Daily Archives: May 4, 2010

The dramatic final hours at Copenhagen

May 4, 2010 10:52 am by Kate Mackenzie

One of the most striking accounts of the final hours at the Copenhagen climate conference was notable not just for its controversial portrayal of China’s role in the negotiations, but the drama that was involved — heads of state banging microphones and ‘throwing up their hands in despair’.

Now there is more detail on the drama from Der Spiegel, which has some ‘leaked tapes’ from a December 18 meeting attended by Angela Merkel, Nicolas Sarkozy, Barack Obama, and “representatives of China and India”.

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Tags: Copenhagen
Posted in Emissions, Politics | Permalink

From FT Alphaville May 4, 2010

£19.5bn and counting

That’s that value wiped off BP’s market capitalisation following that oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico:

And seemingly the more analysts say the share price fall has been an overreaction, the further BP falls.

Continue reading: “£19.5bn and counting”

Tags: BP, Gulf oil spill
Posted in Corporate news, Markets, Oil, Politics | Permalink

Saudi Arabia IS boosting output

May 4, 2010 9:36 am by Kate Mackenzie

One of the big questions as oil prices hover above $80 — prompting all kinds of concerns – is what Saudi Arabia will do.

The country’s oil minister, Ali al-Naimi, has been talking up the price range of $70 – $80 for many months now, declaring it to be ‘beautiful’ and ‘perfect’. Saudi Arabia is the only country with significant spare production capacity, and it’s also very alert to the risk of high prices destroying demand.

Well, it seems to be* walking the talk.

Continue reading: “Saudi Arabia IS boosting output”

Posted in Markets, Oil | Permalink

India finds some resistance to the lure of coal

May 4, 2010 8:38 am by Kate Mackenzie

Coal has been the fastest-growing source of the world’s energy for some six years now.

It’s plentiful in many of the globe’s biggest energy consumers: China, the US, India, to name a few. It’s also still a fairly cheap source of electricity. So on cost/supply and energy security, it compares favourably with, say, oil, as Gregor has pointed out.

It’s also extremely polluting; and not only in terms of greenhouse gas emissions.

And coal is only cheap so long as externalities are not priced in. How much longer will this be the case? Even emerging economies are showing signs of weighing up the lure of coal with its polluting price.

Continue reading: “India finds some resistance to the lure of coal”

Posted in Emissions, Politics, Power | Permalink