Herman Daly became convinced that economics should no longer prioritize the efficiency of this one-way process but instead focus on the “optimal” scale of an economy that the Earth can sustain. Today, the imprint of his career can be found far and wide, including measures of the Genuine Progress Indicator of an economy, new Doughnut … Continue reading In an age of climate chaos and economic crisis, the ideas of the father of ecological economics that inspired a movement to live within our means are increasingly essential
Category: Analysis
New report on overhauling investment governance for a just zero-carbon future
The Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment (CCSI) recently released a briefing titled “International Investment Governance and Achieving a Just Zero-Carbon Future,” available in both English and French. The briefing discusses how the current international investment regime is hostile to states’ ability to address the climate crisis and will deter, delay or water down states’ climate-related … Continue reading New report on overhauling investment governance for a just zero-carbon future
New EEA report on progress in EU reducing GHG emissions and energy consumption
GHG emissions and energy consumption rose in 2021 due mostly to Europe’s post-pandemic recovery, according to the latest ‘Trends and Projections’ report published this week by the European Environment Agency (EEA). Most EU Member States successfully achieved the EU’s 2020 climate and energy targets and are now turning their sights toward climate neutrality while also … Continue reading New EEA report on progress in EU reducing GHG emissions and energy consumption
Can COP 27 help close the emissions gap?
The window to reign in climate-wrecking emissions and limit warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius is fast closing, says a new UN report. Societal transformation may be the only way to avoid a coming calamity. Stuart Braun discusses the recent report in an article on the Deutsche Welle website. Climate crisis: Widening emissions gap threatens … Continue reading Can COP 27 help close the emissions gap?
Our digital data has a growing carbon footprint
While most climate change activists are focused on limiting emissions from the automotive, aviation and energy industries, the processing of digital data is already comparable to these sectors and is still growing. In 2020, digitisation was purported to generate 4% of global GHG emissions. Tom Jackson, Professor of Information and Knowledge Management at Loughborough University … Continue reading Our digital data has a growing carbon footprint
Decarbonising the energy system by 2050 could save trillions
For decades, scientists have called for a transition to clean energy to prevent the worst impacts of climate change but fears that such a transition would be costly and harm the economy have held back progress. However, a study from the Oxford Martin Programme on the Post-Carbon Transition published this week shows the reverse: an … Continue reading Decarbonising the energy system by 2050 could save trillions
Going to 100% renewable energy expensive but new study shows payback would take just six years
Mark Jacobson and his team at Stanford University have published a renewable energy study in which they argue the payback time is just 6 years. Steve Hanley discusses in an article on the Clean Technica website. Switching The World To Renewable Energy Will Cost $62 Trillion, But The Payback Would Take Just 6 Years … Continue reading Going to 100% renewable energy expensive but new study shows payback would take just six years
Concern that scenarios forecasting the future of the energy sector prepared by major oil companies not compatible with the Paris climate agreement
In an article on the Conversation website, Robert Brecha, Professor of Sustainability at the University of Dayton and Gaurav Ganti, Ph.D. Student in Geography at Humboldt University of Berlin discuss the results of an analysis of several scenarios including two from the International Energy Agency and determined that five of them – including frequently cited … Continue reading Concern that scenarios forecasting the future of the energy sector prepared by major oil companies not compatible with the Paris climate agreement
Understanding the core determinants of anti-science attitudes help us understand what is driving rejection of diverse scientific theories and innovations, ranging from new vaccines to the evidence for climate change
Why are so many people anti-science? Three experts on attitudes, persuasion and how humans are impacted by scientific innovations discuss their recent research that showed that there are four key reasons people reject scientific information in an article on The Conversation website. The experts are: Aviva Philipp-Muller, Assistant Professor, Marketing, Simon Fraser University; Richard Petty, … Continue reading Understanding the core determinants of anti-science attitudes help us understand what is driving rejection of diverse scientific theories and innovations, ranging from new vaccines to the evidence for climate change
James Lovelock: “a nonconformist who had a unique vantage point that came from being, as he put it, half-scientist and half-inventor”
Mark Maslin, Professor of Earth System Science at UCL, in an article on The Conversation website, discusses the extraordinary life of James Lovelock, the maverick scientist and inventory who was best known for his Gaia hypothesis. Do you think Lovelock transformed the way we think of life on Earth? James Lovelock: the scientist-inventor who … Continue reading James Lovelock: “a nonconformist who had a unique vantage point that came from being, as he put it, half-scientist and half-inventor”
Energy in Demand - Sustainable Energy - Rod Janssen 