Energy in Demand News, July 26-27, 2026

adaptation, buildings, carbon emissions, clean energy, climate change, climate justice, climate risk, decarbonisation, electric vehicles, electrification, energy consumption, energy efficiency, energy transition, environment, fossil fuels, GHG emissions, industry, international co-operation, nuclear energy, renewable energy, SAF

As this week’s Energy in Demand was being prepared, more than 280,000 people had been ordered to flee or lock down as huge wildfires swept Spain and France, prompting Madrid to declare a national emergency and the French authorities to order the total evacuation, by land and sea, of one of the country’s best-known holiday spots. Even the city of Bordeaux is threatened and firefighters feel overwhelmed and exhausted. Seven towns in the western suburbs of Bordeaux were ordered to evacuate. The EU has sent aircraft and helicopters to both countries to help tackle the fires. So, what lessons will we learn from this?

Meanwhile, the Financial Times reports that extreme heat drives demand for Nordic ‘coolcations’. “Online travel agent Trivago said UK bookings for Norway in July and August were up 55 per cent year on year, 57 per cent for Sweden and 29 per cent for Denmark, even as sunny Mediterranean countries remained the most popular holiday destinations for Britons. . . . Lighthouse, which tracks hotel and flight demand, said recent heatwaves had triggered a wave of searches for holidays in the Nordics and higher-altitude destinations, but sunny destinations in southern Europe such as the Algarve in Portugal still dominated actual bookings for July and August.”  Jim Eastwood, UK chief executive at Travel Counsellors told the FT: “The recent heatwave has certainly prompted more conversations . . . but it’s not as simple as swapping Spain for Scandinavia. For most customers, the destination they’ve been looking forward to still comes first.” Now what?

Some good news. The Financial Times reports that “investor demand for private capital funds that explicitly seek positive environmental or social outcomes has held steady in recent years despite the political backlash against climate and diversity agendas. . . . Impact-focused infrastructure funds — many of which focus on renewable energy — had a particularly strong 2025, accounting for $24bn of capital raised. The data suggests that investors have not abandoned so-called impact investing, as many predicted they would after the return of Donald Trump to the White House, and shows that certain sectors under the label continue to attract strong investor interest.”

The producer of renewable jet fuel, Neste, has swung into to profit after the Iran war sent prices soaring, according to the Financial Times. Its sales margin on renewable products more than tripled year on year to a record $1,223 a tonne in the second quarter, up from $361 a tonne a year earlier and $164 ahead of analyst forecasts. “Sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and renewable diesel prices in Europe rose as much as 31 per cent and 24 per cent, respectively, from prewar levels, according to Argus Media, a pricing agency. These alternative fuels are made from products such as cooking oil and animal fats. . . . According to the International Energy Agency, SAF consumption is expected to expand ninefold from 1bn litres in 2024 to 9bn litres in 2030, but will still account for only 2 per cent of total aviation fuel demand at the end of the decade under the agency’s main scenario.” 2 per cent? Isn’t there an alternative to cooking oil and animal fats that will rapidly expand the availability of SAFs? Aren’t there technologies based on electricity and solar power that offer stronger prospects?

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

Pema Chodron (b. 1936), an American-born Tibetan Buddhist nun and author, makes us sit up think this week: “Rather than letting our negativity get the better of us, we could acknowledge that right now we feel like a piece of shit and not be squeamish about taking a good look.”

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

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