The European Councils of March 2007 and October 2014 have defined the major guidelines of the European climate policy for the 2010-2020 and 2020-2030 decades. These commitments have then been used as negotiation roadmaps for two major conferences on climate held under the United-Nations umbrella, in Copenhagen in 2009 and in Paris in December 2015. In both cases, the aim was, and still is, to reach a global agreement to take over the Kyoto Protocol. The first one was a failure for the European diplomacy and all hopes are now placed in the second, which may well be the last chance for the international climate talks.

Hot Energy Topic n° 5, Insight_E publication

Lead Author: Paul Deane (UCC)
Authoring Team: Ulrich Fahl (University of Stuttgart), Carole Mathieu (Ifri)
Reviewers: Kimon Keramidas (Enerdata)

Big Data is changing our view of the world by changing our modes of approach, moving from analogue systems to digital-based knowledge.

The Internet Governance debate opposes multilateral thinking, favoring the role of State and interstate bodies, with a multistakeholder model, which aims to unite all concerned actors: states, business, experts, academics and internet groups, among others. 

Washington plays a leading role in Internet Governance, which is hardly surprising given the origins of the Internet and America’s technological ascendancy. However, the majority of Internet users are in non-Western countries. 

While internet traffic is exploding and there is new costly infrastructure to be implemented, the “net neutrality” debate is raging.

Since 1976, there have been twenty-five recorded epidemics of the Ebola virus. The 2014 outbreak is the most serious.