The EU-China relationship has entered a worrying period. Beijing needs to take seriously European concerns, particularly when expressed by the EU Trade Commissioner, Peter Mandelson, who has consistently resisted protectionist pressures and has been seen as friendly disposed towards Beijing. The EU sells more goods to Switzerland than to China. […]

A new report published this Monday morning by the German Energywatch group says global oil production peaked in 2006 and will know a steep decline. It predicts future oil production in 2020 at 58 million barrels per day and in 2030 at 39 million barrels. The world economy now uses about 85 million barrels. The German authors… » read more

Sustainability reports usually have long chapters on the environmental and economic aspects, but struggle to address the social dimension. Therefore, I was encouraged to read yesterday’s press release that the ‘Commission promotes the social dimension of the Energy Community’. Stop here for the moment, and reflect what defines the social dimension.

Recent cases of insufficient safety of products on the market created turmoil on the ability of the European regulation framework to protect citizens from shortcomings in products. This inevitably goes along with calls for improvements and proposals for measures to achieve that. We strongly believe that better market surveillance is the best way to move… » read more

With order books nearly full and a record growth of 6.6% in 2006 to reach €1779 billion, the EU’s engineering industry which uses some two thirds of the steel produced in Europe is inevitably having, in the face of an undersupplied EU market, to resort to imports. While imports in terms of percentages are rising,… » read more

The German Chancellor’s meeting with the Dalai Lama caused strong negative reactions in Beijing. Why did Merkel hold this meeting? What does it mean for Sino-German relations? The meeting can now be viewed with the warm reception in Washington of the Dalai Lama this week when President Bush presented hm with the Congressional Gold Medal.… » read more

Senators Joe Lieberman (Independent) and John Warner (Republican) presented a new initiative to tackle global warming on 18 October. The new proposal (”America’s Climate Security Act”) got the support of several senators from both main parties and some environmental think tanks. The proposed bill introduces a mandatory cap-and-trade system similar to the EU’s emission trading… » read more

In a recent post, I questioned the rationale of starting from national greenhouse gas emission figures in international climate change negotiations. The reason for my scepticism is, of course, the fact that in a globalised trade-centered world, CO2 emissions from one country can be caused by export demands from other countries. The UK’s Tyndall Centre… » read more

Technorati Tags: renewables By 2025, the United States should produce 25% of its energy needs from renewable sources according to a non-binding resolution adopted in the US House of Representatives on 15 October. The “25 by 25″ resolution is the result of a big lobbying campaign by a coalition consisting of more than 600 agricultural, energy, and… » read more

European leaders will meet in Lisbon today and tomorrow to try and agree on a new EU Reform Treaty which is supposed to give the Union instruments to operate more efficiently after its big enlargement from 15 to 27 members (see International Herald Tribune and the Times). Since the two “No” referenda in 2005 on… » read more

I expected to see Sweden get high marks for its treatment and policies related to immigrants. Especially in a year where there has been alot of information published on how they are doing such a good job with welcoming Iraqi immigrants in particular. But as a Portuguese citizen, not to mention a global citizen, I […]

At a dinner debate organised by Friends of Europe and General Motors Europe on 16 October, EU Commission official Paul Hodson reacted to the Doornbosch-Steenblik report published for the Round Table on Sustainable Development of the OECD (the report is NOT an officially endorsed OECD document BTW). In their study “Biofuels, is the cure worse… » read more

Some of French President Nicolas Sarkozy’s public utterances understandably worry Beijing. What will be the changes in Sino-French relations as result of Sarkozy succeeding the Sinophile, Jacques Chirac?Concern is expressed about French President Sarkozy’s pro-American policy and greater pragmatism in his attitude towards China. Sarkozy’s absolute priority is domestic reform and everything he says and… » read more

One of the great things about claiming to be a China expert is that no-one will categorically refute what you say. China is the source of many contradictory and confusing conclusions. The western media report that either China is on the verge of imminent collapse or on the brink of economic and political dominance. China… » read more