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.
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 World’s first renewable island – when a community embraces wind powerThe Danish island of Samsø went from being entirely fossil fuel dependent to becoming the World’s first 100% renewable island, in under a decade. In...
Story of change
When overnight, flying becomes impossible: the volcanic revelationAt the end of 2018 reported sightings of drones near a runway of the UK’s second most busy airport, Gatwick, led to the grounding or redirection of all...
Story of change
Off-grid solar power lighting up rural KenyaThis rapid transition has seen the booming of a private market since the early 1980s – with hundreds of thousands of Solar Home Systems (SHS) installed...
Story of change
Reclaiming the streets: the increasing trend of pedestrianisation around the worldAs urban dwellers and city administrations become increasingly conscious of the corrosive effects cars and air pollution have on our lives and lungs, cities...
Story of change
The Rise and Rise of Green BondsIn 2013, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) packaged and issued a new financial instrument – a so called “green bond” – which was identical...
Story of change
Buen Vivir: The Rights of Nature in Bolivia and EcuadorIn the Andean countries of Ecuador and Bolivia, indigenous worldviews that prioritise harmony with nature over economic development have been enshrined in...
Story of change
The Rise of Brazil’s Sugarcane CarsBrazil today is home to the world’s largest fleet of cars that use ethanol derived from sugarcane as an alternative fuel to fossil fuel based petroleum....
Report
How did we do that? The possibility of rapid transitionA booklet which collects stories of rapid transitions to show what we can learn from history and the present day about how people adapt to rapid change.
Resource
We need a fossil fuel non-proliferation treaty – and we need it nowThe publication of the IPCC special report on global warming of 1.5 degrees concluded that only “rapid, far-reaching and unprecedented changes in all...
