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Renewables To Create Quarter Of World’s Electricity By 2018 – IEA
Global electricity generation from renewable energy sources will rise 40 per cent in the next five years, outpacing natural gas, as China and other developing countries expand capacity, according to a report from the International Energy Agency on Wednesday. As the cost of generating power from wind, solar, hydro and other sources falls, renewables will account for nearly 25 per cent of global electricity production by 2018, up from about 20 per cent in 2011, according to the IEA’s latest medium-term renewable energy market report. Renewables will overtake natural gas and be double that of nuclear by 2016, said the IEA, which acts as energy policy adviser to 28 member countries, including the United States, Japan, Canada and leading European nations. “Renewable power sources are increasingly standing on their own merits versus new fossil-fuel generation,” IEA Executive Director Maria van der Hoeven said at the Renewable Energy Finance Forum in New York. Developing countries outside the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) are expected to account for two-thirds of the global increase, the IEA said, with Africa and Asia showing some of the strongest gains. China, with government backing and access to cheap capital, is streaks ahead of other countries, expected to beef up its renewable capabilities by 750 terawatt hours (TWh) between 2012 and 2018. The United States (150 TWh), Brazil (130), India (95) and Germany (70) are also expected to show large increases. In terms of percentage growth, however, smaller economies are seen making the largest strides, with Morocco (25 per cent) and South Africa (20 per cent) leading the list. Much will depend on government policies and regulations to encourage renewable growth. Uncertainty about renewable policies may hamper investment and growth in the sector, the IEA said. “Policy uncertainty is public enemy number one,” van der Hoeven said, citing policies surrounding tax credits in the United States and incentives for wind power in India. Global investment in renewables fell 12 per cent in 2012, according to the report, driven by a drop in European spending as the economic crisis lingers. In the United States, “boom and bust” cycles are hampering development of renewable sources, especially wind, said Paolo Frankl, head of the IEA’s renewable energy division. US President Barack Obama launched a new climate change initiative on Tuesday that would involve cutting carbon emissions from coal-fired power plants and supporting renewable energy sources. Continue reading
The Future For Clean Energy In Africa
Baker & McKenzie Scott Brodsky , Paul Curnow , Marc Fèvre , Mohamed A. Ghannam , Kamal Nasrollah and James P. O’Brien Africa June 25 2013 To view this article you need a PDF viewer such as Adobe Reader . http://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=d8832ae6-1a42-4071-a0c5-296d69993f12&utm_source=lexology+daily+newsfeed&utm_medium=html+email+-+body+-+general+section&utm_campaign=lexology+subscriber+daily+feed&utm_content=lexology+daily+newsfeed+2013-06-27&utm_term= Continue reading
Details Of Likely CAP Reform Deal Begin To Emerge
25 June 2013 | By Alistair Driver EU POLICYMAKERS have endorsed plans that would give member states the option of using national certification schemes to qualify for the greening payment under the reformed Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). The EU Council of Agriculture Ministers is into its second day of talks in Luxembourg, where it has been joined by MEPs from the Agriculture Committee and Agriculture Commissioner Dacian Ciolos. Details of issues that have been provisionally agreed by the decision-makers in the process – the EU Council of Ministers and the EU Parliament’s Agriculture Committee – are emerging as the talks move towards a possible conclusion on Wednesday. Among the issues already ‘cleared’ in trilogue talks between the parties is confirmation that the UK and other member states and regions will be able to establish certification schemes as the basis for qualifying for the 30 per cent greening payment. Defra Secretary Owen Paterson has already made it clear he wants to establish am English Certification for this purpose. These schemes will include environmental measures beyond the three broad measures originally proposed by the European Commission. A key element will be ensuring ‘equivalence’ in these measures across the EU. The NFU’s CAP adviser Gail Soutar, commenting from Brussels, said this flexibility could be a ‘double-edged sword’ for English farmers. While they will benefit from the flexibility in how to comply with greening, they could face tougher environmental than their counterparts. In an Irish presidency document outlining areas where provisional agreement has been reached, further details surrounding the three basic greening requirements are unveiled. · Permanent grassland ratio can be applied at national, regional or farm level. · The minimum area threshold where there will be no Ecological Focus Area is 15 hectares of arable land. · The percentage will start at 5 per cent in 2015, then move to 7 per cent only after a Commission report in 2017 and subject to a legislative proposal. · Permanent crops are now excluded from EFA . EFA applies to arable land only. · The following EFA eligible areas are agreed: Fallow land, terraces, landscape features, buffer strips, agro forestry, afforested lands, strips of eligible hectares along forest edges, catch crops, nitrogen-fixing crops and short rotation coppice (with no use of mineral fertiliser or plant protection products). · Exemption for holdings where more than 75 per cent of the holding is in grassland (permanent or temporary), or covered by crops under water, or a combination of both, subject to a maximum for the remaining land of 30 hectares. · Exemptions also for holdings where more than 75 per cent of the arable land is temporary grassland, fallow, leguminous crops, or a combination of these, subject to a maximum for the remaining land of 30 hectares. · EFA percentage decreased by 50 per cent where a MS implements a measure at regional level, which yields an equivalent or higher benefit to the climate and the environment. In other measures provisionally agreed, member states and regions will be given scope to retain coupled subsidies. Under a three-tier system: · All Member States will be permitted a level of 8 per e coupling, plus 2 per cent for protein crops. · Member States who used more than 5 per cent coupled aid in one year in the period 2010-2014 permitted a level of 13 per cent, plus 2 per cent for protein crops. · Member States who used more than 10 per cent in one year in the 2010-2014period may decide to use more than 13 per cent upon approval by the Commission. MEPs and Ministers have also provisionally agreed to give member states and regions more flexibility on how they move towards area payments, something that is likely to be welcomed in Scotland and Wales. Member states and regions will be required to ensure all farmers receive at least 60 per cent of the average payment per hectare by 2019. The active farmer, young farmer and small farmers have been provisionally agreed, as follows: Active Farmer: Short mandatory negative list agreed to determine who is not eligible for support, comprising airports, railway services, water works, real estate services, and permanent sports and recreational grounds. Young Farmer: Mandatory scheme agreed in Pillar 1, using up to 2 per cent of direct payment pot. Small Farmer : Optional scheme, with a maximum payment of €1,250, using up to 10 per cent of the direct payment pot. The outcome on all of these provisional agreements still had to be confirmed by the Council of Ministers on Tuesday afternoon the Parliament’s Agriculture Committee on Wednesday. As of Tuesday afternoon, there were still a number of outstanding issues to be resolved, including the milk package, the sugar regime, including when quotas will be removed and ‘legal alignment’ – who holds powers in Brussels to make key decisions under the reformed CAP. Continue reading
