by Wei Shen and Sam Geall As negotiators enter the crucial final week of the UN-led Paris climate-change conference, much of the cautious optimism is pinned on big changes in China’s real economy. A strong climate change agreement is now in China’s self-interest, runs the prevailing argument – in large part, thanks to its aggressive…
China’s largest wind farm and the politics of renewable energy
How the Water-Energy-Food ‘Nexus’ in Asia affects real lives
By Carl Middleton, Center for Social Development Studies, Faculty of Political Science, Chulalongkorn University In Asia and globally, the water-energy-food nexus has received growing attention from policy makers, researchers, and practitioners. A key premise of ‘the nexus’ is that water use is interdependent with energy and food production. Thus, from a nexus viewpoint, the relationship between…
SDGs: time to rethink energy infrastructure?
As the new Sustainable Development Goals are launched this week, attention will be focused on some of the great global challenges that face our world. They also give us a chance to think about how to do things differently. One of the big questions is how processes of industralization and innovation can really create the…
Why Germany is dumping nuclear power – and Britain isn’t
by Philip Johnstone and Andy Stirling The starkly differing nuclear policies of Germany and the UK present perhaps the clearest divergence in developed world energy strategies. Under the current major Energy Transition (Energiewende), Germany is seeking to entirely phase out nuclear power by 2022. Yet the UK has for many years advocated a “nuclear renaissance”,…
Submerged origins of UK nuclear lock-in?
By Andy Stirling, STEPS Co-Director and Phil Johnstone, Research Fellow at SPRU – Science Policy Research Unit Many legitimately contrasting views are possible on the pros and cons of nuclear power. But when seen in a global context, successive UK Governments are quite striking in their tendencies to adopt partisan positions. Growing evidence is persistently…
Pro-poor, low carbon energy conversations across the STEPS global consortium
I was in Nairobi last week for the launch of the Africa hub of the STEPS Global Consortium. During the three day event, I learned a great deal about developments in low carbon energy from across the continent. Reflecting on last week’s launch, I’ve felt a growing sense of excitement at the different forms of…
Why isn’t global renewable energy investment growing faster?
Guest blog by Stephen Spratt, Research Fellow at the Institute of Development Studies Last Friday I was a discussant at a fascinating seminar given at SPRU by Marianna Mazzucato and Gregor Semieniuk, where we heard details of new research on global renewable energy investment. Despite some shortcomings, the best current source of data is Bloomberg…
Kenyan Cabinet Secretary for Finance: STEPS Africa is “a huge contribution”
On behalf of the Cabinet Secretary of the National Treasury on Kenya, Hon. Henry Rotich, Professor Judi Wakhungu, Cabinet Secretary for Environment, Water and Natural Resources formally launched the STEPS Africa Sustainability Hub today in Nairobi. The speech underscored the importance of Low Carbon Economy Development in Africa. “Low carbon development will play an important…
STEPS Africa Sustainability Hub launched in Nairobi
“There is no better time to launch the Africa Sustainability Hub than now,” says Dr Mohamed Kyari from the Human Resources, Science and Technology Department of the African Union. The AU strategy science and technology and innovation was confirmed by Heads of State last June. The vision of the African Union is to develop a…
Why access to energy is crucial for economic growth and poverty reduction
This week I am in Nairobi for a conference focused on ‘Low Carbon Africa’, discussing the diverse pathways to low carbon energy. Energy access is a key issue across the continent. Last week Kofi Annan launched the ‘Africa Progress Panel’ report that argued for a massive energy revolution on the continent, with the potential for…