Politics

It’s time for the IEA to get real

January 8, 2013 4:09 pm by Nick Butler

A large proportion of oil is now exported to China. Getty Images

The International Energy Agency is one of the more successful of all the international institutions. It has avoided the rocks of ideology – unlike the IMF – and the sands of overweening bureaucracy – unlike the World Bank.

The Agency produces some excellent studies and first class data. But it badly needs to keep up with the times. No international agency working on energy should be excluding China and India from full membership.

The IEA was established in 1974 as a grouping of energy – particularly oil – importing countries to combat the market dominance of Opec. The crucial agreement behind its establishment was acceptance of the need to share the burden of adjustment in the event of any major supply disruption. “Rationing” – though the word was never used – was clearly preferable to a free-for-all bidding war in which countries sought to secure supplies for themselves. Read more

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Posted in Oil, Policy, Politics |

EDF inquiry puts brakes on UK nuclear plans

January 2, 2013 5:01 pm by Nick Butler

EDF faces probe into its relations with China. Getty Images

A new inquiry instigated by the French government into the international activities of the French nuclear industry poses a new challenge to the UK’s plans for a new generation of nuclear power stations. Further delay in reaching a final decision seems certain.

The formal inquiry, established just before the New Year, will be undertaken by the powerful Inspection Generale des Finances. The inquiry is sector wide and focused on potentially inappropriate transfers of protected technologies through the international partnerships developed by the nuclear companies. But according to the French press the inquiry is directed specifically at EDF and its relationships in China. Read more

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Posted in Nuclear, Politics, Uncategorized |

What future for the Climate Change Committee?

December 27, 2012 8:00 am by Nick Butler

What does 2013 hold for the UK’s Climate Change Committee? This worthy body was established in 2009 and is responsible for advising the government on emissions targets and reporting to parliament on the progress being made on reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

The remit sounds reasonable but the reality is that the committee has been written off in Whitehall. The committee’s advice is blatantly ignored and its chief executive, despite his obvious knowledge and capability, has been dismissed by no less than the prime minister as too inexperienced and unqualified to be appointed as permanent secretary of the energy department. For a serious public servant that is pretty damning. Read more

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Posted in Climate, Emissions, Policy, Politics |

Another leader for problematic energy department

December 20, 2012 11:51 am by Nick Butler

Francis Maude faces a re-assertion of civil service authority. Getty Images

By the end of the week the Department for Energy and Climate Change should have a new permanent secretary. The interviews are on Thursday and the panel, now shorn of inconvenient outsiders such as Lord Stern, will pick a civil servant who will be confirmed immediately.

That might sound bad, but the candidate most likely to be selected is surprisingly strong and a symbol of how seriously the senior civil service takes the department’s problems.

The appointment is a re-assertion of civil service authority and a slap in the face for Cabinet Office Minister Francis Maude who wanted to bring in a businessman. Mr Maude and Mr Cameron still owe an apology to David Kennedy, the head of the climate change committee who was selected and then summarily deselected, but the most he is likely to get is a consolatory MBE. (I will elaborate on the future of the committee next week.) Read more

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Posted in Politics |

The Scottish perspective on energy policy

November 28, 2012 12:36 pm by Nick Butler

First Minister Alex Salmond, left, favours growth of wind power. Getty Images

The Treasury does not agree with the level of subsidies being offered but has been forced partially to back down because of the political imperative of keeping the coalition together. The secretary of state Ed Davey, a Liberal Democrat, believes in setting medium-term targets on emissions but has been forced to back down and to accept a time-limited policy, which will be reviewed again after the next election. The result is that no one believes the policy being published this week is the right answer, or that it will endure beyond 2015. Read more

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Posted in Policy, Politics |
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