Willy De Backer – Page 2 – 3E Intelligence

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Strengthen climate/energy policies to avoid the Great Depression

22 October, 2008

Spending on “green infrastructure” will be the key to avoiding a severe recession according to a new study published by Deutsche Bank’s Asset Management division. The report will scare the climate sceptics who are still hoping that the financial crisis will kill the world’s climate efforts and the EU’s climate/energy package. Necessity and opportunity should… » read more

Posted by Willy De Backer

Climate change, energy security, financial crisis, sustainability

“History will punish those who act too late”

19 October, 2008

Allow me to use and paraphrase the famous Gorbatchev quote in order to show that our political “leaders” keep missing the historical chances to deal with our worldwide sustainability collapse. If the Western world would have learned the lessons from the first energy crisis in the 70s, we would not be facing these hard times… » read more

Posted by Willy De Backer

Climate change, financial crisis, sustainability

Hurrah, we are being nationalised and regulated!

13 October, 2008

This is a bit like experiencing the second Fall of the Berlin Wall now nearly 20 years ago. I thought this kind of historic miracle only happened once in a lifetime. Who would have believed that Wall Street could get into ecstasy after several governments announced that they are going to nationalise some of their… » read more

Posted by Willy De Backer

Climate change, energy security, financial crisis, Peak oil, sustainability

How financial meltdown could help the energy revolution

10 October, 2008

The energy-and-climate-crisis deniers are having a hell of a party these days. The financial crash has raised their hopes that global warming, peak oil and all the other “humbug” will finally be kicked off the political agenda. One climate policy “monitor” even served us the ludicrous title: “EU: saving the economy or saving green dreams?”… » read more

Posted by Willy De Backer

Biofuels, Climate change, energy saving, energy security, financial crisis, Global Warming, renewable energy sources, sustainability, sustainable energy

When energy dreams turn into nightmares: after biofuels, time for CCS?

3 October, 2008

Remember the biofuels fairy tales which in the span of one year turned into one big nightmare when more scientists started to look a little deeper and the media started reporting about its connection to the new food crisis? It looks like the energy industry’s new “wunderkind”, carbon capture and storage, might follow the same… » read more

Posted by Willy De Backer

Carbon capture and storage, Climate change, energy security, Energy technologies

Tom Friedman: "Green the bailout"

28 September, 2008

Great Op-Ed by Thomas Friedman once more in the NY Times. Like no other, Friedman, who’s recent book “Hot, flat and crowded” should be mandatory reading for all EU policy-makers hits the nail on the head. Two quotes from the excellent article: The bailout is necessary, says Friedman, but “we don’t just need a bailout.… » read more

Posted by Willy De Backer

Climate change, energy security, financial crisis, sustainability

A tale of two crises and their hidden connections

26 September, 2008

A friend of mine reacted to my previous post (Let’s get the climate panic started!) with the following “inconvenient” questions: “- will the current financial crisis spill over and affect the strong EU policy focus on climate change & energy? Could it shift priorities for the December or the Spring Summit? And for the EP… » read more

Posted by Willy De Backer

Climate change, financial crisis, Peak oil, sustainability

Let’s get the climate panic started!

24 September, 2008

The country, which has taught the world that fighting global warming would be too expensive, managed in less than one week to mobilise more than 1 trillion dollar and to focus the presidential election campaign and the world on its financial crisis. How was that possible? One word: panic! Are there any lessons for those… » read more

Posted by Willy De Backer

Climate change, financial crisis, Global Warming, sustainability

Wall Street meltdown: Time for real "better regulation" and a floor price for oil

16 September, 2008

Economy Nobel prize winner Joseph Stiglitz has the accurate analysis of this week’s meltdown of the financial markets in the Guardian: “The new low in the financial crisis, which has prompted comparisons with the 1929 Wall Street crash, is the fruit of a pattern of dishonesty on the part of financial institutions, and incompetence on… » read more

Posted by Willy De Backer

energy security, financial crisis, global governance, sustainable development

Citizens care about climate change? More talk than walk

14 September, 2008

Last week, two interesting surveys confirmed that citizens are worried about climate change but once they start acting as consumers others have to shoulder the bill. Especially young people are not willing to make lifestyle sacrifices. On Thursday 11 September, EU Commissioners Wallström and Dimas excelled in spinning the latest Eurobarometer on climate change. Although… » read more

Posted by Willy De Backer

Climate change, European Commission, Global Warming

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