The poorest will suffer if we force renewable energy on the developing world YESTERDAY, the UK announced a contribution of about £720m to the Green Climate Fund, a UN initiative designed to help poor countries cope with climate change. It is right for rich countries to assist the developing world in their efforts to adapt to climate impacts, but they should not burden them with costly decarbonisation schemes. [...]
Short-sighted political populism risks missing shale gas’s potential benefits The Department of Energy and Climate Change’s consultation on allowing fracking companies access to shale gas 300 metres below the ground closes today. Its overarching aim is to stop landowners forming legal blockades – a form of Nimbyism causing significant impediments to shale gas exploration in parts of the country. This is undoubtedly a sensible [...]
Britain’s fossil fuel subsidies: Soon it won’t just be renewables we’re propping up THERE is no doubt that fossil fuel subsidies – mostly found in the developing world – are a major and unwelcome feature of the global economy today. The International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates that global fossil fuel subsidies cost $544bn in 2012. Add to this lost tax revenues and the figure rises to around $2 [...]
