In 1938, a British engineer was the first to connect human activities to global warming

Scientists had known for decades that carbon dioxide could trap heat and warm the planet. But a British engineer, Guy Callendar, was the first to connect human activities to global warming. After Callendar published his paper, global warming caused by human activities generating carbon dioxide was widely referred to as the “Callendar Effect.” Sylvia G. … Continue reading In 1938, a British engineer was the first to connect human activities to global warming →

The new IPCC report gives the clearest indication to date of how a warmer world is affecting all living things on Earth

This sixth series of IPCC reports don’t leave any room for complacency to address climate change. The current context is having to contend with a terrible war in Europe but we certainly have to keep focus on addressing climate change. Matt McGrath writes on the BBC news website about the five main lessons from the … Continue reading The new IPCC report gives the clearest indication to date of how a warmer world is affecting all living things on Earth →

New IPCC report shows we now have hard choices to make

The IPCC assessment offers a stark choice: Does humanity accept this disastrous status quo and the uncertain, unpleasant future it is leading toward, or does it grab the reins and choose a better future? One of the authors of the report, Edward R. Carr, Professor and Director, International Development, Community, and Environment at Clark University … Continue reading New IPCC report shows we now have hard choices to make →

The European Parliament’s lead negotiator has proposed tougher EU targets to reduce energy use this decade

The European Parliament’s rapporteur for the revision of the Energy Efficiency Directive (2018/2002), Niels Fuglsang (S&D, Denmark), has proposed increasing the EU’s energy efficiency target to at least 43% for final energy consumption and 45.5% for primary energy consumption, according to his draft report sent to shadow rapporteurs on Friday 18 February. Kate Abnett writes … Continue reading The European Parliament’s lead negotiator has proposed tougher EU targets to reduce energy use this decade →

How to improve ESG accounting

ESG accounting is a mess. Competing initiatives mean there’s no uniform set of standards for measuring a company’s progress on sustainability. The good news is that a new initiative, the International Sustainability Standards Board, promises to do for sustainability reporting what the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) does for financial reporting — develop standards for … Continue reading How to improve ESG accounting →

The circular economy should be everyone’s business – new report by Anders Wijkman

In the autumn of 2021 Anders Wijkman prepared a paper for the Global Challenges Foundation that was presented in Glasgow at COP 26. It was one of a series of papers with a focus on the need to improve governance in a number of areas. Anders wrote this to EiD: Among quite a number of … Continue reading The circular economy should be everyone’s business – new report by Anders Wijkman →

IPCC: New climate change report to sound warning on impacts

This coming week, the IPCC will be publishing its second of three major reports. The study will focus heavily on regional impacts as well as on cities and coastal communities. Matt McGrath previews the findings in an article on the BBC News website. A new report on the impacts of climate change will likely … Continue reading IPCC: New climate change report to sound warning on impacts →

What does the Energy Charter Treaty have to do with the Ukraine crisis?

The German government has been worried about being sued by the fossil fuel companies behind the Russian gas pipeline. This potential litigation is due to the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT). Yamina Saheb, a friend of EiD used to head the ECT’s energy efficiency unit and is now an energy policy analyst at the OpenExp think … Continue reading What does the Energy Charter Treaty have to do with the Ukraine crisis? →

The development of a green hydrogen economy in Africa is gathering considerable attention

Patrick Prestele writes on the ESI-Africa website. Africans realise that to meet their Paris climate obligations they need to achieve significant carbon emission reductions, even though the carbon footprint is relatively low. Green hydrogen is seen as a major solution. Analysis: Green hydrogen, the new energy frontier in Africa The 2015 Paris Climate Agreement, … Continue reading The development of a green hydrogen economy in Africa is gathering considerable attention →

China’s removal of renewable energy subsidy will affect fight against climate change

China, the largest emitter of greenhouse gases, is also the largest user of energy and amid this, the country's growing population is putting pressure on Beijing to amend plans to fulfil its ever-growing energy needs. China's subsidy policy was mostly to cover excessive installation and production costs of renewable energy but the country has decided … Continue reading China’s removal of renewable energy subsidy will affect fight against climate change →