The IEA’s Energy Efficiency 2024 report was published this week, just before COP29. Energy intensity improvements have decreased in the past year, even though nearly 200 countries agreed at COP28 to the goal of doubling the rate of progress, which would mean increasing intensity from 2% in 2022 to 4% by 2030. Yet, the IEA report finds that global primary energy intensity is set to improve by around 1% in 2024. Let’s say that again – only 1% improvement expected in 2024. We’d better be pushing all our delegates meeting next week in Baku at COP29 to find a realistic pathway for the necessary improvement.
Yes, we are all concerned by the US election this week. See the post this week by Gautam Jain from Columbia University for an early assessment of expectations. Already this week, the Financial Times reports (behind a paywall) that “investors running bets against renewable energy stocks have racked up profits of more than $1.2bn from the heavy sell-off that swept the sector” after the US election. The FT goes on: “Shares in these companies fell sharply on Wednesday amid concerns that the president-elect will “terminate” President Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, a move that could result in a halt to tax credits and pull the plug on offshore wind development.” No doubt there will be more such developments in coming weeks and months. Let’s steady our own course to help all get through this. We must find a way.
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 May-June 2024 issue of Strings Magazine, Karen Peterson writes about the Music Sustainability Alliance and how the music industry is tackling climate change. In the post, one question was raised: “How can one person or one organization make a dent in the kinds of changes that we need?” The answer was so typical of the music world: “In one regard, that is a question best answered by musicians. “How do we get better at anything?” she [Laura Reynolds of the City of San Diego’s Climate Action Plan] asks. “How do we change anything? By developing habits—and practising.”
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.
H. L. Mencken (1880-1956), an American journalist, essayist, satirist, cultural critic, and scholar of American English, makes us sit up and think this week: “For every complex problem there is an answer that is clear, simple, and wrong.”
EiD welcomes your views about this week’s selection of posts on the zero-carbon energy transition:
- New EEA report on ensuring justice in sustainability transitions in Europe
- EC’s European Energy Efficiency Financing Coalition takes shape
- Energy performance certificate system needs to reform in France
- Passive houses gaining in popularity in the US
- Solar geoengineering research is advancing fast but there are many concerns
- Tethered caps on single-use plastic bottles are a refreshing idea to reduce littering
- New IN-PLAN Practice to empower local and regional authorities to revolutionise their sustainable energy, climate, and spatial planning
- Initial views on new Trump administration’s impact on climate policies
- New EEA report on reducing chronic respiratory disease in Europe
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 