How human heat can best be used to warm buildings

Amin Al-Habaibeh, Professor of Intelligent Engineering Systems at Nottingham Trent University, in an article on The Conversation website, discusses how human body heat can be used to adjust temperatures. He said we can develop “smart buildings” able to adjust their heating based on the number of people in a room and the expected resulting increase … Continue reading How human heat can best be used to warm buildings →

New EEA briefing on carbon storage and sequestration potential of Europe’s many land and marine habitats

What is the carbon storage and sequestration potential of Europe’s many land and marine habitats? A first scoping analysis, published recently by the European Environment Agency (EEA), found that forests and wetlands can play an important role in storing carbon but doing so should take account of potential impacts on biodiversity and ecosystem services. … Continue reading New EEA briefing on carbon storage and sequestration potential of Europe’s many land and marine habitats →

“At Cop27, it is incumbent upon all states and non-state actors to demonstrate a united world that faces climate change challenges through urgent, ambitious, and transformative agenda”

The latest IPCC report and Ukraine crisis show the urgency of phasing out fossil fuels, investing in renewables and developing sustainable agriculture. Mahmoud Mohieldin, the Egyptian UN Climate Change high-level champion and the UN special envoy on financing the 2030 sustainable development agenda writes on the Climate Change News website about some of his views … Continue reading “At Cop27, it is incumbent upon all states and non-state actors to demonstrate a united world that faces climate change challenges through urgent, ambitious, and transformative agenda” →

Japan beefing up its building codes

Zero Energy Homes (ZEH) and Zero Energy Buildings (ZEB) guidelines will be used to enforce the revised building codes according to a news item on the Rethink Tokyo website. They will come into effect after 2025. Energy conservation architecture to be mandatory for Japan real estate from 2025 On April 22nd, the Cabinet of … Continue reading Japan beefing up its building codes →

If the world’s energy consumption grows at the pre-COVID rate, technological change alone will not be enough to halve global CO₂ emissions by 2030

Mark Diesendorf, Honorary Associate Professor at UNSW Sydney explains in an article on The Conversation website that we may need to take reducing energy consumption more seriously. Technology alone is not the answer. What are your views? Net zero by 2050 will hit a major timing problem technology can’t solve. We need to talk … Continue reading If the world’s energy consumption grows at the pre-COVID rate, technological change alone will not be enough to halve global CO₂ emissions by 2030 →

Calling for greater energy efficiency to reduce EU dependence on Russian fossil fuels

Initiatives to improve energy efficiency can reduce the EU’s dependence on Russian fossil fuels. They can also help increase the union’s influence in the global south. Mats Engstrom discusses the issues in an article on the European Council on Foreign Relations website. Efficient influence: Energy initiatives for a geopolitical Europe Russia’s brutal war on … Continue reading Calling for greater energy efficiency to reduce EU dependence on Russian fossil fuels →

Energy efficiency: the need to look at past successful messages rather than unproven new technology

In the April issue of Energy in Buildings & Industry, Andrew Warren, chairman of the British Energy Efficiency Federation, sets out the reasons why the Government have managed to issue its' latest energy policy whilst omitting any initiatives to stimulate energy efficiency. It also sets out what needs to be done to rectify the position, … Continue reading Energy efficiency: the need to look at past successful messages rather than unproven new technology →

Serious conversations between industry, consumers and governments about limiting resource use in the fashion industry are needed to make the industry sustainable

If things don’t change fast, the fashion industry could use a quarter of the world’s remaining global carbon budget to keep warming under 2℃ by 2050, and use 35% more land to produce fibres by 2030. Over the past 15 years, clothing production has doubled while the length of time we actually wear these clothes … Continue reading Serious conversations between industry, consumers and governments about limiting resource use in the fashion industry are needed to make the industry sustainable →

Ranking the 12 most effective measures that European cities have introduced in recent decade

Kimberly Nicholas, Associate Professor of Sustainability Science at Lund University, in an article on The Conversation website, provides the results of latest research to provide evidence-based ways to reduce car use in cities. 12 best ways to get cars out of cities – ranked by new research Question: what do the following statistics have … Continue reading Ranking the 12 most effective measures that European cities have introduced in recent decade →

Building materials have a heavy carbon footprint and present a concrete challenge to the climate

We need to rethink the way we construct our buildings in order to reduce embodied carbon. The strategies to reduce embodied carbon already exist – from building smarter to decarbonising building materials. To shine a light on these solutions, the Programme for Energy Efficiency in Buildings (PEEB) recently published a working paper presenting key facts … Continue reading Building materials have a heavy carbon footprint and present a concrete challenge to the climate →