This area examines the major policy regulatory issues of the European internal and external energy policies, with a focus on the integration of energy markets and the deployment of low-carbon technologies.
Although it is still marginal, the market for electric vehicles (EVs) is growing. According to the French Institute of Petroleum and Renewable Energies (IFPEN, Institut Français du Pétrole et des Énergies Renouvelables), EVs accounted for a little more than 2% of the light vehicle market in...
The European Union (EU)’s Green Deal is a game changer with attention so far focused on forthcoming actions plans, the Climate Law, financial resources, the revision of the 2030 targets and of the emissions trading system (ETS).
2019 has marked a fundamental turning point in the energy transition of the European Union (EU).
Europe has become a frontrunner in fixed offshore wind. Can this success story be replicated with floating offshore wind, a technology that would lift the sea depth constraint and thus open up wider market opportunities? This research study looks at the main success factors for this emerging...
While international multilateralism is under strain, it is vital for France and Germany to defend it, since it is the most appropriate system for preserving their interests – particularly in terms of welfare, security, prosperity and environmental protection. Against this backdrop, three...
French battery cell manufacturer Saft and Opel, the German subsidiary of automaker PSA Group, are finalising the details of a major investment project in battery cell manufacturing. Is the European Union (EU) finally challenging Asia’s dominance on battery cells production? What chances...
The low-carbon energy transition in France, the European Union (EU) and the world is today taking place unevenly and too slowly to preserve the climate and biodiversity. CO2 emissions are continuing to rise, while governments’ commitments are insufficient: in the long-term, the...
Ten years after the January 2009 gas crisis, Russian-Ukrainian gas relations are at another turning point: the then concluded contracts are terminating on 31 December 2019. While trilateral talks brokered by the European Commission (EC) have started in July 2018, the real negotiations about...
At a time when the European Union (EU) is discussing its long-term climate strategy and drafting new legislation to foster the decarbonization of its gas sector, a close look at the experience of Denmark, Germany and Italy with renewable gas production can provide valuable lessons.
EU’s carbon neutrality objective requires to decarbonize all sectors and notably, all gases. Decarbonized hydrogen has now been recognized as a critical element of a carbon neutral economy and energy system. The EU should aim for global leadership in this field while Japan, California or China...
A videoconférence around Marc-Antoine EYL-MAZZEGA, ...
Spain is the fourth largest economy of the Eurozone, its economy is back on track and its Prime minister Pedro Sanchez managed to set up a coalition in a fragmented parliament. The country appears to be both an institutional and energy policy laboratory that attracts a lot of attention. <...>
The European Union (EU) enters a new political cycle and the Commission President-elect von der Leyen committed to propose a “Green Deal” in her first 100 days in office, with the ultimate ambition of making Europe the first climate-neutral continent.
The electricity system in North-West continental Europe is highly-interconnected and political decisions to adjust the national generation mixes have direct implications on neighboring countries.
2019 sets the stage for a reassessment of the role of natural gas in the European energy transition. The proposed coal phase out in Germany may foster its role in power generation. France has pledged to give biomethane a try while expecting a cost cut, and grid injection projects are booming...
After years of debates around the structural failures of the EU electricity markets, time has come to agree on potential remedies. With the adoption of the Clean Energy Package, a new legislative framework will govern electricity exchanges for the next decade. In parallel, the EU is about to...
Despite the EU’s long-standing commitment to climate action, its energy-related GHG emissions have picked up again in 2017. Renewables keep making inroads in the EU electricity mix but delays in reducing coal-fired generation are undermining the EU’s overall climate policy.
The European Union (EU) is speeding up the deployment of electric vehicles and integrating large shares of intermittent renewables into its electricity grids. In doing so, the EU hopes to tackle climate change and air pollution concerns, but it cannot neglect the geo-economic shifts that a...
There is a sustained global demand growth for gas. Ample production and large investments into LNG export infrastructures in Australia and the USA and into receiving terminals all over the world are boosting trade, supported by lower prices and more flexible supplies....
The price of CO2 credits on Europe’s emissions trading scheme needs to rise to around €50 per tonne in order to drive the long-term development of Europe’s biomethane industry, says Marc-Antoine Eyl-Mazzega, a French researcher.
The prospects for biogas in Europe look bright, with conservative estimates pointing to a tenfold increase in production by 2030. However, the industry will need to stay rooted in the local economy and come clean on environmental credentials if it wants to avoid a green backlash, analysts say....
Over and again, legislators worldwide are confronting the same question: which technologies do we subsidise and support, when, by how much, and for how long. Get it right and those costs will reduce and should disappear once scale is reached. Solar and wind are on their way to proving...
Carole Mathieu of the French Institute of International Relations explains some of the developments between the EU battery manufacturing and automaker industries and how they impact on the region's contributions towards the global energy storage market.
Belgium is slowly phasing out its aging nuclear energy infrastructure. But looming winter weather, limited renewable options and a poorly connected electricity network have left the country at risk of blackouts.
Activist hits out at President Macron for taking only ‘small steps’ on green issues in government
Florian Ermacora, Head of the Internal Energy Market Unit in DG Energy, explains how the Clean Energy Package will improve the functioning of the internal electricity market, and how the new market design will help integrating larger shares of renewables.
Deputy Director, Ministère de la transition écologique et solidaire, describes the main challenges for the French energy system at the 2030 horizon and highlights the need to find the right balance between EU harmonization and national measures to achieve energy transition at the lowest cost.<...>
Laurent Schmitt, Secretary General, ENTSO-E, explains how to improve cooperation between transmission system operators and strengthen security of electricity supply, and how the Clean Energy Package will enhance the design of electricity market as a continuation of the network codes.
Innovation as a Catalyst for Energy Markets? Special Address by Andris Piebalgs, Senior Fellow Florence School of Regulation, Member of the Global Agenda Council on Decarbonizing Energy, Former EU Commissioner for Energy, during an Ifri conference in Brussels on...
