Energy Comment

Security of European Gas Supplies - a survey of gas industry opinion from the FLAME Conference, Amsterdam, March 4, 2008 — The results of a poll of gas industry professionals at the FLAME Conference in Amsterdam reveal far less concern about dependence on gas imports, and specifically dependence on Russian gas supplies, than is found in most political and media commentary. 60% of respondents were either "not at all" or "a little" worried about Europe's increasing gas import dependence. The same percentage believed that, of the non-European sources of gas, Russia would be the most reliable supplier over the next five years.

Prospects of the DME Oman Crude Oil Futures Contracts — In this comment, Bassam Fattouh re-assesses the prospects of DME's Oman Crude Oil Futures Contract by focusing on three aspects: retroactive pricing, physical delivery and liquidity. He argues that in terms of providing better tools for risk management, enhancing price transparency and constituting the basis of a new benchmark, the DME's contract has not made any significant breakthroughs and that so far the main success of the DME contract has been in providing a flexible way to access physical Oman crude oil.

Bali 2007: On the road again! — Benito Müller analyses the recent UN climate change conference, with a particular focus on what happened on the last day, and what implications that will have for the upcoming negotiations.

One Step Forward, Two Steps Back? The Governance of the World Bank Climate Investment Funds — Benito Müller and Harald Winkler are looking at the latest World Bank initiative to set up three 'Climate Investment Funds' -- a Clean Technology Fund (Target size US$5-10bn); a $1bn Forest Investment Fund, and a $1bn Adaptation Pilot Fund, and find that the proposed governance of these funds is completely out of step with recent thinking in development circles, indeed with recent events in the field of international funding on climate change.

Europe, Emissions and Echternach - assessing Brussels' January 2008 package — The European Commission has proposed a very ambitious overhaul of its climate change policies. But the renewable energy target could prove a distracting sideshow to the main task of reducing emissions, argues David Buchan.