Page 14 - European Energy Innovation - Winter 2016 publication
P. 14
14 Winter 2016 European Energy Innovation
EDITORIAL
How much longer can we dream
of a White Christmas?
By Michael Edmund
Good King Wenceslas looked out
On the feast of Stephen
When the snow lay round about
Deep and crisp and even
Brightly shone the moon that night
Though the frost was cruel
When a poor man came in sight
Gath’ring winter fuel
–John Mason Neale
One year ago, COP21 reached (or even exceeded) around the yet to understand the full impact upon
Paris was being lauded turn of the year, while the region has Arctic fish stocks of the loss of the
for its commitment to already experienced 0º C this winter, ecosystem’s apex predator – this quite
limiting the rise in global at a time when the mercury might be apart from the unknown consequences
temperatures; COP 22 Marrakech has expected to register minus 30º C. The for the climate of the difference
now concluded and it too has been news from the other pole has been no between relatively dark-coloured
hailed for shifting the focus to one of less alarming: it emerged in August that seawater and relatively light-coloured
implementation: indeed, ratification of a crack in the Larsen C ice shelf had ice in their absorption and reflection of
the Paris Agreement has proceeded grown 20% longer, threatening to calve solar irradiation.
remarkably swiftly. And as part of that a huge area of ice with unpredictable
process, and to much fanfare, the effects on the stability of the shelf itself. Almost everything about the
Commission unveiled its long-awaited Of course, this occurred during the Commission’s latest undertaking is big:
Winter Package on November 30th. Antarctic Winter and it is important even its name grew from “The Winter
This date surely represents only one because of what has already happened Package” to “New Rules for consumer
of many landmarks in the protracted to the Larsen B ice shelf. Clearly, short- centred clean energy transition”. The
struggle to decarbonise energy and term temperature variations, such as document itself extends to over 1,000
mitigate the impact of anthropogenic those caused by El Niño, are implicated pages and, as Vice-President Šefčovič
global warming; and the initiative in these extraordinary events, but observed at its launch, its proposals
should be put in some sort of context. longer-term data from the NSIDC in “touch upon all clean energy related
Boulder, Colorado data present a clear sectors: research and innovation, skills,
As the COP 21 delegates were no warning: the extent of polar sea ice in buildings, industry, transport, digital,
doubt congratulating themselves on December this year is smaller than the finance to name but a few. These
a successful meeting and boarding 1982-2010 average; smaller by an area measures will equip all European
their homeward flights, news was the size of India. A suggestion is being citizens and businesses with the
reaching us of a heatwave across the made that as much as a third of the means to make the most of the clean
Arctic: in the depth of the Arctic Winter, world’s polar bear population might energy transition.” At the same time,
temperatures above minus 2º C were disappear by 2060 because of melting Commissioner Arias Cañete singled
being recorded. Freezing point was Arctic sea ice. The point is that we have out the binding 30% energy efficiency
www.europeanenergyinnovation.eu
