Blog by Ellie Gabel: The Feedback Loop: How Increased Air Conditioning Use Is Accelerating Climate Change

Air conditioning units are deceptive contributors to the climate crisis. Temperatures are changing worldwide, altering household behaviors. Many have increased the amount they use these devices multifold as thermostat numbers creep to extremes. How and why is this happening, and what can you do? Increased Electricity Demand and Generation Air conditioning is responsible for 3% … Continue reading Blog by Ellie Gabel: The Feedback Loop: How Increased Air Conditioning Use Is Accelerating Climate Change →

Energy in Demand News, June 8-9, 2025

Global energy investment is set to increase in 2025 to a record $3.3 trillion despite headwinds from elevated geopolitical tensions and economic uncertainty, a new IEA report says. Clean energy technologies will attract twice as much capital as fossil fuels. Investment in clean technologies – renewables, nuclear, grids, storage, low-emissions fuels, efficiency and electrification – is on … Continue reading Energy in Demand News, June 8-9, 2025 →

Spotlight on EU funded project: three new platforms launched to help homeowners

This week, an EU-funded project, HORIS, launched three digital platforms – also called one-stop-shops, empowering homeowners to make energy-saving decisions during home renovation. The launch comes after 18 months of collaborative work by an international consortium of 10 organisations from 4 countries (Italy, The Netherlands, Portugal, Spain) which have partnered to develop these platforms to … Continue reading Spotlight on EU funded project: three new platforms launched to help homeowners →

New provisional data from EEA shows CO2 emissions from new cars registered in Europe slightly increased in 2024

After a steady and significant reduction from 2020 to 2023, average carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from new cars registered in Europe slightly increased in 2024, according to new provisional data published this week by the European Environment Agency (EEA). Average CO2 emissions from new cars and new vans slightly increased in 2024 Average CO2 emissions … Continue reading New provisional data from EEA shows CO2 emissions from new cars registered in Europe slightly increased in 2024 →

Energy in Demand News, June 1-2, 2025

Austria and Slovenia are the only European countries whose defence ministries have committed to reaching net zero military emissions, according to an analysis of 30 European countries (EU 27 plus Norway, Switzerland and UK). An article in the Guardian on the analysis added that only about one-third have worked out the size of their carbon … Continue reading Energy in Demand News, June 1-2, 2025 →

Save twice the ice by limiting global warming

More than three-quarters of the world's glaciers are set to vanish if climate change continues unchecked, a major new study warned Thursday, fueling sea-level rise and jeopardizing water supplies for billions. An AFP news item on the France 24 website discusses the study. Climate action could save half of world's vanishing glaciers, says study … Continue reading Save twice the ice by limiting global warming →

Energy in Demand News, May 25-26, 2025

While there has been more environmental reporting, there have also been more academic studies that prove that there are serious grounds for doubt about the published environmental results. A Financial Times newsletter refers to one draft paper from King’s College London that uses data from Climate Trace, an open-access initiative that takes inputs from more … Continue reading Energy in Demand News, May 25-26, 2025 →

Why French men have a higher carbon footprint than women

According to a study published by the London School of Economics, French men's CO₂ emissions are, on average, 26% higher than women's in the food and transport sectors, the two largest sources of pollution in France. Audrey Garric discusses the study in an article on the Le Monde website More red meat and large … Continue reading Why French men have a higher carbon footprint than women →

What if there were a battery that could release energy while trapping carbon dioxide?

In an article on The Conversation website, Daniel Commandeur, Surrey Future Fellow, School of Chemistry & Chemical Engineering, University of Surrey; Mahsa Masoudi. PhD Researcher, Chemical Engineering, University of Surrey; and Siddharth Gadkari, Lecturer in Chemical Process Engineering, University of Surrey, try to answer the question on batteries trapping carbon dioxide. Batteries that absorb … Continue reading What if there were a battery that could release energy while trapping carbon dioxide? →

Builders are harnessing the power of AI to make the construction industry more efficient and sustainable

We are reading about how artificial intelligence is having a major impact on our economies and virtually everything these days. Sara Harowitz writes on the National Observer website how AI is being used in the Canadian construction industry. She adds that AI brings its own challenges. What is your experience with AI? How robots … Continue reading Builders are harnessing the power of AI to make the construction industry more efficient and sustainable →