Climate policies & low-carbon technologies
How to minimise the 'greenlash'
18 December 2023
A backlash over the EU’s green policies is not inevitable. Policy-makers should focus on designing green policies that make decarbonisation affordable, and highlight its social benefits.
Reform of Europe's wholesale power markets: In need of a jolt?
13 June 2023
The European Commission’s proposal to reform the electricity wholesale market is modest, but pragmatic. But the EU must strengthen the grid to improve its energy security: infrastructure planning should be co-ordinated at European level.
Europe can withstand American and Chinese subsidies for green tech
12 June 2023
European policy-makers are fretting about subsidised green tech imports from the US and China. But shipping costs are increasingly discouraging imports of these goods from faraway countries.
Will the EU's reform of retail electricity markets help consumers?
19 April 2023
Retail energy markets in Europe have performed poorly during the recent crisis. The Commission’s proposed reforms are a step forward, but they should do more to empower consumers and protect the vulnerable.
The EU must triple down on green investment
24 March 2022
Russia’s war on Ukraine forces Europe to make some tough economic choices. Higher climate investment is a no-brainer, however.
High energy prices threaten the EU emissions trading system
23 March 2022
EU member-states should not stop the expansion of emissions trading to keep a lid on energy prices. Instead, they should increase income support for poorer households and incentives for green investment.
Avoiding the pitfalls of an EU carbon border adjustment mechanism
05 July 2021
A leaked draft of the EU’s CBAM regulation provides fresh insights into what the Commission plans to do. But it also raises a number of tricky questions.
How to decarbonise EU road transport without summoning the gilets jaunes
19 May 2021
Extending carbon pricing to road transport will initially make driving more expensive, hurting poorer households.
The EU's carbon border adjustment mechanism: How to make it work for developing countries
22 April 2021
The EU should exempt developing country exports from its CBAM to avoid unfairly penalising countries that have contributed a much smaller share of cumulative global carbon emissions.
How to save the ideas behind TTIP
11 May 2016
European politicians face an increasingly hostile debate on TTIP. They need to show how TTIP avoids past trade policy failures and improves European regulation.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Genetically modified crops: Time to move on from theological dispute
30 January 2015
GMOs should not be supported or opposed as a single technology. The compromise that the Juncker Commission has negotiated must now be implemented.
Issue 99 - 2014
27 November 2014
- Ukraine after the elections: Democracy and the barrel of a gun, Ian Bond
- What should an energy union cover?, Nick Butler
- Free movement: Why Britain does not need to change the rules, Camino Mortera-Martinez
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 green benefits of Britain's EU membership
30 April 2014
European rules have delivered cleaner air and water in Britain, and protected wildlife. Outside the EU, Britain would again be 'the dirty man of Europe'.
How to reduce dependence on Russian gas
10 April 2014
Europe should improve energy efficiency, develop all alternative gas sources, and expand renewable, CCS and nuclear energy. The foreign policy advantages would justify the cost.