[en] In Germany, an expansion of CO${}_2$ pricing beyond the emissions trading area or the introduction of a tax or levy on CO${}_2$ is currently being discussed. In view of this, it is worth taking a look at the international state of CO${}_2$ pricing. Ultimately, in order to examine which lessons can be drawn from the existing systems in Germany in the European countries selected as examples.

[en] The European power plant park will experience a paradigm shift between 2025 and 2030 due to the technical lifetime of conventional plants. The foreseeable change will be intensified by the increasing efforts in recent years to shut down nuclear and coal-fired power plants before they reach the end of their technical and economic life. The declining generation capacity from conventional power plants can be compensated by the addition of renewable energies. However, in order to maintain stability in the grid, it must be ensured that the necessary secure capacity is available at all times. Conventional power plants, which have so far provided most of the secured capacity, will only be available to a significantly reduced extent in future. For this reason, renewable energies and flexibility options such as storage and demand response will have to make strongly growing contributions to secure capacity from this period onwards in order to achieve the usual level of security of supply. To illustrate the upcoming challenges, this article looks at the death line of the conventional power plant park of the EU-28.

[en] The paper presents the main findings, which the World Energy Council (the Council) presented in a paper on The Future of Nuclear: Diverse Harmonies in the Energy Transition with contributions from the World Nuclear Association and the Paul Scherrer Institute. In this report, the future of nuclear is described through the lens of the Council's World Energy Scenarios archetype framework - Modern Jazz, Unfinished Symphony and Hard Rock - in three plausible, alternative pathways for the future development of the sector. This report also describes implications for the role of nuclear energy in the global energy transition. Nuclear energy could take three different pathways within the upcoming decades. In the main part of this paper - following a brief section on the current role of nuclear in the global energy supply (Chapter 2) - the characteristics of the three scenarios including the methodology underlying their quantification (Chapter 3), and the key findings of the identified future pathways (Chapter 4) are explained. Chapter 5 deals with a comparison of the global results of the EIA's International Energy Outlook 2019 (U.S. Energy Information Administration, September 2019) and the IEA's World Energy Outlook 2019 (International Energy Agency, November 2019). A conclusion is presented in Chapter 6.

[en] The general course projected for the national energy supply in the German federal government's energy concept, namely to expand the use of renewable energy resources while improving energy efficiency, continued to dominate the discussion in 2013. Yet in spite of this many sectors have seen an increase in energy consumption. This is conveyed by the present overview of the German energy market. This year's report once more gives a condensed synopsis with key figures on the German energy economy. As in previous years, the article not only summarises general facts on the energy mix but reports in detail on developments relating to the individual energy resources, i.e. crude oil, natural gas, brown and hard coal, nuclear energy and renewable energies. It also explains price trends in both the international and the domestic markets.

[en] The European power plant fleet will experience a paradigm shift between 2025 and 2030 due to the technical lifetime of conventional plants. The foreseeable change will be intensified by the increasing efforts, in recent years, to shut down nuclear and coal-fired power plants before they reach the end of their technical and economic life. The declining volume generated from conventional power plants can be compensated by the added capacity of renewable energies. However, to maintain the grid's stability, there is a need to ensure that the necessary assured capacity is available at all times. Conventional power plants, which have so far provided most of the assured capacity, will only be available to a significantly reduced extent in the future. For this reason, renewable energies and flexibility options, such as storage and demand response, will have to make rapidly increasing contributions to the assured capacity from the period mentioned above in order to achieve the usual level of security of supply. To illustrate the challenges ahead, this article looks at the capacity retirement curve of the EU-28's conventional power plant fleet - only as a first approximation of course, since a sound energy economic calculation must also take into account the availability and transport of electricity. European solutions can reduce the necessary increase in flexibility by exploiting portfolio effects.

[en] US president Barack Obama and vice president Joe Biden announced a detailed new political agenda on 20 January 2009 when they took over from the Bush government. The internet pages of the White House list 24 items, including an action plan for energy and environment. This ''New Energy for America Plan'' comprises the following goals: Creation of 5 million new jobs by supporting private efforts for clean energy supply with strategic investments of 150 thousand million US dollars for the next decade; Savings of petroleum that are higher than the volume currently imported from the Middle East and Venezuela within the next decade; Ensuring that about 1 million US-made plug-in hybrid cars are on the roads by 2015; Achieving a share of 10 percent by 2012 and 25 percent by 2025 for renewable energy sources; Implementation of a ''cap-and-trade system'' for the whole US economy in order to reduce climate-relevant gaseous emissions by 80 percent until 2050. (orig.)

[en] In 2013, various institutions have submitted analyses regarding future global developments in supply and demand in the energy sector. These institutions included in particular the International Energy Agency (IEA), the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) and the international oil and gas companies Shell, ExxonMobil and BP. Also, the World Energy Council (WEC) presented its ''World Energy Scenarios to 2050'' in October 2013. The results of these studies are outlined in the context of the developments in the world energy markets recorded during the past ten years. (orig.)

[en] The assured availability and competitiveness of the various energy sources, as well as climate compatibility, determine their use. Conditions on the energy markets are also subject to continuous change. This article examines the extent to which the availability of energy resources and the orientation of energy policies influence the energy mix, particularly power generation. It also outlines strategies for achieving the energy policy goals - security of supply, value for money and environmental compatibility (including climate protection) - in the best possible way.

[en] The 23rd World Energy Congress, held in Istanbul from October 9 to 13, 2016, brought together some 4500 delegates from around the world. It is the world's largest international energy conference held every three years by the World Energy Council in changing world regions. The congress was a unique opportunity to present a comprehensive view of current and long-term global energy issues.

[en] An analysis of the energy policy programs presented since 1973 shows that all government coalitions have been known in the past 45 years in principle for the objectives of security of supply, efficiency and affordability as well as environmental protection and conservation of resources - together with the statement that these goals should be pursued on an equal footing. In fact, there has never been this ''consonance'' of goals. Rather, concrete events or political currents have led to a changing prioritization of individual goals. At the same time, the intensity of government intervention in the management of supply and demand has changed.