The IMO’s Net-Zero Framework came out of the latest Marine Environment Protection Committee meeting bruised, delayed, and still alive. For maritime climate policy, that matters. The International Maritime Organization has spent decades moving at the pace of the most cautious flag states, the most exposed bulk exporters, and the most … [continued]
To: Ms. Teresa Ribera, Executive Vice-President for a Clean, Just and Competitive Transition; Mr. Wopke Hoekstra, Commissioner for Climate, Net Zero and Clean Growth; Mr. Apoltolos Tzitzikostas, Commissioner for Sustainable Transport and Tourism. We, the undersigned NGOs, trade unions, industry actors, industry associations and consumer associations, are joining forces to urge the … [continued]
Earlier this year, 1.5 million Kenyan households received a text message reading: “Samahani KOKO customer. We regret to inform you that KOKO is closing operations today.” Within hours, KOKO Networks, one of Africa’s most celebrated clean-energy startups, laid off 700 staff, shut 3,000 fuel stations, and took the continent’s largest bioethanol … [continued]
ChatGPT generated image of a modern container ship docked at an industrial port with alcohol fuel storage tanks and shore power connections, illustrating emerging clean bunkering infrastructure
In recent weeks I have published on the end game economics of maritime fuels, why decarbonizing maritime shipping won’t be inflationary, and why most battery electric shipping studies were already obsolete. Those pieces generated a steady stream of questions that were more specific than the original arguments, as well as … [continued]
Equinor’s decision to halt its blue hydrogen project in Groningen is not a story about engineering failure or lack of public support. It is a story about the absence of customers. The H2M project secured support from the EU Innovation Fund and was positioned as a cornerstone of industrial decarbonization … [continued]
In my recent article on America’s new maritime plan, I argued that it was competing for the wrong century by anchoring itself to legacy fuels and industrial logic that made sense when gasoline and diesel dominated global energy demand. A reader asked a question regarding the fuel cost variance for … [continued]
China’s national carbon market has reached another expansion point, and the signal is larger than it first appears. The Ministry of Ecology and Environment has extended mandatory carbon reporting beyond the original heavy sectors to include petrochemicals, chemicals, flat glass, copper smelting, papermaking, and civil aviation. That move does not … [continued]
ChatGPT generated illustration showing electricity infrastructure held back by legacy taxes and levies, while gas appears cheaper due to lighter fiscal treatment rather than lower system cost
The leaked European Commission recommendation on electricity taxation landed quietly, but it said something that European energy policy has avoided stating plainly for decades. Electricity is still taxed and loaded with levies as if it were a polluting end product rather than the clean energy carrier Europe increasingly depends on … [continued]
European Investment Bank approves ETS2 Frontloading Facility The European Investment Bank (EIB) board has approved a €3bn Frontloading Facility which provides revenues to countries to spend on preparing citizens for higher fuel costs, once the EU’s carbon price on heating and fuel (ETS2) kicks in. A further €3bn could be … [continued]
Governments around the world invest in fossil fuels for what is often framed as national security. However, there is a basic inconsistency of national investment in fossil fuels with mitigating climate change. Many oil and gas producers falsely claim they are simply meeting demand rather than accruing fabulous wealth. In … [continued]
