Energy in Demand News, September 14-15, 2025

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) moved on Friday to stop requiring thousands of polluting facilities to report the amount of heat-trapping greenhouse gases that they release into the air, reports New York Times. The EPA proposal “would end requirements for thousands of coal-burning power plants, oil refineries, steel mills and other industrial facilities across … Continue reading Energy in Demand News, September 14-15, 2025 →

European Parliament gave its final green light to new measures to prevent and reduce waste from food and textiles across the EU

Stuart Braun writes on the Deutsche Welle website about new waste targets in the EU. EU lawmakers have given a final green light to a law on slashing the mountains of food wasted in Europe each year, and curbing the environmental impact of fast fashion. EU to slash food and fast fashion waste Following … Continue reading European Parliament gave its final green light to new measures to prevent and reduce waste from food and textiles across the EU →

Google’s net-zero pledge has quietly been scrubbed

In June, Google’s Sustainability website proudly boasted a headline pledge to achieve net-zero emissions by 2030. By July, that had all changed. Darius Snieckus and Rory White write on the National Observer website about what is going on. Google deletes net-zero pledge from sustainability website Google’s CEO Sundar Pichai stood smiling in a leafy-green California garden … Continue reading Google’s net-zero pledge has quietly been scrubbed →

Energy in Demand News, August 31, 2025

The expression Energy Efficiency 1st is not just a PR slogan. This week, 67 Industry players and 26 national and EU industry associations wrote to the EU’s Danish Presidency, concerned about the draft compromise text on the EU Climate Law from 31st July, which removes explicit references to the Energy Efficiency First (EE1st) principle. The … Continue reading Energy in Demand News, August 31, 2025 →

Energy in Demand News, August 24-25, 2025

Encouragingly, the Financial Times reports that solar power generation in Britain so far this year has surpassed the total for 2024 “as panels are rapidly installed amid favourable weather, underlining renewable energy’s increasing importance to the grid. . . . Some 14.08 terawatt hours of electricity was produced from solar in Great Britain by August … Continue reading Energy in Demand News, August 24-25, 2025 →

The EU’s non-financial reporting (NFR) regulations relating to sustainability have strong implications for the Majority World, the countries and territories outside Europe and North America where most people live

In an article on The Conversation website, Mira Manini Tiwari, Research Associate at the Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies, European University Institute discusses the impact of the EU’s NFR regulations, at a time when global, systemic policy effects are more important than ever EU efforts to measure companies’ environmental impacts have global effects. … Continue reading The EU’s non-financial reporting (NFR) regulations relating to sustainability have strong implications for the Majority World, the countries and territories outside Europe and North America where most people live →

Energy in Demand News, August 17-18, 2025

It was certainly disappointing that the UN negotiations for a global treaty on plastics pollution collapsed without an agreement. Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and a number of other petrostates would not budge from their long-standing refusal to agree measures that address the production of plastic, agreeing only to waste management. It is not clear when negotiations … Continue reading Energy in Demand News, August 17-18, 2025 →

An eco-friendly public housing scheme in Germany using an innovative modular timber construction method

In Tübingen, Germany, TriqBriq is creating eco‑friendly homes from modular wooden blocks made with recycled materials, offering a low‑carbon alternative to concrete. In an article on the Deutsche Welle website, Julia Mielke discusses the scheme. Eco-friendly homes from wooden building blocks A German city is building an eco-friendly public housing scheme using an innovative … Continue reading An eco-friendly public housing scheme in Germany using an innovative modular timber construction method →

UN plastics treaty talks fail after US joins petrostates in blocking action

Writing on the Climate Home News website, Matteo Civillini discusses the collapse of the final round of UN talks to reach a legally binding global treaty on plastic pollution after three years of negotiations, dealing a blow to multilateral decision-making. The UN talks ran into overtime, ending with a standoff over whether a treaty should … Continue reading UN plastics treaty talks fail after US joins petrostates in blocking action →

Energy in Demand News, August 10-11, 2025

GHG emissions are “going through the roof” because of AI, according to an article on the New York Times website that explains how Big Tech’s net-zero goals are looking shaky. “Google’s greenhouse gas emissions rose by 11 percent in 2024 from the year before. Amazon’s were up by 6 percent. Microsoft’s fell slightly but remained … Continue reading Energy in Demand News, August 10-11, 2025 →