Everything we do needs energy. The type of energy we use shapes the world around us, from how clean is the air we breathe, to how shock-proof our economies are.A rapid transition in energy use is at the centre of solving climate breakdown. The world still uses coal, oil and gas for over 80 percent of its energy needs. But the rise of renewable energy around the world is beating all expectations. Meeting climate targets means more than just having lots of solar panels and wind turbines, though – it means leaving fossil fuels in the ground, and radically reducing the amount of energy used in high-consuming countries and groups of people.
Story of change
Reclaiming power: The rapid rise of community renewable energy and why the added benefits of local, clean power can help accelerate transitionRenewable energy is on the rise. It made up more than a quarter of global electricity generation (27%) in 2019 and is outpacing all other energy sources’ growing capacity. Nevertheless, it is...
A rapid transition to clean and lower energy use can bring jobs, a wide range of health benefits, cleaner air and a more stable climate. Evidence shows that where communities own and develop renewable energy schemes the benefits spread more broadly and any problems are more easily overcome. It’s around energy that some of the most rapid and promising changes are happening right now.
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Story of change
The Great Switch – lessons from when 14 million homes and businesses changed fuel in less than a decadeIn 2019 the UK’s official advisor, the Committee on Climate Change (CCC), warned that the nation’s homes were ‘unfit for the challenges of climate...
Story of change
The Great Staycation – how the coronavirus pandemic could push a rapid transition to creative domestic holidaysIn the Northern hemisphere, summer is arriving and many families are deciding what to do for their holidays; trying to balance concerns about their finances...
Story of change
The dash away from gas: how the Netherlands kicked a big fossil fuel habitOne of the biggest problems in making a rapid transition away from fossil fuels is because whole industries become dependent on them and infrastructures get...
Commentary
The business of rapid transitionBusiness represents the great paradox of rapid transition. On the one hand, much is expected of business in terms of technological innovation, new models of...
Story of change
The big rebuild: one-week zero-carbon home makeovers and setting new comfort levels‘Build, build, build’ is a call heard to boost economies trying to bounce back from the economic impact of the coronavirus crisis impact of the...
Resource
Sweat not oil: Why sports should drop advertising and sponsorship from high-carbon pollutersThe global sports industry was worth an estimated $471 billion in 2018. Corporate sponsorship in sport is a multi-million dollar business but do we really...
Commentary
Sustainable energy policy in Germany: A case of natural gas lock-inA new Working Paper from STEPS Summer School alumni seeks to explain why (and how) natural gas has assumed such a dominant role in German energy policy,...
Story of change
Shine On: Solar power is eclipsing coal, oil, gas and nuclear energy with rapid growth and cost reductionsA heatwave across Europe was a reminder of the dangers of climate breakdown, but also of the enormous opportunities for tapping into the clean renewable...
Story of change
Reducing roads can cause traffic to ‘Evaporate’In April 2019 a heavily-used bridge across the River Thames in London was closed indefinitely due to structural problems. Local media were full of alarm,...