Energy

Special Report on Renewable Energy Sources and Climate Change Mitigation — SRREN.

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

Special Report on Renewable Energy Sources and Climate Change Mitigation

The Special Report on Renewable Energy Sources and Climate Change Mitigation (SRREN), agreed and released by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) on May 9thin Abu Dhabi, assesses existing literature on the future potential of renewable energy for the mitigation of climate change. It covers the six most important renewable energy technologies, as well as their integration into present and future energy systems. It also takes into consideration the environmental and social consequences associated with these technologies, the cost and strategies to overcome technical as well as non-technical obstacles to their application and diffusion.Press ReleaseSummary for Policy Makers (SPM): Summary of the report, released on 9 May 2011

Overview of IPCC Special Report on Renewable Energy

Statement of Ottmar Edenhofer, Co-Chair, at the 11th session of the IPCC Working Group III, May 2011, Abu Dhabi

NYS Energy Plan

Draft Scope for the 2013 New York State Energy Plan and Public Solicitation of Comments March 10, 2011

 New Report: The Truth About Natural Gas Supply, Costs & Environmental Impact –

San Francisco, CA (May 12) A detailed new energy report argues that the natural gas industry has propagated dangerously false claims about natural gas production supply, cost and environmental impact. The report, “Will Natural Gas Fuel America in the 21st Century” is authored by leading geoscientist and Post Carbon Institute Fellow J. David Hughes.

The most significant of the natural gas industry’s claims – one that has been bought hook, line and sinker by everyone from the Energy Information Agency (EIA) and the Obama Administration, to leading environmental groups – is that the United States has a 100-year supply of cheap natural gas. The report shows this to be a pipe dream. Natural gas would require higher costs and unprecedented drilling efforts to meet even baseline supply projections. In fact, the U.S. faces a decline in domestic gas supplies in the very near future unless drilling rates quickly increase.

Also debunked is the perception that shale gas is better for the climate than coal. Building on other recent analysis, the report shows that shale gas is worse than coal over a 20-30 year timeframe, even after efforts to mitigate fugitive methane emissions. This should have major implications for those who have touted natural gas as a near-term bridge to a clean energy future.

Report author David Hughes will present his findings and participate in a Q&A session next week.