Air pollution raising alarm bells

Any of you living in Europe’s major cities has probably already been affected by health alerts about the high levels of dangerous emissions. Fiona Harvey writes an important article in The Guardian about what this is costing us in terms of early deaths and disease. She shows that the costs of dirty air are equivalent … Continue reading Air pollution raising alarm bells →

Global impact of the widespread use of air conditioners

The use of air conditioning globally is increasing at a rapid rate, particularly in non-OECD countries. Chris Mooney writes an important article in the Washington Post about this trend. As he writes, the motive is not increasing temperatures but greater wealth. However, unless the electricity can be provided by renewable energy, the impact on global … Continue reading Global impact of the widespread use of air conditioners →

How the low carbon energy transition can affect insurers

Any major macro-economic transition is going to have winners and losers. This also holds true for the low carbon energy transition that is underway. Tom Bawden writes an important article in The Independent about the big hit that insurance companies could suffer due to huge volumes of fossil fuel reserves that could be left ‘stranded.’ … Continue reading How the low carbon energy transition can affect insurers →

This week’s briefs

There are some good brief items for you this week. • New eceee report This week the European Council for an Energy Efficient Economy (eceee) launched an analysis paper entitled “What we will gain from more ambitious energy efficiency goals in the EU”. The analysis presents and explains the findings of the Commission’s 2030 … Continue reading This week’s briefs →

Impact of fuel-efficient vehicles in Ireland

Frank McDonald writes in the Irish Times about the significant reduction in energy consumption by the switch to energy-efficient vehicles in Ireland. Fuel-efficient cars reduce energy use by a quarter Consumer preference for more fuel-efficient cars has reduced energy use in the transport sector by 25 per cent since 2007, according to data released … Continue reading Impact of fuel-efficient vehicles in Ireland →

Expected impact of climate change on Asian economic growth

Victor Mallet writes in the Financial Times about a recent Asian Development Bank study that calculates the effect on GDP in six Asian countries if they maintain a “business as usual” scenario for global carbon emissions. Climate change to slash south Asian GDP, ADB warns South Asian economies will be badly squeezed by climate … Continue reading Expected impact of climate change on Asian economic growth →

How renewable energy is contributing to the economy and jobs

Zachary Shahan, director of CleanTechnical.com, writes a good article in Custommade.com about the impact on small businesses from renewable energy development. Renewable Energy Produces A New Crop of Small Business Benefits When we think of renewable energy, “environment,” “green,” and “clean” may be some of the first things that come to mind. But while … Continue reading How renewable energy is contributing to the economy and jobs →

Employment impact from investment in energy efficiency

Pennie Varvarides writes in the website Lighting about the jobs safeguarded in Wales due to recent investment in energy efficiency. Energy efficiency push secures thousands of jobs At least 1,500 private sector jobs have been safeguarded in Wales thanks to investment in energy efficiency. These figures were revealed today by the Carbon Trust’s Wales … Continue reading Employment impact from investment in energy efficiency →

Assessing the impact of smart meters

There is a considerable amount of debate about who benefits from the roll out of smart meters, as required by EU legislation. Terry Macalister writes in The Guardian about an analysis in the UK showing that the net benefits of technology which is meant to give consumers more control over energy are reduced from £8.3bn … Continue reading Assessing the impact of smart meters →

Maybe Canada will wake up to importance of climate change

Chris Plecash writes in the Hill Times of Canada about the rising insurance claims due to extreme weather events associated with climate change. This is going to happen in more than Canada and hopefully we will all be prepared. Extreme weather events beginning to take a toll on Canadian infrastructure, economy Extreme weather events … Continue reading Maybe Canada will wake up to importance of climate change →