Holding the line

11.11.2016

The issue that currently dominates the outlook for the oil market is the outcome of OPEC’s ministerial meeting in Vienna on 30 November. It has only been two months since OPEC last met in Algiers and announced it would examine how to set up a production ceiling of between 32.5 mb/d and 33.0 mb/d. OPEC also said it would seek to bring leading non-OPEC producers into the process. We can’t predict the outcome of the 30 November meeting, but we can see the scale of the task ahead. In this report we estimate that OPEC members pumped 33.8 mb/d in October, well in excess of the high end of the proposed output range. This means that OPEC must agree to significant cuts in Vienna to turn its Algiers commitment into reality.

Whatever the outcome, the Vienna meeting will have a major impact on the eventual – and oft-postponed – re-balancing of the oil market. But it is not the only factor at play. Unfortunately for those seeking higher prices, an analysis of the other components provides little comfort. The world’s biggest crude oil producer Russia will see its output increase by 230 kb/d in 2016, and sustained production at current record levels would result in growth of nearly 200 kb/d next year. With production also expected to grow in Brazil, Canada and Kazakhstan, total non-OPEC output will rise by 0.5 mb/d next year, compared to a fall of 0.9 mb/d in 2016. This means that 2017 could be another year of relentless global supply growth similar to that seen in 2016.

On the demand side of the oil balance, our outlook for world oil demand growth at 1.2 mb/d in 2016 and 2017 remains unchanged. There is currently little evidence to suggest that economic activity is sufficiently robust to deliver higher oil demand growth, and any stimulus that might have been provided at the end of 2015 and in the early part of 2016 when crude oil prices fell below $30/bbl is now in the past.

If the OPEC countries do implement their Algiers resolution the resultant production cut will see the market move from surplus to deficit very quickly in 2017, albeit with a considerable stock overhang that will take time to deplete. On the other hand, if no agreement is reached and some individual members continue to expand their production then the market will remain in surplus throughout the year, with little prospect of oil prices rising significantly higher. Indeed, if the supply surplus persists in 2017 there must be some risk of prices falling back.

It is not the role of the IEA to urge any oil industry player to take one course of action rather than another, and we are not doing so now. Over time, market forces will do their job and the oil price will respond to the signals provided by demand and supply. What the IEA has argued for consistently is the need for investments necessary to meet rising oil demand. Such investments ensure that the market remains close to balance and that prices are as stable and as fair for both producers and consumers as can ever be possible in such a dynamic industry.

Source: iea.org

Indonesia, Vietnam look to blaze trail for solar in Southeast Asia

11.11.2016

Indonesia and Vietnam are looking to join Thailand in blazing a trail for solar power in Southeast Asia, introducing targets to fire up green energy generation as a landmark global agreement to curb pollution is set to take effect.

Countries around the world are coming under increasing pressure to crack down on carbon emissions from sectors such as coal-fired power stations, with the historic Paris climate accord coming into force this Friday after it was signed last year.

Indonesia and Vietnam aim to each have annual solar power capacity of at least 5 gigawatts (GW) from 2020, up from close to nothing now, officials from both governments told Reuters.

That level of output would have placed the countries among the top 15 solar producers in the world in 2015 data from the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), and would account for close to 9 percent of expected power generation in Indonesia and Vietnam at the turn of the next decade.

The regional push towards solar will add momentum to global growth in the technology and could benefit companies such as Canada’s CMX Renewable Energy Inc, as well as South Korea’s Shinsung Solar Energy and Hanwha Q Cells Korea Corp.

“It will come very quickly as it takes a short time for construction,” Hoang Quoc Vuong, Vietnam’s Vice Minister of Industry and Trade, said on the sidelines of an industry conference last week.

However, with initial costs traditionally seen as a big deterrent to solar projects, both Indonesia and Vietnam will be offering opportunities for subsidies via so-called feed-in tariffs (FIT), allowing producers to lock in sales of renewable energy at fixed prices for a few years.

“If we promote solar, there has to be subsidy,” said the Vietnam official.

“Feed-in tariffs have been issued so that the (5 GW) target can be achieved,” said Maritje Hutapea, director of various kinds of energy at the Renewable Energy Directorate General under Indonesia’s Energy Ministry.

France’s Engie (ENGIE.PA) is in talks with state power company PLN for two solar projects of 200 MW.

Source: uk.reuters.com

BelEx International Conference showcases NIS gas preparation novelties

10.11.2016

At the 15th Belgrade Stock Exchange International Conference “Upgrade Belgrade 2016“ NIS showcased its accomplishments in natural gas production and inaugurated its Amine Plant, which was put on stream this year within the Plant for Preparation and Transportation of Oil and Gas in the town of Elemir.

Amine Plant is intended for boosting the quality of local natural gas, which is attained by the capture of carbon dioxide and other gaseous impurities. The technology employed in its operation is dubbed HiPACT, which stands for High Pressure Acid gas Capture Technology, being a state-of-the-art method in gas processing, and a unique in its kind in Europe.

Being a socially responsible company, by investing 30 million euros in the Amine Plant NIS has achieved a double effect – in addition to improved gas quality and its volume, the operation of this modern plan has a positive environmental impact reflected in preventing carbon dioxide emissions into the and brings about major savings of thermal and electrical power.

Operation principle of the Amine Plant was demonstrated at this conference by Mirjana Ostojić, an expert from NIS Exploration and Production, who used the opportunity to point out that the company outputs a gas of the quality equal to the one being imported from Russia, as well as that NIS this way strengthens Serbia’s energy stability.

This year again NIS is in the capacity of a general sponsor to Belgrade Stock Exchange International Conference, which gathers major companies and financial experts from Serbia and the region.

Source: nis.eu

Revolving Solar-Powered Home for Veterans Wins California’s First Tiny House Competition

10.11.2016

Santa Clara University students recently won California’s first tiny house competition with 238 square feet of technological and design genius. Called rEvolve House, referencing its ability to track the sun throughout the day to optimize solar gain, the prototypical home was designed in collaboration with Operation Freedom Paws as a low-cost housing solution for veterans training their own service dogs.

Powered by eight 330 Watt Sunmodule solar panels, the self-sufficient tiny home stores its energy in saltwater batteries that are the first to be Cradle-to-Cradle certified, and the Colossus solar tracking mechanism increases its absorption efficiency by 30 percent. In addition to being completely off-grid, the tiny home on wheels is also beautifully designed for surprising comfort. A transforming Murphy bed in the bedroom maximizes space during daylight hours, the full-sized kitchen has a seating area and fold-out table for the same reason, and the wet bathroom uses a dry-flush toilet to eliminate black water.

rEvolve House is not only about as green as they come, with small planters on the facade and a spiral staircase leading to a rooftop terrace, but also boasts deep humanitarian intentions. “The tiny house provides the first step in the journey of empowering veterans to evolve their independence and is a safe haven for them to acclimate and begin training their dogs prior to returning to their respective homes,” the students write in their design brief.

“The Tiny House Competition – Build Small and Win Big” is a new competition in the Sacramento region, challenging collegiate teams to design and build net-zero, tiny solar houses, writes the organizer, Sacramento Municipal Utilities District (SMUD). “The event, held Saturday, October 15 at Consumnes River College, was open to all colleges and universities in California. Participation promoted an interest in energy conservation, energy efficiency and green building and solar technologies.”

Source: inhabitat.com

DONG Energy Confirms Sale of Oil and Gas Arm to Focus on Renewables

10.11.2016

Danish energy giant DONG Energy has confirmed plans to sell its oil and gas business as part of the company’s “strategic transformation” into a global leader in renewable energy.

“We have decided to initiate a process with the aim of ultimately exiting from our oil and gas business,” chief executive Henrik Poulsen said in a statement released yesterday alongside the company’s interim financial results. “This should be seen in the context of DONG Energy’s strategic transformation towards becoming a global leader in renewables and a wish to ensure the best possible long-term development opportunities for our oil and gas business.”

DONG is the latest in a string of European utilities to refocus growth efforts on clean energy, following RWE’s recent move to split its business into two units, one focused on renewables and another focused on traditional power generation.

The process of offloading DONG Energy’s fossil fuelled assets began in September, when the company completed the sale of its entire gas distribution grid to Danish state-owned energy company Energinet.dk. Analysts predict the sale of its remaining oil and gas business could net DONG up to £2bn, which it has said it will plough back into renewable energy projects.

The firm currently has seven large offshore wind farms under construction, and earlier this summer was granted planning permission for the 1.2GW Hornsea Project Two, which will be the world’s largest offshore windfarm when it comes into operation in 2020.

The news came as DONG announced a seven per cent uptick in operating profits for the third quarter of this year, driven by a 19 per cent increase in wind output over the three-month period.

Speaking to reporters yesterday, Poulsen confirmed the sale will not spark a change of name for the company – DONG stands for Dansk Olie og Naturgas, which translates as Danish Oil and Natural Gas.

Poulsen gave no further details on how long the sale would take to complete, but said the company is already “engaging with potential interested buyers”.

Source: businessgreen.com

First bike-sharing scheme in Morocco launched in time for COP22

10.11.2016

The Government of Morocco, in close cooperation with the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and the Global Environment Facility (GEF), launched a bike-sharing scheme called “Medina Bike” in Marrakech, which is the host city of the 22rd session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 22) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. It is one of a number of initiatives launched in Marrakech to promote sustainability and green development.

The initiative aims to promote sustainable transportation and encourage city inhabitants to use non-motorized vehicles by setting up 10 automatic bike rental stations in key areas around the city and equipping them with a total of 300 bicycles.

One such station was set up at the site of COP22 to make bike-sharing available to participants of the Conference, thereby reducing the carbon footprint of the event.

“Today Marrakech becomes the first city in Africa to launch a bike-sharing scheme and we hope to replicate this activity in other Moroccan cities. It was rendered possible thanks to the leadership of the city’s management and the fruitful cooperation between the city, UNIDO and the GEF,” said Hakima El-Haite, the delegate Minister of Environment of Morocco at the launch ceremony.

The initiative also serves as an example of how public-private partnerships can address sustainability at the city level. In this scheme, the bike supplier and local advertising company were selected through a competitive process, and then UNIDO and the Ministry of Environment facilitated the dialogue with the Municipality of Marrakech, who ultimately granted the license to the operation system. The bikes and rental systems were then procured and deployed in less than four months.

Source: unido.org

Global oil demand could peak by 2020, says Shell

10.11.2016

The rise of electric cars has led many analysts to make predictions about the future of the oil industry. ExxonMobil and OPEC have both made statements indicating confidence that the majority of vehicles on the world’s roads will continue to be powered by fossil fuels for the next few decades. But Shell recently made a prediction that is a bit less confident.

The world’s second-largest energy company by market value, Shell believes oil demand could peak by 2020, Bloomberg reports. “We’ve long been of the opinion that demand will peak before supply,” Shell CFO Simon Henry said in a conference call last week.

That peak could occur “somewhere between five and 15 years hence,” Henry said, and will be driven by “efficiency and substitution.” Shell’s vision puts it at odds with ExxonMobil which, in its annual outlook, said it expects oil demand to increase 20 percent between 2014 and 2040. The company previously said that electric cars would account for less than 10 percent of global new-car sales in 2040.

OPEC has also said that 6 percent of cars on the world’s roads in 2040 would be powered by anything other than gasoline or diesel. Among its members, Saudi Arabia believes its oil reserves will last 70 years, and that demand will grow, primarily from increased consumption in emerging markets.

However, the country is also pursuing an alternative economic strategy that would see it shift to investment as a source of revenue, in order to protect against a collapse of the oil industry. Even if oil demand peaks fairly soon, as Shell predicts, it may not decline into oblivion immediately. Oil could very well remain a part of the transportation-fuel and energy-generating mix for some time.

Shell also expects to remain in business by shifting to production of natural gas, as well as biofuels and hydrogen. Natural gas is already a major factor in the impending death of coal as a power source for electricity generation in the U.S. That’s largely because natural-gas reserves accessed through the controversial process of hydraulic fracturing (known as “fracking”) have made the fuel cheap and abundant.

Natural gas produces lower carbon emissions than coal, but is still not as clean as renewable-energy sources such as solar and wind.

Source: greencarreports.com

Thassalia: France’s First Marine Geothermal Energy Power Plant Inaugurated

10.11.2016

French utility Engie has inaugurated the nation’s first self-termed marine geothermal power station on France’s southern coast, in Marseille. The Thassalia power station will pump seawater from the Port of Marseille into heat exchangers and heat pumps to provide heat and refrigeration to a custom-built network integrated with the heart of Marseille’s business center.

Although similar plants are already in operation — including another from Engie located in Paris that functions with the River Seine – the Thassalia plant is the first in France to use saltwater and to provide heat and cooling in tandem.

Isabelle Kocher, CEO of Engie, said in an Oct. 18 statement: “The Thassalia inauguration is an opportunity for me to appreciate the involvement of this beautiful region in energy transition, especially in terms of renewable energy development and continued commitment to improve building energy efficiency. The marine geothermal power station serves as a new innovative display of this approach.”

Thomas Jung, president of the company running the Thassalia plant, told Renewable Energy World that “Marseilles has been undertaking something of a green, environmentally friendly initiative — so it was ideal timing for development of the Thassailia plant and demonstration of this technology.”

Indeed, the project represents a key component within the Euroméditerranée EcoCité sustainability initiative. According to Jung, the plant uses thermal energy from the sea to supply buildings with heating and cooling.

“Seawater is pumped up — [from] a depth of six meters, at a temperature between 16 and 24 degrees Celsius — and to cold chillers and thermal-refrigeration pumps that are able to produce cold (4 degrees Celsius) and hot (60 degrees Celsius) water at the same time,” Jung said. “The plant will reach capacities of 16 MW cooling and 18.6 MW heating. This is quite a special configuration, and serves an immediate need within the network to which it is connected.”

A back-up gas boiler has also been built into the plant to ensure supply during times of peak demand. After processing at the Thassalia plant, thermal energy is then directed through a custom-built network to customers. “In total, the plant will satisfy the energy needs of more than 500,000 m2 of space shared over the buildings connected to the network,” Jung said. The network is set to expand over the coming few years, but for now is based around underground pipes running to a little over two kilometers. The plant has cost 35 million euros (US$38.6 million), according to Engie. But for what the investment has bought, Jung says that the plant is highly cost-effective.

“We’re able to produce energy at the same costs as using traditional heating/cooling solutions; however, because our technology is clean, there are savings on the heating taxes (reduced by 15 percent) and on the long-term prices if we consider that the gas and electricity prices will go increasing in the next years,” he said.

Source: renewableenergyworld.com

‘Nuclear Industry in France in Crisis,’ 20 Reactors Shut Down

10.11.2016

A third of France’s nuclear reactors have been shut down by industry regulators as revelations emerge about the supply of sub-standard parts.

As investigations into falsified documents and excess quantities of carbon in steel continue, more closures are expected. This is not yet a full-blown crisis for the nuclear industry, but it is putting serious strain on the finances of French nuclear giant EDF and causing electricity price rises across western Europe.

It is also very bad news for the climate. France is reopening mothballed coal plants and burning more coal than it has for 32 years. Neighbors, including Germany, which normally takes cheap nuclear power from the French, are also powering up old fossil fuel plants and exporting the electricity to France at premium prices.

France is not the only country affected by the scandal. A Japanese company, the Japan Casting & Forging Corporation, has also allegedly been involved in falsifying quality control documents for parts supplied to reactors both at home and in France.

The Japanese nuclear safety organization is now investigating, but so far no plants in Japan have been ordered to close, partly because most of them have in any case remained shut since the 2011 Fukushima disaster.

This is a drama that has been unfolding slowly for months. But as more forged documents and potentially faulty parts have come to light, the French regulator ASN has begun insisting on shutdowns and inspections to ensure plants are safe.

One problem is that there is too much carbon in the steel components and containment vessels, which will make them brittle. The carbon content is well above specified safety limits, leading to fears that there could be catastrophic failures in plants currently operating.

The second, related, problem is forged, falsified or incomplete quality control reports about the components themselves. Areva, the troubled French state-owned nuclear component manufacturer, is reviewing all 9,000 manufacturing records from its giant forge at Le Creusot dating back as far as 1943. This includes 6,000 parts made for nuclear reactors—some of them outside France.

The anomalies were first discovered in 2014 at the plant being built at Flamanville in northern France. Excess carbon was found in the plant’s pressure vessel. This has caused considerable further cost and even longer delays to the completion of the flagship reactor. It has still not been cleared as safe and a final decision will not be taken until next year.

It was the investigations into how this potentially disastrous flaw got through the safety vetting process that led to the discovery in May this year of 400 other sub-standard parts and a mass of falsified quality control documentation. Many of the parts are inside nuclear plants currently operating.

According to Power magazine, an ASN press relations officer, who requested anonymity in line with ASN rules, said more nuclear power plants with suspect parts will be inspected in the next few weeks. “We are now finding carbon segregation problems from components coming from both Le Creusot and Japan Casting & Forging. As for now, there are 20 EDF reactors offline,” the official said.

And the Japan Times reported that Japan Casting & Forging Corporation is now also under scrutinyby the country’s Nuclear Regulation Authority because it supplied French plants. With most of Japan’s nuclear fleet closed since Fukushima, there are moves to reopen some reactors.

Shaun Burnie, nuclear specialist at Greenpeace Germany, said: “The nuclear industry in France is now in crisis as a result of the carbon test results, with 11 reactors supplied by Japanese steel ordered shut down and under investigation by the regulator.”

“No such testing has been done in Japan … until actual testing is conducted, the NRA and more importantly the communities living near nuclear reactors, will not know what risks the nuclear plants pose,” Burnie added.

“The NRA must instruct utilities in Japan to undertake testing as a matter of urgency.” He said the priorities are the Sendai-2 and Ikata-3 reactors, the only plants operating.

Source: ecowatch.com

Last 5 Years Hottest on Record, Human Footprint ‘Increasingly Visible’

10.11.2016

There is growing evidence that man-made climate change is contributing to individual extreme weather and climate events, according to the latest analysis by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).

The report, released at COP22 in Marrakech, finds that greenhouse gas emissions raise the probability of extreme heat events as much as 10 times or more. The report also noted that 2011-2015 was the hottest five-year period on record with 2016 on track to become the hottest year on record.

Among the worst extremes, a 2011-12 drought and famine in the Horn of Africa killed more than 250,000 people and Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines killed 7,800 in 2013, the WMO said.

“The Paris agreement aims at limiting the global temperature increase to well below 2 degrees Celsius and pursuing efforts towards 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels,” said WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas in a press release.

“The effects of climate change have been consistently visible on the global scale since the 1980s: rising global temperature, both over land and in the ocean; sea-level rise; and the widespread melting of ice,” Taalas said. “It has increased the risks of extreme events such as heatwaves, drought, record rainfall and damaging floods.”

Source: ecowatch.com

Agreement on a 5 MW biomass fired heat plant delivery to Rantasalmi, Finland

09.11.2016

The new plant replaces the existing boiler plant which has been in operation since 1980. Located in Susimäki industrial park, the plant produces district heat to Rantasalmi downtown area and process heat to Savopak Oy’s factory. As fuel the plant uses local forest wood chips and side products from Savopak Oy’s factory as well as other local wood industry companies. The share of biofuels used in Rantasalmi’s heat production will continue to be close to 100 %. The project starts immediately and the plant will be inaugurated in autumn 2017. The foundation and civil works will begin in spring 2017.

”This project in Rantasalmi is a replacement investment that will ensure heat production with local biofuels far into the future. The new technology will improve heat production’s efficiency and decrease emissions caused by the plant,” tells Heikki Tirkkonen, Business Director of Suur-Savon Sähkö Oy.

”The plant will be delivered to Rantasalmi mostly as prefabricated modules manufactured in the Kiuruvesi workshop with the necessary equipment already in place. This modular Unicon Biograte plant enables cost efficient and high quality Cleantech solution where most of the installation work is done in workshop conditions by Finnish energy professionals. With the new plant, the heat production in Rantasalmi can be executed more effectively and by utilizing domestic fuels in a sustainable way,” tells Olli-Pekka Aarnio, Sales Manager of KPA Unicon.

KPA Unicon builds the new parts of the plant from the foundation upwards. The scope of delivery includes Unicon Biograte grate boiler with auxiliary equipment, fuel receiving station and fuel feeding to boiler, flue gas cleaning systems, stack, new boiler house as well as plant electrification, instrumentation and automation. Some of the new plant’s equipment will be located in the existing boiler house.

Source: kapaunicon.fi

5 Years of Reliable Operations of the Nord Stream Pipeline

09.11.2016

Yesterday, the Nord Stream Pipeline celebrated the fifth anniversary of its start of operations. Line 1 started on 8th November 2011 the transportation of natural gas from Russia to European businesses and households, Line 2 came on stream beginning of October 2012.

“Nord Stream is a pioneer in our industry: we set new benchmarks in terms of technology, design and implementation of the project. To continue this way is the vision of the whole Nord Stream team to which we feel obliged to and which we are proud of”, says Nord Stream Managing Director Alexey Zagorovskiy.

The twin pipeline system through the Baltic Sea from Vyborg, Russia to Lubmin near Greifswald, Germany constitutes the shortest connection between the vast gas reserves in Russia and energy markets in the European Union. The safe, modern and efficient route has the capacity to supply 55 billion cubic metres of natural gas per year. Since the beginning of its operations, Nord Stream has reliably fulfilled all transport nominations without interruptions.

Since 2012, international certification body DNV GL has performed an annual assessment of the integrity of Nord Stream pipeline system during safe and reliable gas transportation and confirmed compliance with the best-in-class industry requirements for design, integrity and functional safety.

Source: nord-stream.com

Costa Rica: Using mangroves to mitigate the impact of climate change

09.11.2016

Costa Rica is ambitious when it comes to reducing greenhouse gas emissions: the Central American country aims to be carbon-neutral by 2021. This will be achieved with various projects, including one on the Nicoya peninsula. A report from the magazine akzente explains how.

Costa Rica aims to plant 5,000 mangroves per hectare on Nicoya. The deep roots of the trees strengthen the soil along the coast and provide habitat for many animals. Working on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety (BMUB), the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH has been helping the country since 2014 to adapt to the impacts of climate change.

The German company Ristic, which exports organic shrimp from Costa Rica, is financing the planting of the mangroves on Nicoya. The company’s involvement in reforestation is driven by environmental and business interests: the project is recognised as environmental compensation for shrimp production, and this in turn is necessary for organic certification.

Source: giz.de

Britain’s Last Coal Power Plants to Close by 2025

09.11.2016

The last coal power station in Britain will be forced to close in 2025, the government has said as it laid out the detail of its plan to phase-out the polluting fossil fuel.

Ministers promised last year that the UK would close coal power within a decade and replace it with gas and other sources to meet its climate change commitments.

But in a delayed consultation on the phase-out, published on Wednesday, officials admitted that the last coal power station was likely to shutter in 2022 even without government intervention, prompting calls from campaigners to bring forward the cut-off year.

Greg Clark, the energy secretary, said the move sent a clear signal to the world that the UK was a good place to invest in clean energy. “Taking unabated coal power out of our energy mix and replacing it with cleaner technology, such as gas, will significantly reduce emissions from the UK’s energy use,” he said.

The government also confirmed renewable energy would receive £730m in support this parliament, and that bids for £290m of support annually would be opened from next April. Most of that is likely to be taken by offshore windfarm developers, which will receive at least £105 per megawatt hour of electricity generated if built in 2021, considerably lower than the £135 for ones deployed in 2018.

While admitting that recent history has shown coal power plants can close at short notice, the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy said its analysis suggested taking action on coal posed no risks to electricity supplies.

The department is consulting on two options for effectively forcing the UK’s last eight coal power stations to close by 2025 at the very latest. Both involve changes to the Emissions Power Standard, which sets a limit on new coal power plants’ annual carbon emissions based on their capacity, and which the UK’s ageing fleet would be unable to meet.

Officials expect that because air pollution and climate change measures are making coal uneconomic, all coal power plants will close by 2022. But they also said that if the price of coal was low it was conceivable they would not close until 2030. They said this uncertainty showed the need for intervention.

Ben Caldecott, associate fellow of the thinktank Bright Blue, called for the end date to be brought forward. “There are significant benefits of phasing coal out sooner, rather than later. We believe that the 2025 target should be brought forward by at least two years to give investors greater certainty to invest, which will improve security of supply.”

Green groups and climate change commentators welcomed the move and commended the government. WWF said ministers should strongly resist any attempts to water down the phase-out. Friends of the Earth applauded the government and said it should now block a proposed opencast coal mine in Northumberland, given the UK was no longer planning to burn the fuel.

Christiana Figueres, the former UN climate chief, welcomed the proposals. “Congratulations to UK government for the consultation on coal phase-out. Coal needs to take its rightful place in history of yesterday. Coal workers need to be given a fresh chance at the jobs of tomorrow.”

The government acknowledges the potential human cost of coal power stations shuttering, saying plant closures could have a “significant impact on communities” as they employed around 100-500 directly.

The only way the coal plants could stay open would be if they fitted technology to capture and store the carbon emissions, though officials said that was “considered unlikely”.

Electricity generation from the UK’s coal plants has already declined steeply, and is expected to have fallen 66% by the year’s end, compared to 2015. There are already no coal plants in Scotland after the last one, at Longannet, closed in the spring. Gas has taken up most of the slack this year, and is expected to replace most of the capacity provided as coal plants close in coming years.

Michael Grubb, professor of International Energy and Climate Change Policy at UCL, said: “Outlining how and when coal plants will cease to operate will pave the way for new investment, including gas. Coal is already struggling economically and removing coal clarifies the market space for gas during the 2020s.”

Source: theguardian.com

Water resilience in Africa at forefront of COP22 agenda

09.11.2016

Several African ministers in charge of water took part in a side event organised in the Moroccan pavilion yesterday during which they stressed the pertinence of putting water issues at the top of the COP22 agenda in light of the drastic impact of climate change on water resources.

Speaking on this occasion, Morocco’s Minister Delegate in Charge of Water, Charafat Afilal, said that climate change takes a toll on the water cycle impacting the ecosystems of societies and hindering the achievement of sustainable development goals in Africa.

She highlighted Morocco’s international advocacy for global action to counter the devastating impacts of climate change on the water sector, saying that the momentum witnessed in terms of enhancing water resilience has been strengthened at COP21 and further consolidated during the International Conference on Water and Climate, which adopted the Rabat Call: “Water for Africa.”

For his part, Honorary President of the World Water Council, Loic Fauchon, commended the efforts spearheaded by HM King Mohammed VI enabling water to be considered as a main climate change challenge at COP22. “In Marrakech, it is the first time in COP’s history that water is put at the top of the agenda,” he said.

Fauchon noted that adapting the water sector to climate change requires a three-pronged approach smartly combining finance, governance and knowledge and recommended the inclusion in the “Blue Book on Water and Climate” of the solutions that will be developed in COP22.

The side event was also an occasion for the ministers in charge of water of Burkina Faso and Chad to shed light on the challenges facing their respective countries in fighting climate change effects on water.

In this respect, Chad’s Minister Sidick Abdelkerim Haggar deplored that lake Chad has been shrinking at a dramatic rate as a result of severe droughts causing rural flight and threatening the lives of about 30 million people who depend on its water.

Source: cop22-morocco.com

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