Blog

The French government has scrapped the planned road fuels and carbon tax hikes that have led to weeks of protests throughout the country. The government initially had announced a 6-month moratorium on these tax rises but it eventually abandoned them for the year 2019 due to continued protestations.

Three measures were initially slated to enter into force in January 2019: the carbon tax increase on gasoline fuel oil and diesel, the convergence of taxation for diesel and gasoline and the alignment of diesel taxation for individuals and for off-road contractors (GNR or gazole non routier). All of them will be scrapped for the entire 2019 year.

Besides, the Government announced that the planned increases in gas and electricity prices for the current winter season will be halted and the toughening of rules for vehicle emissions will also be postponed.

The carbon tax, called Contribution Climat-Énergie, was introduced in France as part of the 2014 fiscal law. The tax rate was raised from €7/tCO2 in 2014 to €44.6/tCO2 in 2018. The Energy Transition Act of 2015 set the carbon tax level at €56/tCO2 in 2020 and €100/tCO2 in 2030. This level was raised to €140/t by 2030 in the new Climate Plan of 2017.

The government of British Columbia (Canada) has outlined the CleanBC plan, a new climate action programme paving the way for the province to achieve its legislated climate targets of reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 40% by 2030, compared to 2007 levels, corresponding to a 18.9 MtCO2e emission reductions spread between the transports, industry and buildings sectors.

The California Building Standards Commission has voted to add the latest energy standards approved in May 2018 by the California Energy Commission requiring homes built in 2020 and later to be solar powered. The new standards will require all new homes under three stories high to set up rooftop solar panels designed to net out the annual electricity usage of the dwelling.

The United Kingdom Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) has published the national bioeconomy strategy for the 2018-2030 period. It estimates that the sector is currently worth £220bn (roughly €250bn) and has unveiled several objectives such as maximising potential and productivity of the existing assets,…

State-run Taiwanese utility Taipower plans to decommission its 604 MWe (636 MW gross) Chinshan-1 nuclear reactor (also spelled Jinshan) in Shimen, New Taipei City, Taiwan) following the expiration its 40-year operating license. The unit has been remaining idle for the last three years following a fuel fault which has been rectified.

Germany-based global engineering company Siemens will start the testing phase of the 1,000 MW Nemo Link power interconnection project between the Richborough (UK) and Zeebrugge (Belgium). The testing phase will last from early-mid December 2018 to the end of January 2019. This will be the last project stage before it will go into commercial operation in the first quarter of 2019.

Brazilian state-held oil and gas company Petrobras has approved two core strategic documents, namely its 2019-2039 business and management plan and its 2040 strategic plan. The company will increase its investments to US$84bn over the period, a 13% increase from the previous US$74bn during 2018-2022.