Energy & climate
The EU budget needs climate-proofing
04 November 2019
Greenhouse gas emissions from Europe’s farms have been flat since 2005. The Common Agricultural Policy, which consumes 37 per cent of the EU’s budget, subsidises a sector that needs to clean up its act.
Should the EU tax imported CO2?
24 September 2019
An EU carbon border tax would be tricky to design, costly to implement and sure to provoke legal challenges. But if done properly there are reasons to think it could succeed.
Moving back the finishing line: The EU's progress on climate
23 September 2019
European leaders’ aim to go carbon neutral by 2050 will not happen without much tougher emissions curbs by 2030, and a sizeable increase in research and development funding.
Nord Stream 2: More hot air than gas?
12 January 2018
Some EU member-states see the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline as Russia’s latest anti-European weapon. But even if they are right, the threat can be mitigated.
Brexit and energy: Time to make some hard choices
25 September 2017
If Britain quits the EU’s single energy market, it will have to invest more in electricity generation, pay higher prices and accept a bigger state role in the energy sector.
The EU Energy Union: More than the sum of its parts?
09 November 2015
An Energy Union built around EU-wide gas and electricity networks will help produce cheaper, greener and more secure energy for Europe.
Beware of cheap oil!
07 October 2015
Europe’s economies welcome the collapse of oil prices. But serious foreign policy problems await if oil remains cheap.
Cleaning the neighbourhood: How the EU can scrub out bad energy policy
22 April 2015
The EU should not buy electricity from countries with highly-polluting coal power stations, and should instead support efficiency and clean energy in neighbouring countries.
State aid for energy: Climate action is more important than the single market
23 February 2015
The Commission has handled the issue of state aid for nuclear energy well, but should use its powers to end coal subsidies.
What should an energy union cover?
27 November 2014
Energy union should result in a connected European energy market, not a single buyer for imported gas.
International climate negotiations should focus on money, not targets
17 September 2014
The G20 should implement its 2009 pledge to phase out inefficient fossil fuel subsidies, and give the money instead to the Green Climate Fund.
The Commission’s energy union ‘strategy’: A rebranded work programme
27 February 2015
President Juncker promised that his Commission would be more political. But its 'energy union' strategy is too timid and bureaucratic, and lacks focus.
Britain can shape EU climate and energy policy
15 April 2015
British Influence
This week EU energy ministers are meeting for a further discussion of the Energy Union, which the Juncker Commission had identified as one of its top priorities. Vice President of the European Commission Maroš Šefčovič, in charge of the energy union, has published a proposed strategy. This is an area...
Europe should regulate to promote carbon capture and storage
30 October 2013
The EU should give grants to coal and gas carbon capture and storage demonstration projects, and regulate to require coal plants to use this technology.
Can shale gas transform Europe's energy landscape?
10 July 2013
Shale gas could slow the increase in Europe's dependence on imported gas. But it will not be the game changer it has been in the US.
How to expand renewable energy after 2020
07 December 2012
The EU should set targets for renewable energy for 2030 and the end of each subsequent decade, to reach full reliance on renewables by 2060.