UK to miss out on shale gas revolution says IEA economist January 30, 2014 Shale gas will not herald an energy revolution in the UK in the same way it has in the US, according to chief economist and director of global energy economics at the International Energy Agency (IEA). In remarks that may temper the enthusiasm of shale gas supporters, Fatih Birol told the Daily Telegraph: The UK [...]
Cost of living crisis myths: How Miliband could deliver a real pro-poor agenda September 22, 2014 Labour’s party conference will see Ed Miliband try to shift public focus away from the Scottish referendum fallout and back towards the choice at next year’s general election. In particular, he’ll seek to refocus our minds on the “cost of living crisis” narrative that he’s been composing since 2011. Policy announcements over the weekend suggest, [...]
Nicola Horlick: What effects will the fall of oil prices actually have? December 17, 2014 The precipitous fall in the oil price has resulted in sharp declines in share prices around the world, but the long-term effect of a lower oil price is to reduce the amount of cash in the pockets of oil producers and increase the amount available to consumers to spend. Overall, this is positive for markets [...]
Alcohol warning labels and minimum pricing gets backing from MPs August 11, 2014 The All-Party Parliamentary Group on Alcohol Misuse has called for mandatory labelling of alcoholic drinks to warn users of the harmful effects of their abuse. The group is seeking support from all parties for a host of restrictions and regulations contained in the document. "Health warnings are a familiar and prominent feature on all tobacco [...]
Minimum alcohol pricing receives fresh backing from government panel July 25, 2014 The Welsh government's Advisory Panel on Substance Misuse (APoSM) has voiced its support for plans to introduce a minimum price for alcohol to clamp down on substance misuse. "Alcohol health and social harm problems are preventable," said the APoSM's chair Kyrie LL James. The body claims the measure will reduce alcohol-related harm amongst the heaviest [...]
Alcohol policies are hitting ordinary drinkers and failing the vulnerable, says new report June 16, 2014 The government's alcohol strategy is failing to reduce problem drinking among the most vulnerable and is based on an outdated mathematical model, according to a new report released by the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA). Furthermore, proposals to ban alcohol advertising, restrict licensing and raise price will do little to tackle the problem and will [...]
Britain’s fossil fuel subsidies: Soon it won’t just be renewables we’re propping up July 31, 2014 THERE is no doubt that fossil fuel subsidies – mostly found in the developing world – are a major and unwelcome feature of the global economy today. The International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates that global fossil fuel subsidies cost $544bn in 2012. Add to this lost tax revenues and the figure rises to around $2 [...]
Electricity wasted by appliances on standby mode could power UK and Norway July 3, 2014 Thanks to inefficient technology, billions of connected electronic devices are costing the global economy £46bn a year through wasted energy, a new report has said. The amount wasted last year was 400 terawatt hours (TWh), equivalent to the electricity consumed annually by the UK and Norway combined. According to the International Energy Agency, the problem [...]
Iraq chaos is a wake-up call for the world over its oil needs June 16, 2014 WE ARE not running out of oil, far from it. The International Energy Agency is predicting that supply will shoot up from 89m barrels per day (bpd) in 2012 to 101m bpd by 2035. If it is right – and it bases much of that growth on the return of Iraq to global markets, an [...]
Iraq chaos is a wake-up call for the world over its oil needs June 16, 2014 WE ARE not running out of oil, far from it. The International Energy Agency is predicting that supply will shoot up from 89m barrels per day (bpd) in 2012 to 101m bpd by 2035. If it is right – and it bases much of that growth on the return of Iraq to global markets, an [...]