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The prospects for COP 21 and the future role of natural gas. An Interview with David Robinson. Oxford Institute for Energy Studies, December 2015, 8 p. http://www.oxfordenergy.org/2015/12/the-prospects-for-cop-21-and-the-future-role-of-natural-gas/With the Paris COP in sight, the Spanish Gas Association (Sedigas) interviewed David Robinson on his views about the objectives of the COP, what to expect from that meeting and what the remaining challenges were likely to be. They were especially interested in the role of natural gas in addressing the challenges of climate change, the prospects for natural gas in Europe and Spain, and the strategic challenges facing the natural gas industry in the region. The interview was recently published in the Sedigaz journal in Gas Actual . This is a revised version in English.In Search of ‘Good’ Energy Policy: The Social Limits to Technological Solutions to Energy and Climate Problems / Michael Pollitt. Cambridge : Energy Policy Resaerch Group, 2015, 25 p. (EPRG working paper ; 1520) http://www.eprg.group.cam.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/1520-PDF.pdfThis paper seeks to explore the nature of ‘Good’ Energy Policy by offering a multi-disciplinary social science and humanities perspective on policy making. The objective in doing this is to understand how to get from where we are today to a ‘better’ energy policy. We begin by discussing what we mean by ‘policy’. We then go on to characterise and challenge the technologists’ approach to energy policy. Next we discuss some key intellectual starting points that explain why policy making in this area is so difficult. We then turn to a set of multi-disciplinary social science and humanities perspectives on energy policy that together form promising areas for research. These are: perception; quantification; well-being; public trust; role of the state; competence and hubris in delivery; and parallels with healthcare. We close by discussing how these perspectives can illuminate whether a policy is ‘good’, ‘bad’ or something in between.Une ère nouvelle d’abondance pétrolière ? / Marie-Claire Aoun, Politique étrangère, n° 4, hiver 2015, pp. 65-76 https://www.ifri.org/sites/default/files/atoms/files/pe_4-2015_aoun.pdfDe 2014 à 2015, le prix du pétrole a plongé. Cette chute a plusieurs explications : hausse importante de la production de pétrole aux États-Unis, reprise des exportations libyennes et irakiennes, possible levée des sanctions à l’égard de l’Iran, ralentissement de la croissance dans les pays émergents, etc. Cette situation a des effets néfastes sur les économies des pays producteurs mais l’Organisation des pays exportateurs de pétrole (OPEP) est divisée sur l’attitude à adopter. L’évolution des cours en est d’autant plus difficile à prévoir.Europe’s Energy Union: a problem of governance / Malcolm Keay &#38; David Buchan. Oxford Institute for Energy Studies, November 2015, 6 p. (Oxford energy comment) http://www.oxfordenergy.org/2015/11/europes-energy-union-a-problem-of-governance/This Comment explores how far the EU can go towards the goal of an Energy Union. The European Commission announced ambitious plans for such a Union earlier this year and followed it up with a number of supporting proposals. However, the Comment identifies a fundamental underlying problem – of governance. The Commission has limited formal powers in relation to energy. It has not so far sought to fill the gap by engaging in the sort of innovative policy making which would be needed to reconcile the contradictions in existing policy in this area, instead relying on bureaucratic measures and processes, which are unlikely to deliver. There is a risk that the EU will move further away from, rather than closer to, a true Energy Union.Exploring the EU ETS beyond 2020 : A first assessment of the EU Commission’s proposal for Phase IV of the EU ETS (2021-2030). Enerdata ; I4CE, November 2015, 114 p. Full report ; executive summaryThe report details five challenges for a successful implementation of the EU ETS Phase IV: 1. Emissions reduction target and its interactions with other policies ; 2. Reforming the EU ETS: the Market Stability Reserve implementation ; 3. Carbon pricing, carbon leakage and free allocation ; 4. EU ETS extension with the European road transport sector ; 5. Financing the low-carbon transition