Among the many questions raised by the rise of artificial intelligence, its compatibility with decarbonisation should be a central concern

The notion of ‘techno-solutionism,’ asserting that artificial intelligence could achieve sufficient energy savings to make the process sustainable, is an illusion. Le Monde published an editorial on its website about a recent report by the Shift Project that offered a sobering assessment of the compatibility of AI with decarbonisation.   The incompatibility of AI and … Continue reading Among the many questions raised by the rise of artificial intelligence, its compatibility with decarbonisation should be a central concern

Summary from the ENERNOW SDG7 Action Forum, 24-25 September 2025

Meeting on the sidelines of the 80th session of the UN General Assembly, the ENERGYNOW SDG7 Action Forum addressed the nexus of health, food security, climate change, and energy, among others. The summary report was published on the IISD Earth Negotiations Bulletin website.   Summary report, 24–25 September 2025 With just five years until 2030 and discussions … Continue reading Summary from the ENERNOW SDG7 Action Forum, 24-25 September 2025

Another business-led effort from the financial sector to fight climate change is unraveling

In an article on The Conversation website, David L Levy, Professor Emeritus of Management, UMass Boston and Rami Kaplan, Senior Lecturer of Sociology and Labor Studies, Tel Aviv University discuss how net-zero alliances in the financial sector never made much business sense and were not particularly effective at fighting climate change. Do you agree?   … Continue reading Another business-led effort from the financial sector to fight climate change is unraveling

Energy in Demand News, September 28-29, 2025

Trump to World: Green Energy Is a Scam and Climate Science Is From ‘Stupid People’ That was quite a headline for the New York Times account of President Trump berating everyone at the UN General Assembly this week… everyone who fell for “the greatest con job ever perpetrated”, the carbon footprint “hoax” and the “green … Continue reading Energy in Demand News, September 28-29, 2025

Uruguay’s energy transition: a model for other countries?

Ramón Méndez Galain helped Uruguay decarbonise its grid in just five years, with 98 % of its energy coming from renewable sources. Allyson Chiu writes on the Washington Post website about how he accomplished this.   He got an entire country running on clean energy. Can he do it again? When Ramón Méndez Galain’s phone … Continue reading Uruguay’s energy transition: a model for other countries?

Energy in Demand News, September 21-22, 2025

An EU directive, known as the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive, approved in 2024 is causing problems for American oil companies. The New York Times reports that the Executive Director of Exxon, Darren Woods, is now urging Europe to rescind this directive which makes companies track climate pollution. Woods called the EU regulations one part … Continue reading Energy in Demand News, September 21-22, 2025

LSE report finds publicly listed companies lack credible climate transition plans

Florence Jones writes on the Sustainableviews website about new research from the London School of Economics’ TPI Global Climate Transition Centre reveals that almost all of the 2,000 most polluting businesses lack credible transition plans   Companies failing on transition planning, stalling on climate reporting At a glance Research published by the London School of … Continue reading LSE report finds publicly listed companies lack credible climate transition plans

Energy in Demand News, September 14-15, 2025

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) moved on Friday to stop requiring thousands of polluting facilities to report the amount of heat-trapping greenhouse gases that they release into the air, reports New York Times. The EPA proposal “would end requirements for thousands of coal-burning power plants, oil refineries, steel mills and other industrial facilities across … Continue reading Energy in Demand News, September 14-15, 2025

More support being given to SMEs in Europe to become more energy efficient

It was a big day for energy efficiency financing this week. Importantly, the European Investment Bank (EIB) Group, supported by the European Commission announced a new financing initiative at a meeting that brought together a wide range of experts, including Rod, representing Energy Efficiency in Industrial Processes (EEIP). You can check out the EEIP LinkedIn … Continue reading More support being given to SMEs in Europe to become more energy efficient

Energy in Demand News, September 7-8, 2025

As we are decarbonising our economies, electrification become more and more important. A Financial Times newsletter this week, however, notes that EU member states are set to miss a deadline for linking their electricity grids more closely. “By the end of this year, EU member states should have increased cross-border transmission capacity — the maximum … Continue reading Energy in Demand News, September 7-8, 2025