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A New Climate for Europe: 2030 Climate Targets Must Be More Ambitious

Amidst other national and global climate protection initiatives, the new EU Commission under the leadership of Ursula von der Leyen is facing the challenge of concretely following through on previous announcements regarding an ambitious climate policy. Specifically, action must be taken to raise the 2030 climate targets and the 2050 long-term strategy must be revised in adherence with the Paris Agreement. ...

Natural Gas Supply: No Need for Another Baltic Sea Pipeline

The construction of a second Baltic Sea natural gas pipeline from Russia to Germany (Nord Stream 2) is very controversial for political, energy economic, and ecological reasons. The project owner and some European energy companies argue that it is a profitable, private-sector investment project that is necessary to secure natural gas supplies for Germany and Europe. However, DIW Berlin analyses show ...

World Crude Oil Markets: OPEC's Supplier Power Remains Unchallenged

In spite of the sharp decline of crude oil prices since the fall of 2008, the current price level of approximately $65 per barrel is significantly higher than the long-term average. The market power of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), which is partially responsible for this price level, remains strong. While market prices for commodities such as coal are typically reflecting ...

Moving towards a "COAL-PEC"?

Coal has for many years been considered as a resource of the past and as a result its importance has been underestimated. Yet coal still is the main pillar for generating electricity in most countries: A quarter of the worldwide primary energy consumption is provided by coal. While the world's largest coal producers, China, the USA and India, are at the same time the largest consumers of coal. Smaller ...

Russian Energy and Climate Policy Remains Inconsistent: Challenges for the EU

The relations between Russia and the EU with respect to energy and climate policies have been characterized in recent months by two phenomena. On the one hand, the EU has to deal with questions regarding the security of energy supply. The Russian government's high-handed treatment of domestic and foreign energy enterprises operating in the country is irritating potential investors. There is reason ...

Liquefied Natural Gas Will Have to Play a Larger Role in the Future: Six Questions to Franziska Holz

Earthquakes in the Netherlands Cannot Shake the European Natural Gas Market

The rising number of earthquakes in the northeastern part of the Netherlands has been attributed to the extraction of natural gas from the Groningen field. This has led tostrong opposition to natural gas production from the Dutch population, a matter that is increasingly preoccupying not only policy-makers on the local and provincial levels,but also the central government. In response, the Dutch government ...

European Natural Gas Supply Secure Despite Political Crises

Natural gas is a significant contributor to European energy supply. Hence, the political crisis between Russia and Ukraine increases fears of the consequences of Russia suspending natural gas supplies to Ukraine and the European Union. The last time this had occurred was in the winter of 2009 when Russia and Ukraine disputed about the price of natural gas and transit costs. However, the European Union ...

European Energy Sector: Large Investments Required for Sustainability and Supply Security

For the European Union to keep on track with its energy and climate targets, large investments are required in electricity generation, infrastructure and energy efficiency. The electricity sector takes the center stage. This article delivers an overview of several estimates of the investment requirement in the European energy sector and estimates the total required investment expenditures until 2030. ...

Structural Shift in Global Natural Gas Markets: Demand Boom in Asia, Supply Shock in the US

The significance of natural gas is on the rise due to the restructuring and decarbonization of energy systems worldwide. Natural gas is widely available and flexible as it can be used in electricity generation, manufacturing, transport, and private households. Compared to other fossil fuels, natural gas produces relatively low carbon dioxide emissions during combustion. For this reason, the natural ...