In 2026, many nations experienced the most extreme temperature fluctuations they had ever experienced during the summer months. It has led to an unsustainable number of brownouts, or major voltage reductions. When demand gets high, power systems malfunction or are intentionally shut down for emergencies. Grid tensions are growing higher, as citizens and governments await … Continue reading Blog by Grace Waters – Texas, Europe, India: what a summer of brownouts tells us about the grid we’re building
Category: adaptation
Climate change is redrawing the world’s wine map
In an article on The Conversation website, Kathiana Luk, Andrew Dowdy and Hamish Clarke, all from The University of Melbourne, discuss how climate change is beginning to redraw the world’s wine map. Traditional regions are becoming hotter, drier and more fire-prone, while cooler places may become increasingly suitable for varieties previously grown much farther south. … Continue reading Climate change is redrawing the world’s wine map
Europe’s climate insurance gap is becoming impossible to ignore
Kate Abnett writes on the Reuters website that Europe is beginning to confront the financial consequences of climate change, not simply the physical ones. With only about a quarter of climate-related economic losses insured, governments increasingly risk becoming the insurer of last resort. EU to launch climate insurance scheme after summer of extreme weather … Continue reading Europe’s climate insurance gap is becoming impossible to ignore
COP31: The EU says climate promises are no longer enough
Marta Pacheco writes on the Euronews website that the draft EU position for COP31 says that current implementation is insufficient and calls for concrete progress on renewables, energy efficiency, electrification and moving away from fossil fuels. EU heads to COP31 with a blunt message: climate pledges are no longer enough EU ambassadors want COP31 … Continue reading COP31: The EU says climate promises are no longer enough
Energy in Demand News, September 13-14, 2026
For once there was some truly encouraging news this week. Matthew Pearce writes in the Guardian about a new study that shows that a global shift towards clean electricity could trigger a ‘cascade’ of progress, helping reduce air pollution, cut waste and revive oceans. “The analysis focuses on “positive tipping points” – thresholds beyond which … Continue reading Energy in Demand News, September 13-14, 2026
Drought knows no borders. The world’s response still does.
In an article on The Conversation website, Susan Ann Samuel, Postdoctoral Researcher, International Climate Politics, University of Leeds, discusses failure of international politics to keep pace with a problem that is already affecting virtually every part of the world. Climate, biodiversity and land degradation are treated institutionally as separate problems when, physically, they are deeply … Continue reading Drought knows no borders. The world’s response still does.
Canada’s climate has already changed — is the country ready?
This is a question that all countries should be asking. Nick Murray writes on the National Newswatch website that Canada is no longer talking only about preventing future climate change; it is confronting changes that are already locked in and for which the country is inadequately prepared. The science says substantial further warming and impacts … Continue reading Canada’s climate has already changed — is the country ready?
Energy in Demand News, September 6-7, 2026
Maersk, the integrated container logistics company, has signed a deal to install the first wind sail on a container ship, the Financial Times reports, noting that the maritime industry is returning “to an age-old technology to cut fuel consumption and comply with tougher environmental regulations. The sail, a 35m-high rotor sail designed by the British … Continue reading Energy in Demand News, September 6-7, 2026
This was no ordinary summer
In an article on the Deutsche Welle website, Josh Axelrod writes about this most abnormal summer. He argues that some political messaging denies the role of human-caused climate change in this summer's extreme heat but the science tells a different story. Was the heat of this summer really 'normal?' As a summer of European extreme … Continue reading This was no ordinary summer
Preparing before the crisis: lessons from Finland
Writing on the Le Monde website, Anne-Françoise Hivert provides us with an important story about resilience and preparedness. Distributed across the country, Finland's reserves – along its 1,340 kilometres of border with Russia – cover nine months of grain consumption and five months of its oil and gas needs. The system has emerged as a … Continue reading Preparing before the crisis: lessons from Finland
