Energy in Demand News, August 25, 2024

In an article on the Guardian website, former UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown wonders where the urgency is to address climate change and the many other environmental and political threats. He writes: “Nor, even up against the existential problem of climate change (the planet is on course for a temperature increase of 2.7C above pre-industrial … Continue reading Energy in Demand News, August 25, 2024 →

An artificial intelligence system that helps buildings shift their energy use to times when the electric grid is cleaner

Zoltan Nagy, Assistant Professor of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin, writes on The Conversation website about using a new AI system that helps shift energy use in buildings to times when the electricity grid is cleaner. What are your views? AI helps lighten the load on the electric … Continue reading An artificial intelligence system that helps buildings shift their energy use to times when the electric grid is cleaner →

Energy in Demand News, August 11, 2024

This week Lord Adair Turner, the former chairman of the UK’s Climate Change Committee and the current chair of the Energy Transitions Commission, was interviewed in the Financial Times (behind a paywall). There are two particularly important quotes from him. The first concerns what it will cost to get to net zero: “In 2020, the … Continue reading Energy in Demand News, August 11, 2024 →

Energy in Demand News, August 4, 2024

You may remember that in March 2023, the final instalment of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC) Sixth Assessment Report (AR6) was published. This eight-year long undertaking from the world’s most authoritative scientific body on climate change detailed the devastating consequences of rising GHG emissions around the world — the destruction of homes, the … Continue reading Energy in Demand News, August 4, 2024 →

Sports have good reason for caring about sustainability: Olympic progress toward sustainability

In an article on The Conversation website, Brian P. McCullough, Associate Professor of Sport Management, University of Michigan writes about why the Paris Olympics is promoting sustainability. Given the heat this week in Paris, something has to happen to promote sustainability. Readers are encouraged to read the article written in the Guardian by Damian Carrington … Continue reading Sports have good reason for caring about sustainability: Olympic progress toward sustainability →

Energy in Demand News, July 28, 2024

A task force convened by the UN secretary-general has criticised the use of carbon credits to offset emissions outside of state-regulated schemes. The Financial Times (behind a paywall) reports that the task force’s draft report opposes companies using credits “to cancel out their carbon dioxide footprint, putting it on a collision course with big oil … Continue reading Energy in Demand News, July 28, 2024 →

China is on the verge of bending its emissions curve from years of steep growth into a flat plateau

In an article on the New York Times website, Max Bearak discusses important developments in China. Analysts are seeing promising signs from the world’s biggest emitter of greenhouse gases. We can only hope this comes true. Why the Era of China’s Soaring Carbon Emissions Might Be Ending China, the world’s biggest source of planet-warming … Continue reading China is on the verge of bending its emissions curve from years of steep growth into a flat plateau →

Energy in Demand News, July 21, 2024

The energy transition is proving to be quite a challenge. This week, the New York Times (behind a paywall) wondered why the oil industry is booming. High prices and growing demand have helped US oil producers take in record profits despite global efforts to spur greater use of renewable energy and electric cars. The article … Continue reading Energy in Demand News, July 21, 2024 →

Energy in Demand News, July 14, 2024

Despite growing at an unprecedented rate last year, renewable energy sources are still not being deployed quickly enough to put the world on track to meet an international goal of tripling renewables by 2030, new data shows. According to figures published on Thursday by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), renewables are the fastest-growing source … Continue reading Energy in Demand News, July 14, 2024 →

“I think the challenge for new nuclear is that it is just expensive”

The Chairman of the Energy Transitions Commission says hydrogen or gas power with carbon capture and storage could help to keep the lights on but nuclear is simply too expensive. Writing in the Times website, Emma Powell discusses the views of Lord Turner, chairman of the Energy Transitions Commission, on the priority now being given … Continue reading “I think the challenge for new nuclear is that it is just expensive” →