Author Archives: carbonpolicy

Standby Power Controllers – excerpt

Standby Power Controllers aim to reduce standby energy use. An analysis of their impact when deployed at large scale in Victoria, Australia, however shows that their likely impact has been much lower than had been estimated.

Click here to read the Measurement and Verification – Standby Power Controller Example

Standby Power Controller

This is an excerpt from Carbon Policy – How Robust Measurement and Verification can improve Policy Effectiveness.

No Energy Efficiency in the Emissions Reduction Fund.

Australia’s $2.5 billion emissions reduction fund aims to achieve carbon abatement through a reverse auction process. The first auction was held last week. At an average price of just under $14 a tonne the majority of projects successful in the auction were either for land-based carbon sequestration (for example tree plantings) or for methane capture from municipal tips.

With energy efficiency commonly portrayed as “the low hanging fruit” one could have expected that a range of energy efficiency projects would have been successful in the auction. However, no energy efficiency projects were listed in the list of successful projects. http://www.cleanenergyregulator.gov.au/Emissions-Reduction-Fund/News-and-events/Pages/04-2015/Results-from-the-first-Emissions-Reduction-Fund-auction.aspx

Only those projects which were successful in the auction process are known, so it’s not possible to know how many energy efficiency projects, if any, were submitted.

Under the now closed Energy Efficiency Opportunities scheme many of Australia’s largest businesses would have developed energy efficiency projects that for relatively little effort potentially could have been submitted for the auction process. Were these companies playing a wait-and-see game to see what the price would be? Or did some of them they try to get in on the first auction and were simply unsuccessful? Or did they anticipate a relatively low price, and figure it would be a waste of time participating?

Many in the energy efficiency industry have endeavoured to influence the design of the emissions reduction fund, principally by engaging in the public consultation around scheme design. But they may be feeling that their effort has been wasted.

Energy efficiency, contrary to popular belief, actually doesn’t usually provide no cost returns. Instead it provides a reasonably good return on investment. By if the first auction is any indication, clearly not good enough to deliver abatement at $14 a tonne. Which actually isn’t rocket science to figure out.

Consider for example, a lighting upgrade – a pretty typical EE measure. For argument’s sake let’s say that we are replacing twin 36 W fluorescent fittings in an office with LED light fittings each consuming 40 Watts. Allowing for ballast energy consumption associated with the fluorescent tubes the saving per fitting is 40 Watts. If we assume that the lights operate for 50 hours a week, or around 2500 hours a year, annual energy savings per fitting are 100 kW. Assuming that this is a commercial office where the peak tariff is say $0.20/kWh, annual savings are $20. If the cost of the new fitting, installed, along with the cost of disposing of the old fitting, was $100 then the simple payback would be five years. The carbon savings would be roughly 100 kg per year. At a carbon price of $14 a tonne, this would yield $1.40 year. As can be seen this is a relatively small amount, and essentially only improves the economics of the lighting upgrade by around about 7%. So why would anyone bother aggregating a whole lot of savings from various light upgrades and go to the effort of annual verification and reporting?

With respect to energy efficiency, the emissions reduction fund makes sense if you have a project ready to go, that you are going to do anyway so you only need to put in a low bid, and where the cost of annual reporting is less than a benefit gained from the fund. Did you mention the word additionality? If any EE projects are successful in future auctions it’s going to be hard to prove that the emissions reduction fund has actually generated more savings from energy efficiency than would have been the case without the fund.

RE and EE Carbon Policy news 16 February 2015

Weekly RE and EE Carbon Policy news update from the web.

C2ES study identifies lessons from carbon pricing for business and policy

C2ES study identifies lessons from carbon pricing
A new C2ES report highlights lessons useful for companies and policymakers as more states and countries consider carbon pricing to spur innovative technologies and cut emissions at the lowest possible cost.
The report, written for the World Bank’s Partnership for Market Readiness (PMR), examines how three companies — Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E), Rio Tinto, and Royal Dutch Shell — prepared for carbon pricing programs.
The PMR shares this type of information with developing countries to help them create their own market-based policies. We were pleased to partner with the PMR to explore how a few of the companies in our Business Environmental Leadership Council prepared for carbon pricing and we thank the companies for sharing their expertise.

> READ FULL STORY HERE

The new European energy efficiency facility is here: financing sustainable energy at the local and regional level!

THE NEW EUROPEAN ENERGY EFFICIENCY FACILITY IS HERE
The European Energy Efficiency Facility (EEE – F) of the European Energy Programme for Recovery (EEPR) is a new financial facility dedicated to sustainable energy.
Why is a European Energy Efficiency facility being set up?
The Council of Ministers and the European Parliament agreed in December 2010 to a European Commission proposal, made the same year in May, to allocate approximately EUR 146 million from the European Energy Programme for Recovery (i.e. 3.7% of the total EEPR envelope) towards a new financial facility dedicated to sustainable energy. The EU contribution comes from funds mobilised for the EEPR in 2009 which could not immediately be allocated to projects in the sectors of infrastructure, off-shore wind and carbon capture and storage (CCS).
What structure will the new financial facility have?
The new facility will take the form of an investment fund complemented by technical assistance (TA) and awareness raising. The EU will contribute about EUR 146 million to the facility, of which about EUR 125 million to the fund and about EUR 20 million to TA.

> READ FULL STORY HERE

Energy efficiency industry needs to talk securitization

Energy efficiency industry needs to talk
What do leaders in the banking industry think about the potential of privately financing solar power, wind energy and energy efficiency? In this interview with Clean Energy Finance Forum, Michael Eckhart, managing director and global head of finance and sustainability at Citigroup, shares his optimism about the transition to clean energy and his observations about the persistent obstacles in the market — including the need to scale up financing for energy efficiency.
Citigroup has participated in public-private efforts helping to catalyze advancement in this arena. Eckhart describes progress in the context of a 100-year transition toward a clean energy economy. Developments in standardization and securitization hold tremendous potential for moving the industry forward.
Clean Energy Finance Forum: Do you believe the private sector is underinvesting in clean energy and energy efficiency? If so, why?
Eckhart: No, not underinvesting. The private sector invests in those projects that meet the criteria for financing.

> READ FULL STORY HERE

How Efficient Is Energy Efficiency? A New Freakonomics Radio Podcast

How Efficient Is Energy Efficiency
Arik Levinson is an environmental economist at Georgetown who spent some time as a senior economist for environmental issues with the Council of Economic Advisors (C.E.A.) under President Obama.
“One of my jobs,” he says, “was helping the White House evaluate the environmental policies coming out of the Department of Transportation, the Department of Energy, and the Environmental Protection Agency. And I quickly realized that most of the policies that I was seeing involved energy efficiency.”
So Levinson wanted to know: how efficient is all this energy efficiency? That’s the topic of our latest podcast. (You can subscribe to the podcast at iTunes or elsewhere, get the RSS feed, or listen via the media player above. You can also read the transcript, which includes credits for the music you’ll hear in the episode.)
We discuss Levinson’s new working paper “How Much Energy Do Building Energy Codes Really Save? Evidence From California” (and a related Journal of Economic Behavior& Organization paper, called “California Energy Efficiency: Lessons for the Rest of the World, or Not?).

> READ FULL STORY HERE

EU energy consumption level falls to 20-year low

EU energy consumption level falls
Energy consumption in the European Union has fallen to levels last seen more than two decades ago, statistics published on Monday showed.
The dramatic drop in annual consumption – in 2013, the year to which the new research applies, it was down by more than 9% from its 2006 peak – reflects in part the continuing economic troubles in the eurozone, but also efforts taken by member states and businesses to cut energy use and improve efficiency.
Despite the plunge, Europe remains heavily dependent on fuel imports, with more than half of energy needs supplied by production from abroad, including the Middle East and Norway.

> READ FULL STORY HERE

EU Energy Briefing: Special on the Energy Union [VIDEO]

EU Energy Briefing Special on the Energy Union VIDEO 1
In this Brussels Briefing on Energy for viEUws – the EU Policy Broadcaster, leading journalist Hughes Belin provides an overview ofprogress made on the EU’s Energy Union project, ahead of the formal launch of the Energy Union by the European Commission on 25 February.
Climate and Energy Commissioner Cañete already revealed a series of actions to materialise the Energy Union:
• 10-point plan for energy security that includes: regulation on security of electricity supply, plans for a common gas purchasing platform, a new Liquefied Natural Gas strategy, progress on a Mediterranean gas hub & the Southern Gas Corridor
• Implementing the internal energy market

> READ FULL STORY HERE

Biomass in a carbon-negative power system

Biomass in a carbon
Deployment of bioenergy with carbon capture and sequestration would help western North America achieve a carbon-negative power system by 2050.

> READ FULL STORY HERE

Geneva talks: countries agree draft text for deal to fight climate change

Geneva talks countries agree draft text for deal
Almost 200 countries agreed a draft text for a deal to fight climate change on Friday, but put off hard choices about narrowing down a vast range of options for limiting a damaging rise in temperatures.
Government delegates adopted the 86-page draft as the basis for negotiations on the deal due to be agreed later this year.
But the document includes radically varying proposals for slowing climate change – one foresees a phase-out of net greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, for instance, while another seeks a peak of emissions “as soon as possible”.

> READ FULL STORY HERE

Shell chief calls for fossil fuel industry to join climate debate

Shell chief calls for fossil fuel industry
The chief executive of Shell addressed the oil industry on Thursday to highlight the role of fossil fuels in the transition to a low carbon economy and attacked some critics for peddling impractical solutions to climate change.
Ben van Beurden (pictured right) told delegates at the International Petroleum Week that energy companies should not “keep a low profile” in the debate on how to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, but should accept the challenges being posed to the industry by international carbon reduction targets.
vanBeurden said: “Our industry should be less aloof, more assertive. We have to make sure that our voice is heard by members of government, by civil society and the general public.”

> READ FULL STORY HERE

A low-carbon society: global visions, pathways, and challenges

A low carbon society global visions, pathways and challenges
The feasibility of two low-carbon society (LCS) scenarios, one with and one without nuclear power and carbon capture and storage (CCS), is evaluated using the AIM/Enduse[Global] model. Both scenarios suggest that achieving a 50% emissions reduction target (relative to 1990 levels) by 2050 is technically feasible if locally suited technologies are introduced and the relevant policies, including necessary financial transfers, are appropriately implemented. In the scenario that includes nuclear and CCS options, it will be vital to consider the risks and acceptance of these technologies. In the scenario without these technologies, the challenge will be how to reduce energy service demand. In both scenarios, the estimated investment costs will be higher in non-Annex I countries than in Annex I countries. Finally, the enhancement of capacity building to support the deployment of locally suited technologies will be central to achieving an LCS.

> READ FULL STORY HERE

What role for carbon markets in the 2015 climate agreement?

What role for carbon markets in the 2015
Around the world governments are increasingly pursuing market-based approaches to reduce their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. South Korea’s emissions trading scheme entered force at the start of this year and is currently the world’s second largest carbon market. Many other carbon pricing policies are either in force or in the planning stages, including in emerging markets such as Brazil, China, and Mexico as illustrated in Figure 1.
Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) are due to meet in Paris, France later this year to finalise a new global climate agreement to replace the current Kyoto Protocol and the Copenhagen Accords when these expire at the end of this decade.

> READ FULL STORY HERE

RE and EE Carbon Policy news 6 February 2015

Weekly RE and EE Carbon Policy news update from the web.

A “J’Accuse” from an ex-EU official: only a real Energy Union can save the EU energy market

A “J’Accuse” from an ex-EU official

An “Energy Union” in Europe means that an EU-level organisation will balance the flows of electricity, not national transmission system operators. And it means the EU will ensure security of supply – not the national member states. That is the vision of Jean-Arnold Vinois, until recently Director in charge of the internal energy market at the European Commission and co-author of a groundbreaking report from Notre Europe (Jacques Delors Institute) on the Energy Union. As Brussels awaits the official version of the Energy Union from the Commission on 25 February, Vinois slams the current state of the European energy sector. The distribution system operators, he says, are ineffective, the generators are “dinosaurs”, almost no one is investing in R&D in energy, the decision to allow state aid to the nuclear project Hinkley Point C is “questionable” and the lack of solidarity EU countries show in regard to Putin is “sad”. He predicts IT companies may take over from the energy companies and the Chinese may blow away Alstom, Siemens and ABB.
Jean-Arnold Vinois is loving the liberty that comes with no longer actively working at the European Commission. The former Director in charge of the internal energy market retired in 2013 – although he remains an Honorary Director at the Commission – to join the respectable think tank “Notre Europe – Jacque Delors Institute”, founded in Paris in 1996 by the ex-Commission President of the same name. Here, he has co-authored a report with colleague Sami Andoura – with a preface by Delors himself – setting out an intrepid vision for the increasingly talked about Energy Union.

> READ FULL STORY HERE

MIT study investigates role of bio-energy in low-carbon future

MIT study investigates role of bio-energy

According to a new report from MIT, released in January, bioenergy production could cut greenhouse gas emissions by more than half, but with a caveat. “To achieve the cut”, notes MIT in a press release, “the carbon price must cover emissions from changing land use. Without this safeguard, deforestation becomes a major concern as forests are cleared to make way for farmland.”
MIT notes that “if emissions from deforestation are included in a carbon price, bioenergy — together with other advances in clean technology — can reduce emissions 57 percent by 2050, relative to when there is not a carbon price. In comparison, not counting emissions from changing land use in the carbon price leads to a reduction of only 16 percent.”
MIT says the study “is one of the most in-depth evaluations to date of how bioenergy might fit into a low-carbon future. The research team developed a cutting-edge modeling tool covering a comprehensive range of bioenergy pathways. Researchers then used the new tool to consider interactions among bioenergy, other low-carbon technologies, and the economy in a world where bioenergy fuels about a quarter of global energy needs by 2050.”

> READ FULL STORY HERE

Six steps to prepare the European energy system for the future

Symbolique 2006

The effects of the energy transition are increasingly felt in the European energy system. Above all in Germany which is leading the way with its Energiewende. The two largest German utility companies, Eon and RWE, have both announced major strategic reorientations to adapt to the new realities. At the same time, German policymakers and regulators face great challenges to ensure that the German energy system will not collapse under the weight of the growing share of variable energy sources. Other European countries will soon face similar issues.
As long as the share of wind and solar power in the system is limited, their fluctuating output can be leveled out with existing non-variable capacity. But when the shares of variable sources reaches more than 20-25%, it becomes more and more difficult to run back-up capacity profitably for a (sometimes very) limited amount of time. Profitable operations are possibly only if prices are allowed to peak.

> READ FULL STORY HERE

India’s energy and climate change challenge

India’s energy and climate change challenge

The US and India agreed on a climate deal during President Obama’s state visit to meet India’s prime minister Narendra Modi in January. Last time the president visited one of the world’s foremost developing economies, China, he signed an historic deal on climate change. As the world’s third largest emitter, India is coming under increasing pressure to follow suit.
The new US-India pact is weaker than the agreement Obama signed in Beijing. But there are a number of good reasons India is reluctant to take strong action to curb its emissions in the short term.
Carbon Brief takes a look at the factors likely to shape India’s energy and climate choices in the coming years, and what it means for the world’s efforts to tackle climate change.

> READ FULL STORY HERE

Sir Richard Branson: Ditch carbon emissions by 2050

Sir Richard Branson Ditch carbon emissions by 2050

Countries should aim to rid the world’s economy of carbon emissions by the middle of the century, Sir Richard Branson and other leading business figures have today said.
The group, known as the B Team, also urged chief executives to support their net-zero ambition by committing to “bold long-term targets” for emission reductions.
Effectively removing carbon from the global economy by 2050 is a far more ambitious goal than any country has yet committed to. But the B Team argued in a statement that by making the commitment governments will demonstrate they are “unequivocally setting the world on a clear, low-carbon trajectory”. They added that such a move would inspire confidence among the business community to invest in clean energy and other low carbon solutions.

> READ FULL STORY HERE

India resists international scrutiny as it shapes climate plan

India resists international scrutiny as it shapes climate plan

The government is “optimistic” about achieving a target to install 100GW of solar by 2020 and could go further with more finance and technology support.
Yet Javadekar made clear India would resist any outside scrutiny of its plans, in defiance of European calls for transparency.
“There is no question of an ex-ante review in an independent country and democratic country like India,” Javedekar said at a conference in New Delhi.
He was speaking about the road to a UN summit in Paris this December, where world leaders hope to strike a global climate deal.
Developed countries are expected to reveal by the end of March their draft contributions towards the international effort to limit dangerous warming. These will focus on cutting greenhouse gas emissions.

> READ FULL STORY HERE

Norway reveals 40% carbon cut goal for 2030, matching EU target

Norway reveals 40% carbon cut goal for 2030 matching EU target

The announcement comes days before UN envoys meet in Geneva to discuss a global deal to address climate change, which scientists say will increase the risk of extreme weather events.
Prime minister Erna Solberg said the country needed to take “brave new steps” to curb its emissions, which were 3.7% above 1990 levels in 2013, higher than the EU average.
“The Norwegian climate target will be in line with the overall target to avoid an increase in global average temperature of more than two degrees Celsius compared to pre-industrial levels,” she said.
Last October EU member states agreed to reduce GHG emissions 40% on 1990 levels by 2030.

> READ FULL STORY HERE

National carbon market on the horizon for China

National carbon market on the horizon for China

China has been experimenting with provincial carbon-market schemes over the past four years. Government officials are now suitably convinced that a national market could begin in mid-2016, Reuters reports.
But progress will likely be slow as China seeks to avoid the problems currently hobbling the EU’s scheme. Carbon Brief looks at how China’s pilot schemes are progressing, and what the next steps are to creating the world’s largest carbon market.

> READ FULL STORY HERE

The Carbon Calculus

The Carbon Calculus

A year and a half ago, Steve Clem, a vice president at global construction company Skanska, testified at the Oregon legislature in support of a bill to fund a study analyzing a state carbon tax. That study, “Carbon Tax and Shift,” written by the Northwest Economic Research Center at Portland State University and released in March 2013, set in motion a debate about whether the state should institute a mechanism for putting a price on carbon emissions.
Last year the legislature passed SB306, setting aside money for the research institute to redo the study with more geographic and industry specificity. The new research, released on December 8, 2014, lays the groundwork for lawmakers to consider a bill to create a carbon tax. If enacted, Oregon would be the first jurisdiction in the United States to have a statewide tax on carbon emissions.

> READ FULL STORY HERE

Ocean Carbon Uptake More Variable Than Previously Thought

Ocean Carbon Uptake More Variable Than Previously Thought

Earth’s oceans are thought to have taken up about one quarter of the carbon dioxide (CO2) that humans pumped into the atmosphere in the past 2 decades. The CO2 drives acidification and has consequences for sea life, but it also moderates the rate of climate change.
Researchers studying how the rate of CO2 uptake has changed over time using ship observations have mostly relied on ocean carbon measurements from only a few regions. Landschützer et al. set out to create a global model of CO2 uptake using fine-scale observations on a global scale.
The team used the Surface Ocean CO2 Atlas to create monthly maps of CO2 concentration at sea surface. Between 1998 and 2011, they found strong interannual variations, with the Pacific Ocean dominating the global flux variability. There, the El Niño–Southern Oscillation was the primary driver.

> READ FULL STORY HERE

DECC adds £25m to low carbon auction pot

DECC adds £25m to low carbon auction pot

The UK Government has increased the budget for low carbon projects that will be supported under the Contracts for Difference (CfD) scheme.
Projects will now compete for £325 million – a £25 million rise, which follows “high levels of demand” for the contracts, DECC said.
The extra funding will boost the amount available for “less established technologies” such as offshore wind and biomass with combined heat and power (CHP) – taking the total to £260 million.

> READ FULL STORY HERE

The Hack That Warmed the World

The Hack That Warmed the World

The client wanted carbon credits: tradable serial numbers that confer the right to pollute the Earth with invisible, odorless gas. Jugga, as the client called himself, planned to steal the credits, quickly resell them, and become rich overnight—but he needed the Black Dragon to hack into a computer system to help him do it. The Dragon, who in online forums advertised his services as a corporate spy, was sure he could hack anything. But when Jugga contacted him in June 2011, the hacker had no idea what carbon credits even were. “I didn’t think anyone would be stupid enough to come up with that,” the Dragon says of the concept.
The two men communicated via secure online chats, using their pseudonyms. In real life, the Dragon was 31-year-old Matthew Beddoes, a coal miner’s son, high-school dropout, and self-taught computer whiz who collected thousands of strangers’ credit card numbers and floated from couch to couch in central England’s Midlands region. Jugga was 36-year-old Jasdeep Singh Randhawa, who was previously part of a cigarette-smuggling network in Leicestershire.

> READ FULL STORY HERE

RE and EE Carbon Policy news 26 January 2015

Weekly RE and EE Carbon Policy news update from the web.

New efficiency standards for residential water heaters are on the horizon

New efficiency standards for residential water heaters
In less than two years, new water heater energy efficiency standards will be in effect, starting in April 2015. U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Steven Chu announced in April of 2010 that the Department had finalized higher energy efficiency standards for a key group of heating appliances that will together save consumers up to $10 billion and prevent the release of up to 164 million metric tons of carbon dioxide over 30 years. These new standards — for residential water heaters, pool heaters and direct heating equipment such as gas fireplaces — will reduce air pollution, prevent the release of harmful nitrogen oxides and mercury, and avoid emissions equivalent to taking 46 million cars off the road for one year, the DOE said.
Residential water heating products affected by the new 2015 Energy Conservation Standards include gas-fired, oil-fired, electric, tabletop, instantaneous gas-fired and instantaneous electric. See the chart below for new energy factor requirements for all these products.

> READ FULL STORY HERE

Businesses’ energy efficiency upgrades ‘invisible’

Businesses energy efficiency upgrades

That’s the view of Tim Rotheray, Director of the Association for Decentralised Energy (ADE), whose new report highlights improved energy efficiency has helped the UK avoid building 14 new power stations.
It found demand side investments such as onsite generation and efficiency have saved British consumers £37.2 billion on their energy bills every year.
Carbon emissions have also reduced, equivalent to one-third of the emissions absorbed by the Amazon rainforest annually.
Referring to the report titled ‘Invisible Energy’, Mr Rotheray told ELN: “When you tell someone, this hospital here or that building there, they’ve done X or Y in terms of reducing their energy demand, no one knows about it.
“The economy has grown and energy use has stayed broadly flat and most of that is due to activity in the decentralised energy space, in the demand side.”

> READ FULL STORY HERE

The Ecosystem Marketplace’s Forest Carbon News

The Ecosystem Marketplace’s Forest

For those of us who stocked our cabinets with canned food and pored over Y2K personal survival guides in 1999, it’s hard to believe we made it this far. But here we are a whole 15 years into the new millennium and our computer clocks are still ticking, even as the atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) concentration continues to rise. Gone are the days when climate projections for the year 2020 seemed far away. We’re already back to the future and we don’t have much more time – or atmosphere – to spare.

Will 2015 be THE year when countries come to an international agreement to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions? How will forests and land use be incorporated in this vision? What role will the private sector play?

For this New Year’s edition of Forest Carbon News, we asked market experts to look into their crystal balls and answer the following question:

What are your predictions for the forest carbon markets in 2015? What policy, science, economic, and other developments could impact the market?

> READ FULL STORY HERE

Market waits on SB32 to outline post-2020 directions

Market waits on SB32 to outline post

California’s lawmakers will during this session discuss Senate Bill 32 (SB32), first proposed in December by Senator Fran Pavley, which would confer authority upon the Air Resources Board (ARB) to mandate greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reductions through 2050, and require ARB to approve a 2050 statewide emissions target equivalent to an 80% reduction below the 1990 level.
The bill, which is quite basic in its current form, is expected to undergo changes in its structure as it will have to pass two committees and both the Senate and Assembly, before landing on the Governor’s desk for final approval.
“Pavley is an important author and this is an important bill. When this bill reaches the committee it will trigger a big discussion on California’s long-term emissions policy, and how the bill fares will be signal for what the California legislators are looking for,” remarked Jon Costantino, Senior Advisor at Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP, “The Governor would like to see such a bill, in one form or another, passed by the Californian Legislature, but it remains to be seen how the other members in the Senate and the Assembly take positions on this. I expect we will find that out most probably towards the latter end of the year.”

> READ FULL STORY HERE

Reducing Carbon Pollution and Transitioning to Clean Energy

Reducing Carbon Pollution and Transitioning

Gov. Inslee’s 2015 climate legislation will help Washington continue its transition toward energy independence, reduce carbon pollution and meet our statutory greenhouse gas limits. The proposals support Gov. Inslee’s Executive Order 14-04 issued in 2014.

> READ FULL STORY HERE

Top 10 Carbon Market Predictions for 2015 from The Climate Trust

Top 10 Carbon Market Predictions for 2015

The Climate Trust, a mission-driven nonprofit that specializes in climate solutions, with a reduction of 1.9 million tons of greenhouse gases to its name, announced its second annual prediction list of 10 carbon market trends to watch in 2015.

The trends, which range from increased climate change adaptation measures at the state and city-level to new protocols for agriculture and forestry, were identified by The Climate Trust based on interactions with their diverse group of working partners—government, utilities, project developers and large businesses.

“We’re excited to once again look at the overall market with fresh eyes and identify areas of potential movement and growth,” said Dick Kempka, vice president of business development for The Climate Trust.

> READ FULL STORY HERE

EPA to Issue Carbon Rules by Summer

EPA to Issue Carbon Rules by Summer

Three of the most sweeping federal regulations of power plant carbon emissions in U.S. history will be finalized all at once this summer, the Environmental Protection Agency announced Wednesday – an attempt, some experts say, to fend off legal challenges to the controversial climate change measures.
Separate emissions standards for new, modified and existing power plants will be completed “by mid-summer 2015,” Janet McCabe, acting assistant administrator for EPA’s Office of Air and Radiation, said in a call with reporters. They are the first ever that would rein in carbon dioxide emissions from power plants and together form a cornerstone of President Barack Obama’s second-term efforts to address climate change.

> READ FULL STORY HERE

What falling oil prices may mean for the future of renewable energy investment

What falling oil prices may mean for the future of renewable energy investment

Oil prices have plummeted in recent months, with the price of oil today hitting its lowest point for five years. That’s led to lots of speculation about the impact of falling oil prices on the world’s efforts to cut emissions by decarbonising the energy sector.
There’s little consensus. Some analysts argue that the falling oil price could end the world’s slow march towards zero carbon energy. Others say renewables are established enough to see out the storm.
There are good reasons for such uncertainty. The renewable energy industry’s fate rests on a number of factors that are very hard to predict.
We take you through the key elements of what’s likely to continue to be a major story in coming months.

> READ FULL STORY HERE

Australian electricity demand and consumption, 2004 to 2014 (NSW and Vic)

Declining electricity consumption is evidence of energy efficiency and renewable energy policies working.

In Australia consumption in the two most populous states of NSW and Victoria continued to decrease in 2014, as shown in the graphs below.

NSW electricity generation 2004 to 2014

Victoria electricity consumption 2004 to 2014

Consumption in NSW is down 12% vs 2008. In Victoria consumption is down 11% compared with 2008.

In Victoria the drop in consumption has been greatest in Autumn (September to November), down 16%. Winter consumption is down 12%, spring consumption down 10% and summer consumption down 9%. January has had the smallest drop in consumption – down 4%, and November the greatest – down 17% – compared with the maximums, as shown in the graph below.

VIC_monthly-consumption-2004-2014

November is a great solar month, not far away from the longest day in December, yet the weather is mild so not much air conditioning is used. With over 10% of households with solar PV systems solar is clearly impacting on state wide electricity usage in November. January is also a good solar month, but it is hot, January average temperatures have been increasing, and air conditioning ownership has been rising. In Melbourne January 2014 had the highest average monthly temperature for the period 2005 to 2014, at 28.5 degrees, vs the 2005 to 2013 average of 27.6 degrees. (based on Bureau of Meteorology data).

Whilst consumption is reducing, peak demand is more variable, as graphed below.

NSW annual peak demand 2004-2014

VIC-demand-2004-2014

In NSW the overall trend appears to be one of declining demand. In Victoria however demand is now increasing. The summer of 2014 in Victoria was notable for having more heat waves (days where the maximum was above 40 degrees) than usual.

In Victoria the ratio of demand to consumption is going up. Demand has risen in the last 2 years, consumption has dropped. This reflects hotter summer weather pushing up demand, and that solar PV (pushing down consumption) has a pretty low demand to production ratio at the time of peak demand (late afternoon).

From a policy perspective the implication is that investment to reduce peak demand at the time of peak demand, will provide the greatest benefit in avoiding the need to invest in additional peaking generation and poles and wires. Such policy could be focussed on load shifting, as is being done well in King Island, where both grid level storage and demand response (switching off electric hot water heaters) have been implemented. This is not a new argument, but the data as shown above from Victoria very clearly shows the importance of this.

Related posts

Declining electricity use – will this continue?
Policies that have lowered Australia’s electricity consumption – part 1
Policies that have lowered Australia’s electricity consumption – part 2
Policies that have lowered Australia’s electricity consumption – part 3

RE and EE Carbon Policy news 16 January 2015

RE and EE Carbon Policy news 16 January 2015

Weekly RE and EE Carbon Policy news update from the web.

The Year Ahead: Top Clean Energy Trends of 2015

Top Clean Energy Trends of 2015

For the past 13 years, Clean Edge has published the annual Clean Energy Trends report that has sized the global market for solar, wind, and biofuels and tracked everything from venture capital and stock market activity to total global investments. This year, instead of issuing one single report, we’ll be producing infographics, tables, charts, and webinars throughout the year – so be on the lookout in the coming weeks and months.
In the annual report, we also picked our top trends to watch for the coming year. Here are our top trends that matter in 2015:
• Moves Toward 100 Percent Renewables Will Expand
• Energy Storage will Carve out a Competitive Advantage
• Low-Cost Oil Could Impact Clean Transportation, but not Clean Electricity
• Other Regions will Follow New York Fracking Lead
Let’s take a closer look at the top trends and how they are likely to impact markets in 2015.

> READ FULL STORY HERE

EIU: Renewable energy demand to significantly outgrow fossil fuels in 2015

Renewable energy demand to significantly outgrow

Demand for renewable energy is predicted to increase by 13% in 2015 as ‘dirty coal goes out of fashion’ and global governments impose tighter environmental rules.

That’s according to a report from the Economist Intelligence Unit, Industries in 2015, which suggests that the growth in renewables will outpace that of petroleum and coal, and energy companies will feel the impact of low oil, gas and coal prices in 2015.

By December, a global climate change treaty, replacing the Kyoto Protocol, is likely to be signed at the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Paris. But, ahead of the talks, the report argues that non-fossil fuels still lack the overarching policy support they need to make faster progress globally.

“In 2009, the world tried and failed to hammer out a replacement for the Kyoto Protocol,” the report reads. “Some form of new pact is indeed likely to be signed, perhaps incorporating voluntary, scalable targets for individual countries. Whether it will be equal to the task of keeping global warming within safe bounds is far more doubtful.”

> READ FULL STORY HERE

EPA to Issue Carbon Rules by Summer

EPA to Issue Carbon Rules by Summer

Three of the most sweeping federal regulations of power plant carbon emissions in U.S. history will be finalized all at once this summer, the Environmental Protection Agency announced Wednesday – an attempt, some experts say, to fend off legal challenges to the controversial climate change measures.
Separate emissions standards for new, modified and existing power plants will be completed “by mid-summer 2015,” Janet McCabe, acting assistant administrator for EPA’s Office of Air and Radiation, said in a call with reporters. They are the first ever that would rein in carbon dioxide emissions from power plants and together form a cornerstone of President Barack Obama’s second-term efforts to address climate change.
[READ: White House Vows to Veto Keystone XL Pipeline Bill]
The rule for new power plants was proposed in September 2013. The standards for modified and existing plants were unveiled in June, part of a proposed Clean Power Plan that would set emissions goals for individual states based on their energy portfolios and resources. States would then be required to submit emissions plans to meet those targets.
In a first on Wednesday, however, the EPA also announced that it will develop a federal plan for states that fail to provide a plan or meet the agency’s emissions criteria, which it says are enforceable through the Clean Air Act.

> READ FULL STORY HERE

Forest Carbon News – January 8, 2015

Forest Carbon News

For this New Year’s edition of Forest Carbon News, we asked market experts to look into their crystal balls and answer the following question:
What are your predictions for the forest carbon markets in 2015? What policy, science, economic, and other developments could impact the market?

> READ FULL STORY HERE

Carbon pricing coming to Ontario, strategy to be unveiled this year

Carbon Pricing coming to ontario

The Ontario government is closing in on a plan to put a price on carbon emissions after nearly seven years of delays.
The Liberals have promised to make corporations and consumers pay for burning carbon – an effective way to battle global warming – since 2008, but have put off making a decision. However, Environment Minister Glen Murray is now working on a comprehensive plan to slash greenhouse gas emissions, and he pledges carbon pricing will be part of it.

> READ FULL STORY HERE

Cut carbon pollution, create clean energy jobs: Legislative priorities 2015

Cut carbon pollution, create clean energy jobs

Climate change—and climate action—top the list of big issues before the Washington state Legislature in this year’s session, which kicks off today. Jobs and education also top the list of priorities for 2015; it will be an important, and likely exciting, few months in Olympia. For one thing, this is a biennial “full session” in which lawmakers adopt a budget, often after debating late into the spring. Climate-related bills on deck this year include a proposal to clean up our air and water by charging top polluters, and a whole slate of measures related to clean energy and jobs.

> READ FULL STORY HERE

Solar power drives renewable energy investment boom in 2014

Solar power drives renewable energy investment

Global investment in clean energy jumped 16% in 2014, boosted by fast-growing solar power in the US and China. Solar, whose costs have plummeted in recent years, attracted over half the total funding for the first time.
The green energy market has been gloomy in recent years and the rise in investment is the first since 2011. But despite strong growth in most regions, only a series of large offshore wind farms stopped Europe going into reverse, while the Australian government’s antipathy to renewables saw investment there tumble by 35%.
The new figures, from Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF), show $310bn (£205bn) was ploughed into green energy last year, just short of the record $317bn in 2011. However, as green energy gets ever cheaper, the money invested in 2014 bought almost double the clean electricity capacity than in 2011.
“The investment bounce back in 2014 exceeded our expectations,” said Michael Liebreich, chairman of BNEF’s advisory board. “Solar was the biggest single contributor, thanks to the huge improvements in its cost-competitiveness over the last five years.”

> READ FULL STORY HERE

Morocco Heads toward Renewable Energy

Morocco Heads toward Renewable Energy

Morocco’s [muh-ROK-oh] long-term plan to produce renewable energy is underway.

The country is investing to build five solar thermal power plants in five years. Through this project, the government hopes to supply Morocco’s growing energy consumption with solarenergy.

Morocco plans to make use of solar energy as its main power source. Currently, Morocco’s oil and gas resources are scarce, with half of its energy source dependent on coal. The country will also enter a business trade of clean energy with Europe should the project succeed. The five power plants are estimated to produce a total of 2,000 megawatts.

> READ FULL STORY HERE

Clean energy sector ‘uninvestable’ due to renewable energy target uncertainty, analyst says

Clean energy sector 'uninvestable' due to renewable energy

Uncertainty surrounding the renewable energy target (RET) has made the large-scale sector of the industry in Australia “uninvestable”, a clean energy analyst says.
A report by Bloomberg New Energy Finance said large-scale energy investment fell 88 per cent – to $240 million – in 2014 compared to the previous year.
It was the lowest level since 2002, the report said.

> READ FULL STORY HERE

Top 10 Carbon Market Predictions for 2015

Top 10 Carbon Market Predictions

Last week, the Climate Trust, a mission-driven nonprofit that specializes in climate solutions, with a reduction of 1.9 million tons of greenhouse gases to its name, announced its second annual prediction list of 10 carbon market trends to watch in 2015.
The trends, which range from increased climate change adaptation measures at the state and city-level to new protocols for agriculture and forestry, were identified by the Climate Trust based on interactions with their diverse group of working partners—government, utilities, project developers and large businesses.
“We’re excited to once again look at the overall market with fresh eyes and identify areas of potential movement and growth,” said Dick Kempka, vice president of business development for The Climate Trust.

> READ FULL STORY HERE

Road to Paris 2015: How do we value carbon?

Road to Paris 2015 How do we value carbon

Climate Change Capital’s James Cameron reflects on the barriers that need to be overcome if the world is to agree an ambitious climate change treaty.
James Cameron, chairman of Climate Change Capital, looks ahead to the Paris 2015 talks and shares his hopes and expectations for an international climate agreement and a price for carbon that businesses and investors can respond to.
This video is hosted in association with Climate Change Capital

> READ FULL STORY HERE

Why California Needs to Think Differently About How It Supports Energy Efficiency

Why California Needs to Think

The imperative to change the way California implements energy efficiency is compelling and immediate. California’s energy efficiency programs are not meeting today’s grid-scale and local distribution service challenges, nor are they capable of supporting the state’s climate goals.
Even with the state’s massive ratepayer-funded efficiency programs since the 2000-2001 energy crisis, energy use and peak loads have increased, and they are forecast to continue to grow. Peak demand (absolute and per capita, noncoincident) has been increasing and is projected to increase at rates greater than the growth in energy consumption. The state’s most important tool for addressing greenhouse gas emissions in the energy sector is energy efficiency.
However, about one-third of California’s annual efficiency savings since 2000-2001 has been achieved from short-lived fluorescent lamps. As a result, cumulative savings are decaying over time. Generally, utilities have discounted the installed fluorescent lamps, while counting replacements as new savings toward long-term cumulative savings. This contributes to an overstatement of efficiency accomplishments.

> READ FULL STORY HERE

RE and EE Carbon Policy news 8 January 2015

Weekly RE and EE Carbon Policy news update from the web.

EU Carbon Market Has First Volume Drop Amid Supply Cut

EU Carbon Market Has First Volume Drop Amid Supply Cut

Buying and selling of European Union carbon allowances on ICE Futures Europe declined for the first time last year after the bloc began withholding supply to reduce a surplus that’s built up since 2008.
Trading slipped 5.2 percent, according to data from the exchange compiled by Bloomberg. Benchmark prices rose 48 percent in 2014 and averaged 6.01 euros ($7.24) a metric ton.
Lawmakers took more than three years to install the first measure aimed at reducing the surplus, beginning last March to retain the equivalent of six months’ permit supply temporarily. They are now discussing a permanent remedy. Activity also slowed as banks exited trading of commodities including carbon, according to Andrei Marcu, head of the carbon-market forum at the Centre for European Policy Studies in Brussels.

> READ FULL STORY HERE

California Carbon Dashboard

California Carbon Dashboard

AB32 relies on a number of important complementary policies to achieve the bulk of reductions to meet California’s statewide 427 MMTCO2e emissions goal for 2020. The Cap and Trade Program acts as a backstop to these complementary policies. This graphic shows greenhouse gas emissions in 2020 under business-as-usual conditions and under AB32 implementation, as well as the expected contributions of each complementary policy to AB32 reductions. Mouse over to see which policies apply to a given sector. Click on any policy for CARB’s most recent regulatory details.

> READ FULL STORY HERE

Larry Summers Calls For A Carbon Tax Now That Oil Prices Have Fallen

Larry Summers Calls For A Carbon Tax Now That Oil Prices Have Fallen

There’s rather a joy at being ahead of the crowd and when that following crowd is an economist and public policy maker of the calibre of Larry Summers it’s really very enjoyable indeed. And that’s the position I find myself in today as Larry Summers has come out and said that the recent fall in the oil price makes this a great time to institute a proper carbon tax. As I detailed it would be back here. There is, however, one point of disagreement here between Summers and myself. And yes, I’m bumptious enough to think that I’m still right, even though that following crowd is an economist and public policy maker of the calibre of Larry Summers.
Summers is here in the FT with his call:

> READ FULL STORY HERE

California Governor Seeks to Increase Renewable Energy Mandate to 50 Percent

California Governor Seeks to Increase Renewable Energy

Sacramento, Calif. — California Governor Jerry Brown proposed spending $59 billion to fix crumbling roads and raising the state’s renewable energy mandate to 50 percent.
Sworn in today for an unprecedented fourth term, the 76-year-old Democrat said he would proceed with a $68 billion California high-speed-rail line, on which he is expected break ground tomorrow.
“The financial promises we have already made must be confronted honestly so that they are properly funded,” Brown said. “The health of our state depends on it.”
Brown tomorrow will head to Fresno, 150 miles (250 kilometers) south of Sacramento, to break ground on the high- speed-rail line, which is intended to shuttle passengers between San Francisco and Los Angeles at speeds up to 220 miles per hour. Republicans criticize the rail line as an expensive boondoggle. Land owners, farmers, and taxpayers groups have tried to block it through the courts.
‘Bold Commitments’

> READ FULL STORY HERE

ALL SIGNS POINT TO 2015 AS THE YEAR KATHLEEN WYNNE IMPOSES ‘CARBON PRICING’ ON ONTARIANS


ALL SIGNS POINT TO 2015 AS THE YEAR KATHLEEN WYNNE

TORONTO – Here’s my first prediction for 2015.
It’s the year Premier Kathleen Wynne will put a price on industrial carbon dioxide emissions in Ontario, either through a carbon tax or cap-and-trade, which is another name for a carbon tax.
A perfect storm of factors favours such a move.
First, Wynne needs the money, given that the Liberals’ reckless spending since taking power in 2003 has left the Ontario government mired in debt.
As Auditor General Bonnie Lysyk recently noted, even if Wynne fulfills her promise to balance the budget by 2017-2018, Ontario will at that point be $325 billion in debt — more than double what the Liberals inherited in 2003 — or $23,000 for every man, woman and child in the province.

> READ FULL STORY HERE

E.P.A. Wrestles With Role of Nuclear Plants in Carbon Emission Rules

E.P.A. Wrestles With Role of Nuclear Plants

WASHINGTON — Trying to write a complicated formula to cut carbon emissions, theEnvironmental Protection Agency thinks it has found a magic number: 5.8.
The agency is trying to complete a rule governing carbon emissions from power plants, and among the most complicated and contentious issues is how to treat existing nuclear power plants. Many of them are threatened with shutdowns because cheapnatural gas has made their reactors uncompetitive.
The agency’s proposal gave an odd mathematical formula for evaluating nuclear plants’ contribution to carbon emissions.

> READ FULL STORY HERE

UK Low Carbon Business Ambassador visit to Taiwan

UK Low Carbon Business

Professor Dame Julia King, UK Low Carbon Business Ambassador, visited Taiwan on 29 and 30 September to share the UK’s experience transitioning to a low carbon economy.
On 29 Sept, Professor Dame Julia King attended the 2014 International Green Energy and Finance Forum organised by the Bureau of Energy of Ministry of Economic Affairs. In this forum, she introduced the Green Investment Bank and the UK’s approach to develop a low carbon economy. She also shared how UK has developed towards a green financing economy through the panel discussion.
During her visit, Professor Dame Julia King meets Dr Kuo-yen Wei, Minister of Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) to share UK’s excellence in low carbon policy and development, as well as to follow up on Wei’s visit to the UK in early September.

> READ FULL STORY HERE

New data shows record fall in carbon emissions

New data shows record

Environment Minister Greg Hunt has quietly published data, just two days before Christmas, showing the second year of operation of Australia’s carbon price was more successful at reducing emissions than the first.
New data from Australia’s National Greenhouse Gas Inventory show emissions declined across Australia by 1.4 per cent over the 12 months to June.
That compares to a decline in emissions of 0.8 per cent for the previous 12 months.
The carbon price was introduced by the Gillard government and began operation on July 1, 2012. It ended on July 1, this year after the Abbott government fulfilled an election pledge by abolishing it.
The new data, published on Tuesday, record emissions produced during the final year of operation of the carbon price, from June 2013 to June 2014.

> READ FULL STORY HERE

Forest-cutting can have an immediate effect on climate, Nature report finds

Forest-cutting

The critical role that vast tropical forests like Brazil’s Amazon play in suppressing climate change is well-known: They store huge quantities of carbon, acting as “carbon sinks.”
But as a new report out this week argues, scientists are making the case that cutting down these forests does more than simply release carbon into the atmosphere – it has a direct and more immediate effect on the climate, from changes in rainfall patterns to rising temperatures. The amount of water that forests pump into the air is key to this. But scientists don’t agree on how that happens.
Complete deforestation of the Amazon would alter rainfall in the much of the United States, according to the report titled “Effects of Tropical Deforestation on Climate Change and Agriculture,” published Thursday in Nature Climate Change.
“Deforestation is about much more than carbon dioxide. Forests regulate the climate in many ways and storing CO2 is just one of them,” said its author, Deborah Lawrence, a professor of environmental science at the University of Virginia. “What this study shows is that there are additional, independent effects of deforestation on climate.”

> READ FULL STORY HERE

RE and EE Carbon Policy news 7 January 2015

“2015 is shaping up to be a big year in carbon policy with the November conference in Paris aiming to achieve a legally binding agreement on climate encompassing all nations.

So I am pleased to now introduce the first of our weekly carbon policy news updates, focused on renewable energy and energy efficiency. These updates will bring you news on:

–          Announcements from individual countries or trading blocks (eg the EU) about new policies

–          Evaluations of existing policies (have they worked well or not)

–          Announcements from the UN bodies about policies.

Lets hope that 2015 is a year where carbon policy becomes more effective at reducing carbon emissions.

Bruce Rowse”

PLEASE READ OUR NEXT POST on 08.01.2105 for RE and EE Carbon Policy news. THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR KIND VISIT OUR SITE.

Over investment in the electricity distribution network not such a bad thing?

Possibly more so than any other country, Australia has over-invested in its electricity distribution network, leading former Prime Minister Julia Gilliard to refer to the network as being “gold plated” and contributing to a steep increase in electricity prices. But is this such a bad thing?

Background

In the years leading up to 2008/09 electricity consumption and demand in the National Electricity Market (NEM) were growing steadily at over 2% per annum. In some states, such as Victoria, the growth in demand was extremely strong, averaging over 4% annually in the five years to 2009. With network planning taking place in five year cycles, distribution businesses sought and were granted tariff increases in order to fund the strengthening and expansion of the electricity distribution network in order to cope with the continued anticipated growth in demand.

This growth in demand, however, failed to materialise. Consumption dropped, and as graphed below for the two states with the highest consumption in the NEM, NSW and Victoria, peak demand hasn’t gone much above the 2008 and 2009 peaks and is now lower. (Data sourced from the Australian Energy Market Operator, AEMO)

NSW peak demand 2004 to 31 August 2014. Based on data from AEMO

NSW peak demand 2004 to 31 August 2014. Based on data from AEMO

Victoria peak demand 2004 to 31 August 2014. Based on data from AEMO

Victoria peak demand 2004 to 31 August 2014. Based on data from AEMO

In NSW peak demand to 31 August 2014 is a massive 17% below 2008, and based on the growth in demand that was anticipated back in 2008, is around 25% below what was expected! In Victoria, whilst the demand drop is not as great, based on the previous growth trend of greater than 4% p.a., it’s demand too is also around 25% below earlier expectations.

There are a range of reasons for this drop in demand, which I have discussed elsewhere. Looking at the Victorian graph there appears to be some uncertainty as to whether the drop in demand will continue, however there are a range of reasons as to why consumption and demand in 2020 is unlikely to be much different to demand in 2008 and could even be lower.

Over investment in the electricity distribution network not such a bad thing?

Considering that the retail price of residential electricity has nearly doubled since 2008, this over-investment in the electricity distribution network has been widely criticised.

Billions of dollars have been invested into electricity distribution assets that may well never be used as initially intended.

However, on the other hand, the steep increase in electricity prices has made Australian’s more conscious of their energy use, and to some extent has driven energy conservation. Which is a good outcome from a carbon perspective.

Our economy has not gone into recession, and has remained robust. Tristan Edis at Climate Spectator has clearly shown that only a very small portion of our mining and manufacturing sectors, representing less than 3% of our GDP, depend on energy prices for their competitiveness.

Australia now has a resilient solar PV industry, and had electricity price growth been slower, the overall uptake of solar PV would likely have been lower. High solar demand has also created a highly competitive industry with low installation costs in global terms.The solar genie is well and truly out of the bottle, and this will continue to exert downward pressure on demand and consumption.

Whilst the full electricity price increases could possibly have been avoided, the benefit this has provided in accelerating Australia’s emissions reduction should not be discounted.

An unavoidably inefficient good outcome?

A far more efficient outcome would have been to use the money that went into gold plating the electricity network into supporting the greater uptake of energy efficiency and renewable energy.

However it would have been politically unacceptable to invest more than has already been invested in EE and RE – for many countries, including Australia, steep tariff increases to combat climate change are perceived by politicians as a sure vote loser.

The price elasticity of demand for electricity is assumed to be fairly low, and assumed to be linear. But possibly the reaction is non-linear. That is, if there is an energy price shock, as has occurred in Australia, the resultant reduction in energy consumption is (much) greater than if the price increases had been modest and gradual. Kind of like the boiling frog syndrome – heat up the water too fast and the frog jumps out.

Lessons from Australia for elsewhere

Steep increases in Australia’s electricity prices have been politically unpopular in Australia, yet the economy has remained resilient, and the shock has largely worn off. The rapid price increase, along with a range of other measures, has contributed to a substantial reduction in electricity consumption and demand, reducing carbon emissions.

Electricity tariff increases – whatever the source of the increase – whether through subsidy removal, the imposition of green tariff charges, or as a result of network over investment – if introduced quickly to cause a pricing shock can be effective in reducing electricity consumption and associated emissions.

Politicians and policy makers could well refer to the Australian experience where the pricing shock occurred more by accident rather than design, and look to ways of achieving the same outcome more efficiently.