On April 14, S&W hosted a stakeholder dialogue sponsored by the Citizens Climate Lobby (CCL), Partnership for Change and the Nobel Peace Prize Forum as a part of the ancillary discussions surrounding the spring International Monetary Fund (IMF)/World Bank meetings. The dialogue focused on carbon pricing—a principal focus of many global leaders after the success in Paris this past December at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Twenty-First Conference of the Parties (COP 21). Last week, the Carbon Pricing Panel released a Vision Statement with signatures by Prime Minister of Canada Justin Trudeau, President of Chile Michelle Bachelet, Prime Minister of the Federal Republic of Ethiopia Hailemariam Dessalegn, President of France François Hollande, and Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany Angela Merkel.
Dialogue on Carbon Pricing and the World Bank Spring Meetings with Citizens Climate Lobby at S&W
Topics: COP21, carbon tax, carbon pricing, citizens climate lobby, world Bank
With Proper Policies, A $12.1 Trillion Investment Opportunity for Renewable Energy Can Be Realized
Despite the currently low prices of oil and natural gas, renewable electric power generation is poised for rapid growth. Based on a “business-as-usual” scenario, Bloomberg New Energy Finance’s New Energy Outlook, June 2015 predicted a $6.9 trillion investment in new renewable electric power generation over the next 25 years. A newly published report by Ceres, Bloomberg New Energy Finance, and Ken Locklin, Managing Director for Impax Asset Management LLC, predicts a much greater opportunity for private sector companies and commercial financiers to invest in new renewable energy.
Topics: Carbon Emissions, Biomass, Solar Energy, Renewable Energy, COP21, ITC, Energy Investment, Investment Tax Credit, renewable energy investment, PTC, carbon tax, Wind Energy, Climate change, Ceres, United Nations, UNFCCC, production tax credit, cap-and-trade, renewable portfolio standard, feed-in-tariff, COP22, carbon pricing
Co-author Morgan M. Gerard
Despite the low price of oil throughout the year, 2015 may have been an inflection point for renewable energy as a competitive generation source in the U.S. Deutsche Bank has noted that renewable sources, like solar, have reached, or will soon reach, grid parity with fossil fuel sources in many states. As non-fossil energy has become more economically viable, the industry has responded by standardizing and streamlining project processes, and by accessing financing vehicles like yieldcos and public bonds. Despite growth, the past year has also been a tumultuous one full of unexpected developments and policy shifts including the COP 21 agreement and the Clean Power Plan (CPP), and the formation of intriguing grassroots coalitions, like the green tea party. All of these developments were, of course, set against the specter of a potential step-down of the Investment Tax Credit (ITC), and its surprising last-minute revival. The following is a breakdown of some of the major developments impacting renewables in 2015.
Topics: NY REV, Energy Policy, Energy Finance, Distributed Energy, YieldCo, Solar Energy, Renewable Energy, Wind, COP21, Renewable Energy 2015, Distributed Energy Resources, CPP, Green Tea Party, Net Metering, Net Energy Metering, NEM, DG, Energy Project Finance, Renewable 2015, Green Energy, Green Energy 2015, Solar Energy 2015, DER, Offshore Wind, Clean Power, clean power plan, Georgia Solar, 2015, energy, Wind Energy, Energy Project, Green 2015, California DRP
A High Stakes Game—COP 21 and Climate Policy in the United States
“Never have the stakes been so high because this is about the future of the planet, the future of life” notes French President Francois Hollande with respect to the 21st Session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 21). Representatives from more than 190 nations are currently gathered in Paris to discuss a possible new global agreement on climate change, aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Global emissions have steadily increased over the past 15 years, but according to a study, published in the journal Nature Climate Change and presented at COP 21, global emissions from fossil-based fuels and industry are likely to have fallen 0.6 percent in 2015, even as the world’s economy has grown. The representatives attending the conference hope to capitalize on this opportunity and continue the work to reduce emissions.
Topics: Energy Policy, Renewable Energy, COP21