Making strong arguments why older homes need ambitious retrofits

Policy makers are facing important decisions on renovation strategies. In Europe, member states will soon be sending their long-term renovation strategies to the European Commission as part of the Energy Efficiency Directive. Bruce Mulliken writes in Green Energy News about a new report from the US that should give you food for thought. Deep Energy … Continue reading Making strong arguments why older homes need ambitious retrofits →

Quote of the week

Written Ministerial Statement by Secretary of State for Energy Ed Davey after EU Energy Council meeting, March 4th: The Council then debated the 2030 climate and energy framework. . . . The Commissioner argued that the 40% greenhouse gas target was very ambitious. The majority of Member States endorsed a greenhouse gas target of 40%. … Continue reading Quote of the week →

Irish Minister criticises EU plan to phase out feed-in tariffs for mature players

Even when renewable energy technologies are considered mature, the Irish argue that there is still need for cost-effective support, according to article written by Valerie Flynn in the Irish Times. The minister makes a good argument, but will it be listened to? EU to change renewables subsidy Minister for Energy Pat Rabbitte has criticised a … Continue reading Irish Minister criticises EU plan to phase out feed-in tariffs for mature players →

Five-point plan for communicating on climate change

Continuing on the communication theme, Simon Maxwell, Executive Chair of the Climate & Development Knowledge Network (CDKN), has published a new paper, offering a five-point plan on how to win the public and policy argument on climate change. Maxwell argues that a plan is necessary because climate change policy is contested, and – like all … Continue reading Five-point plan for communicating on climate change →

This week’s briefs

This week there are so many more news items of great interest. These include that the German energy giant, RWE, had its first loss since 1949 and many are questioning how much of the loss was due to the German Energiewende (energy transition). This week also saw growing concerns over energy security, given the crisis … Continue reading This week’s briefs →

New UN report shows value of improving the energy efficiency of buildings

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has been actively seeking how to finance measures to address climate change and other related concerns. It created a finance initiative that is a global partnership between UNEP and the financial sector. It has just published an important report on the importance of investing in energy efficient measures in … Continue reading New UN report shows value of improving the energy efficiency of buildings →

Calling for common sense to promote energy efficient lighting

Simon Brammer, who works for works for the sustainable energy charity Ashden, writes an excellent article in the Guardian Professional about consumer confusion over choosing energy efficient lighting. His suggestions call for common-sense labelling and better marketing. How many incentives does it take to change a light bulb? If I asked you to give me … Continue reading Calling for common sense to promote energy efficient lighting →

Number of the week – $1.36

According to Jonathan Fahey of the Associated Press writing in the Daily Freeman News, it costs $1.36 to power an iPad for a year, compared with $28.21 for a desktop computer, according to the Electric Power Research Institute.

How rooftop solar systems are affecting energy companies

We talk about being in an energy transition and it cannot always be a win-win situation, as much as we would like it to be. Mark Chediak, Christopher Martin and Ken Wells from Bloomberg news service write a very detailed account in renewableenergyworld.com about how utilities in the US are starting to fight back. This … Continue reading How rooftop solar systems are affecting energy companies →

Happy New Year from the EiD team!

2013 was eventful for sustainable energy issues and 2014 will be even more so. Thoughts are now turning towards targets for 2030. Will there only be an EU target for greenhouse gas emissions? Or will there also be targets for renewable energy and energy efficiency? There does not appear to be any clear consensus. There … Continue reading Happy New Year from the EiD team! →