IEA Still Sells Renewables Short | Fossil Fuel Subsidies in EU & US | Tenders Hinder Energy Transition – September 2017

Energy Watch Group Newsletter – September 2017

We are glad to see that the International Energy Agency (IEA) has finally lifted its projections in the latest Renewables report. Yet, the IEA keeps selling the rapid growth of renewables short, ignoring the historical trend. Tenders hinder the global energy transition and decarbonization, urgently needed to keep the Paris Agreement targets, EWG President Hans-Josef Fell argues in the new policy paper. Over €112 billion annually is being spent by the EU countries on oil, coal and gas subsidies, a new report shows. 40 Catholic have joined the global divestment movement in a stunning and a long overdue move. This news and more in our September newsletter.

Accelerating Transition to 100% Renewables | Coal & Nuclear Outcompeted | Peak Oil and Peak Gas – August 2017

Energy Watch Group Newsletter – August 2017

As prices for renewables keep falling, the global transition to 100% will happen faster than many think. To accelerate the process, we need innovative policy measures, writes EWG President Hans-Josef Fell. By 2022, global solar PV capacity is set to surpass nuclear for the first time. In the UK, prices for offshore wind energy dropped to a record low, outcompeting new gas and nuclear. The future outlook for fossil fuels looks grim. According to DNV GL analysts, peak oil and peak gas will be reached earlier than forecast, by 2020 and 2035 respectively. Prof. Mark Jacobson of the Stanford University published a groundbreaking study with roadmaps to 100% renewable energy for 139 countries. These news and the op-ed by Prof. Claudia Kemfert, calling Germany to reestablish its energy transition leadership in the run-up to the coming federal election can be found in our August newsletter.

Banks, Governments Finance Fossil Fuels | Coal & Nuclear in Sharp Decline | Renewables Hit the Tipping Point – July 2017

Energy Watch Group Newsletter – July 2017

As banks and governments remain heavily invested in the fossil fuel industry despite the international climate committments, shareholders increasingly start to hold their banks and companies accountable. In Australia, in the first world’s case a couple has filed a lawsuit against its bank for not informing about climate change risks. Meanwhile, the global production of coal fell significantly in 2016, mainly due to a sharp decline in China. And the nuclear industry in the US and Europe is slowly but surely becoming obsolete.

The fall of coal and nuclear is mainly due to the success of renewable energy sources. Renewables have reached the tipping point in many countries in the world, according to Morgan Stanley’s latest report. This confirms forecasts of other financial analysts that predict renewables to become THE cheapest form of power generation by 2020. You will find this news and the latest studies on renewable energy in G20 countries as well as India and SAARC in our July newsletter.

Solar Power to Kill Coal | Oil Majors to Lose Trillions | Nuclear Meltdown – June 2017

Energy Watch Group Newsletter – June 2017

Renewable energy capacity worldwide was boosted by a record amount in 2016, as costs of wind and solar PV kept dramatically falling, two latest major energy reports show. Especially solar PV is becoming so cheap that it will provide cheaper electricity than coal in China and India as soon as the early 2020s. Meanwhile, a third of the business-as-usual investment until 2025 by oil and gas majors is inconsistent with the Paris Agreement climate targets, according to another report. And many top multinational banks kept lending billions to extraction of fossil fuels in 2016 while claiming their green credentials. You will also find inspiring stories from around the world on 100% renewable energy, news from the global divestment movement and new studies on Kazakhstan and the Åland islands in our June newsletter.

New Oil Low | Stress Test for Coal | Big Business Backs Decarbonization – May 2017

Energy Watch Group Newsletter – May 2017

“Renewables come one way or another. Over the past few years, they have become economically viable despite low oil prices,” says Energy Watch Group President Hans-Josef Fell in his recent Joule interview. “If you leave the process to itself, it may take another 30 years. That is too late for our planet. If we actively promote them, we will prevent stock exchange crashes, wars and natural disasters.”

Indeed, renewables have become unstoppable and disrupt entire industries, says FT in their very impressive dossier. Hopes of successfully combatting climate change are dramatically improving. There are a lot of good signs of that: new oil discoveries have reached another historic low in 2016, large investors increasingly recognize the financial risks of climate change, big business  backs decarbonization. You will find  this news as well as studies on 100% renewables and news from the global divestment movement in our May newsletter.

More Renewables for Less Money in 2016 | Bye Bye Coal and Nuclear – April 2017

Energy Watch Group Newsletter – April 2017

The title “bye-bye coal” does not stem from us or from an environmental organization. It comes from the Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) analysts. By 2030, it will be cheaper to build a wind farm than to keep an old coal generator running, and by 2036 it will be less expensive to build a solar farm, according to BNEF. Read about slow but sure steps towards the end of coal in Europe and in China as well as abut slow death of nuclear in Japan. Meanwhile, 2016 was another breakthrough year for renewables, according to a new UNEP and BNEF report. Despite declining global investment in renewables, the number of installations was on record high around the world. Read about success stories and new studies paving ways to 100% renewable energy globally in our April newsletter.

The True Picture of Energiewende | Sins & Losses of Big Oil | China’s Peak Coal | Divestment Ticker – March 2017

Energy Watch Group Newsletter – March 2017

Germany is celebrated internationally as a role model for a successful energy transition. Its role has certainly be instrumental in enabling the worldwide breakthrough of renewables, but in the recent years many things have been going wrong. President of the Energy Watch Group elaborates on how to put the German Energiewende on track again in his op-ed. Meanwhile, the Lappeenranta University of Technology has published a series of impressive studies that prove that Ukraine, Iran, and Nigeria can switch to electricity supply fully based on renewables, which would be even cheaper than other energy options. Apart from that you will find news on peak coal in the emerging climate leader China and on the latest sins of the major oil companies. Last but not least, in this newsletter we are launching a live-ticker on global developments in the fossil fuel divestment movement. You will find these news and more in our March newsletter.

Technology to Transform the Energy Sector | 100% Renewables in East Asia and Europe | Ukraine as Role Model for Germany? – February 2017

Energy Watch Group Newsletter – February 2017

As global energy transition gathers pace, innovative technology can further disrupt and transform the energy sector much faster than the most of business-as-usual scenarios predict. Two major reports by Carbon Tracker and the McKinsey Global Institute come to this conclusion. Meanwhile, Ireland has as a first country in the world committed to fully divest from fossil fuels, as an increasing number of cities, Univerisities and businesses join the global divestment movement. As Ukraine has dramatically reduced its gas dependence on Russian energy supplies, Germany has become more dependent on them due to the political barriers to the energy transition in the country, argues EWG President. You will find this news and new studies on 100% renewable energy in East Asia and Europe in our February newsletter.

The Irreversible Momentum of Renewables as Climate Action | Divestment Pressure Rise – January 2017

Energy Watch Group Newsletter – January 2017

The production of energy from renewable sources is breaking records all over the globe. In 2016, Costa Rica ran 250 days solely on renewable energy. Over Christmas, wind power generation surged in Scotland and Germany. Solar is set to beat coal as the cheapest energy source. 2017 seems to be firmly on track to become another record-breaking year for renewables.

Meanwhile, an increasing number of oil and gas companies go out of business and divestment pressure rises. This development is more than needed, considering that 2016 was the third consecutive hottest year on recordand Chinese cities bog down in smog. Yet, the economic arguments become ever more compelling and the stakeholders taking action ever more influential. As the outgoing U.S. President put it in his latest Science article, the climate action “momentum is irreversible”. Read more in our January Newsletter. 

IEA’s Remarkable Camouflage | Climate Action, Renewables & Divestment on the March Despite Trump – December 2016

Energy Watch Group Newsletter – December 2016

2016 has seen progress in new commitments across the world to act on climate change. But it has also reminded us that the world is becoming more complex. In Germany, “post-truth” was named word of the year: all too often lies, appealing to emotion, were more influential than facts. Therefore, providing objective information and finding effective ways of disseminating it becomes more important than ever.

We are glad to see that in 2016, the International Energy Agency (IEA) started considering more realistic energy scenarios. But the IEA still heavily underplays renewable energy, especially wind and solar, as our analysis of its latest flagship report shows. Election of Donald Trump as the next US President raised questions about the future of international and in particular American climate policy. In this newsletter, we compiled the arguments why the climate action and renewable energy momentum will not stall, as the global divestment movement keeps growing and as new  roadmaps to stay below the 1.5°C threshold are emerging. Read more in our December newsletter.