Review of G20 fiscal stimulus spending counters many countries’ green pledges to ‘build back better’

Fiona Harvey gives us a wake up call to pay more attention to so-called green financing in an article on The Guardian website. Only about 6% of pandemic recovery spending has been “green”, an analysis of the $14tn that G20 countries have poured into economic stimulus.   Only 6% of G20 pandemic recovery spending ‘green’, … Continue reading Review of G20 fiscal stimulus spending counters many countries’ green pledges to ‘build back better’

Review of the global heat pump market

Experts see heat pumps as one of the main solutions for tackling the carbon emissions associated with keeping buildings warm, both in the UK and internationally. Yet sales of the technology, often likened to a fridge running in reverse, have remained stubbornly low in many countries. Friends of EiD Jan Rosenow, principal and European programme … Continue reading Review of the global heat pump market

National Heat Study published in Ireland

Sustainable Energy Authority Ireland recently published the National Heat Study, a comprehensive analysis of the options for reaching net zero emissions from the heating sector by 2050. Comprising a series of technical reports analysing heat supply and use across all sectors, the study provides key insights and proposed actions to decarbonise the sector. Crucially it … Continue reading National Heat Study published in Ireland

A “solar-canal solution” is about to be tested in California

While there have been solar panels installed over canals before in other countries, two academics explain how they could provide many benefits to California’s climate change objectives. Roger Bales, Distinguished Professor of Engineering at the University of California, Merced updates a post on EiD from May 2021 on The Conversation website.   First solar canal … Continue reading A “solar-canal solution” is about to be tested in California

The energy transition – we need a paradigm shift in policy thinking

Energy policy to date has not served us well – it’s wooden, static and supply-side focused and has resulted in energy insecurity, large price hikes and unsustainable climate change. Sort out energy and expand resources to resilience for those facing climate change or we face the climate abyss. This requires a paradigm shift in policy … Continue reading The energy transition – we need a paradigm shift in policy thinking

In 1938, a British engineer was the first to connect human activities to global warming

Scientists had known for decades that carbon dioxide could trap heat and warm the planet. But  a British engineer, Guy Callendar, was the first to connect human activities to global warming. After Callendar published his paper, global warming caused by human activities generating carbon dioxide was widely referred to as the “Callendar Effect.” Sylvia G. … Continue reading In 1938, a British engineer was the first to connect human activities to global warming

The new IPCC report gives the clearest indication to date of how a warmer world is affecting all living things on Earth

This sixth series of IPCC reports don’t leave any room for complacency to address climate change. The current context is having to contend with a terrible war in Europe but we certainly have to keep focus on addressing climate change. Matt McGrath writes on the BBC news website about the five main lessons from the … Continue reading The new IPCC report gives the clearest indication to date of how a warmer world is affecting all living things on Earth

New IPCC report shows we now have hard choices to make

The IPCC assessment offers a stark choice: Does humanity accept this disastrous status quo and the uncertain, unpleasant future it is leading toward, or does it grab the reins and choose a better future? One of the authors of the report, Edward R. Carr, Professor and Director, International Development, Community, and Environment at Clark University … Continue reading New IPCC report shows we now have hard choices to make

The European Parliament’s lead negotiator has proposed tougher EU targets to reduce energy use this decade

The European Parliament’s rapporteur for the revision of the Energy Efficiency Directive (2018/2002), Niels Fuglsang (S&D, Denmark), has proposed increasing the EU’s energy efficiency target to at least 43% for final energy consumption and 45.5% for primary energy consumption, according to his draft report sent to shadow rapporteurs on Friday 18 February. Kate Abnett writes … Continue reading The European Parliament’s lead negotiator has proposed tougher EU targets to reduce energy use this decade

How to improve ESG accounting

ESG accounting is a mess. Competing initiatives mean there’s no uniform set of standards for measuring a company’s progress on sustainability. The good news is that a new initiative, the International Sustainability Standards Board, promises to do for sustainability reporting what the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) does for financial reporting — develop standards for … Continue reading How to improve ESG accounting