Carbon border taxes won’t save the climate but they will create trouble for the world economy
Carbon taxes at borders are becoming a popular idea among some countries and regions of the world. It’s an idea destined to damage the global economy. For example, the European Commission, the European Union executive institution, wants environmental tariffs “on imports from countries with less stringent climate-protection rules.” Democrats in the United States Senate proposed…
Natural gas in Europe rising to five times what it was in early 2021
By Mark Milke and Ven Venkatachalam Canadian Energy Centre With the recent rise in the price of natural gas in Europe to five times where it was in early 2021, expect to see many more Europeans and those in the United Kingdom plunged into what’s known as energy poverty. From Greece to Great Britain, the…
According to Natural Resources Canada, at the end of 2018 Canada had 73 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of proven natural gas reserves
By Mark Milke and Lennie Kaplan Canadian Energy Centre In 2009, the eastern European country of Ukraine endured a twin lesson in geopolitics and energy security: Russia cut off its natural gas supply in mid-winter. Russia’s public reason was that it was engaged in a pricing dispute with Ukraine. In reality, it was an attempt…
Its policies on renewable energy mean that dependence will only deepen
By Mark Milke and Lennie Kaplan Canadian Energy Centre One of the more bizarre developments in Europe in recent years has been the twin policy path in which fossil fuels are discouraged in favour of wind and solar energy, but deals are struck with autocracies such as Russia to import more fossil fuel via pipelines.…
Brexit can also be an opportunity for members of the Commonwealth to strengthen their trade, social and military ties
Brexit has allowed the United Kingdom to establish an independent trade policy outside the expectations of the European Union. European law and treaties signed by the EU no longer apply to the U.K. Accordingly, the British government signed the Trade Continuity Agreement with Canada. The agreement, which took effect on April 1, maintains the intent…
If Brexit has put wind in Scottish nationalist sails, it has also upped the complexity. Pulling off a successful secession has gotten tougher
May 6 will be an interesting day for anyone following politics in the United Kingdom. Along with various local council votes, there’ll be an election for all 129 seats in the Scottish Parliament and a byelection for the vacant Westminster seat in Hartlepool. The results of the last two will be keenly watched. There’s not…
Since Canada established its agreement with the EU, the EU's nonsensical barriers have stood in the way of businesses trading internationally
The United Kingdom is inching closer to the end of its transition period between leaving the European Union and officially dropping its trading relationship with the remaining 27 member states. As of Jan. 1, the U.K. will make its way in the world on its own, trading off the back of entirely new deals already…
The EU’s tough quality assurance rules mean CETA hasn’t delivered for Canadian farmers. Brexit could be the answer
Britain has officially left the European Union and faces the challenge of negotiating a new trading relationship with the bloc before the end of the transition period on Dec. 31, 2020. As a net importer of most food products, the United Kingdom faces a choice of making concessions to the European Union to maintain access…
Convicted terrorists might well spend a handful more years in prison, but tens of thousands of other radicals remain at large across the United Kingdom
Just days after Britain officially left the European Union, United Kingdom residents were reminded of the immediate terror threat right under our noses by a multiple stabbing in Streatham, south London. Last year, the number of homicides in the capital city rose to a 10-year high, largely as a result of surging knife crime. Many…
Should Sinn Fein come to power, it’ll be interesting to see how they deliver results. Making promises is easy. Getting a job done is different
Ireland’s recent election produced an unusual result. You might call it downright peculiar. Or maybe just momentous. Irish politics has been dominated for the past century by two parties whose origins derive from the civil war that followed the establishment of an independent Irish state. In many cases, family voting patterns were faithfully handed down…