China raises efficiency targets for energy-intensive industries

Eric Ng writes on the South China Morning Post that higher energy efficiency bars have been set in China for companies in sectors ranging from oil refining to non-ferrous metals smelting. The new policies will ‘amplify the trend of the strong getting stronger’, analyst says Climate Change: China’s new five-year energy efficiency targets to … Continue reading China raises efficiency targets for energy-intensive industries →

Irish government launches the National Retrofitting Scheme

The Irish government recently approved a package of supports to make it easier and more affordable for homeowners to undertake home energy upgrades, for warmer, healthier and more comfortable homes, with lower energy bills. The measures address barriers to undertaking energy upgrades (retrofits) reported by homeowners and those working in the industry. They also reflect the step-change needed – in … Continue reading Irish government launches the National Retrofitting Scheme →

Scientists have developed a prototype window that can harvest heat in the winter and reflect it in the summer

A prototype window with switchable absorption properties, so that it can be set to harvest heat in the winter and reflect it in the summer, has recently been developed. The window relies on a film just 12 nanometres thick, containing a material that changes its state when heated up to high temperatures, using a transparent … Continue reading Scientists have developed a prototype window that can harvest heat in the winter and reflect it in the summer →

The British energy rating scheme, recognised in law, offers a distinctly cold shoulder to the installation of heat pumps

Andrew Warren, who chairs the British Energy Efficiency Federation, warns in an articel on the Business Green website the already considerable challenge of reducing the cost of heat pumps is being complicated by the inability of Energy Performance Certificate surveyors to recommend a switch to greener heating systems EPCs don't like heat pumps - … Continue reading The British energy rating scheme, recognised in law, offers a distinctly cold shoulder to the installation of heat pumps →

Blog from Jane Marsh: Why We Need More Green Buildings for Combatting Emissions

Since the United Nations established the Paris Agreement, countries have recognized the importance of climate-protection regulations. Many nations independently developed environmental policies that target greenhouse gas emissions. Cities are generally areas of concern for ecologists when it comes to shrinking countries’ carbon footprints. Urban areas produce more atmospheric pollution from transportation, energy production, and buildings. … Continue reading Blog from Jane Marsh: Why We Need More Green Buildings for Combatting Emissions →

This year’s assessment of the transparency and integrity of companies’ climate pledges

Companies around the world are increasingly alert to the climate emergency, facing calls from a growing range of stakeholders to take responsibility for the environmental impact of their activities. Most large companies now have public climate strategies and targets, many of which include pledges that, on the face of it, appear to significantly reduce, or … Continue reading This year’s assessment of the transparency and integrity of companies’ climate pledges →

Fuel poverty can directly and indirectly impact people’s mental and physical health

With energy prices skyrocketing, there are major concerns of how they impact on vulnerable segments of society. Apostolos Davillas, Associate Professor in Health Economics at University of East Anglia; Andrew Burlinson, Lecturer in Energy Economics at the University of East Anglia; and Hui-Hsuan Liu, Postdoctoral Research Associate, Department of Comparative Biomedical Science at the Royal … Continue reading Fuel poverty can directly and indirectly impact people’s mental and physical health →

Energy bills in the UK are nearly £2.5bn higher than they would have been if climate policies had not been scrapped over the past decade

Everyone is coping with rising energy prices, but recent research shows that scrapped climate policies over the past decade have had costly consequences. Tom Brook discusses in an article on the techradar website. Cutting green initiatives has added £2.5bn to UK energy bills Previous efforts to slash climate policies are now costing the average … Continue reading Energy bills in the UK are nearly £2.5bn higher than they would have been if climate policies had not been scrapped over the past decade →

The energy transition to net zero needs improved energy efficiency to succeed

In a recent event for the World Economic Forum, Fatih Birol, Executive Director of the IEA and Björn Rosengren, CEO of sustainability technology company ABB, discuss what needs to happen to improve energy efficiency and reach net zero. Their discussion is in an article on the European Sting website by Kate Whiting. Energy efficiency … Continue reading The energy transition to net zero needs improved energy efficiency to succeed →

Key principles to electric vehicle programmes that help low- and moderate-income customers install chargers at home

Sara Gersen and Ona Porter write on the Earth Justice website to give their views to help expand at-home charging for low- and moderate-income electric vehicle drivers. While they write about New Mexico, how useful are these principles in other jurisdictions? Would they work for you? What the Electric Vehicle World Can Learn from … Continue reading Key principles to electric vehicle programmes that help low- and moderate-income customers install chargers at home →