July 8, 2009 by Devon Swezey
President Obama’s national energy education program designed to create a generation of clean energy innovators has been cut from $115 to $7 million by a House subcommittee. The cuts could mean that fewer than 100 scholarships, not 1,500 scholarships, will be available annually.
Energy analysts say that one of the key barriers to developing clean energy technologies that can compete with fossil fuels is the lack of scholarships both for young scientists to do basic research and for engineers seeking to apply discoveries in the real world.
The Administration’s energy education program, called RE-ENERGYSE (REgaining our ENERGY Science and Engineering Edge), would have resulted in “the development of leading edge undergraduate and graduate programs and between 5,000 and 8,500 highly educated scientists, engineers, and other professionals to enter the clean energy field by 2015; and approximately 10,000 to 17,000 professionals by 2020,” according to the Department of Energy (DOE). The program, jointly funded by DOE and the National Science Foundation, would have been the largest federal initiative to focus exclusively on clean energy education.
President Obama announced the initiative as a way to “inspire the next generation of clean energy innovators”, similar to the way that the launch of Sputnik and the space race inspired young people to pursue careers in science and engineering in the 1950s and 60s. In 1958, the government passed the National Defense Education Act (NDEA), which provided billions of dollars over 4 years to train a new generation of scientists to help America compete with the Soviet Union in scientific and technical fields. But in recent years, the number of science and technology professionals has been declining as a share of the labor force, a development that has education experts worried.
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Posted in Global Warming | 2 Comments »
July 8, 2009 by Teryn Norris
By Teryn Norris
Originally published by AlterNet
July 8, 2009
The recent passage of the American Clean Energy & Security Act (ACES) through the U.S. House of Representatives drew different reactions from climate and environmental advocates. But one key perspective shared by most advocates is that, despite its weaknesses, the bill is a good first step. ACES builds a solid foundation for future progress on U.S. climate mitigation, the argument goes, and climate advocates will be well-positioned to strengthen the legislation in years ahead.
But what are the prospects for strengthening ACES in future years? This question is subject to many uncertainties, depending on the vagaries of the political climate. But a closer examination reveals that ACES could create a “super-lobby” of interest groups that will significantly diminish the possibility of achieving future reforms.
The newest climate lobby — and potentially one of the most powerful in years to come — is the financial industry. If ACES is signed into law, the global carbon market could become the largest commodity market in the world. According to Bart Chilton, Commissioner of the U.S. Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), “The potential size and scope of a structured carbon emissions market in the US is unequivocally vast. It is certainly possible that the emissions markets could overtake all other commodity markets.”
A growing number of analysts are expressing concerns about the emergence of a new financial climate lobby and the potential for gaming in a new U.S. carbon market. A recent report by Friends of Earth (FOE), “Subprime Carbon,” argued that cap and trade proposals like ACES could create a system with similar financial and political interests to the housing market bubble. Just as financial practices during the housing bubble caused deteriorating standards in mortgages, cap and trade could create “subprime” carbon offsets — offsets that do not represent actual emission reductions and carbon derivatives based on future carbon reductions with high risk of not being fulfilled.
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Posted in Cap and Trade, Climate Policy, Finance, Global Warming, Politics | Tagged ACES, American Clean Energy and Security Act, Carbon derivatives, Carbon market, Carbon trading, Climate lobby, Waxman-Markey | Leave a Comment »
July 8, 2009 by Leigh Ewbank
A joint London School of Economics / University of Oxford report published today presents a new approach to post-Kyoto climate change policy. The report, How to Get Climate Policy Back on Course, coincides with this week’s G8 summit and Major Economies Forum on Energy and Climate, and calls on policy makers to abandon the failed Kyoto-style framework and instead focus directly on decarbonizing global energy systems.
The new report builds on Professor Gwyn Prins’ and Professor Steve Rayner’s influential critique of the Kyoto Protocol, The Wrong Trousers: Radically Rethinking Climate Policy, and adds further weight to calls to scrap Kyoto. Continue Reading »
Posted in Clean Energy, Climate Policy, Economy, Efficiency, Energy, Global Warming, International, Policy | Leave a Comment »
July 7, 2009 by Johanna Peace
With Leigh Ewbank and Devon Swezey, Breakthrough Fellows
Historically, the United States has been the nation with the capacity and determination for large-scale investments in promising new technologies–but not this time. Now it’s China’s turn. In the coming weeks, China will unveil an unprecedented multi-billion dollar investment in renewable energy.
The details are sketchy, but China is reportedly developing a massive renewable energy investment plan. While little is known about the precise level of expenditure the Chinese will commit to research, development and deployment (RD&D), if it’s anywhere between the US $440-660 billion over ten years reported by AFP and the Center for American Progress then it’ll be an unprecedented investment in the new energy economy.
What Do We Know About China’s Investment Plan?
A Chinese Energy Administration official has confirmed that the investments will number at least $440 billion over 10 years. However, there is still uncertainty about the range of investments and the date when the Chinese Government’s renewable energy plan will be revealed. A report by the state-run news service Xinhua identified China’s top economic planning body, the National Development and Reform Commission, as responsible for drafting and implementing the plan. According to Shi Dinghuan of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, NDRC has already produced a draft of the renewable energy stimulus, though Breakthrough research has turned up no publicly available copy.
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Posted in China, Clean Energy, Climate Policy, Energy, Innovation & Technology, International, Policy, Technology & Innovation Policy | 1 Comment »
July 7, 2009 by Johanna Peace
While the US mires itself in controversy over the weakened cap-and-trade bill working its way through Congress, China and India have begun to look ahead with new government investment policies that rapidly expand solar power capacity in each country.
China recently announced a dramatic increase in its expected solar capacity target for 2011, planning to reach 2 GW within the next two years. Already, China’s new renewable energy stimulus plan has expanded the nation’s 2020 target from 1.8 GW to 20 GW–that’s more than triple the amount of PV solar power installed in the entire world during 2008, the industry’s best year ever.
The higher targets will be met by enhancing government subsidies and other deployment incentives, which currently stand at US $2.93/watt capacity for roof-mounted systems greater than 50 kW. Government officials have suggested that the current US $.16 per kWH feed-in tariff for ground-mounted PV systems may be adjusted in order to make solar power production profitable.
Last month, India also signaled that it sees solar as a crucial component of a future clean energy economy, when its New and Renewable Energy Committee announced a massive National Solar Mission. In what one Greenpeace India representative called “the most ambitious solar plan that any country has laid out so far,” the National Solar Mission matches China by setting a new target of 20 GW solar capacity by 2020. What’s more, India estimates that the plan could bring the now-prohibitive cost of solar down to US $.08-.10 per kWh by 2017-2020, making it cost-competitive with fossil fuels. Continue Reading »
Posted in China, Clean Energy, Climate Policy, Energy, Innovation & Technology, International, Policy, Technology & Innovation Policy | 20 Comments »
July 7, 2009 by Yael Borofsky
Many people, regardless of party affiliation, have been thinking it. Kevin Baker, of Harper’s Magazine, was simply willing to be the one to say it outloud.
“It” being the pointed but valid criticism that President Obama has been shockingly unable to break from the tired – no, exhausted – conventions of the past, despite his apparent best intentions.
Baker puts together a venn diagram argument that Obama, often touted as the FDR of the 21st century, in fact shares far more similarities with a less revered presidential figure, Herbert Hoover.
Much like Herbert Hoover, Barack Obama is a man attempting to realize a stirring new vision of his society without cutting himself free from the dogmas of the past—without accepting the inevitable conflict. Like Hoover, he is bound to fail… The common thread running through all of Obama’s major proposals right now is that they are labyrinthine solutions designed mainly to avoid conflict. The bank bailout, cap-and-trade on carbon emissions, health-care pools—all of these ideas are, like Hillary Clinton’s ill-fated 1993 health plan, simultaneously too complicated to draw a constituency and too threatening for Congress to shape and pass as Obama would like. They bear the seeds of their own defeat.
With the House’s recent passage of ACES, it is evident that Obama’s support of the bill is well-intentioned but misguided, due to his desire to avoid partisan squabbling. The act is designed to set up a carbon market through cap and trade that, in theory, encourages polluters to reduce carbon emissions over the next 3 or 4 decades, thus mitigating catastrophic climate change. Yet the disappointing results of the Kyoto Protocol as well as recent analyses of ACES by the EPA and the Breakthrough Institute have repeatedly shown that cap and trade is an idea of the past. Continue Reading »
Posted in Barack Obama, Cap and Trade, Clean Energy, Climate Policy, Congress, Economy | 1 Comment »
July 7, 2009 by Johanna Peace
This week, South Korea has upped the ante for green public investment as it continues to make swift progress toward becoming a clean-tech economy. Already, a staggering 80% of South Korea’s $38 billion stimulus package has been earmarked for green investments.
And today, the South Korean government announced that it will invest $85 billion more over 5 years to encourage the growth of green industries and technologies. That’s more than doubling South Korea’s recent promise to invest $40 billion over five years in a “Green New Deal,” and the equivalent of 2% of the East Asian nation’s total GDP. If the United States were to invest a comparable share of it’s national wealth in clean energy technology, the sum would total over $275 billion annually.
As part of the investment plan, South Korea will raise $1.6 billion from the private sector to help green industry, using a suite of financial supports and incentives. According to Reuters:
“From the public sector, the state-run Korea Development Bank (KDB) and state-run pension funds plan to set up a 500 billion won ($395 million) private equity fund in the second half of the year, officials said.
The KDB also aims to set up a 300 billion won ($237 million) fund for research and development (R&D) for the industries. The government will increase a fund for smaller firms in the industries to 1.1 trillion won ($868 million) by 2013 from a 60 billion won ($47 million) this year.
South Korea plans to raise fiscal support for R&D in the industries to 2.8 trillion won ($2.2 billion) by 2013 from 2.0 trillion won ($1.57 billion) this year.
The government will increase credit guarantee support for such companies and projects to 7.0 trillion won ($5.52 billion) by 2013 from 2.8 trillion won ($2.2 billion) this year and triple export financing.
On Thursday, the government said it would help launch a 5 trillion won ($3.95 billion) fund aimed at providing financial support for investments by companies as part of plans to encourage corporate spending.”
By expanding R&D funding for technologies such as LEDs, solar batteries, and hybrid cars, South Korea aims to raise its international market share of clean tech products to 8%.
South Korea knows that investing in clean tech industries creates an unstoppable growth engine for broader economic prosperity. Yet the US, a self-proclaimed leader in the drive toward a carbon-free global economy, has invested a paltry 12% of its own stimulus package in creating a clean energy economy at home. Not to mention the feeble climate bill that just passed the House, which totally misses the opportunity to harness revenues from the sale of emission allowances and direct them toward green industry stimulus measures like South Korea’s.
Until the US government makes clean energy investment a national priority, America will have no answer to the clean tech challenges coming from Asia’s emerging green economies.
Posted in Clean Energy, Energy, Innovation & Technology, International, Technology & Innovation Policy | 3 Comments »
July 7, 2009 by Johanna Peace
By mid-July, China will begin construction of a massive wind farm project in the northwestern Gansu province, at a total cost of US $17.6 billion. It will be China’s biggest wind power station yet; according to local Development and Reform Commission official Wu Shengxue, it will reach an installed capacity of 20 GW by 2020. Eventually, the wind power capacity of the area is projected to reach 40 GW.
This development is the latest in what has recently been a major push by the Chinese to expand renewable energy use. Soon, Chinese officials are expected to reveal a new renewable energy stimulus plan of US $44-$66 billion per year over ten years, which will focus much of its resources on wind power. Under the plan, China will be on track to reach 100 GW of wind power capacity by 2020–more than eight times its current level.
By contrast, the American Clean Energy and Security Act invests only $6-12 billion per year in clean energy. As for the US “green stimulus,” it includes a one-time clean energy spending boost of $112 billion–just half of China’s $221 billion stimulus investment in green initiatives. Here’s a sense of scale: If US investments in clean energy were on par with the Chinese in terms of percent GDP, we’d be spending $140-210 billion per year.
Right now, the US maintains an edge in wind power, with about 25 GW of installed capacity to China’s 12 GW. But China has been at least doubling its wind power capacity each year for four years, and last year, China was second only to the US in added capacity.
Clearly, China is positioning itself to pull ahead as a leader in wind power and other renewable energy technologies. The major reason is a government commitment to substantial and sustained clean energy investment. The US needs to take note of this model, or watch its already razor-thin edge in clean energy tech getting thinner every day.
Posted in China, Clean Energy, Energy, Innovation & Technology, International, Policy, Technology & Innovation Policy | Leave a Comment »
