The annual UNEP Emissions Gap Report (EGR), published this week ahead of the UN Climate Change Conference (COP), highlights that without accelerated global action, the world is on track for temperature increases between 2.6°C and 3.1°C by the end of the century. Even the best-case scenario of 2.6°C will bring severe consequences for people, the planet, and economies. “Either leaders bridge the emissions gap or we plunge headlong into climate disaster,” UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in a video message for the launch of the report. See his full video here. The message from the EGR is indeed scary. Will it lead to action? Not obvious. Even COP29 host, Azerbaijan, is planning for major fossil fuel expansion, as reported in the Guardian.
Worryingly, as reported in Le Monde, temperatures in mainland France are on track to increase by 4°C by 2100 due to global warming, the government warned on Friday, October 25, urging coping strategies for a much hotter country. The report stated that France is warming up faster than the rest of the world.
The Financial Times Moral Money newsletter (behind a paywall) reports that the World Bank is under pressure to provide loans for nuclear energy. “The World Bank’s last loan for a nuclear power project was made in 1959. The Bank’s latest energy strategy explicitly excludes financing the energy source, citing a lack of expertise on nuclear safety, and opposition from powerful shareholders — notably Germany…” The issue has become a new factor in policy discussions. But with more demand from emerging markets such as Indonesia and the Philippines, “pressure is building for a change in stance.” The newsletter goes on: “Not only does the World Bank ban nuclear energy finance, it also explicitly declines to advise client countries on their nuclear strategy.” It will be interesting to see how this evolves.
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 a TEDx talk, researcher Judy Twedt discusses connecting to climate change through music.
The eceee Annual Policy Seminar will be held in Brussels, November 7th. After several years of absence, eceee is now re-launching its series of annual Brussels in-person policy seminar. The seminar is held as part of the EU-funded Energy Efficiency Watch 5 project, to gather input for the EEW5 report on creating supporting narratives for strong energy efficiency policies. It will be a special event because it will use AI-based support to synthesise evidence-based knowledge from Summer Studies. The IEA will be launching its 2024 issue of its Energy Efficiency Market Report. And much more. 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.
With only a few weeks to go until COP29, Naomi Klein (b. 1970), the Canadian author, social activist, and filmmaker known for her political analyses; support of ecofeminism, organised labour, criticism of corporate globalisation, fascism and capitalism, gives us her views on climate change: “Change or be changed, right? And what we mean by that is that climate change, if we don’t change course, if we don’t change our political and economic system, is going to change everything about our physical world.”
EiD welcomes your views about this week’s selection of posts on the zero-carbon energy transition:
- New EEA briefing on biodiversity-friendly farming practices in Europe
- Conceptualising just transition litigation
- How to deal with the pace of environmental change in the Arctic
- Not everyone is benefiting equally from improved energy efficiency in their homes
- E-vans: All of Europe’s capitals could be free of large petrol and diesel fleets by 2030
- Glimmers of a better world are already here
- Modern sport reflects society’s oil dependency
- Battery storage equivalent to the output of 20 nuclear reactors has been bolted on to America’s electric grids in barely four years
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Energy in Demand - Sustainable Energy - Rod Janssen 