The third edition of the EU Buildings Climate Tracker published this week by the Buildings Performance Institute Europe (BPIE) confirms that the EU is missing opportunities to increase energy security and reduce heating costs. It is definitely not on track to achieve its climate targets. Progress on decarbonisation has stalled, with the gap more than … Continue reading Europe’s building sector off track: social, economic and climate targets at risk
Author: Rod Janssen
Europe has an opportunity to leverage AI to optimise its energy systems to ensure a more sustainable approach to using its limited resources
Data centres already consume 2% of the world’s electricity demand. It expects this share to grow to 7% by 2030. In an article on the Euractiv website, Christoph Schwaiger discusses how the European Commission is preparing technical specifications for a study to develop a measurement framework for the energy efficiency of general-purpose AI models. Importantly, … Continue reading Europe has an opportunity to leverage AI to optimise its energy systems to ensure a more sustainable approach to using its limited resources
Cycling can have real impact in our race to zero emissions
According to Christian Brand, Associate Professor in Transport, Energy & Environment, Transport Studies Unit, University of Oxford, in an article on The Conversation website, focusing solely on electric vehicles is slowing down the race to zero emissions. In new research, colleagues and I reveal that people who walk or cycle have lower carbon footprints from … Continue reading Cycling can have real impact in our race to zero emissions
Blog by Sophie Elizabeth Carter: A look at important sustainability initiatives in Ras Al Khaimah, United Arab Emirates
For travel enthusiasts, exploring more of our wonderful planet falls high on the priority list. But tourism takes its toll on the environment, with global travel accounting for around 8% of the world’s carbon emissions. Luckily, more and more destinations are beginning to step up and boost the eco credentials of their tourism infrastructures, helping … Continue reading Blog by Sophie Elizabeth Carter: A look at important sustainability initiatives in Ras Al Khaimah, United Arab Emirates
Pioneering the use of theatre, music and visual arts to research issues around plastic pollution
The global plastics treaty negotiations meeting this week remain on a knife edge. In an article on The Conversation website, Cressida Bowyer, Associate Professor in Arts and Sustainability, University of Portsmouth and Erika Hughes, Professor of Theatre for Social Change, University of Portsmouth discuss how creative arts can disrupt this process and bring about a … Continue reading Pioneering the use of theatre, music and visual arts to research issues around plastic pollution
Data centres are threatening the very energy transition on which so many governments have staked everything
Irina Slav writes on the OilPrice website about how data centres, particularly since the AI rush began, are turning into an unexpected obstacle that may well compromise the whole transition offensive against hydrocarbons. What are your views? Data Centers Highlight the Limits of Renewable Energy Scaling Until about a year ago, no one paid … Continue reading Data centres are threatening the very energy transition on which so many governments have staked everything
New EEA briefing on first state of play on national surveillance for heat-related health impacts
Collecting timely and reliable data on the number of deaths and illnesses associated with heat are vital to deploy targeted emergency responses during heatwaves. Twenty of the European Environment Agency’s (EEA) 38 member and cooperating countries currently monitor heat impacts on health, according to an EEA briefing published this week. Impacts of heat on … Continue reading New EEA briefing on first state of play on national surveillance for heat-related health impacts
Energy in Demand News, November 24, 2024
The talks at COP29 ran 33 hours late, and came close to collapse. In the end richer countries pledged a record $300bn to help the developing world fight climate change, but the deal is facing recrimination that it comes nowhere near addressing poorer countries' challenges from global warming. The New York Times (behind a paywall) … Continue reading Energy in Demand News, November 24, 2024
There is still greenwashing when it comes to carbon offsets
The results of a recent survey raises questions about how some companies use carbon offsets and cast doubt on how effective voluntary carbon markets – at least in their current state – are in assisting a global transition to net-zero-emissions In an article on The Conversation website, Sehoon Kim, Assistant Professor of Finance, University of … Continue reading There is still greenwashing when it comes to carbon offsets
Understanding climate attribution analysis
The climate crisis is to blame for dozens of ‘impossible’ heatwaves, studies reveal. In an article on the Guardian website, Damian Carrington write about scientific techniques known as climate attribution can help us discern whether the rise in severe weather events is due to global heating. How do we know that the climate crisis … Continue reading Understanding climate attribution analysis
Energy in Demand - Sustainable Energy - Rod Janssen 