The Financial Times columnist, Martin Wolf, argued this week (behind a paywall) that market forces are not enough to halt climate change. He notes that our efforts to decarbonise are going poorly. Furthermore, people just do not want to pay the price of decarbonising the economy. In explaining the global rise in electricity from fossil fuels he writes: “The explanation for this explosive rise in electricity generation is the desire of people and businesses in emerging and developing countries to enjoy the energy-intensive lifestyles of high-income countries. Since the latter have no intention of giving these up, how can they complain? . . . we have to recognise that so far, for all the talk, emissions are not falling and so both stocks of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere and global temperatures are rising.” His final words are sobering: “A hundred years from now, people are likely to remember our era as the time when we knowingly bequeathed a destabilised climate. The market will not fix this global market failure. But today’s political fragmentation and domestic populism make it almost inconceivable that the needed courage will be forthcoming either. We talk a lot. But we find it effectively impossible to act on the needed scale. This is a tragic failure.” And the answer?
In the context of COP29 in Azerbaijan in November, there is a global call to the UNFCCC to include cultural heritage, the arts and creative sectors in climate policy. Talia Smith-Muller writes on the Berklee Online website about a selection of songs about climate change and the environment.
In planning travel over the upcoming weeks, here is some useful news to help you along:
- Lonely Planet’s train expert provides his top 5 rail journeys in Europe for 2024.
- For the best hikes in Europe in 2024, there are many good suggestions on the 57 hours website. For those who want to combine hiking with food and wine, check out the Hedonistic Hiking website.
- Epic Road Rides provides their choice of the best places to cycle for a cycling holiday this summer.
- There is always the option of virtual tourism at the Xplore Nature Channel. There are now 130 videos. Find out more about the channel here. Why not start with a nature walk in Lithuania through a beautiful forest to the Baltic Sea.
Pearl S. Buck (1892-1973) an American writer and novelist, best known for The Good Earth, which won her the Pulitzer Prize in 1932, tells us how to enjoy work: “The secret of joy in work is contained in one word – excellence. To know how to do something well is to enjoy it.”
EiD welcomes your views about this week’s selection of posts on the zero-carbon energy transition:
- New EEA report on how can Europe stay the course on sustainability amid shocks and crises
- The important role climate social scientists play
- AI drives 48% increase in Google GHG emissions
- For the EU to meet its climate goals, a strong policy push is needed to redirect financial flows towards transition financing
- Blog by Stephen Davies: Natural gas is ‘clean’: unveiling the myth and proposing a sustainable alternative
- EEA review of EU’s Climate-ADAPT online platform
- Helping youth become resilient in the face of climate change
- Ending poverty and environmental catastrophe demands fresh thinking
Please send your comments on any of the posts. Please follow us on X at @EnergyDemand and @rodjanssen. Please recommend EiD to your friends and colleagues.
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Energy in Demand - Sustainable Energy - Rod Janssen 