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Current and Future Natural Gas Demand in China and India / Miranda Wainberg, Michelle Michot Foss, Gürcan Gülen, Daniel Quijano. Center for Energy Economics. University of Texas at Austin, April 2017, 133 p. http://www.beg.utexas.edu/energyecon/thinkcorner/CEE_Research_Paper-China_and_India_Current_Future_Natural_Gas_Demand-Apr17.pdfThis research paper is part of a body of work undertaken to better understand demand for natural gas in key world regions and implications for natural gas trade over the next 20 years...Autoconsommation et transferts de richesses entre consommateurs. Analyse des problématiques liées au développement de l’autoconsommation photovoltaïque / Olivier Rebenaque. Information et débats n° 50, Chaire économie du climat, Université Paris Dauphine, mai 2017, 26 p. http://www.chaireeconomieduclimat.org/slider/id-50-autoconsommation-transferts-de-richesses-entre-consommateurs/Face à la baisse importante des coûts de la filière photovoltaïque, l’autoconsommation s’est développée dans de nombreux pays et ce phénomène devrait s’étendre jusqu’en France très prochainement. Sans une régulation adaptée, l’autoconsommation entraine des transferts de richesses des producteurs photovoltaïques vers l’ensemble des consommateurs finaux. Ce phénomène a incité certains gouvernements à modifier leur régulation pour « taxer » les autoconsommateurs. Afin de mettre en place une régulation efficiente en France, cet article analyse les politiques dédiées à l’autoconsommation en Allemagne, au Danemark et en Espagne. Puis, à l’aide d’une prospective de la production photovoltaïque à l’horizon 2035, les transferts de richesses entre autoconsommateurs et consommateurs finaux sont estimés si le cadre régulatoire reste identique.Tracking Clean Energy Progress 2017. Paris : IEA, 2017, 116 p. http://www.iea.org/publications/freepublications/publication/tracking-clean-energy-progress-2017.htmlEnergy systems are undergoing substantial changes. Tracking the progress of clean energy is essential to achieve sustainable, secure and affordable energy and to assess collective progress towards long-term goals.The TCEP report highlights the overall status and recent progress in developing and deploying key clean-energy technologies. The report brings together broad IEA expertise, integrating the analysis from the Energy Technology Perspectives as well as the Market Report Series.Each year, TCEP assesses the latest progress in technology and market developments, tracks overall progress, and recommends further actions. TCEP this year shows that only 3 of 26 identified clean energy technologies are on track to meet a sustainable energy transition (one more than last year). 15 technologies showed only some progress, and 8 are significantly off-track and in need of renewed action.TCEP 2017 also includes a special section on tracking clean energy innovation, containing unique information on public and private investment in research, development, and demonstration. The special section highlights that total innovation investment needs to pick up to fulfill its important role of achieving secure and sustainable energy systems and delivering economic growth and reducing air pollution.Households energy consumption and transition towards clearner energy sources / Olivier Damette, Philippe Delacote, Gaye del Lo. Chaire économie du climat, Université Paris Dauphine, mai 2017 (WP #2017-02) http://www.chaireeconomieduclimat.org/slider/wp-2017-02-households-energy-consumption-and-transition-towards-clearner-energy-sources/The paper investigates the factors influencing households’ energy choices, and the drivers of switching toward cleaner energy. We first present a theoretical framework to determine the factors that explain households’ energy consumption and highlight the motivations underlying their transition towards less polluting sources, including their environmental preference. Using French household data from ADEME, we provide an econometric test of qualitative variables following studies by Dubin and McFadden (1984). Our results show that income and prices are the main determinants of household energy consumption. Environmental considerations seem to influence the choice of energy sources more than consumption. We also find evidence that income and relative capital costs are the most important variables for household energy switching.Green Technology Choices: The Environmental Implication of Low-Carbon Technologies / Sangwon Suh, Joseph D. Bergesen, Thomas Gibon, Edgar G. Hertwich, Michael Taptich (University of California. International Resource Panel report. 2017, 76 p. http://www.resourcepanel.org/reports/green-technology-choicesLimiting climate change to well below 2°C will require unprecedented aggressive decarbonisation of global electricity generation and deployment of demand-side low-carbon energy technologies. But will they bring co-benefits or will they cause other unintended environmental or social problems? By how much can the gains from energy efficiency technologies be multiplied if combined with decarbonisation of electricity production? In its new report, the International Resource Panel sheds light on the impacts of a large-scale transformation in energy production and use options, not only on greenhouse gas emissions but also on other environment aspects, human health and natural resource use.China's Independent Refiners: A New Force Shaping Global Oil Markets / Michal Meidan. Oxford Institute for Energy Studies, May 2017, 11 p. (Energy insight ; 12) https://www.oxfordenergy.org/publications/chinas-independent-refiners-new-force-shaping-global-oil-markets/China’s independent refiners account for roughly one third of the country’s downstream, yet for years, these private companies, nicknamed ‘teapots’ for their simple refining configuration, were virtually unknown to global crude markets. The independent refiners processed fuel oil as feedstock and, running at low utilisation rates, their retail market share in China was limited mainly to Shandong province, where most of them are located.The independent refiners sprang to global attention after they first received quotas to process imported crude oil in July 2015. Since that time, Chinese crude buying has surged—even though end product demand growth is slowing—with the teapots accounting for the vast majority of China’s incremental purchases. They have tapped into a wide variety of suppliers, impacted regional pricing dynamics and crude flows to China.With access to new sources of feedstock, the independents increased throughput substantially and have challenged the state-owned majors’ monopoly, especially in the domestic products market, thanks to support from the local government and, at times, creative tax practices. At the same time, the state-owned majors have lobbied the government to clamp down and tighten scrutiny of the independents. In 2017, the wave of liberalization that enabled the ‘teapots’ rise seems to be drying up and the political and economic challenges they face are mounting.&#160;