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The Political and Commercial Dynamics of Russia’s Gas Export Strategy / James Henderson &#38; Tatiana Mitrova. Oxford Institute for Energy Studies, 2015, 89 p. (OIES PAPER: NG 102) http://www.oxfordenergy.org/wpcms/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/NG-102.pdfGas exports have historically provided a foundation of economic and political strength for Russia and a source of significant revenues for its leading gas company, Gazprom. However, lower commodity prices, the imposition of sanctions on Russia in light of the Ukraine crisis, lower gas demand in Europe, the EU’s desire to diversify away from Russian gas and increasing competition from new global LNG supply are presenting multiple challenges. A search for new markets in Asia, and especially China, has begun, but is currently not progressing as fast as Russia would have hoped, while domestically Gazprom’s position is being challenged by third parties who are keen to break the company’s export monopoly... lire la suiteReforming UK Energy Policy to Live Within Its Means / David Newbery. Cambridge : Electricity Policy Research Group, 2015, 23 p. (EPRG Working Paper 1516) http://www.eprg.group.cam.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/1516-PDF.pdfAbstract : The present pattern of taxation, charging, and providing support has accumulated over time in a haphazard way without the kind of strategic thinking that a long-term economic plan requires. This note sets out the sound economic and public finance principles that could guide the reform of energy taxes and supports primarily in the electricity sector. It argues for ending the RO and Feed-in Tariff schemes and replacing them by demonstrably successful CfD auctions which have dramatically lowered the cost of financing renewables. It argues for a state development bank to leverage cheap finance for low-carbon investments, reforming the form of the contracts, replacing the current alphabet soup of charges by the strandard rate of VAT on all energy and instead funding climate change policies from general taxation, thus exempting the productive sector from distortive charges, and allowing the Carbon Price Support to resume its trajectory, restoring fiscal sanity and balance. Ending all support for the cheapest renewable electricity (on-shore wind) makes no sense and it would be better to have a single auction for all renewables that create learning benefits – which would rule out any subsidies to tidal lagoons.  