Energy in Demand News, July 20-21, 2025

AI, behaviour/attitudes, buildings, carbon emissions, climate change, cooling, decarbonisation, electricity grids, energy efficiency, energy policy, energy transition, fossil fuels, GHG emissions, heating systems, industry, international co-operation, mitigation, national policies, net zero emissions, renewable energy

The New York Times this week reported on how cultural festivals in France are adapting to the summer heat. The theatre festival in Avignon has banned events from 2 pm to 5 pm. And in order to lower the carbon footprint, the Avignon festival will only accept foreign acts if they also have other engagements in France or Europe. “The Avignon Festival started tracking its carbon footprint in 2010, and a dedicated internal committee meets to discuss sustainability measures every month. Starting in 2014, it also banded together with a group of other cultural events in the south of France to respond more effectively to global warming. The collective they founded, COFEES, now has 43 member organizations across the region.” Unsurprisingly, the biggest carbon culprit is beyond administrators’ direct control: audience travel, which accounts for more than 80 % of the Avignon Festival’s footprint. Other festivals are taking different measures. The NYT notes that Panoramas, an electronic music festival in the Brittany region of northern France, opted in 2023 to highlight local talent and decrease its audience capacity by around 50 %. That is not an option most festivals want to take. But it does show they are all taking sustainability seriously.

BP announced this week that it has agreed to sell US onshore wind business as it shifts back to oil. The Guardian reported: “The sale is part of BP’s plan to offload $20bn in assets “to simplify and focus the business” after a failed attempt to reinvent the oil multinational as a net zero energy company, and as it comes under pressure over its sluggish share price.” The Guardian continues: “The deal emerged weeks after one of the architects of BP’s failed green agenda, Giulia Chierchia, stepped down from her role as executive in charge of sustainability strategy to “pursue other opportunities” outside the company as it shifted back towards oil and gas production. She will not be replaced at BP, the company said.” Hmmm. Not even replaced!

eceee, the European Council for an Energy Efficient Economy, is organising its next Zero Carbon Industry conference in Rome, February 4-5, 2026. The event is arranged in co-operation with FIRE, the Italian Federation for Energy Efficiency. The theme is efficiency, resources, competitiveness.  It is an informal event where experts, businesses, researchers, NGOs and policy makers meet to exchange views and develop ideas. eceee is not calling for formal papers for this conference. Based on submitted abstracts, presentations will be chosen. The deadline for submitting abstracts is September 15th

In planning travel over the upcoming weeks, here are some useful ideas to help you along:

Orlando Aloysius Battista (1917-1995), a Canadian-American chemist and author, provides us with an important message on mistakes: “An error doesn’t become a mistake until you refuse to correct it.”

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