Europe’s building sector off track: social, economic and climate targets at risk

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 →

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 →

“We cannot allow this mad denial of energy efficiency to become permanent government policy”

The latest UK government proposals focus on the production of clean energy, but why is there no mention of what more can be done to reduce the amount of enregy we actually use? asks Andrew Warren, chairman of the British Energy Efficiency Federation, in November/December issue of Energy in Buildings & Industry. Is this situation … Continue reading “We cannot allow this mad denial of energy efficiency to become permanent government policy” →

Blog by Steve Thorne: The Voluntary Carbon Markets (VCM) – what has been learned so far… and where is it heading?

The first-ever United Nations global stock take warned that the world is significantly off track in meeting the goals of the Paris Agreement in reaching a maximum of 1.5oC warming by 2050. We need every tool available working at full speed to reduce emissions and secure a liveable future for the planet. A high-integrity voluntary carbon market … Continue reading Blog by Steve Thorne: The Voluntary Carbon Markets (VCM) – what has been learned so far… and where is it heading? →

Energy in Demand News, November 17, 2024

It has been quite a first week at COP29. Azerbaijani president, Ilham Aliyev, defended Azerbaijan’s current exports of gas and plans to expand production told world leaders gathered in his country for COP29 that natural gas was a “gift from God” and he shouldn’t be blamed for bringing it to market. Kicking off the leaders’ … Continue reading Energy in Demand News, November 17, 2024 →

New report: demands for renewable hydrogen and electricity to drive the EU’s green iron and steel transition

The Stockholm Environment Institute has published a new report on the transition underway in the steel industry. The steel industry is responsible for around 5% of CO2 emissions in the EU and the sector needs to cut carbon emissions by 55% by 2030 to align with climate targets. By applying a scenario analysis, this report … Continue reading New report: demands for renewable hydrogen and electricity to drive the EU’s green iron and steel transition →

Message to new Trump administration: improving energy efficiency is a cornerstone of a stable, competitive, affordable American economy

We have collectively been holding our breath to find out the impact on our energy and climate policies in American following the election on November 5th. Steven Nadel, Executive Director of the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) provides us with a strong argument of the importance of continuing with energy efficiency measures. The … Continue reading Message to new Trump administration: improving energy efficiency is a cornerstone of a stable, competitive, affordable American economy →

Energy in Demand News, November 10, 2024

The IEA’s Energy Efficiency 2024 report was published this week, just before COP29. Energy intensity improvements have decreased in the past year, even though nearly 200 countries agreed at COP28 to the goal of doubling the rate of progress, which would mean increasing intensity from 2% in 2022 to 4% by 2030. Yet, the IEA … Continue reading Energy in Demand News, November 10, 2024 →

Initial views on new Trump administration’s impact on climate policies

In an article on The Conversation website, Gautam Jain, Senior Research Scholar in Financing the Energy Transition, Columbia University discusses the impact on climate policy of the incoming Trump administration. What Trump can do to reverse US climate policy − and what he probably can’t change As the U.S. prepares for another Trump administration, … Continue reading Initial views on new Trump administration’s impact on climate policies →