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101. Towards Zero Waste in Industrial Networks: Policy Recommendations from the ZeroWIN Project

Author:
Claudia Luepschen, Ruediger Kuehr, and Federico Magalini
Publication Date:
10-2013
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
United Nations University
Abstract:
ZeroWIN (Towards Zero Waste in Industrial Networks) is a five-year project (2009-2014) under the European Commission's Seventh Research Framework Programme. The ZeroWIN project has developed effective strategies for waste prevention through industrial networks. Ten industrial case studies in the automotive, construction, electronics and photovoltaic industries form the core of the project and exchange energy, water and materials in such a way that waste from one industry becomes raw material for another. This brief suggests what can be done to advance the implementation of industrial networks in practice, based on first outcomes of the ZeroWIN project. The research leading to these results has received funding from the European Community's Seventh Framework Programme FP7 2007-2013 under grant agreement n° 226752
Topic:
Energy Policy, Health, Industrial Policy, and Infrastructure
Political Geography:
Europe

102. Critical Energy Infrastructure Security Project Final Report

Publication Date:
03-2012
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
International Strategic Research Organization (USAK)
Abstract:
Türkiye'de kritik enerji altyapi unsurlari (KEAU) güvenligini mercek altina yatirarak mevcut durumu tespit etmek, bu konuda farkindalik yaratmak ve sorunlar ile çözüm önerilerini kamuoyunun ve yetkili birimlerin dikkatine sunmak amaciyla bir çalisma yapilmistir. Nitekim, "Kritik Enerji Altyapi Güvenligi Projesi" adli bu çalismanin tüm boyutlarini ve detayli sonuçlarini içeren bir rapor hazirlanmistir.
Topic:
Development, Energy Policy, Islam, and Infrastructure
Political Geography:
Europe, Turkey, Middle East, and Asia

103. The Hunger Grains: The fight is on. Time to scrap EU biofuel mandates.

Publication Date:
09-2012
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:
In 2009, EU governments committed to sourcing 10 per cent of transport energy from renewable sources by 2020: they are set to meet this target almost exclusively using biofuels made from food crops. By putting a mandate in place, European governments are propping up powerful industry and farming lobbies without spending a penny from national budgets: as direct subsidies and tax exemptions are phased out, the cost is increasingly borne by the consumer. For example, by 2020 biofuel mandates are likely to cost UK consumers between £1bn and £2bn more each year—that's about £35 from every adult—and to cost German consumers between €1.37bn and €2.15bn more—up to €30 per adult. EU governments have replaced subsidies paid out of the public purse with a subsidy that consumers, often without their knowledge, pay directly to big business.
Topic:
Security, Agriculture, Development, Energy Policy, and Food
Political Geography:
United Kingdom, Europe, and Germany

104. Shale Gas and the EU Internal Gas Market: Beyond the Hype and Hysteria

Author:
Jonas Teusch
Publication Date:
09-2012
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centre for European Policy Studies
Abstract:
This paper analyses the interplay between shale gas and the EU internal gas market. Drawing on data presented in the 2012 International Energy Agency's report on unconventional gas and additional scenario analyses performed by the Joint Research Centre, the paper is based on the assumption that shale gas will not fundamentally change the EU's dependence on foreign gas supplies. It argues that attention should be shifted away from hyping shale gas to completing the internal gas market. Two main reasons are given for this. First, the internal gas market is needed to enable shale gas development in countries where there is political support for shale gas extraction. And second, a well-functioning internal gas market would, arguably, contribute much more to Europe's security of supply than domestic shale gas exploitation. This has important implications for the shale gas industry. As it is hard to see how subsidies or exemptions from environmental legislation could be justified, shale gas development in Europe will only go ahead if it proves to be both economically and environmentally viable. It is thus up to the energy industry to demonstrate that this is the case.
Topic:
Security, Economics, Energy Policy, Environment, Natural Resources, and Famine
Political Geography:
Europe

105. The Geopolitics of Natural Gas

Author:
Amy Myers Jaffe and Meghan L. O'Sullivan
Publication Date:
07-2012
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard University
Abstract:
Some of the most dramatic energy developments of recent years have been in the realm of natural gas. Huge quantities of unconventional US shale gas are now commercially viable, changing the strategic picture for the United States by making it self-sufficient in natural gas for the foreseeable future. This development alone has reverberated around the globe, causing shifts in patterns of trade and leading other countries in Europe and Asia to explore their own shale gas potential. Such developments are putting pressure on longstanding arrangements, such as oil-linked gas contracts and the separate nature of North American, European, and Asian gas markets, and may lead to strategic shifts, such as the weakening of Russia's dominance in the European gas market.
Topic:
Climate Change, Economics, Energy Policy, and Natural Resources
Political Geography:
Europe and Asia

106. The moment of truth: how the EU can build the ground for lasting environmental policy change in Morocco

Author:
Eva-Maria Maggi
Publication Date:
06-2012
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Kolleg-Forschergruppe (KFG)
Abstract:
The stage of implementation is the moment of truth for every attempt to change a policy. Accordingly, the European Union (EU) can only promote lasting policy change within its Neighborhood Policy (ENP) if reforms are reaching the ground. In Morocco, the EU promoted environmental reform agenda is often successfully adapted into national law, but its application is lacking. The cases of Morocco's water and renewable energy show that administrative capacity and the interests of domestic actors are crucial in supporting a comprehensive change in environmental policy.
Topic:
Climate Change, Energy Policy, Environment, and International Law
Political Geography:
Europe, North Africa, and Morocco

107. The European Commission's Policy Towards the Southern Gas Corridor: Between National Interests and Economic Fundamentals

Author:
Nicolò Sartori
Publication Date:
01-2012
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Istituto Affari Internazionali
Abstract:
The European Union launched the ambitious Southern Gas Corridor initiative with the goal of enhancing the security of its energy supply. The corridor - a virtual transit route running from the gas-rich Caspian basin to the EU while bypassing Russian soil - is meant to increase diversification of the EU's supplier and transit countries. While various projects have been proposed to give life to the corridor, the European Commission has given particular support to the realisation of Nabucco, a 3,893km pipeline running from Turkey to the European gas hub of Baumgarten in Austria, via Bulgaria, Romania, and Hungary. The Commission's choice is, however, flawed in several respects, as it fails to take account of key factors, such as the diverging, and sometimes conflicting, interests of individual EU member states, the geopolitical challenges of the Caspian basin, and the commercial constraints on Nabucco. This short-sighted approach has hindered the efficient development of the Southern Gas Corridor and weakened the EU's energy policy.
Topic:
Security, Energy Policy, and Natural Resources
Political Geography:
Russia, Europe, Turkey, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, and Austria

108. The South East Europe Pipeline: Greater Benefit for a Greater Number of Actors

Author:
Elnur Soltanov
Publication Date:
01-2012
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Istituto Affari Internazionali
Abstract:
The South East Europe Pipeline (SEEP), proposed by BP in late September 2011, could eventually be the pipeline carrying Azeri gas to European markets. Compared to its competitors in the Southern Corridor concept - Nabucco, TAP and ITGI - it goes furthest in terms of optimality for all the parties involved. The combined advantages of its size, scalability, usage of existing gas infrastructure in Europe and direction, promises a more reasonable economic and political value for the Shah Deniz Consortium, Azerbaijan, Turkey and Europe, while posing a bearable challenge to Russia. The SEEP seems to offer a greater value to a greater number of actors.
Topic:
Energy Policy, Markets, and Natural Resources
Political Geography:
Russia, Europe, Turkey, and Azerbaijan

109. Aphrodite's Gift: Can Cypriot Gas Power a New Dialogue?

Publication Date:
04-2012
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
International Crisis Group
Abstract:
Eastern Mediterranean tensions have risen since late 2011, when Greek Cypriots unilaterally began drilling in their rich offshore hydrocarbon reserves and Turkey responded with tough criticism and threatening naval manoeuvres. Contested maritime boundaries and exploration of natural gas deposits off the divided island are the sources of the current dispute, but tensions also result from the slow-down of UN-mediated Cyprus reunification talks. A paradigm shift is needed. The gas can drive the communities further apart and increase discords, or it can provide an opportunity for officials from all sides, including Turkey, to sit down and reach agreements on the exploitation and transportation of this new find.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, NATO, Energy Policy, International Political Economy, Natural Resources, and Territorial Disputes
Political Geography:
Europe and Turkey

110. Regional and International Energy Security Dynamics: Consequences for NATO's Search for an Energy Security Role

Author:
Phillip Cornell
Publication Date:
01-2012
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Geneva Centre for Security Policy
Abstract:
It should not come as a surprise that energy has been steadily gaining importance within security circles in recent years due to the military and security dimensions of this mainly economic issue. As globalization has blurred the lines between traditional security and economic interchange (and especially energy flows), new challenges have arisen. This process has fanned the debate surrounding the role of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) with regard to energy questions and their evolution.
Topic:
Security, Defense Policy, NATO, and Energy Policy
Political Geography:
Europe