Energy in Demand News, October 19-20, 2025

AI, appliances, behaviour/attitudes, carbon emissions, clean energy, climate change, decarbonisation, Ecodesign, energy efficiency, energy policy, energy transition, environment, GHG emissions, industry, international co-operation, national policies, net zero emissions, renewable energy

In his landmark 2006 analysis, the economist Lord Nicholas Stern concluded that climate action would cost less than the damage caused by inaction and that climate change was the greatest market failure the world had ever seen. It caused shockwaves at the time and really did influence the direction of climate change actions. Just not enough. Now the Guardian discusses his new book, The Growth Story of the 21st Century: The Economics and Opportunity of Climate Action, that will be published November 5th. Investment in climate action is the economic growth story of the 21st century, while growth fuelled by fossil fuels is futile because the damage it causes ends in self-destruction, Stern has said. “I’d say to Trump: ‘You’ve got children and grandchildren – think about the science, think about the risks,’ and I’d give examples about the wildfires in California,” said Stern. “I’d point out to him that his place in Florida is going to be extremely vulnerable to more intense hurricanes, sea level rise and storm surges. The people and places he loves are under severe risk. “The science [of greenhouse gases heating the atmosphere] is simple science – this idea of a ‘con job’ is just wrong,” he said. “I’d point out to Trump that solar beats fossil fuels on electricity across most of the world, including in big parts of the US. The good folk of Texas will be investing in solar and wind because it’s cheaper than the alternatives. It’s much better to invest in the technologies of the 21st century rather than those of the 19th and 20th.” However likely – or unlikely – that Trump will listen, we need voices like Stern’s to keep hammering away with these authoritative, obvious arguments.

A New York Times newsletter quotes US  Energy Secretary Chris Wright saying last month that renewables should compete with traditional forms of energy on a level playing field. Wright said: “The wind subsidies and solar subsidies are 33 years old. So it’s about time for industries to walk on their own.” “There are not oil and gas subsidies,” he told the New York Times. “In the United States, oil and gas and coal are huge taxpayers and don’t have any subsidies that I’m aware of. And I’ve been in the business for 40 years. So if you can find the subsidies, tell me where they are.” The newsletter goes on: “Coal, oil and gas interests in the U.S. received more than $16 billion in subsidies in 2023, according to the Fossil Fuel Subsidy Tracker, which is maintained by the International Institute for Sustainable Development and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. That includes nearly $10 billion in subsidies for natural gas and more than $5 billion for petroleum, and is the highest total in the 15 years the group has been monitoring the data.”  Interestingly, the newsletter continued: “By some estimates, the total figure is much higher. Oil Change International, an activist group, puts the total government support for fossil fuels in the U.S. at more than $34 billion per year.” Oddly, the Energy Department did not respond to requests to comment.

Energy Changemakers newsletter this week (sent by email) had a feature on electric vehicles in the US. “Electric vehicles (EVs) appear poised to be the latest victims of the boom-bust cycles created by inconsistent federal tax incentives.. New data released this week shows that EV buyers were out in droves during the third quarter of 2025, trying to take advantage of a $7,500 federal tax credit before it expired on September 30. Sales reached a record high of 438,487 units sold, according to Cox Automotive, citing Kelley Blue Book estimates. That’s up 40.7% from the previous quarter and 29.6% year over year.  EVs accounted for 10.5% of total vehicle sales in the US for the quarter, also a new record. California sold 124,755 EVs, representing 29.1% of new car sales, making it a record-setting quarter in the state.” Those are impressive numbers. Sad that the tax credit ended almost three weeks ago, so it’s unlikely those sales will be matched in the next quarter?

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

Desmond Tutu (1931-2021), a South African Anglican bishop and theologian, known for his work as an anti-apartheid and human rights activist, leaves us with an important message and a smile: “If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor. If an elephant has its foot on the tail of a mouse and you say that you are neutral, the mouse will not appreciate your neutrality.”

EiD welcomes your views about this week’s selection of posts on the zero-carbon energy transition:

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