Category: climate change

Agreeing on 2030 climate and energy goals proving illusive within European Commission

Reuters news service provided an article in The Guardian about the controversy within the European Commission itself in agreeing on climate and energy goals for 2030. Undoubtedly, the EU wants to be a global leader but there is also the cold reality of trying to re-build momentum in the lagging economy.  Can the two be … Continue reading Agreeing on 2030 climate and energy goals proving illusive within European Commission →

Coal use in Germany increases even though the low carbon transition is underway

No one said the transition to a low carbon economy would be high and everyone is watching Germany’s effort with great interest. Stefan Wagstyl writes in the Financial Times that electricity production from brown coal actually rose last year and now it is at the highest level since 1990. The new coalition government envisages the … Continue reading Coal use in Germany increases even though the low carbon transition is underway →

Views on sustainability

The environmentalist Tony Juniper writes an excellent article in the Guardian hoping sustainability will be firmly on the political agenda in 2014 but fearing the philosophy of growth at any cost will continue.   The growth versus environment narrative needs to change in 2014 The last year was not a landmark one for progress on … Continue reading Views on sustainability →

Scaling back efforts to combat climate change will come at a price

As mentioned in EiD last week, the UK government is re-thinking its climate change initiatives and giving more emphasis to energy supply options such as shale gas and nuclear energy expansion. Pilita Clark writes in the Financial Times about a new report from the Committee on Climate Change, an independent, statutory body established under the … Continue reading Scaling back efforts to combat climate change will come at a price →

Coal on the move?

Sustainable coal?  Ignoring reality?  The fundamentals on energy policy?  Sophie Yeo writes for the Guardian Environment Network about the pressure the world coal industry is putting on global climate negotiations to face reality about the real importance of coal.  We have seen the World Bank and many other financial institutions stop funding coal-fired power plants … Continue reading Coal on the move? →

Take note . . .

There are many interesting brief new reports or news items that should interest EiD readers. • New Germanwatch report: The End of EU Climate Leadership The EU is no longer the world leader on climate policies. Other major countries have caught up or even outpaced the EU, a new study conducted by Germanwatch says. Even … Continue reading Take note . . . →

Power of the people

Sarah Shemkus reviews an interesting three-day conference in the Guardian that was held in the US recently. The conference was on Crowds and Climate. Harnessing the crowd to promote sustainable innovation MIT's crowds and climate conference discussed the crowd's power to champion sustainability – but is the market ready? Hundreds of academics, activists, scientists, municipal … Continue reading Power of the people →

Climate change and ethics

I first met Don Brown at a climate conference many years ago and was so impressed by his scholarship.  Don is Scholar In Residence and Professor Sustainability Ethics and Law, Widener University School of Law, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. He argues about the ethics and justice issues related to climate change in a powerful and convincing manner.  This short … Continue reading Climate change and ethics →