Policy Dispatch: The FORESIGHT podcast on the policies underpinning the energy transition

Download our award-winning app and enjoy access to all exclusive features. Click here to access on Apple or Android. Grids are a key part of Europe’s energy system but they need a massive overhaul to be ready for the growth in renewables and electricity demand expected up to 2050. Kristian Ruby joins the Policy Dispatch to look at the current situation and what is needed to make the change happen....

Heating soaks up a huge amount of energy demand and is responsible for an equally significant amount of carbon emissions. Technology likes heatpumps and more efficient buildings are starting to have an impact on both accounts. Bankwatch Network’s Morgan Henley, the group’s head of EU heating decarbonisation campaigning, joins the Policy Dispatch to lift the lid on district heating in Central and E...

Download our award-winning app and enjoy access to all exclusive features. Click here to access on Apple or Android. ‘Impossible’ is not in the vocabulary of Swiss explorer and environmentalist Bertrand Piccard. He was the first person to fly non-stop around the world in a hot air balloon and the first to do the same in a solar-powered plane. Piccard is firmly of the belief that society has all th...

Download our award-winning app and enjoy access to all exclusive features. Click here to access on Apple or Android. Wind power in Europe continues to set records. Concerns over supply chains and geopolitical issues have posed challenges but have not derailed progress. Developments in the North Sea continue at a great pace but it is not Europe’s only resource for wind power. Other areas, some of t...

Download our award-winning app and enjoy access to all exclusive features. Click here to access on Apple or Android. Electrification of road transport has asserted itself as the leading decarbonisation for four-wheeled vehicles. Manufacturers are investing billions in new EV models and governments are following suit with the infrastructure needed to power them. But there is more to electric cars t...

Indonesia is the world’s eighth biggest polluter and one of the most populous countries on Earth. Its energy system is largely reliant on coal and its economy is propped up by mass exports of the polluting fossil fuel. But there is appetite to break coal’s hold over Indonesia’s energy future. A $20 billion partnership between the island nation and wealthier countries could hold the key to sparking...

The majority of countries around the world have some sort of coastline. That means that they have access to natural resources that could soon make a substantial impact on the energy transition: waves and tides. Water is a proven energy source: countries with the right geography have used hydropower to generate green electricity for decades. Now the power of waves and tides, which can also spin tur...

COP28 generated plenty of headlines during the two weeks it ran. Emission pledges, new alliances, policy agreements, informal deals and various other announcements flooded the airwaves and email inboxes. Add in the emotional aspect that is now a hallmark of top level climate talks and you would be forgiven for finding the whole thing an overwhelming ordeal. That is why more than a month on from th...

Methane is the greenhouse gas that often lives in the shadow of its more infamous cousin, carbon dioxide. But methane is a massive problem nonetheless due to its fast-acting impact on the climate. Global action is starting to take off and will be on the agenda at the COP28 summit. The European Union recently agreed on new rules that will aim to reduce leaks and ensure that imported fossil fuels ad...

New Zealand Aotearoa is infamous for its breath-taking scenery, remote location in the Pacific Ocean, all-conquering rugby team and being the backdrop for the Lord of the Rings. 'The Land of the Long White Cloud' is, like every other country on Earth, presented with some difficult and complex energy transition hurdles that will have to be overcome. Governments have attempted to address these clima...

Transport in the Balkans leaves a lot to be desired. Badly connected and lacking investment, the region sorely needs a mobility policy boost. This week, one of the top officials tasked with doing just that joins the show. In Europe’s southeast, the Balkan peninsula has a transport dilemma. Relatively short distances between cities take hours to navigate and what should be a well-connected region i...

Decarbonisation is happening across sectors, and although the pace may at times be less than required, the direction of travel is generally the correct one. Industries and businesses are all starting to actively engage with the energy transition in one shape or another. That means there is a role for firms to help other companies clean up their act. This week, Sam is joined by Gwenaelle Avice-Huet...

2023 has been a big year for energy and climate developments already even though we are only just over the halfway point. From the fallout of the energy price crisis to the beginnings of a ‘green gold rush’, there has been plenty of energy transition news to report on and analyse. How is industry actually going to decarbonise? What is going on in transport? And what can we expect from the end of y...

The Energy Charter Treaty has been referred to as a “relic of the past” and “a chimaera of the energy industry” during the three decades it has been in force. Many see it as a crutch for the fossil fuel sector and an unnecessary weight that is dragging down the green transition. Some countries have signalled their intent to leave the agreement, Italy has already left and others are in the process...

Australia’s industries are thirsty for power and its energy exporters supply a lot of the world with cheap coal and gas. But as the world changes, Australia’s way of doing business will have to as well. Long-accused of being a laggard in the shift towards green energy systems, Australia has a net-zero goal and a 2030 emissions target, but little else besides in terms of meaningful climate policies...

When the United States unveiled its Inflation Reduction Act and showed off the billions of dollars in financing that it is offering for industries like renewable energy, carbon capture, clean mobility and more, the first question was: how will Europe respond? Not long after Joe Biden’s administration debuted the IRA, the European Union published its Net-Zero Industry Act, in a bid to make it easie...

People on average spend 90% of their time in buildings, be it at home, at work or using public services like schools and hospitals. That explains why such a large portion of energy demand is soaked up by buildings and why such a huge chunk of emissions are produced by them. To decarbonise our edifices, several policies have to work harmoniously together, including but not limited to, energy effici...

Reducing agriculture emissions is a big part of climate action and the wider energy transition. ‘Greenhouse gases’ may well be a term straight out of the farmyard but the sector is struggling to rid itself of those polluting emissions, despite attempts to clean up farming. Unlike power generation and transport, where much of the progress will be made simply by electrifying as much as possible and...

Think about the United States’ relationship with cars and the first thing that comes to mind is probably gas-guzzling SUVs and gigantic pickup trucks roaring down an arrow-straight freeway. However, that may soon be an anachronistic impression of US transport now that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has tabled a new plan that would scrub billions of tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions fro...

China is the latest country to get into emissions trading, launching a nationwide market in 2021 and using several regional and local pilot projects as a springboard. Many of the details still need to be hashed out, and the low price means that it is far too soon to see any actual decarbonising impact. But we have been here before: when Europe launched its emissions trading system nearly two decad...

More clean power is being added to energy mixes on a daily basis, but it does not matter how many wind turbines or solar panels are installed; the electrons still need to reach homes and businesses. Supply cannot always match demand, either in quantity or timing, so that is where storage comes in. Whether it is hydropower dams, grid batteries, molten salt or the power of gravity, storage — both co...

India is poised to become the most populous country on Earth, with energy demands and climate concerns set to grow in step. Air pollution has long been a significant health concern in many of India’s cities, in particular in the capital of New Delhi, which regularly tops global pollution indexes. Given that air quality is intrinsically linked to the energy transition through sectors like transport...

The energy transition continues to gather pace. As data for 2022 is crunched and processed, an optimistic picture begins to be painted. Renewables are going from strength to strength and the rate of development of new energy technologies continues to make past predictions look conservative. But will this growth last? What does 2023 and beyond look like? Have we reached a tipping point of clean ene...

International trade and the global economy is reliant on ships to transport goods across the planet, but the sector is also a massive contributor to greenhouse gas emissions. The industry will have to play an integral part of the energy transition, whether it likes it or not, as climate targets loom ever nearer on the horizon. Technology will help clean up shipping’s act, as will regulation, but w...

Europe’s emissions trading system is considered to be the backbone of EU climate policies. After very nearly 20 years of service, the carbon market plays a substantial role in cutting emissions and driving demand for green technology by enforcing the polluter pays principle. Late last year, EU negotiators brokered an agreement on how to update the ETS, so that emissions are cut even further and mo...