Blog from Erlijn van Genuchten: Together we can achieve more

“The news on climate change with related challenges and consequences seems to explode at present, as there are many things that require special attention: greenhouse gas emissions, micro plastics, extinction of species and many more.” With this sentence, Dr. Erlijn van Genuchten started her contribution to the Energy in Demand blog in October 2019, in … Continue reading Blog from Erlijn van Genuchten: Together we can achieve more →

Australia’s Mathias Cormann elected OECD chief despite climate record

The surprise result is a diplomatic triumph for Australia, whose prime minister, Scott Morrison, had promoted Cormann’s OECD credentials in calls with international counterparts in recent months. Cormann narrowly defeated the Swedish former EU trade commissioner Cecilia Malmström in the election to lead the 37-member Paris-based organisation, which gives advice to member governments on economic … Continue reading Australia’s Mathias Cormann elected OECD chief despite climate record →

Our global Covid recovery plans are still not giving enough attention to sustainability

Madeleine Cuff writes on the inews website that less than a fifth of the Covid recovery spending announced by governments around the world has been earmarked for green projects. How do we get that to change? Less than 20 per cent of global Covid recovery spending is green, report says Despite promises to “build … Continue reading Our global Covid recovery plans are still not giving enough attention to sustainability →

By continuing to privilege economic growth over environmental and social sustainability, “we are creating the conditions in which epidemics flourish …”

Tom Pegram, Associate Professor in Global Governance and Deputy Director of UCL Global Governance Institute, UCL and Julia Kreienkamp, Researcher at the Global Governance Institute at UCL write on The Conversation website about our need to embrace the politics of ecology as our sustainable way forward. Global obsession with economic growth will increase risk … Continue reading By continuing to privilege economic growth over environmental and social sustainability, “we are creating the conditions in which epidemics flourish …” →

There is currently limited evidence for a quick transition to renewables in Africa

Galina Alova and Philipp Trotter of the University of Oxford write on The Conversation website about how they see the energy transition unfolding in Africa. Worryingly, it is going to be difficult to transition to renewable energies. Renewables represent only 10 % of Africa’s electricity production and even though they will significantly expand this decade, … Continue reading There is currently limited evidence for a quick transition to renewables in Africa →

New EEA briefing on ensuring that chemicals make a positive contribution to society without harming the environment and people’s health

The recent European Union chemicals strategy for sustainability aims to ensure that chemicals make a positive contribution to society without harming the environment and people’s health. A European Environment Agency (EEA) briefing, published earlier this month, describes key approaches to make chemicals and products safe and sustainable by design, before they enter the market. … Continue reading New EEA briefing on ensuring that chemicals make a positive contribution to society without harming the environment and people’s health →

The benefits of regenerative grazing

Regenerative grazing can store more carbon in soils in the form of roots and other plant tissues. Henry Fountain discusses how much it can really help the fight against climate change in an article on The New York Times website. A Different Kind of Land Management: Let the Cows Stomp Adam Isaacs stood surrounded … Continue reading The benefits of regenerative grazing →

To reach our climate change targets and produce real, meaningful energy savings we have to think bigger

Cher Murphy writes on The Stewardship Report website about the need for us to be much more ambitious in our actions to improve energy efficiency. What are your views? Why Small Changes Are Not Enough in Energy Efficiency Millions of people take steps each year to try to reduce their carbon footprint and save … Continue reading To reach our climate change targets and produce real, meaningful energy savings we have to think bigger →

Many Canadian condominiums opting for geothermal heating and cooling

While most geothermal systems in the past 40 years have been installed in single-family homes, those in the industry say growth in the market is now driven by condominiums. Emily Chung writes on the CBC website about the increasing interest in this technology. What are your views? Why geothermal is a hot trend in … Continue reading Many Canadian condominiums opting for geothermal heating and cooling →

Climate change: the need for more diversity in boardrooms

Despite improvements in gender equality, numbers are still lagging. The link between gender diversity and carbon footprint may not be obvious. Of five groups of businesses, the least diverse were twice as likely to fail to disclose the bare minimum of GHG data as the most diverse. A 2019 Credit Suisse study found that companies … Continue reading Climate change: the need for more diversity in boardrooms →