A piece of good news about electric vehicles. In Florida, EVs exhibited an unexpected side benefit during Hurricane Milton, according to Energy Changemakers (behind a paywall). Before Milton made landfall on October 9, Florida resident Paul Fosse reported in CleanTechnica that public charging stations were readily available to EV drivers in the days preceding Milton, even as about 2,000 gas stations ran out of fuel when drivers vied to gas up their cars before the storm. Those with home charging stations were in an even better position and could prep without wasting time in search of gas, writes CleanTechnica’s Tina Casey.
The Financial Times reports (behind a paywall) that Russia “is withholding vital data needed for scientists to model the scale and effects of climate change from the Arctic, a strategically important region that is the fastest warming part of the planet, as part of a wider misinformation campaign being waged against the west. . . . A network of 95 field bases gather statistics on the Arctic but 21 of those bases are “on pause”, according to the International Network for Terrestrial Research and Monitoring in the Arctic. Russia first stopped sharing data when Moscow invaded Ukraine in February 2022.” This withholding of data is having a serious impact on climate modelling. One modeller is quoted: “It’s a quite nasty game where climate is now hostage also in this relationship.”
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. SOLARTOPIA! is performed by the folksinger Pete Seeger, Dar Williams, David Bernz and the Rivertown Kids’ Choir. Pete Seeger, David Bernz and Harvey Wasserman composed this anthem for Wasserman’s futuristic vision of a green-powered, socially-just Earth free of fossil fuels and atomic energy.
The eceee Annual Policy Seminar will be held this week in Brussels, November 7th. After several years of absence, eceee is now re-launching its series of annual Brussels in-person policy seminars. 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.
The Energy Savings Trust in the UK is organising two webinars that should be of interest to EiD readers:
- On November 14th, there is Retrofitting flats and apartment building: Lessons from Europe to kickstart action in the UK. The webinar investigates how the UK can address the complex financial and technical barriers to the energy renovation of multi-apartment buildings. We will present the findings of our new report, which investigates five European case studies focused on retrofitting flats and apartment buildings and what the UK can learn from these policies and programmes. You can register here.
- On November 20th, there will be a webinar entitled Overcoming Challenges in Behavioural Demand Flexibility. This event aims to tackle some of the most pressing questions surrounding behaviour change, policy interventions, and public support for flexible energy demand. This event is co-organised by The Behaviouralist, the IEA Users TCP and Energy Saving Trust. 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.
Yuval Noah Harari (b. 1976), an Israeli historian, philosopher and best-selling author of ‘Sapiens’ and ‘Homo Deus,’ provides us with an important message as COP29 approaches: “We are all living together on a single planet, which is threatened by our own actions. And if you don’t have some kind of global cooperation, nationalism is just not on the right level to tackle the problems, whether it’s climate change or whether it’s technological disruption.”
EiD welcomes your views about this week’s selection of posts on the zero-carbon energy transition:
- New EEA report showing in 2023 that EU total net GHG emissions decreased to 37% below 1990 levels according to preliminary figures
- SDGs are increasingly being used to reinforce existing practices, rather than genuinely addressing societal issues
- “Spain’s deadliest floods in decades are another harrowing reminder that Europe is unprepared for the consequences of a superheated atmosphere”
- In Shakespeare’s England extreme weather pamphlets publicised tragic effects of earthquakes, floods and storms, much like our media today
- Private investments in adaptation are likely to be significantly underestimated as a result of the colossal challenge in tracking them
- Germany’s coal consumption continued its downward trend in 2024
- “Seeing climate experts’ fears and opinions about the climate crisis as irrelevant suggests science is separate from society and ultimately weakens it”
- The annual market survey from the California Association of Realtors shows that problems with property insurance are worsening
- High school students in US gain big win in pushing for fossil fuel divestment in private high schools
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Energy in Demand - Sustainable Energy - Rod Janssen 
Nice post 🌺🌺