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The European Parliament has approved new CO2 emission standards for new cars and vans in the EU for the 2021-2030 period, in line with the European decarbonation policy and plans to modernise the EU mobility sector. Emissions from new cars will have to be 37.5% lower and emissions from new vans 31% lower, compared to 2021. Technology-neutral incentive mechanism for zero- and low-emission vehicles will be introduced, covering electric or fuel cell vehicles, and vehicles with tailpipe emissions of less than 50 gCO2/km (mainly plug-in hybrid vehicles).

In February 2019, the European Commission and the European Parliament reached a provisional agreement on new CO2 emission standards for trucks for the period after 2020. It stipulated that CO2 emissions from new trucks will have to be 30% lower in 2030 compared to the 2019 emissions. This agreement will have to be formally approved by the European Parliament and the Council to enter into force immediately.

According to preliminary statistics released by the British Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS), power generation in the United Kingdom dipped by 1.4% in 2018, i.e. nearly 14% less than in 2008. Coal-fired power generation continued to decline in 2018 (-25% on 2017, -86% since 2008), while gas-fired generation decreased by 3.9% during the year,…

According to the US Energy Information Administration’s Annual Energy Outlook 2019 (AEO2019), US tight oil production should continue to increase through 2030, until reaching more than 10 mb/d in the early 2030s, thanks to improve drilling efficiency and reduced costs, and would raise total US oil production to 12 mb/d in 2050.

The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) of China has announced revisions in gas and electricity tariffs as of 1 April 2019, due to a VAT cut. The VAT on power grid companies will be reduced from 16% to 13% and electricity tariffs for industrial and commercial use will then decrease by 10%; local authorities will have to work out detailed plans for regional price cuts. Meanwhile,…

The Danish Energy Agency has asked the developers of the 55 bcm/year Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline project to study a third route option for the pipeline in Danish waters. In the Danish waters, the proposed route would cross existing and planned power and communication cables, along with the existing Nord Stream twin pipeline. The third route would run south of Bornholm,…

Norwegian oil company Aker Energy has submitted an Integrated Plan of Development and Operations (PDO) for the Deepwater Tano Cape Three Points (DWT/CTP) block offshore Ghana to Ghanaian authorities. The PDO is subject to approval from relevant Ghanaian authorities before a final investment decision (FID) is made. First oil production from the Pecan field could start 35 months after the FID,…

The Ministry of Environment of Japan has announced that it would not approve the construction of new large coal-fired power plants or that of new boilers at existing power plants, in line with its commitment to reduce CO2 emissions. The Ministry of Environment leads environmental impact assessments (EIA) for new power plants above 150 MW and will call for rejecting high emission projects.