“No matter how many supply-side resources we pour into the mix, the perfect blend will elude us until we stop treating demand-side flexibility as a final flourish of glitter”

With REPowerEU underway, Europe’s energy and climate strategy demands a rapid change of scenery. We must utilise the full palette of solutions available, including household flexibility, says Sophie Yule-Bennett from the Regulatory Assistance Project (RAP) in an article on the FORESIGHT Climate & Energy website.   House power: the hidden powerhouse of the new energy … Continue reading “No matter how many supply-side resources we pour into the mix, the perfect blend will elude us until we stop treating demand-side flexibility as a final flourish of glitter”

The options in Germany’s accelerated energy transitions

Without Russian natural gas, Germany will be facing an energy crisis. In an article on the Deutsche Welle website, Jeannette Cwienk discusses what the most realistic and climate-friendly options are.   How can Germany realistically replace gas? As Germany scrambles to find a way to lower its reliance on Russian natural gas, the country has announced  a … Continue reading The options in Germany’s accelerated energy transitions

We know how to mobilise consumers to take action to deliver energy efficiency, now let’s do it

Minimum energy consumption standards for products and rented homes have galvanised improvements in energy efficiency in recent years, argues Andrew Warren, chairman of the British Energy Efficiency Federation in an article on the Business Green website.   Why the government should stick with sticks to deliver energy efficiency Effective energy saving programmes need three mutually … Continue reading We know how to mobilise consumers to take action to deliver energy efficiency, now let’s do it

Read all about it – important new publications

New JRC report ­– Prosumerism and energy sustainability This report from the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre develops a sociotechnical understanding of energy prosumerism to investigate how energy prosumerism can lead to actual reductions of energy and resource demand. The report starts out by explaining what a sociotechnical and broad understanding of prosumerism means. Thereafter, … Continue reading Read all about it – important new publications

If the world’s energy consumption grows at the pre-COVID rate, technological change alone will not be enough to halve global CO₂ emissions by 2030

Mark Diesendorf, Honorary Associate Professor at UNSW Sydney explains in an article on The Conversation website that we may need to take reducing energy consumption more seriously. Technology alone is not the answer. What are your views?   Net zero by 2050 will hit a major timing problem technology can’t solve. We need to talk … Continue reading If the world’s energy consumption grows at the pre-COVID rate, technological change alone will not be enough to halve global CO₂ emissions by 2030

A better understanding of energy usage helps lead to lower energy bills

David Glew, Head of Energy Efficiency and Policy at Leeds Beckett University in an article on The Conversation website discusses the importance of “energy literacy.”   How to lower your bills with a better grasp of home energy use The future does not look bright for energy bills, with fuel poverty set to affect over 6 … Continue reading A better understanding of energy usage helps lead to lower energy bills

During this gas supply crisis “can energy consumers really make a difference?”

Aurore Julien, Senior Lecturer and Research Manager, University of East London writes on The Conversation website, that consumers can make a big difference. Interestingly, Aurore Julien’s PhD covered rapid energy savings to mitigate a natural gas crisis (2014). EiD would like to point out that the Buildings Performance Institute Europe has recently come up with … Continue reading During this gas supply crisis “can energy consumers really make a difference?”

New study highlighting “vast energy inequality” between rich and poor countries points to “climate hypocrisy”

A recent study found that each Briton produces 200 times the climate emissions of the average Congolese person, with people in the US producing 585 times as much. Yet, as recently as COP26, there was lots of hand-wringing by rich countries about the extent to which aid and other development finance should finance fossil fuels … Continue reading New study highlighting “vast energy inequality” between rich and poor countries points to “climate hypocrisy”

Governments around the world are struggling with ithe immense contribution their militaries are making to the climate crisis

To get a sense of the problem, a recent study showed that if the US military were a country, its fuel usage alone would make it the 47th largest emitter of GHGs in the world. Despite the outsized role of militaries, we know surprisingly little about their emissions. Doug Weir, Research and Policy Director at … Continue reading Governments around the world are struggling with ithe immense contribution their militaries are making to the climate crisis

The new heat and buildings strategy boosts the UK’s credentials as a global leader yet it has ignored some critical actions

With much fanfare, the UK government announced its heat and buildings strategy last week. Ran Boydell, Visiting Lecturer in Sustainable Development at Heriot-Watt University discusses the strategy to see if it is fit for purpose to help Britain achieve its net-zero objectives in an article on The Conversation website.   Heat and buildings strategy: the … Continue reading The new heat and buildings strategy boosts the UK’s credentials as a global leader yet it has ignored some critical actions