Measuring up residential buildings in New York

New York City has been a leader in improving the energy performance of its buildings and now it is publishing data to compare residential buildings. This article by Mireya Navarro in the New York Times explains what appears to be one of the important legacies of Mayor Bloomberg’s time in office. A Fresh Set of … Continue reading Measuring up residential buildings in New York →

Vulnerability to climate change is not only in developing countries

John Broder explains in the New York Times about some of the breakdowns that can be expected in the energy system as a result of the impact of changing climate. Climate Change Will Cause More Energy Breakdowns, U.S. Warns The nation’s entire energy system is vulnerable to increasingly severe and costly weather events driven … Continue reading Vulnerability to climate change is not only in developing countries →

Shock at new targets for building codes in Wales

The BBC news website published a report on the recent decision of the Welsh government to drastically reduce the level of ambition in the planned new building codes. Let us hope this doesn't happen in other regions and countries in Europe. Drastic reduction in new home energy efficiency targets Energy efficiency targets for all new … Continue reading Shock at new targets for building codes in Wales →

How Europe is making the transition to green urban transportation

Erica Gies writes in the New York Times about efforts in Europe to integrate the old with the new to develop a much greener approach to urban transit. Examples are given from Austria, France and Germany. In Europe, Greener Transit on Existing Infrastructure Vienna is employing some old-fashioned technology to run shiny new electric buses … Continue reading How Europe is making the transition to green urban transportation →

The health and wealth of cities

Tim Smedley writes in the Guardian about a new report by the Carbon Disclosure Project that discusses the positive impact of climate change on cities. It will be interesting to see how this is received by the environmental community. Is climate change making cities wealthier and healthier? A new report on climate change action … Continue reading The health and wealth of cities →

Australia promotes energy efficiency in apartments

The C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group has announced a new innovative programme in Australia called Smart Blocks in Australia help improve the energy performance of apartment buildings. New national program aims to enhance energy efficiency of Australian apartment buildings This month, an innovative new program, Smart Blocks, was launched in two Australian C40 cities, Melbourne … Continue reading Australia promotes energy efficiency in apartments →

China taking more action to address air pollution

Keith Bradsher reports in the New York Times that the Chinese cabinet recently approved new measures to tackle the increasing problem of air pollution. China Sets New Rules Aimed at Curbing Air Pollution China’s cabinet has adopted 10 measures to improve air quality in the latest move aimed at responding to the dense smog … Continue reading China taking more action to address air pollution →

Cities in Canada also looking at sustainable energy

Larry Pynn writes in the Vancouver Sun about a new study that shows that cities would benefit by taking a sustainable energy approach. It is good to see how cities globally are playing and increasingly important role. Cities would benefit from national energy strategy based on renewable energy: Columbia Institute Canadian municipalities struggling with … Continue reading Cities in Canada also looking at sustainable energy →

City in Italy uses energy performance contracting to promote energy efficiency

Sadhbh Ní Hógáin writes in the Energy Collective about how the city of Modena is taking advantage of support from the EU to finance energy efficiency. Since joining the Covenant of Mayors in 2010, Modena has been quite active, starting with the development of a sustainable energy action plan. It will be important to watch … Continue reading City in Italy uses energy performance contracting to promote energy efficiency →

New report on cities and the contribution green policies can make to growth

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has recently published report on the benefits that can be achieved by cities taking a “green” approach. Cities can generate growth and jobs while becoming greener – this is the message of the OECD’s new Green Growth in Cities report. Drawing on case studies of Paris, Chicago, … Continue reading New report on cities and the contribution green policies can make to growth →