UK Housing Market Update Decarbonising UK residential – the biggest challenge? Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) are the main benchmark for environmental standards in UK housing. There is evidence that they are improving efficiency in new-builds and new regulations will... 27th February 2023 · 5 mins read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Weekly Morocco’s drought, Egypt’s dollar sukuk The effects of another severe drought in Morocco have weighed on growth, pushed up inflation and fuelled pockets of unrest. Supermarkets in Europe have felt the impact too, with many reporting... 23rd February 2023 · 6 mins read
Commodities Focus Population trends to lower wheat demand from 2040s We expect the wheat price to remain high this year as events in Ukraine and drought in other key producers hurt supply. Although the wheat price should drop back after this, the worsening impacts of... 22nd February 2023 · 14 mins read
Climate Economics Update Upward pressure on renewables costs to be transitory A combination of higher interest rates and rising raw material prices have interrupted the long-term declines in the costs of renewables and battery power, and could push costs up further in the near... 16th February 2023 · 3 mins read
Climate Economics Focus The curious case of China’s climate credentials There is a touch of the Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde about China’s climate credentials, with its well-documented record of burgeoning emissions and reliance on coal standing in stark contrast to its... 31st January 2023 · 16 mins read
Climate Economics Monthly Central banks contemplate climate mission creep Climate change was front and centre of the discussions earlier this month when a host of heavy-hitters from the world of central banking descended on Stockholm for an International Symposium on... 26th January 2023 · 7 mins read
Event Climate Drop-In: China’s climate contradictions in an age of fracturing 2nd February 2023, 8:00AM GMT As the world’s biggest polluter and its biggest investor in renewable energy, China is a study in contradiction on the climate question. The government’s success in reining in emissions and its...
Europe Commercial Property Update Dutch offices unlikely to fall over EPC cliff-edge The recent commencement of stricter office EPC legislation in the Netherlands has raised concerns that Dutch office valuations may be on the edge of a regulatory precipice, given the large proportion... 13th January 2023 · 3 mins read
Climate Economics Update The key battlegrounds for cutting property emissions A large part of the real estate sector’s carbon footprint is related to electricity production and so will shrink over time as the use of renewables continues to expand. The biggest challenges to... 9th January 2023 · 6 mins read
Climate Economics Update Assessing the knock-on impacts of the EU’s “CBAM” Following on from our recent background note on the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) and the signing off on the tool by EU Ministers over the weekend, this Update examines which... 20th December 2022 · 4 mins read
Climate Economics Update “CBAM” edging closer to existence While today’s agreement on the EU’s “Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism” leaves vital questions unanswered, it is a step towards the valid goal of making users pay for the emissions that they consume... 13th December 2022 · 3 mins read
Climate Economics Monthly Oh no, not another COP… International efforts to halt and reverse nature loss dovetail with aims to reduce net greenhouse gas emissions by protecting and expanding so-called carbon sinks, such as forests. But this is only... 30th November 2022 · 7 mins read
Commodities Watch “Food vs. Fuel” is back, but needn’t raise alarm Global food prices are at highs last reached in 2007-08 and 2011-12, when a sharp rise in global biofuel production sparked the “Food vs. Fuel” debate. In this Commodities Watch, we find that... 28th November 2022 · 8 mins read
Climate Economics Update Keeping track of green technology trade flows China’s dominance in the supply of some key materials needed for the green transition means that tracking imports of certain goods from the country can offer a timely, albeit imperfect, window into... 25th November 2022 · 2 mins read
Climate Economics Focus Methane emissions are in policymakers’ crosshairs The “global” pledge to cut methane emissions by 30% this decade is a worthy aim, but the fact that the world’s biggest emitters have not signed up is far from helpful, and many of the obvious ways to... 16th November 2022 · 15 mins read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Weekly Egypt-UAE wind farm, Dubai property, Egypt downgrade Egypt’s announcement at COP27 of plans to build one of the largest onshore wind farms is a positive move to increase renewables usage that will improve energy security and support the balance of... 10th November 2022 · 7 mins read