Growth performance, carcase characteristics and meat quality of crossbred bulls and heifers from double-muscled Belgian Blue sires and Brown Swiss, Simmental and Rendena dams

Growth, conformation, carcase and meat quality traits of crossbred calves obtained in the Alps from selected Belgian Blue sires (BB) and Brown Swiss (BS), Simmental (Si) and Rendena (Re) dams were studied, emphasising differences on dairy and dual purpose maternal breed. Six pens with five heifers (3 BB BS, 1 BB Si, 1 BB Re) and six pens with four young bulls (2 BB BS, 1 BB Si, 1 BB Re) were used. In total 53 crossbred calves were tested: 30 from BS dams and 23 from dual purpose (12 from Si and 11 from Re dams). Growth performances were measured, carcases were scored for muscle conformation and fatness, the fifth rib was dissected, and the Longissimus thoracis (LT) was analysed. The maternal breed had significant effects when the calves from dairy cows (BB BS) were compared to those of the dual pur- pose breeds (BB Si and BB Re), as at slaughter the former were 1.2% taller, 6.0% less in vivo muscle score, 5.0% less carcase muscle score, with a 13% greater proportion of bone in the rib, and their LT had 12.5% less drip losses, but 3% greater cooking losses and 25% greater shear force. It was concluded that when using a BB as a sire, the dam breed has influ- ence on the growth performance traits of the derived crossbreds, but the major influence would regard the carcase and meat quality traits. In the Alps, these differences are reflected in different sold prices of the crossbred calves from dairy and dual purpose breeds at local auctions

Electrifying Africa: how to make Europe’s contribution count. Bruegel Policy Contribution Issue n˚17 | June 2017

Electrification is one of sub-Saharan Africa’s most pressing socio-economic challenges. Europe has created a myriad of fragmented initiatives to promote electrification in sub-Saharan Africa, limiting their efficacy. This sub-optimal situation should be changed by coordinating the initiatives of European institutions and EU countries through a unique platform: the EU Electrify Africa Hotspot

The Euro-Mediterranean energy relationship: a fresh perspective. Bruegel Policy Brief ISSUE 4 | OCTOBER 2018

Energy is a fundamental component of the economic relationship between the European Union and southern Mediterranean countries, largely driven, so far, by Europe’s quest for oil and gas supplies. However, given the booming energy demand in southern Mediterranean countries and their great solar and wind potential, regional energy cooperation should also strongly focus on fostering large-scale deployment of renewable energy. This would allow southern Mediterranean countries to meet their increasing energy demand in a more sustainable way, and would also have positive economic and political benefits for Europe

How good is the European Commission’s Just Transition Fund proposal? Bruegel Policy Contribution Issue n˚4 | February 2020

On 14 January 2020, the European Commission published its proposal for a Just Transition Mechanism, intended to provide support to territories facing serious socioeconomic challenges related to the transition towards climate neutrality. This brief provides an overview and a critical assessment of the first pillar of this Mechanism, the Just Transition Fund (JTF)

Financing the EU Energy infrastructure after the Euro Crisis

Europe is in need of massive infrastructure investments. According to the European Commission, the EU infrastructure investment requirements could reach as much as EUR 2 trillion in the sectors of energy, transport and information and communication technology by 2020. The energy sector alone is set to require EUR 1.1 trillion, of which: EUR 400 billion for distribution networks and smart grids; EUR 200 billion for transmission networks and storage; EUR 500 billion for generation capacity. This enormous investment need is mainly due to the fact that the EU energy infrastructure is ageing and, in its current state, is not suited to match future demand for energy, to ensure security of supply and to support the large-scale deployment of renewable energy sources required by the “Europe 2020” strategy and by the decarbonisation targets set in the “Energy Roadmap 2050”

Beyond coal: facilitating the transition in Europe. Bruegel Policy Brief ISSUE 5 | NOVEMBER 2017

Europe has a dirty energy secret: coal is producing a quarter of the electricity, but three-quarters of the emissions. The EU should propose that its member countries speedily phase out coal and put in place a scheme to guarantee the social welfare of coal miners who stand to lose their jobs, making a better use of the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (EGF)

The political economy of Middle East and North Africa oil exporters in times of global decarbonisation. Bruegel Working Paper 05/2017

Endowed with half of the world’s known oil and gas reserves, the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region is a cornerstone of the global energy architecture. This architecture is currently undergoing a structural transformation, prompted by two different forces: decarbonisation policies and low-carbon technology advancements. The energy literature offers no comprehensive analysis of the potential impact of the global energy transformation on the MENA region. This paper seeks to fill this gap by investigating the following research question: are MENA oil exporting countries equipped to prosper in times of global decarbonisation? Making use of the Rentier State Theory and of a business-as-usual projection of the exploitation of oil resources in MENA countries, we highlight on the lack of incentives for MENA oil exporters to pursue paths of economic diversification. On the basis of a scenario-based analysis, we illustrate that, should the Paris Agreement on climate change be implemented, MENA oil exporters would see their oil rents decline over the next few decades. MENA oil-exporting countries are still not adequately equipped to prosper in a decarbonising world.Therefore, decarbonisation should represent an incentive for MENA oil exporters to pursue structural processes of transition from rentier to production states

The impact of the global energy transition on MENA oil and gas producers

Endowed with half of the world's known oil and gas reserves, the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region is cornerstone of the global energy architecture. The global low-carbon energy transition poses critical questions to MENA oil and gas producers, as it may imply sustained pressure on their development models, which rely heavily on hydrocarbon revenues. Without economic reforms, this may translate into macroeconomic unbalances, and ultimately put at risk established social contracts in the region. The sharp drop in oil prices that began in 2014 fostered MENA hydrocarbon producers to launch ambitious economic reform programmes aimed at increasing the diversification of their economies, notably by developing their non-hydrocarbon sectors. This article argues that – together with the pressing need to create jobs opportunities for a large and youthful population – the possibility of the world moving more aggressively towards a low-carbon future should represent a key argument for the implementation of these economic reform programmes. That is, MENA producers might use the potential prospect of lower global hydrocarbon demand and prices to overcome their rentier state model, and pursue the economic diversification plans never duly implemented in the past. Keywords: Energy transition, Geopolitics, Middle East, North Africa, Rentier stat

Methodological factors affecting gas and methane production during in vitro rumen fermentation evaluated by meta-analysis approach

Effects of some methodological factors on in vitro measures of gas production (GP, mL/g DM), CH4 production (mL/g DM) and proportion (% CH4 on total GP) were investigated by meta-analysis. These factors were considered: pressure in the GP equipment (0 = constant; 1 = increasing), incubation time (0 = 24; 1 = 65 48 h), time of rumen fluid collection (0 = before feeding; 1 = after feeding of donor animals), donor species of rumen fluid (0 = sheep; 1 = bovine), presence of N in the buffer solution (0 = presence; 1 = absence), and ratio between amount of buffered rumen fluid and feed sample (BRF/FS; 0 = 64 130 mL/g DM; 1 = 130\u2013140 mL/g DM; 2 = 65 140 mL/g DM). The NDF content of feed sample incubated (NDF) was considered as a continuous variable. From an initial database of 105 papers, 58 were discarded because one of the above-mentioned factors was not stated. After discarding 17 papers, the final dataset comprised 30 papers (339 observations). A preliminary mixed model analysis was carried out on experimental data considering the study as random factor. Variables adjusted for study effect were analyzed using a backward stepwise analysis including the above-mentioned variables. The analysis showed that the extension of incubation time and reduction of NDF increased GP and CH4 values. Values of GP and CH4 also increased when rumen fluid was collected after feeding compared to before feeding (+26.4 and +9.0 mL/g DM, for GP and CH4), from bovine compared to sheep (+32.8 and +5.2 mL/g DM, for GP and CH4), and when the buffer solution did not contain N (+24.7 and +6.7 mL/g DM for GP and CH4). The increase of BRF/FS ratio enhanced GP and CH4 production (+7.7 and +3.3 mL/g DM per each class of increase, respectively). In vitro techniques for measuring GP and CH4 production are mostly used as screening methods, thus a full standardization of such techniques is not feasible. However, a greater harmonization of analytical procedures (i.e., a reduction in the number of available protocols) would be useful to facilitate comparison between results of different experiments