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Four Million Manufacturing Jobs Across Europe Lost Since 2008

Europe’s Manufacturing Bosses Call For New EU Energy & Climate Strategy



EU leaders must address rising energy prices and climate policies which are crippling the bloc’s manufacturing sector, according to a manifesto signed by more than 100 industry bosses. 4 million manufacturing jobs across Europe have been lost since 2008. --Benjamin Fox, EUObserver, 28 February 2014
This morning, a Manifesto signed by 137 CEOs representing EU manufacturing industry was published by IFIEC Europe. It calls upon Heads of State to adopt a set of measures to align the EU’s industry, energy & climate policies. “This initiative, representing more than 1 million direct jobs from various sectors and countries all over Europe is exceptional”, explains Fernand Felzinger, the President of IFIEC Europe. “It can only be explained by the severity of the crisis impacting the EU 28 manufacturing industry”. --IFIEC Europe, 27 February 2014 Alarmed that energy prices in Europe are about double what they are in the U.S., governments in the Czech Republic, Poland, and Germany are green-lighting the expansion of coal mines. Worldwide demand for brown coal (lignite) is poised to rise as much as 5.4 percent by 2020, according to the International Energy Agency. --Stefan Nicola and Ladka Bauerova, Bloomberg, 28 February 2014

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Bulgaria will not to approve the proposal for a 40%-reduction in [EU] greenhouse gas emissions. Minister of Economy and Energy Dragomir Stoynev, who is paying today a visit to the city of Sliven, made the comment, Radio FOCUS – Sliven reported. In his opinion, this would significantly affect the economy in a negative way as it would mean that factories will have to be moved out of EU member states and the government was working to achieve a re-industrialisation of the country. --Focus News, 24 February 2014 Despite Germany’s strong export performance in re­cent years, Europe’s biggest economy has been dented by the nation’s costly shift to renewable energy. Germany’s exports would have been €15bn higher last year if its industry had not paid a premium for electricity compared with international competitors, according to an analysis published on Thursday. Germany’s manufacturing suffered €52bn in net export losses for the six-year period from 2008 to 2013. --Jeevan Vasagar, Financial Times, 27 February 2014 The shale revolution has profoundly altered the North Sea’s place within the global oil and gas industry. As a result of fracking, the marginal barrel of oil in the world now comes from an onshore shale play in North America. For the UK North Sea to continue developing, it must be able to compete with oil costing just $80 per barrel. Britain’s remaining North Sea oil and gas fields are mostly marginal, which is why the major oil and gas companies have mostly quit the region. In a world of $150 oil, even the small UK fields would look like a vital resource. In a world of $100 oil, they start to look much less attractive. --John Kemp, Reuters, 24 February 2014 Oil exploration in the North Sea has fallen to its lowest level in 50 years, leaving the industry facing its biggest challenge since drilling began in UK waters. The annual Oil and Gas UK activity survey, published yesterday, said the past three years have seen the lowest rate of exploration activity in the UK continental shelf’s history and the “clock is ticking” for Britain’s most important industry. Malcolm Webb, chief executive of Oil & Gas UK, the representative organisation for the industry, said that, with only 15 exploration wells drilled last year, compared with 44 six years ago, the future of the industry was “now at risk”. --Frank Urquhart, The Scotsman 26 February 2014


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Guest Column Dr. Benny Peiser -- Bio and Archives

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