Global Trends in Energy Policy and Research Spending
A New York Times article, in anticipation of a new European Union energy policy this week, reviews efforts by various European governments to revise their biofuel subsidies to adapt to unanticipated consequences of their original policies. Those policies have encouraged manufacturers to select biofuels on the basis of their market price, rather than on their environmental effect. The old policies have also encouraged farmers to sell food crops as fuel, which has raised food prices in Europe. The article notes that corn ethanol in the United States may not meet new European standards for “sustainability.” Given the EU’s unparalleled regulatory influence on global commerce, there may be significant changes in biofuel production in coming years.
Earlier, we reported on the National Science Foundation’s latest report on the state of scientific education and research in the U.S. Subsequently, Nature has highlighted some of the report’s comparative statistics on an international scale. Israel leads the world in terms of the fraction of its gross domestic product devoted to civilian research and development. In the last two years, South Korea and Switzerland have moved ahead of the United States by the same measure, and China—though it spends only 1.34 per cent on civilian research—now ranks third in the world in total civilian research and development spending.
But comparing national statistics only gets us so far. A new report from The Climate Group, titled “Low Carbon Leader: States and Regions” (pdf), focuses on sub-national initiatives to combat climate change. The report focuses on regions like California and the Western Cape of South Africa that have led the world in their progressive responses to climate change. “Sub-national governments, many of whom have globally significant economies in their own right, can also have a globally significant impact on climate change mitigation due to their unique position of influence on citizens and national governments,” said The Climate Group CEO Steve Howard (via Gristmill).
Image: flickr.com/mirkogarufi
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