Florida has just experienced two of the most devastating hurricanes in history. The Heated newsletter (available on Substack) reports: :For at least 45 years, oil company scientists have been privately warning executives that burning fossil fuels would lead to catastrophic storms. Their startlingly accurate warnings are detailed in internal documents and publicly-released films obtained by the Center for Climate Integrity and Dutch news site De Correspondent.” The report goes on: “As recently as 2015, internal emails obtained by The Wall Street Journal revealed that Exxon executives were still urging scientists to cast doubt on climate science and its connection to natural disasters. Last year, fossil fuel companies sent a record 2,456 lobbyists to the United Nations annual climate summit to influence negotiations. And most recently, the U.S. Senate Budget Committee found that the fossil fuel industry is still misleading the public about its efforts to mitigate the climate crisis, while privately admitting it can’t meet its net zero emissions goals.” For those who may question Heated, it has been praised by the New York Times, the Guardian, New York Magazine and many more.
The Financial Times reports (behind a paywall) that the bosses of Ikea, AstraZeneca and Volvo Cars “are among the chief executives and chairs of more than 100 companies pushing governments to boost the business case for green investment, even as a growing list of corporate leaders have opted not to attend the UN climate summit this year.” The open letter ahead of COP29 was organised by a World Economic Forum alliance of CEOs. Jesper Brodin, chief executive of Ingka Group, the main operator of Ikea stores said: “We need more interaction, more support and more collaboration from policymakers around the world in order to both enable investments and speed up investments.” Well said. Now let’s see what happens in Baku.
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. In the book, Storytelling to Accelerate Climate Solutions, there is a chapter entitled “Music as a Vehicle for Climate Change Communication: The ClimateMusic Project.” The chapter reviews the evidence for music-based approaches to emotional engagement, information delivery, psychological well-being and social cohesion, and their application in climate change communication.
The IEA Technology Collaboration Programme on Energy in Buildings and Communities (IEA EBC TCP) and Annex 88 “Evaluation and Demonstration of Actual Energy Efficiency of Heat Pump Systems in Buildings” has a webinar series starting soon on “How can we estimate actual energy performance of heat pump systems in buildings for better design?” It is in two parts and you can register here.
In planning travel over the upcoming weeks, here is some useful ideas to help you along:
- Lonely Planet’s train expert provides his top 5 rail journeys in Europe for 2024.
- The new European Sleeper train will travel between Brussels and Venice, passing through nine different cities. Bookings are now open. Here’s a breakdown of costs and other travel tips.
- 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.
- Climbing House provides the 11 Top Climbing Spots in Europe.
- Epic Road Rides provides their choice of the best places to cycle in September and October.
- The Guardian provides 15 tips for the reluctant camper to love life beneath the stars.
Dolly Parton (b. 1946), an American singer-songwriter, actress, and philanthropist, known primarily for her decades-long career in country music (remember 9 to 5), puts recent weather into perspective: “The way I see it, if you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain.”
EiD welcomes your views about this week’s selection of posts on the zero-carbon energy transition:
- New EEA briefing — From data to decisions: material footprints in European policy making
- Was Hurricane Milton really “engineered” by the US government?
- LNG is not a climate-friendly transition fuel
- Europe’s energy watchdog has criticised the continent’s grid operators for being unprepared for the expected increase in renewable energy
- New BPIE report on Whole Life Carbon highlights urgency for action
- Canada’s energy transition in trouble: it’s easy to say ‘axe the tax’
- “This shocking increase in aid funding to fossil fuels is a wake-up call”
- Australia’s energy transition and need for more electricity workforce
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Energy in Demand - Sustainable Energy - Rod Janssen 