Greening from the bottom up

High-level solutions and grand designs will not fix climate change. Christof Brandtner, Assistant professor in organisational and economic sociology at EM Lyon Business School argues in an article on The Conversation website that the bulk of the action will have to take place at the interfaces between local governments and the organised citizenry. What are … Continue reading Greening from the bottom up →

Is “de-growth” the way forward to address climate change?

Timothée Parrique, Researcher in Ecological Economics at Lund University writes on The Conversation website about a new report by Kohei Saito arguing that “degrowth communism” could halt the escalating climate emergency. EiD looks forward to the comments of readers. Economic growth is fuelling climate change – a new book proposes ‘degrowth communism’ as the … Continue reading Is “de-growth” the way forward to address climate change? →

Cost, consumption, carbon – EPCs in the UK must change to measure all three

A report from Elmhurst Energy is urging an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) revamp as part of 10 act-now policy and industry recommendations it says are necessary for preventing the UK from stalling further in its journey to carbon net zero and delivering truly energy efficient homes. EPCs must change if they are to properly support … Continue reading Cost, consumption, carbon – EPCs in the UK must change to measure all three →

France has not yet put in place the overall strategy needed to achieve a “leap forward” in its climate action

In an interview with Audrey Garric on the Le Monde website, the president of the High Council on Climate, Corinne Le Quéré , observes that while the French response to global warming isn't bad, there is no guarantee that the country will be able to meet its climate targets. Corinne Le Quéré is the president of the … Continue reading France has not yet put in place the overall strategy needed to achieve a “leap forward” in its climate action →

California’s new climate plan shows the way forward to achieving greater impact

Professor Daniel Sperling at the University of California, Davis writes on The Conversation website about how the experience and lessons learned in California will help show the way forward for the rest of the world to address the climate and energy challenges. How California’s ambitious new climate plan could help speed energy transformation around … Continue reading California’s new climate plan shows the way forward to achieving greater impact →

Blog from Jane Marsh: Can the U.S. EPA Do More to Regulate Emissions from Energy?

The climate crisis is becoming more of a concern than ever before. With global temperatures rising, it is no surprise that certain regions are experiencing the effects of climate change, such as melting ice caps, more severe natural disasters and extreme droughts. The U.S. EPA is well-known for establishing regulations and requirements for companies and … Continue reading Blog from Jane Marsh: Can the U.S. EPA Do More to Regulate Emissions from Energy? →

Italy is pushing back against EU directive aimed at improving the energy efficiency of buildings

As the revision of the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive slowly winds its way through the approval process from EU institutions, Crispian Balmer and Valentina Za write on the Reuters website that the new Italian government is throwing up some obstacles. How serious are they? Italy gets cold feet over EU greener buildings plan … Continue reading Italy is pushing back against EU directive aimed at improving the energy efficiency of buildings →

The European Commission has told member countries that a joint EU exit from the controversial Energy Charter Treaty appears inevitable

A news item on the EURACTIV website says that it is now inevitable that the EU will leave the Energy Charter Treaty. The last related post on EiD was only two weeks ago. Climate Home News writes that the United Kingdom’s government said it is “closely monitoring the situation”. The Swiss energy ministry’s Jean-Christophe Fueeg … Continue reading The European Commission has told member countries that a joint EU exit from the controversial Energy Charter Treaty appears inevitable →

New Slovak law enshrines in legislation the goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2050

Barbara Zmušková writes on the EURACTIV website about the new climate law in the Slovak Republic. Slovak government presents first-ever climate law The Climate Law, which for the first time officially enshrined in legislation the goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2050, was presented by the Slovakian Environment Ministry on Monday. The law also … Continue reading New Slovak law enshrines in legislation the goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2050 →

European Commission announces the Green Deal Industrial Plan: putting Europe’s net-zero industry in the lead

This week, the Commission presents a Green Deal Industrial Plan to enhance the competitiveness of Europe's net-zero industry and support the fast transition to climate neutrality. The Plan aims to provide a more supportive environment for the scaling up of the EU's manufacturing capacity for the net-zero technologies and products required to meet Europe's ambitious … Continue reading European Commission announces the Green Deal Industrial Plan: putting Europe’s net-zero industry in the lead →