations into the fight against climate change, the world body said leaders had just weeks to show more ambition in a deal to curb the growth of planet-warming carbon emissions.
"All the ingredients for success are on the table and what we must do now is step back from self interest and let common interest prevail," Yvo de Boer, the head of the U.N. Climate Change Secretariat, told reporters.
"It’s urgent that governments bridge the disconnects and raise ambition."
The Bangkok talks are the last major negotiating session before a Dec. 7-18 meeting in Copenhagen meant to agree on a broader framework to expand or replace the Kyoto Protocol.
A tougher pact to curb greenhouse gas emissions would give global investment in clean energy and carbon markets a major boost, leading to a shift in the way energy is consumed and produced, thereby transforming economies.
"I think the end-game is in sight," a senior developed country delegate told Reuters on the sidelines of the talks.
He said it was possible to get a very substantial result in Copenhagen but only if the level of political momentum was maintained.
"Countries that move early will be the ones that do best, certainly that’s how an increasing number of countries see it," the delegate said, requesting anonymity.
Delegates from about 180 nations spent the past two weeks trying to clarify the wording and options in a draft text that will form the basis of a new agreement.
The talks made progress on ways to help poorer nations adapt to the impacts of climate change, transfer of clean-energy technology to help poorer nations green their economies and mechanisms to collect and share climate funds.
DEADLOCK
But deadlock remained on the amount of climate cash available to poorer nations and the size of rich nations’ commitments to cut greenhouse gas emissions, two key areas that the U.N. and developing nations say are halting progress.
"The ball immediately is in the developed country court, to make it clearer what is it they are looking for out of the agreement (in Copenhagen)," said Michael Zammit Cutajar, who chairs a key U.N. negotiating group.
"At the same time there will not be a deal unless it is clear what the developing countries are prepared to contribute in terms of mitigation action subject to availability of support," he told reporters.
Kyoto only obliges 37 industrialised countries, but not the United States, to meet binding economy-wide emissions targets between 2008-12.
Negotiators are trying to find ways to bring in the United States and for big developing nations to commit to their own steps to curb emissions from 2013 after Kyoto’s first phase ends.
"Out of Bangkok there has been reasonable progress in the talks here but it’s very clear if we’re really going to achieve success at Copenhagen there requires breakthroughs that can only be achieved by the world’s leaders," said Duncan Marsh, The Nature Conservancy’s director of international climate policy.
Greens also called for action by leaders.
"After this session the text is shorter, but not much sweeter," said Kim Carstensen, leader of conservation group WWF’s global climate initiative.
"It is absolutely necessary that negotiators bring new and clear political instructions with them when they meet next month in Barcelona," he said, refering to the final one-week negotiation round before Copenhagen. (Editing by Nick Macfie)
Link: http://www.forexyard.com/en/reuters_inner.tpl?action=2009-10-09T093031Z_01_SP510243_RTRIDST_0_CLIMATE-TALKS-TV

1.3. EU, US mayors stress cities’ role in global warming fight
8 October 2009, EurActiv
Mayors from both sides of the Atlantic have teamed up to ensure that international climate negotiators recognise the important role played by cities in adapting to climate change as they gather in Copenhagen to agree on a post-Kyoto treaty in December.
On a visit to Brussels yesterday (7 October), the vice-president of the US Conference of Mayors met with her European counterparts to devise strategies to better bundle efforts in the fight against climate change.
The meeting took place ahead of a November event which will see Eurocities, a network of major European cities, sign a joint appeal along with US mayors to urge heads of state to acknowledge cities’ key role in protecting the climate and adapting to the unavoidable consequences of global warming.
"Although our national government did not sign the Kyoto Protocol, almost 1,000 US mayors have subsequently signed the US Mayors Climate Protection Agreement, pledging to meet or beat Kyoto Protocol targets," Kautz told the plenary session of the EU’s Committee of the Regions (CoR).
"Mayors continue to devise successful, effective strategies for climate protection and to push national leaders to support these efforts," she added, promising that the mayors would work hard to get US Senators to ratify the Copenhagen treaty.
To reinforce climate efforts done at local level, Kautz discussed with EU Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs and CoR President Luc Van den Brande how the EU’s Covenant of Mayors could work together with her organisation.
Possible initiatives discussed included "twinning for greening" arrangements whereby European cities and towns would team up with their US counterparts to share experiences and best practices. Such projects could then be publicised and used to inform citizens.
Joint information campaigns to raise citizens’ awareness about energy savings have also been proposed.
"If the battle against climate change is to be won, it will have to be fought in the cities. I’m very proud that the mayors of America and Europe are willing to work together in this endeavour, and I am convinced that the role of the administration which is closest to the citizen – the municipalities – will play a major role in mobilising efforts to reach an ambitious agreement in Copenhagen," said Commissioner Piebalgs.
The Committee of the Regions is pushing for greater involvement for local governments in the EU’s climate adaptation strategy proposed by the Commission in April (EurActiv 02/04/09). It argues that it is at regional level that the impacts of climate change, such as floods or extreme temperatures, will have to be dealt with, calling for more resources to be allocated to local authorities.
Link: http://www.euractiv.com/en/climate-change/eu-us-mayors-stress-cities-role-global-warming-fight/article-186212

1.4. Bangkok climate talks leave tough political issues for Copenhagen
9 October 2009, Earth Times
United Nations climate talks in Bangkok wound up Friday with progress made in finalizing a negotiating text for a climate summit in Copenhagen in December but tough political decisions remain unmade, the secretariat said. "All the ingredients for success are on the table," said Yvo de Boer, executive secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
The UNFCCC, drawing 4,000 negotiators and observers to Bangkok for two weeks to prepare for a new climate deal to replace the Kyoto Protocol, succeeded in its main task of shortening a draft negotiating text from 280 pages to about 100.
There will be one more session of talks in Barcelona next month before Copenhagen.
The tougher political decisions on climate change, mainly a commitment by developed countries to drastically reduce carbon emissions by 2020, agreements on climate finance for developing countries and mitigation commitments remain to be made by the participating governments between now and Copenhagen.
The Bangkok conference has pitted developed and developing countries against one another, especially over suggestions to drop the Kyoto Protocol, raising fears among developing countries of back-tracking on past commitments by the developed world.
The European Union has mooted the possibility of incorporating the Kyoto Protocol "architecture" into a new single agreement to be inked in Copenhagen.
"We are not trying to kill the Kyoto Protocol," said Anders Turesson, chief negotiator for Sweden, which holds the rotating EU presidency.
"We want to preserve the Kyoto Protocol. We believe the only way to do that is to find a new home for it within a single legal structure," Turesson told a press conference.
The EU’s position is that a Copenhagen deal must include all major countries, including the US, which never ratified the Kyoto Protocol. ž
"A deal that excluded one or more major emitters would not be able to prevent global warming from reaching dangerous levels," chief European Commission negotiator Artur Runge-Metzger said in a statement released by the Swedish presidency
The also EU noted that parties finally got down to real negotiations in Bangkok, but underlined the need for "greater speed and ambition" to reach a deal.
The negotiations still lacked focus on the core issues that need to be resolved, such as the depth of emission cuts to be undertaken by industrialized countries and action by developing countries to curb their emissions growth, the presidency’s statement said.
"This in turn makes it difficult to discuss financial assistance in concrete terms," the EU said. "Time is running out."
To get the US on board, the EU has been pressuring the developing countries to commit to clear mitigation measures, part of the US’s reasons that kept it away from Kyoto.
"We want developing countries to commit to action," Turesson said.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/289393,bangkok-climate-talks-leave-tough-political-issues-for-copenhagen.html

1.5. UN talks to end without deal on crucial issues
9 October 2009, AP
U.N. climate talks in Bangkok will end Friday without progress on the pressing issues of emission targets for rich countries and financing for poor nations, who insist they will not sign a global warming deal unless those matters are resolved.

For months, negotiations have been deadlocked and delegates have begun raising doubts whether a new climate pact to rein in greenhouse gases can be reached by the time world leaders gather in Copenhagen in December. The pact would replace the Kyoto Protocol which expires in 2012.
Rather than addressing the tough issues, U.N. climate chief Yvo de Boer said late Thursday that the failure by rich countries to agree on ambitious emission cuts and billions of dollars in financing to help poor countries adapt to climate change has increased the distrust between the two sides.
"People in this negotiating process mainly developing countries say we have been engaging constructively over the past two weeks to put meat on the bones of an agreed outcome in Copenhagen," de Boer said.
"But we are not seeing an advance on the key political issues," he said. "The stark reality out there is that unless we see an advance on the key political issues, it is very difficult for negotiators in this process to continue their work in good faith."
Even before the talks ended Friday afternoon, environmentalists including the World Wildlife Fund and Greenpeace were already criticizing governments for leaving the fundamental issues to future meetings in Barcelona next month.
"With only five negotiating days, we can’t continue to waste time on missing political mandates," the WWF’s Kim Carstensen told The Associated Press.
"My concern is that without political clarity from capitals on issues like finance, emission reduction targets and how we get developing country actions to count in the international framework, the next meeting in Barcelona will be another talk shop without the political breakthroughs we need," Carstensen said.
Most countries want a new climate pact that includes measures limiting temperature increases to 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) above preindustrial levels, a level necessary to avoid the worst impacts of climate change. But so far, there is no consensus on how to reach that goal.
Industrialized nations have offered emission cuts of 15 to 23 percent below 1990 levels by 2020 — far short of the 25 to 40 percent cuts scientists and activists say are needed to keep temperature increases below 2 degrees Celsius.
In the United States, which rejected the Kyoto Protocol because it exempted countries like India and China from obligations, a bill that passed the House of Representatives would reduce emissions by 17 percent from 2005 levels — about 4 percent below 1990 levels — by 2020. The Senate is considering its own bill that would cut emissions 20 percent.
Only Norway announced a new target at the meeting, saying it would reduce by 40 percent, up from a previous commitment of 30 percent, by 2020.
Developing countries have said they want to do their part but have refused to agree on binding targets and want to see more ambitious cuts by the West. They won’t sign any deal until the West guarantees tens of billions of dollars in financial assistance.
During the Bangkok meetings, there were several studies highlighting the cost of paying for mitigation and adaptation. The World Bank estimated it would cost as much as $100 billion a year through 2050 for adaptation while the International Energy Agency estimated it would cost $10 trillion over the next 20 years if the world wants to transition to a clean economy — three-quarters of the funding coming from rich countries.
But there were no breakthroughs on either a finance package or targets, delegates said, mostly because countries did not send their top leaders to this meeting. The United States also was hamstrung, delegates said, because it still does not have domestic climate legislation.
Link: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5i7hP2g0kyiepKq9-cVavDQwIQpAAD9B7BNFO0


ENERGY

2.1. Europe to triple funding for energy research
6 October 2009, EurActiv

Europe will tomorrow (7 October) launch a campaign to triple funding for energy research to eight billion euros ($11.7 billion) a year in a technology race with Japan and the United States, a draft document shows.

Solar power should get 16 billion euros over the next decade and up to 30 energy-sipping ‘Smart Cities’ should be built with the backing of around 11 billion euros, added the report by the European Union’s executive, the European Commission. 

In total, at least 50 billion euros of additional funding is seen over the next 10 years to ensure a wide range of technology emerges to help the EU meet its goal of cutting greenhouse gases by 80% by 2050. 
"We need to stimulate our best brains to push back the frontiers of science in materials, in chemistry and physics, in nanotechnology and biotechnology, to find new and better ways of producing and consuming energy," says the draft obtained by Reuters ahead of tomorrow’s launch. 
"We can not sit back and wait for such potentially game-changing breakthroughs to emerge from laboratories and make the often long and arduous journey to market," it adds. 
The report looks at how much funding is needed, rather than how businesses and the EU’s 27 member countries would find the money as they emerge from the biggest downturn since the second world war. 
But earlier Commission proposals for funding energy projects, such as the four billion euro ‘European Economic Recovery Plan’ have made swift progress this year and are now in the later stages of debate by EU ambassadors. 
Companies ranging from Germany’s E.ON to Spain’s Gamesa look set to benefit. Wind energy research should get six billion euros over the next decade, nuclear research should get seven billion euros and energy from biomass and other waste nine billion. 
There should also be 13 billion euros for innovative ‘carbon capture and storage’ technology to trap carbon dioxide from power stations and bury it underground. 
Job creation 
The money, from both public and private sources, will be backed with a major push to coordinate research and reverse a tradition of duplication and wasted academic effort among the EU’s 27 nations. 
The strategy is aimed at slashing output of gases blamed for climate change, but it also is to wean the EU off its dependency on costly oil and gas for 80% of its energy needs. 
"We know that low-carbon technology will one day become cost-competitive with fossil fuels, and the question then is whether the EU will be an importer or an exporter of that technology," said an EU official. "We have to be in pole position." 
The switch to green energy is also expected to create significant employment. The report sees 250,000 jobs created over the next decade as wind power shifts its focus to the seas, where wind is more plentiful and the public less critical. 
Over 200,000 skilled jobs could be created in the solar energy sector, and the same number in bioenergy plants to generate energy from burning household and agricultural waste. 
The so-called Strategic Energy Technology Plan (SET Plan) also envisages significant investment in hi-tech areas that are too risky to attract traditional sources of research funding. 
"Motor fuels direct from sunlight, digital light sources that last for decades, batteries that store electricity at 10 times the current density – these are some of the technologies of the future," says the draft. 
"To master them we have to explore new levels of complexity in the physical and chemical phenomena that control how materials perform and interact," it adds. 
Link: http://www.euractiv.com/en/energy/europe-triple-funding-energy-research/article-186117

2.2. Barroso falters at first hurdle on low-carbon energy
7 October 2009, WWF
The European Commission has kicked-off a new debate on advancing low-carbon energy technologies without offering any new resources to support the debate’s conclusions. Key proposals to re-allocate EU budget resources that appeared in drafts of today’s communication were removed from the final text.
While strongly welcoming the debate in principle, WWF is critical of the Commission for
not making clear how essential innovation and collaboration on low-carbon energy will be supported. Without this support, the expansion of low-carbon energy technologies will not be realised and so overall energy and climate security objectives will not be met.
Jason Anderson, Head of EU Climate and Energy at WWF’s European Policy Office said:
“In its final form today’s paper brings little new to the table. Without clear commitments of financial aid to accelerate actions in key sectors, we will not see the rapid progress so urgently needed on low-carbon energy sources.
“In his reappointment campaign, President Barroso set out his commitment to the full decarbonisation of power and transport by mid-century. But unless he ensures the resources are in place to deliver this, these goals will not be realised.”
Link: http://www.panda.org/what_we_do/how_we_work/policy/wwf_europe_environment/news/?176181/Barroso-falters-at-first-hurdle-on-low-carbon-energy


2.3. Biofuels meet EU CO2 target but gains vary: study
9 October 2009, Reuters
The current generation of biofuels meets a European target for cutting carbon dioxide emissions but its performance varies widely depending on the crop and production process used, an official French study has shown.
Biofuels made with grains and oilseeds mostly showed a fall in emissions of 60-80 percent versus fossil fuels, above a 35 percent objective set by the European Union for 2010, according to the study published late on Thursday by French energy and environment agency Ademe.
The emissions savings were at least 50 percent for all types of biodiesel, made with oilseeds like soybeans and rapeseed, and directly-incorporated ethanol, which uses grains such as maize (corn) and sugar cane or beet.
"Excluding any change in land use, the reduction in the level of greenhouse-gas emissions is confirmed for all biofuel sectors, the benefit involved outweighing any uncertainty or choices in methodology," the report said.
However, the reduction was more modest for ETBE, a mix of ethanol and isobutylene often used by fuel distributors instead of pure ethanol, with wheat-based ETBE showing the smallest drop at 35 percent, just in line with the EU directive.
The C02 cut for ETBE made with sugar beet, the most common raw material for ethanol in France, was put at 51 percent.
The study, launched last year by Ademe and the French government, has stoked debate about the record of the so-called first generation biofuels, which critics say offer few environmental benefits and divert crops from a food chain struggling to meet the needs of a growing world population.
The debate in France has been intensified by ambitious targets for biofuel incorporation that have run ahead of EU objectives and prompted big investments in biofuel plants.
The study’s authors cautioned, however, that the estimates were subject to uncertainty about how to measure the impact on emissions of changes in land use and the presence of nitrogen due to fertilizers.
"Changes in land use could significantly alter these results, and possibly even reverse the balance for imported products," they said.
Opponents of biofuels have notably linked them with deforestation in Brazil, a leading maker of ethanol using sugar cane, and in Asia, where palm oil production is concentrated.
The new French report showed a similar contrast between ETBE and other biofuels in terms of energy efficiency.
The ethanol mix generally showed a gain of about 20 percent versus fossil fuel in terms of non-renewable energy used, whereas directly-incorporated ethanol and biodiesel gave gains of around 50 percent and upwards.
Sugar cane was by far the most energy-efficient raw material for ethanol, showing a gain of over 50 percent in ETBE form and more than 80 percent when directly incorporated.
Link: http://www.reuters.com/article/GCA-GreenBusiness/idUSTRE5983KO20091009

EMISSIONS

3.1. Recession drives emissions down 3%: IEA
8 October 2009, EurActiv
Deferred investments in polluting technologies due to the recession are set to lead to the largest drop in greenhouse gas emissions in 40 years, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Tuesday (6 October).

An early excerpt from the IEA’s annual World Energy Outlook shows that global warming gases spewed out by power plants could decline by 3% this year. As a result, the organisation has lowered its expectations for emissions in 2020 by 5% from just a year ago, even if no additional policies have been put in place by then.

The report was presented to climate negotiatiors at the United Nations Framework Conference on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Bangkok on Tuesday to bring home the message that the successor to the Kyoto Protocol, set to be agreed in December, must halt global warming below 2°C. It argued that the economic downturn is an opportunity to halt emissions growth before reaching the limit that the UN’s scientific body, the Intergovernmentral Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), has identified as the threshold for catastrophic climate change.
"This gives us a chance to make real progress towards a clean-energy future, but only if the right policies are put in place promptly. The success of the UNFCCC process is crucial in this regard," said IEA Executive Director Nobuo Tanaka.
The report argued that the use of fossil fuels would have to peak before 2020 and energy-related emissions should not be more than 6% above 2007 levels in 2020 to halt dangerous climate change.
CO2 emissions from OECD countries would have to decline steadily from 2007 levels. Other major economies, including China, Russia and South Africa, would have to see their emissions peak in 2020.
Most of the required reductions would come from energy-efficiency measures, while shifting from fossil fuels to cleaner energy would also contribute significantly, the report said.
The agency said that achieving the "energy revolution" would require $10.5 trillion to be made available to the energy sector between 2010 and 2030. This would represent around 0.5% of global GDP in 2020, increasing to 1.1% in 2030.
The biggest efforts would have to be made in non-OECD countries, which will need to invest an additional $197 billion in clean power, energy-efficiency measures for industry and buildings and next-generation hybrid and electric vehicles, the IEA said. It added that industrialised countries would have to be ready to provide financial support for these investments.
The report gave assurances that these costs would be largely offset by savings in energy imports and improved air quality.
Agreement on targets for emission cuts and financial help from developed countries has nevertheless not been forthcoming in the two-week talks in the Thai capital. Earlier this week, China accused rich countries of trying to "terminate" the Kyoto Protocol by seeking greater flexibility in implementing any emissions cuts.
Link: http://www.euractiv.com/en/climate-change/recession-drives-emissions-3-iea/article-186172

3.2. EU mayors look to Masdar as first zero-carbon city
8 October 2009, EurActiv

Masdar, a 100% renewable energy and zero-carbon city to be built in the United Arab Emirates, could provide inspiration for European cities, according to mayors and industry representatives gathered for a conference on regional policy in Brussels (6 October).

Masdar, a city in the emirate of Abu Dhabi, is to become the new ‘Silicon Valley’ for clean, green and alternative energy, according to its promoters. It will house around 1,500 clean tech companies, with 40,000 residents and 50,000 commuters.

The city’s concept was presented to local representatives and business leaders attending the European Commission’s ‘Open Days’ in Brussels.
"Masdar will be an example of environmental best practice, a demonstration of what is possible," explained Sanad Ahmed, the city’s senior project manager. Masdar’s main objectives are achieving 100% reliance on renewable energies, becoming entirely carbon neutral and generating zero waste. The city will also host the Masdar Institute of Science and Technology.
The EU is increasingly looking at its urban areas to deliver its ambitious climate agenda. Cities are responsible for two-thirds of Europe’s greenhouse gas emissions, which makes them a key element in achieving the EU’s goal of slashing its greenhouse gases by 20% in 2020.
"Lots of technologies which will be used in Masdar can be applied to existing cities," said Steve Fludder, vice-president of General Electric. "The only difference is that most European cities need a transition," he added.
Others pointed out that Europe’s old cities would require expensive refurbishment to match Masdar’s ambitions.
Michel Delebarre, mayor of Dunkerque, the third biggest port in France, and Jaros³aw Kochaniak, deputy mayor of Warsaw, cautioned that many EU cities had been completely destroyed during World War II. "If my predecessors had had the same means and preoccupations that we have nowadays, my city would have been reconstructed differently," said Delebarre.
Many European cities have nevertheless taken initiatives to curtail their energy waste according to local conditions.
Kochaniak said Warsaw had already been working on cutting its energy use for the last 5-7 years, especially in the areas of public transport and waste infrastructure.
On the other hand, Carlos Rojas Garcia, mayor of the Spanish town of Motril, noted that his city intended to source at least 20% of its energy from solar and wind by 2020. All the street lights have been replaced, he said, reducing their energy consumption by 45%. And more energy will be saved on cooling during the summer, when temperatures in public buildings are never pushed below 20°C.
Key role for local authorities
The mayors stressed that educating citizens on energy efficiency was a key task at local level.
"The Lisbon Strategy has forgotten to engage people," deplored Klaus Klipp, general-secretary of the Assembly of European Regions (AER), which gathers 270 regions from 33 countries.
The mayor of Dunkerque spoke of a public education stunt in his city in 2004, when a helicopter photographed all of the city’s buildings for a thermographic analysis. Residents could then come to see the level of energy consumption of their houses, and get subsidies for deciding to take measures to reduce energy waste.
Warsaw’s Kochaniak stressed the role of EU funding. "Even if the EU does not have direct competence in urban affairs, its cohesion and sectoral policies in the areas of transport, environment and social affairs can have impacts on cities’ capacity to deal with these challenges," he said. 
Warsaw is the largest recipient of EU funding in Poland. 
Link: http://www.euractiv.com/en/sustainability/eu-mayors-look-masdar-zero-carbon-city/article-186213

3.3 Commission falls between two stools on financing for low carbon technologies
7 October 2009, Greenpeace

The European Commission has proposed increased and coordinated funding to develop a greener energy sector, but has failed to deliver a consistent strategy to achieve this objective, said Greenpeace today following the release of an EU proposal for public and private investment in low carbon technologies. The proposal supports renewables and energy efficiency and an upgrade of the energy system to integrate these technologies in a smart grid network. Yet, it also persists in subsidies for outdated nuclear and coal-based technologies that are designed to operate in centralised and inflexible power grids.

The Commission has once again fallen between two stools on where to invest in the energy system. It recognises the need for renewables and efficiency, but it is also bowing to pressure to fund outdated technologies like coal and nuclear. It’s time for the EU to choose the type of energy system it wants in the future and stop playing the field,” said Frauke Thies, Greenpeace EU energy policy campaigner
The conflict between a centralised and inflexible energy system that relies on nuclear and coal, and versatile renewables is already becoming apparent. In northern Germany, wind power is being cut off the grid during times of low power demand, because nuclear and coal plants are unable to adjust their output. The situation will only worsen unless the right policies are implemented across Europe.
“Instead of diverting resources to fossil and nuclear experiments that only perpetuate our outdated energy system, more efforts should go into the development of a smart energy network that can integrate renewable energy sources and efficiency,” said Thies.
The Commission proposes seven industrial initiatives and estimates the public and private funding needed for these initiatives over the next ten years, including wind energy (6bn€), solar energy (16bn€), bioenergy (9bn€), the electricity grid (2bn€), carbon capture and storage (13bn€), nuclear energy (7bn€) and fuel cells and hydrogen (5bn€). It also proposes a so-called ‘smart cities’ initiative for efficiency measures and the deployment of renewable energy in large cities (11bn€).
Link: http://www.greenpeace.org/eu-unit/press-centre/press-releases2/low-carbon-technologies-07-10-09


JOBS

4.1. Economist, WWF European Policy Office, Brussels, Belgium
WWF, the global conservation organisation, is looking to fill a full-time position in its Brussels European Policy Office (WWF-EPO) to work as an Economist.
The post holder, working closely with the WWF European network of national organisations, will shape and lead the EU budget review project. This will seek to influence the financial frameworks 2014-2020 with the aim of reforming expenditure areas which have a large environmental impact, including agriculture, regional policy, energy investments, development assistance and subsidy reform.
The successful candidate will have a university degree in economics and at least seven years of professional experience. He/she will have a proven track record as an effective public spokesperson and successful advocacy and policy analysis skills. Knowledge of the workings of the European institutions is required. Fluency in English and preferably another major European language.
The post will be offered under a Belgian contract. More info at: www.panda.org