Op-Ed on Small Modular Reactors in Britain

Steve Thomas, Emeritus Professor of Energy Policy at the University of Greenwich provided an excellent opinion column on the SMR programme on the Business Green website. Steve has been a researcher in the area of energy policy for over twenty-five years. He specialises in the economics and policy of nuclear power. What are your views? … Continue reading Op-Ed on Small Modular Reactors in Britain →

Reflecting on COP28

Jack Marley writes on The Conversation website about many of the highlights from the climate change summit that ended a few weeks ago. Jack Marley edits the UK edition of the Environment + Energy section of The Conversation website. What are your views? How fossil fuel companies won COP28 Another climate summit has come … Continue reading Reflecting on COP28 →

COP28 agreement “falls short in addressing the use of fossil fuels at the heart of the climate crisis”

In an article on The Conversation website, Alaa Al Khourdajie, Research Fellow, Department of Chemical Engineering, Imperial College London; Chris Bataille, Adjunct Research Fellow in Energy and Climate Policy, Columbia University; and Lars J Nilsson, Professor of Environmental and Energy Systems Studies, Lund University in Sweden argue that the approach agreed upon at COP28 is … Continue reading COP28 agreement “falls short in addressing the use of fossil fuels at the heart of the climate crisis” →

Appreciate the limitations of carbon capture and “focus on real solutions”

The oil and gas industry wants you to believe it can capture its emissions and keep drilling as usual. That’s no way to avert climate chaos according to Laurence Tubiana and Emmanuel Guérin from the European Climate Foundation in an article on the EURACTIV website. It is behind a paywall, but Peter Coy writes an … Continue reading Appreciate the limitations of carbon capture and “focus on real solutions” →

There is a wealth of scientific evidence demonstrating that a fossil fuel phase-out will be essential for reining in the greenhouse gas emissions driving climate change

In an article on The Conversation website, Steve Pye, Associate Professor in Energy Systems, UCL writes that President Sultan Al Jaber of COP28 is wrong to say there is no since indicating phasing out fossil fuels is necessary to restrict global heating to 1.5°C. COP28 president is wrong – science clearly shows fossil fuels … Continue reading There is a wealth of scientific evidence demonstrating that a fossil fuel phase-out will be essential for reining in the greenhouse gas emissions driving climate change →

Air pollution particles from coal-fired power plants are more harmful to human health than many experts realised

In an article on The Conversation website, Lucas Henneman, Assistant Professor of Engineering at George Mason University discusses the results of a study he and colleagues undertook to better understand the health effects in the US. Pollution from coal power plants contributes to far more deaths than scientists realized, study shows Air pollution particles … Continue reading Air pollution particles from coal-fired power plants are more harmful to human health than many experts realised →

Energy in Demand News, November 5th, 2023

The negotiations taking place before a climate conference are always complicated. This is proving true this year as well. The Financial Times reports (behind a paywall) that western countries have clashed with Saudi Arabia over the role it should play to “kick-start a UN fund to help poorer countries deal with the loss and damage … Continue reading Energy in Demand News, November 5th, 2023 →

Will Germany really phase out coal by 2030?

Germany's finance minister has questioned the country's ability to phase out coal as an energy source by 2030. Abandoning the goal could deepen division within Germany's ruling coalition. The issue is discussed in a news item on the Deutsche Welle website this week. Germany: Minister casts doubt on 2030 coal exit Germany's finance minister … Continue reading Will Germany really phase out coal by 2030? →

Energy in Demand News, October 22nd, 2023

We are now about two months away from COP28 in Dubai. All of us are anxious that real progress is made because the signs of climate crisis are growing and there definitely is a need to ramp up ambition and action. We were discouraged this week when EU member states this week adopted a common … Continue reading Energy in Demand News, October 22nd, 2023 →

Solar mystery from early 20th century

In article on The Conversation website, Sugandha Srivastav, British Academy Postdoctoral Fellow, Environmental Economics at the University of Oxford unravels a mystery “what if.” You should enjoy this little-known story. If the first solar entrepreneur hadn’t been kidnapped, would fossil fuels have dominated the 20th century the way they did? One argument put forward … Continue reading Solar mystery from early 20th century →