Access to energy is a big concern. As Rebekah Shirley, Research Director at Power for All and Visiting Research Scholar at Strathmore University in Kenya writes on The Conversation website, at least 110 million people in Africa still live without such access. But there are some good solutions, she explains. Millions of urban Africans still … Continue reading Decentralised renewable energy technologies offer important solution for “under-the-grid” electrification in Africa
Author: Rod Janssen
How to get shipping companies to reduce their GHG emissions
The International Maritime Organization recently adopted its first-ever deal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions last week. The target is for shipping companies to reduce their emissions by at least 50 per cent from 2008 levels by 2050. Now the challenge is how to achieve those reductions. Paul Gilbert, Senior Lecturer in Climate Change Mitigation at … Continue reading How to get shipping companies to reduce their GHG emissions
The overall sustainability of electric vehicles is far from clear
Interest in electric vehicles has increased sharply in recent years but Martin Brueckner, Senior Lecturer in Sustainability at Australia’s Murdoch University argues in an article on The Conversation website that the overall sustainability of electric vehicles is far from clear and the entire transport paradigm may need to be rethought. Not so fast: why … Continue reading The overall sustainability of electric vehicles is far from clear
Solar industry needs to take broader perspective for long-term success
Varun Sivaram writes a good article on the Washington Post website arguing that solar power could be the star of a clean power revolution, rising to become the world’s largest source of electricity but only if it realises that it might not push for the policies needed for solar and other clean power sources to … Continue reading Solar industry needs to take broader perspective for long-term success
Blockchain’s potential role in sustainable development
Adam Fishman Lynn Wagner explains on the International Institute for Environment and Development SDG Knowledge Hub website about blockchain’s potential for contributing to SDG implementation. This week Energycities also announced a new report on blockchain and the energy transition. It is available here. Policy Brief: SDG Knowledge Weekly: Blockchain in Practice This week’s brief … Continue reading Blockchain’s potential role in sustainable development
“We need to choose between pursuing a sustainable ecological future or accept decent into ecological chaos”
Sometimes there is real value is reading how one person has tried to put all the pieces together in planning for sustainability. Roy Morrison does that in an extended article on the Counterpunch website. What are your views? Climate Truth: a Plan for Sustainability There is a practical path for tackling climate change, for … Continue reading “We need to choose between pursuing a sustainable ecological future or accept decent into ecological chaos”
“The people of northern Canada face many social challenges and are bearing the brunt of global warming”
With the impact of climate change, the Arctic region is incredibly vulnerable and adaptation is not simple. Cody Dey, Emma Hodgson, Aerin Jacob, Jennifer Provencher, David Yurkowski and Jean Polfus write on the Policy Options website that Canada’s federal government should rely on the knowledge of Arctic Indigenous peoples and on Arctic science. These are … Continue reading “The people of northern Canada face many social challenges and are bearing the brunt of global warming”
Why carbon emissions have dropped in Europe’s cars but not for all vehicles
There is a new briefing from the European Environment Agency (EEA) Emissions of carbon dioxide from new passenger cars have dropped in a number of European countries where a range of taxes, subsidies and other incentives are used to encourage consumers to purchase lower-carbon-dioxide (CO2) emitting vehicles. The number of countries offering incentives for electric … Continue reading Why carbon emissions have dropped in Europe’s cars but not for all vehicles
Explaining why South Africa’s state owned energy utility should be generating more from renewables
The low-carbon energy transition is not simple. South Africa’s state-owned energy company, Eskom, has largely encouraged the development of coal and nuclear power. Hartmut Winkler, Professor of Physics at the University of Johannesburg, provides good arguments why Eskom should be moving more in the direction of renewables in an article on The Conversation website. … Continue reading Explaining why South Africa’s state owned energy utility should be generating more from renewables
Comparing fuel economy standards around the world
It is not often we see direct comparisons amongst countries for their fuel economy standards. Brad Plumer and Nadja Popovich recently published an article in the New York Times that provided some useful graphs comparing various countries and regions with projections for several years. You should find this quite valuable. How U.S. Fuel Economy … Continue reading Comparing fuel economy standards around the world
Energy in Demand - Sustainable Energy - Rod Janssen 