Even a culture centre can promote energy efficiency

Penobscot Bay is one of America’s most well-known summer colonies and has many islands a towns to visit. Most recently a new centre for contemporary art opened. An article on the Penobscot Bay Pilot website describes that one can pursue art and energy efficiency.   Art, Energy Efficiency, and the Economy We’re abuzz with the … Continue reading Even a culture centre can promote energy efficiency →

How the energy transition is transforming one city in Ontario

Sault Ste. Marie Ontario was known for locks that allowed for shipping between Lake Huron and Lake Superior. It was also known as a major steel producer. It has fallen on hard times with the industrial and economic restructuring that affected so many cities and regions in all our countries. Peter Kuitenbrouwer writes an encouraging … Continue reading How the energy transition is transforming one city in Ontario →

The energy transition in Britain

It is amazing to read every day about the ups and downs of Britain’s energy policy. There are plans to build 6 nuclear plants by different consortia, using different technologies. Obviously, everyone is reading about the plans for Hinkley Point C and the recent delays to review China’s role. Then we read about how the … Continue reading The energy transition in Britain →

India is looking to create a dedicated green energy trading platform

We have read with great interest how India is giving a major push to deploy renewable energy. As Anindya Upadhyay writes on the Livemint website, India is looking to roll out a dedicated platform for the trade of clean electricity in the next six months.   Govt mulls green power exchange to spur renewable energy … Continue reading India is looking to create a dedicated green energy trading platform →

China setting performance standards for industry to reduce overcapacity problems

Girish Shetti writes a good article on the China Topix website about recent policy changes in China to impose stricter environmental, safety, and energy efficiency standards.   China to Impose Tough Environmental and Energy Efficiency Standards to Tackle Overcapacity To overcome overcapacity across key Industrial sectors, the Chinese government has decided to impose stricter environmental, … Continue reading China setting performance standards for industry to reduce overcapacity problems →

We need a new approach to staying cool

Air conditioning has made modern living bearable in many cities. The percentage of homes and offices with air conditioning in warm countries is increasing at a staggering rate. Surely, since we know how to build passive buildings, there must be a way of significantly slowing the rate of deployment. John Vidal writes in The Observer … Continue reading We need a new approach to staying cool →

Humanity’s demands on the planet are unsustainable

Our resource consumption is simply unsustainable and yet we continue with “development” project after “development” project. We are getting more evidence but so far we have not had the wake up call for us to take meaningful action. As Andrew Simms writes in The Guardian, we need a policy that focuses on renewable energy, green … Continue reading Humanity’s demands on the planet are unsustainable →

New report shows important role multilateral development banks in climate finance

We assume that multilateral development banks are playing an important role in providing climate finance to important initiatives, but it takes some evidence to show us exactly what is happening globally. The International Institute for Sustainable Development writes about a recent report that documents developments in 2015.   2015 Climate Finance by MDBs at US$25 … Continue reading New report shows important role multilateral development banks in climate finance →

More cities join the efforts to manage emissions and build resilience

It is encouraging to see how cities are increasingly embracing the need to take measures to lower the impact from global warming. There is a good article on the CDP website about recent developments that are most encouraging.   Unprecedented global rise in cities disclosing climate strategies A record number of cities are now measuring … Continue reading More cities join the efforts to manage emissions and build resilience →